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Friday 12th November 2021
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We were required to
report for pre-flight Covid testing at 8:00am at the Sofitel
Hotel, adjacent to Heathrow's Terminal 5. We decided to
stay at the hotel the night before to avoid having to get
up too early and/or the possibility of being delayed by
traffic at a peak time. It was a good decision. We got a
taxi to the hotel the previous evening and had a good night's
sleep in a comfortable bed. In the morning, the testing
process for the group of ninety people was a bit slow, but
by 9:30 every test had come back negative and we were free
to walk the short distance to Terminal 5. There, we had
a dedicated check-in area for our chartered flight to Seville.
After going through security, we spent the next hour and
a half in the special lounge where we could help ourselves
to a buffet breakfast. We were impressed with the arrangements
that had been made for us so far. |
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For a while, we thought
we were going to fly in this plane, with its heritage livery
to mark the airline's centenary. Unfortunately, we boarded
the plane next to it, but it was good to see it anyway. |
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Being a charter,
there was no business class as such,
but we were all treated to business class catering, including champagne! |
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As we approached
Seville, the scenery became quite interesting. |
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The Guadalquivir,
the river which links Seville to the sea. |
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We could see our
ship, the Hebridean Sky, clearly as we came in to land
(the first ship on the left bank, above the bridge in the centre
of the picture). |
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After a somewhat long
and tedious wait in the "foreign passports" queue
(thank you Brexiteers), it was a swift journey by coach
to the port. It was good to see the Hebridean Sky again.
The last time we saw the ship was in July 2019, when we
disembarked in Stockholm after our cruise around the Baltic. |
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The view from our cabin
was a familiar one. We had docked in the same location aboard
the Aegean Odyssey in June 2016. |
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Our spacious cabin,
this time with a balcony! |
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Lifeboat drill (even
though we wouldn't be sailing for a couple of days). |
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By now
it was late afternoon. We unpacked, went for dinner and relaxed
onboard for the rest of the evening. |
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