50 Bloggin'Days: Day 2

It is still bitterly cold. A few snow showers invaded the ship overnight, and we awoke in Zeebrugge to see the cranes and containers wearing a covering of white.
Zeebrugge means ‘Bruges on Sea’ and is a village on the coast of Belgium. It serves as both an international port and a seafront resort with hotels, cafés, a marina and a beach.
The harbour was the site of the Zeebrugge Raid in April 1918, when the British Royal Navy put the German inland naval base at Bruges out of action. Admiral Roger Keves planned and led the assault that stormed the German batteries and sank the ships in the harbour to block the entrance to the base for the last seven months of World War 1.
Later, Zeebrugge's harbour was the scene of disaster when in 1987 the MS Herald of Free Enterprise passenger ferry capsized killing 193 people.
P&O trips and DIY train journeys were also available to the picturesque town of Bruges, but having visited before, Chris and I chose to catch the shuttle bus into the nearby seaside town of Blankenberg. Apart from the sandy beach, there's a structure unique along the Belgian coast, a 350-m long pier, which was constructed in 1933. There is also an impressive esplanade and numerous little shops and cafes. As we walked up the main high street, we bumped into several other groups of Crowsnesters, well wrapped in warm coats and hats. Chris and I made it as far as the snowy beach, then turned around to rediscover the heated shuttle bus and the promise of lunch.


And now I have a confession, which will shock you. Yesterday evening Chris and I were late for dinner. We joined the Cruisekings champagne party at the originally agreed time of 6.00pm and were just about to head for 1st sitting at 6.30, when someone told us that P&O had brought the time forward. First sitting had started at 6.00. All those threads about ill-mannered guests arriving late for dinner, and this was how we chose to introduce ourselves to our table companions!
In our defence, a fair few people turned up at 6.30, but the new time was written in Horizon paper, so we should have read it properly. Thank you to Cruisekings for the wonderful champagne, and thank you to the table for your forgiveness as we tried to catch up on our dinner courses! I was wonderful to meet the entire group and make so many new friends.