Olly Smith

From L to R - James the Camera man from Saturday Kitchen, Carl Luxford our Food and Beverage Manager, Olly Smith and James.

Good Day All,

Greetings from the North Sea as we sail towards our first port of call on our Norway cruise, Oslo, where the QM2 will also be in port with us - this will be exciting! I will post a few photographs for you. We had a good day in Southampton at the Ocean Terminal. My day just flew past between quick meetings, people popping in to say hello, doing my inductions for new joiners and all the other bits and pieces - so such so that I never did get ashore to see the new terminal - all I know is that it worked very well and our passengers and crew, they were on and off without a hitch.

After saying 'Hello and Welcome on Board' to many passengers it was time to pop up to the Bridge and sign off for sailing. It is always good to report to the Commodore - 'all is well'! Again we were first on the off down the Solent with our sister ship Oriana following behind us, and with the turns in the water there were some beautiful shots of Oriana sailing in the evening sun.

This morning the ship was very busy inside in all areas, and once the port talk emptied out of the Palladium Theatre the Shore Excursion Team were in full swing. On a Baltic cruise there is always a huge demand for Shore Excursions as there is so much to do. There is a great buzz around the ship with passengers exploring all that is on offer, and excited about their Cruise holiday ahead. Think of all the wonderful ports of call that await us! This evening is the Commodore's Welcome on Board Gala Receptions and this will be another opportunity to meet new people and catch up with regulars and the blog fans.

Olly Smith, TV Presenter and Wine Expert, and wine buff from James Martin's Saturday Kitchen was on board to do some promotional filming for AZURA - one ship,endless stories.

It was a great pleasure to meet him and his camera man - another JAMES! I am a great fan of Saturday Kitchen and James Martin - and I love all the variety on the programme from the two fat ladies to Rick Stein and the well known and celebrity Chefs that James features on his programme.

Speaking to a colleague of mine from our Southampton Office yesterday, she said to me 'James we are all convinced in the office that you are on one long holiday!' I took it as a compliment. I am very fortunate to be in a job that I enjoy with fun people to work with in this incredible environment. I see no point in complicating something quite simple.

Have a great weekend what ever you are up to!

All good wishes,

James.

It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless on has plenty of work to do!