Our long, tiring journey

Having worked until 10pm on Friday night we went home and did the last bits of packing before trying to get a bit of sleep. The alarm went of at 2am (groan!) and after a bit of caffeine we set off to Bristol airport at 2.45am. We had snow flurries all the way up but thankfully it was nice and warm in the car. We had a bit of confusion at the check in desk at the airport with our visa waiver paperwork but after a few phone calls they accepted it. All 4 of our suitcases were under weight which was a relief as I was doubtful with all the presents, teddies and other goodies we were taking!
We got fast tracked through security which was fab as we skipped all the queues! Another bonus - neither of us set the metal detectors off!
Our first plane for our journey from Bristol to Brussels was really small and there were only 13 passengers on it! We were just getting settled when we got asked to move to the other side of the plane at the front which gave us responsibility for the emergency exit and more leg room - everyones a winner! We were given unexpected treats of croissants, chocolate waffles, chocolates and drinks - all for free! All this for an hour and 10 minute flight - not bad huh?!

Brussels airport is massive, but we finally managed to co-ordinate our way through it after getting lost! My fault apparently, cos I was admiring a police sniffer dog! After a 4 hour wait we boarded the massive, full plane. We stood out quite well as we were 2 of only about 20 white people on board with the other 300 African passengers! This journey included on demand movies and other tv episodes, a journey tracker, a meal, snacks, drinks, ice cream, duty free. Great, but it did mean lots of interruptions so no sleep for us! The flight was 6 hours long, so we were pretty tired when we got off the plane into 29 degree heat at 7pm!
We eventually got through immigration through to baggage collection chaos! Lots of 'porters' try to 'help' you and want tips. As we walked out of the airport to the car park there were lots of people begging through the railings - our first sight if Guinea life.
We finally got to the ship and filled out our paperwork, got our ID badges made and had our security briefing, had something to eat and were shown our cabin, which had been done out nicely for us and the door had been decorated with photos and things by my sister! We chatted until we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer, so went to bed. This was the first day!
We couldn't believe we were actually here!