So what does one do when one is in a port like Pauillac for a 2nd day. We have been extensively to Bordeaux when we were there with the Prinsendam and also docked overnight. We looked at the wine options for today but as we both like white German and Austrian Wine (Veltliner is a firm favourite) and Bordeaux is a red wine area that was not a great idea. Pauillac is not very exciting for the rest as we found out during the first day so we decided to stay on board. A lot of guests had decided to do the same, so the bars and public rooms were buzzing. During lunch (you are asked if, when coming in, you want to have a shared table during lunch as only part of the diningroom is used) and that is most of the time very nice as most British are very chatty and love a good natter, especially when combined with free wine. The people at the table had been on a wine tour and were quite disappointed. Cheap wine was served as samplers and they were then being  tempted to buy a bottle of Chateau Margaux for 500+ euro’s while the same bottle had been seen for 51,– british pounds at Waitrose. (This is an english supermarket chain which is a bit upmarket, providing better service  and also better quality brands).

Our lunch menu for the day. It does not show the free wines,but normally there is a chardonnay, a sauvignon blanc a rose and a red merlot. Then heineken draft beer and a regular sodas, all included.

I do not know if the Lady did not mix up a Grand Cru with an standard “Appelation Controle”, but she considered herself an expert so we had to believe her. Staying on board is easy as a. there are plenty of seats in the public rooms, b. we have a nice suite on deck 7, which Holland America calls Neptune Suites. Fred Olsen kept them the same apart from not having the Neptune Lounge for nibbles. But we get canape’s at 17.00 hrs. every day so with a drink it nicely covers the period until the music (for 2nd sitting) starts in the main lounges.

This is the Library of what was called the Exploration Center with HAL. Now it is dedicated to Sir Richard Attenborough with a large number of nature books to support it. As the Coffee counter is just around the corner, all tables are numbered so you can wait for the drinks while they are being made. There were a lot less tables here during HAL days.

During the morning there was suddenly another General Drill and we wondered why. Was the captain not happy with the drill yesterday, so decided with a repeat or what else ??. Then during the course of the multiple announcements made, we realized that they had Port State Control to verify the ships documents and Solas compliance. A ship normally gets new ships papers each year, issued by Lloyd Register or another approved company (like Rina in Italy or Germanischer Lloyd in Germany). This is normally done after a full ship inspection and drill. The certificates issued are then accepted by the Flag State (in this case the Bahamas for the Borealis) as valid for their adminstration to issue the sailing certificates.

Then there is the Paris MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) who monitors on behalf of the connected countries, the standards on the ships with ad-hoc inspections, normally every six months. The results are listed on the website and if there are deficiencies found by port state officers in Spain then they can be verified by port state officers in Greece. etc.etc. Most of the world is connected to this, except the USA where the USCG does their own thing. Hence when a ship comes to a USA port for the first time it has to go through a full inspection, regardless whether the ship had one a week earlier in a European port. But such is politics.

The Coffee bar. Unchanged from HAL days. But the chocolates and cookies on display are not freebies any more, all is for sale.

So The Borealis had Port State today and they had to go through the full sequence with Fire drill, assembly drill and the boat lowering routine. Then the Port State Officials moved on to checking other vital safety systems, causing the lifts to go out of service for more than 45 minutes, while they were connected to the Emergency Generator. This gets normally done each week and although an announcement is made that the lifts might be out of order, it is normally not the case, as the Emergency Generator can provide enough power to handle all the lifts. Today something must have happened as 45 minutes of no lifts at all is rather unusual. But we sailed on time, so things must have been corrected.

Appetizers for in the cabin. And what is nice is, that it comes with a explanation so that mere mortals like us, who are not that posh, also know what we are enyoing.

Let’s correct this, we sailed almost on time. With the departure time being set at 18.45 hrs. and with the ship pulling out at 19.15 hrs. As usual, the delay was caused by late returning tours and we saw several coaches coming from Bordeaux racing towards the ship. We watched it all with great interest from the Crowsnest, called Observatory here, with a nice cocktail in our hand and the String Trio performing in the background. Sailing down the river Gironne is very interesting even if it is only a short distance to sea from Pauillac. Going more towards Bordeaux the river is much smaller but from Pauillac the river hugs the west bank and one is still quite close to land. The Fred Olsen cruise schedule gives arrival in the early morning and depature in the early evening, with no set times. So officially nobody knows when we get there and how long we stay. Although there is guidance from the office of when the ship should get there, to ensure the scheduling of the tours, it gives the captain a fair bit of leeway to decide when he/she will exactly arrive or depart. As we only have 10 knots to speed to make to get to our next port of La Pallice, I think the Captain set departure for just before 1900 hrs. to take advantage of the river situation.

At 19.00 hrs., the river experienced the last of the flood and there was a wind blowing from the sea. So with bringing the stern off the dock, the flood could get inbetween the ship and the dock and helped the ship come easily off the dock. Using the last of the flood and not the full flood meant that the ship was not drifting too far upriver, while swinging around, and not coming to close to the sandbanks. Also 1900 hrs. gave us an hour of sunlight to enjoy the scenery. And thus we saw undulating french country rolling by, with many sites full of vine yards, interspersed with small villages and the occasional church and chateau tower. It took about 1 hr. to get to open sea and from there the ship turned north to La Pallice.

The information we have received from the ship for that port is somewhat vague, which I think has to do with the fact that nobody speaks French, and thus does not pick up the nuances of what is really meant. There is a shuttle from the ship to the port gate. We think is not a ship shuttle but a port shuttle laid on for security reasons as the port of La Pallice is very large. What happens when one get to the Port Gate is everybodies guess but according to the ship taxi’s and a local bus are available. Problem is, it is saturday and then things in France do not always go as announced. Based on having previous experience with French Industrial ports, we booked a n afternoon Transfer from the ship to La Rochelle for 29 pounds each. At least we will get there and we will make it back.

This evenings entertainment Crooner Ben Francis. He is already world famous on the Fred Olsen ships as he has been on the ships before. The rest of the world might be waiting as he had a very pleasant voice. He will be back on the final night of the cruise.

Dinner was a much quieter affair then yesterday as many guests had opted to go to the Lido or did not make it at all due to all the wine tasting. Show time had an un-expected change. We were supposed to have a Lady playing a violin bringing us “music fusion”. However she was stuck somewhere and could not get to the ship. So at last minute a singer was flown in from Chile ( he was on another ship) via England to do the fill in. Not that it mattered as he had a very nice show. His main claim to fame sofar was that he has worked with Michael Ball and Adele in the background choirs.

Tommorrow we are in La Pallice and taking the Transfer to La Rochelle in the afternoon. Weather is supposed to be same as today, temperature around 20oC / 70oF, mostly overcast with a gentle breeze.