Day 6 — Disembarkation day in Southampton

Disembarkation day is always a strange one. The night before is usually the moment it sinks in that the cruise is nearly over — packing up and leaving your suitcase outside the cabin ready for collection.

On the morning itself, I avoid the lifts completely. Everyone suddenly seems determined to take all their luggage off themselves, which usually means crowded lifts and people struggling around the ship with suitcases all morning.

I leave my day bag in the cabin until checkout and avoid the buffet as well. Instead, I head to one of the dining rooms for a quieter breakfast where you can actually sit down, relax, and be served properly. A cup of tea, orange juice, and a decent breakfast feels much better than fighting through the crowds.

After breakfast, I grab my bag and check out of the room. Normally you have still got around an hour before leaving the ship — and this is where most people get it wrong. Everyone heads straight for the busy waiting areas and creates queues long before they need to.

This time I headed up to the solarium instead. Almost empty. Grabbed a coffee, a couple of waters, and an iced tea for the drive home, then found a lounger out on deck overlooking Southampton dock. Probably the calmest part of the whole morning.

One last quiet hour onboard before it was time to leave.