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The first peek we saw and the following photos show just how big this liner is, weighing in at some 77,000 tons! To put it into perspective, that's over 10,200 London Buses! And the new Azura is bigger still at 116,000 tons!


Brian and Michelle, seen here entering the departure lounge, had become more excited as the day progressed. The whole place was so much more relaxed than any major Train Station or Airport I'd been in. Emotions did run high as they joined the queue for boarding.


We all took a walk along the sea front while they boarded and had to go through formalities to get to their cabin. We had a call from Michelle while we were about ½ a mile away. They were over the bridge looking out for us. They could see us in the car park waving (3rd photo above). It's like a small town floating out there!


No dock side good-byes or ticker tape nowadays. The band must have been wild to be caged like that! Health and Safety rules everywhere these days. We had a muffled rendition of their set while we waited for Brian and Michelle to appear. And there they are over the bridge again.


They then made their way over to get adjacent to the departure lounge windows, but still seemed a long way up.

The ship eventually started to move once the late passengers had run on and we were left in the car park watching the Oceana move off into the dark. I'm afraid the photos are a bit fuzzy, but you get the idea!

Finally, thanks to Nigel and www.timberwindows.com for the use of the MPV for the trip down.