This is our first full day at sea on the Island Princess. I suppose we spent some of the day getting to know the layout of the ship. It certainly is a bit of  a higgledy, piggledy design. Apart from the layout, there are a few noticable differences on this ship. Very modern compared to my last cruise I was on which was Carnival Pacific Islands.

Firstly, on each floor mainly near the lifts are digital interactive maps of every area on the ship on screens. These nifty gadgets help in some respect but  they're not always foolproof. Trust me; I've followed the digital breadcrumbs only to realise I've ended up in the ship's galley! Just kidding. They include a digital layout of the ship by level it does help to some extent.

Second, each of us are given a medallion with a GPS signal (instead of the old lanyard style). The Passenger Medallion System, often referred to as the OceanMedallion.  Each passenger is given a  OceanMedallion. This device is about the size of a 10 cent coin  and can be worn as a wristband or as a pendant The medallion is equipped with various sensors and technology that allow it to interact with the ship's infrastructure. 

Pretty cool huh! Here is some info I found out about the OceanMedallion:

 Before the cruise, us passengers provide personal information, preferences, and any special requests through a mobile app or website. This information is linked to their OceanMedallion, creating a profile that helps customise the onboard experience.

The medallion system uses a network of sensors and antennas placed throughout the ship to track the location of passengers in real-time. This enables various features and benefits such as keyless entry to cabins as the Medallion serves as the cabin key, automatically unlocking the cabin door when the passenger approaches and then locking it magically when you leave.

Crew members can access a passenger's profile and preferences, allowing them to provide personalised services. Even magically bringing you your fav drink. Thats a plus! 'Margarita Please'. 

Passengers can use interactive maps on their smartphones to navigate the ship, locate onboard venues, and find their friends and family members. I tried this and it works really well. Hint to Princess Cruises. Two maps required, one for the men and one for us women.

Alert! Alert! The OceanMedallion is linked to our onboard account, allowing for cashless transactions. Passengers can make purchases at onboard shops, restaurants, and bars without the need for cash or credit cards. Charges are automatically added to our account. Yep this makes it a little dangerous. However you can track of expenses on the app. 

The system also helps us  make the most of their cruise experience by suggesting personalised activities and entertainment options based on the preferences we add. 

We can connect up with fellow passengers for chatting purposes  making it easy to stay connected with friends and family onboard.

Book into daily activities and add fellow family members to events. My BIL Richard decided to book me into some activities that I might not normally be interested in. Very Naughty he was, as I am definetly not interested in trying out for ships entertainment or joining in with Bible study (no offence intended to those who do). The only downside to this is you can delete yourself out of an activity.  

So I guess you can tell that I was impressed with the whole process.

Moving on from this which turned into a rather long explanation. I think when I get back home I might  cut this section out and move the medallion information to a separate Blog Post.

Hmm, now where was I, well not much else to really write about. Another nice dinner in the dining room.

A drink in one of the bars, we watched one of the bands for a while and the decided to hit the hay.

Our morning adventure was set in motion with an Uber pickup scheduled for 9:00 am, a quick 20 minute ride that would carry us from our current location to Victoria Station. Our ultimate goal? To board a bus destined for Southampton.

As the clock ticked towards our anticipated departure, our anticipation grew, but the journey to our rendezvous with the Uber was not without its share of unexpected twists and turns. The bustling backdrop of a prominent London hotel, surrounded by the ceaseless flow of traffic, added an extra layer of complexity to our Uber pickup. The driver's chosen parking spot became a topic of conversation, as in where was he? causing a momentary delay of about 10 mins. We soon found him just around the corner.

Today we are going to spend some time exploring Shepphers Bush Shopping centre. I wanted to try and get some replacement rubber pieces for my earpods. We have been to this shopping centre before last time we were out here.  We browsed some of the shops, however most of the designer shops have prices outside of my price range. After a lovely lunch - Asian Salad for me and a soup for Ian.

We purchased some yummy, particularly for Jake, along with Linda and Roy. Following that, we prepared to rendezvous with members of the Hyde family at Northolt's Crown Pub for an evening meal. We had plans to rendezvous with Richard and Karen at the same location. During our journey, we took the opportunity to explore St. Mary's the Virgin Church, situated on the opposite side of the ridge from another church. I took a moment to examine the gravestones and attempted to decipher the inscriptions on some of them

Our first day in London we decided to meet up with Richard and Karen at Greenwich. 

We made our way up the steep hill to the Greenwich Observatory, which is an iconic institution and treasured part of history and has played a pivotal role in the development of modern astronomy and timekeeping. It made me realise how difficult it was to solve the problem of navigation and timekeeping as for decades astronomers and instrument makers at the observatory grappled with the complexities of developing instruments that could withstand the harsh maritime conditions and maintain accuracy during turbulent voyages.

One of the most significant contributions of the Greenwich Observatory to the world is the establishment of the Prime Meridian, the line of 0 degrees longitude. In 1884, the Greenwich Meridian as the prime reference point for global timekeeping, giving birth to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which is the basis for the time zones we use today.

So as you walk into the observatory you first see the Prime Meridian, so I decided to take a walk  along the metal strip in the ground. 

With one foot in the Eastern Hemisphere, the other in the Western, I walked the line (a little like walking the plank) 

Did you know if you're wearing a watch while straddling the Prime Meridian, don't be surprised if it starts having an identity crisis. It'll tick in the Eastern time zone one second and then jump to the Western time zone the next. Time flies when you're confusing your watch. Ha Ha.. give it go if you're there.

Before the establishment of the  Meridian almost every town in the world kept its own local time. There were no national or international conventions which set how time should be measured, or when the day would begin and end, or what length an hour might be. So very confusing right?