Crystal Symphony
An unexpected arrival docked in Southampton on the 2nd September 2009.  Crystal Symphony was supposed to be anchored off St. Peter's Port before heading to Dover only, due to appalling weather, that skipped the Channel Island.  Sometime between 11.30-11.40am they decided to change the destination from Dover and came here for shelter.  She docked at QEII initially around 5pm, moving to City roughly fifty minutes later and about half an hour after Independence of the Seas had sailed.  She was down to leave at 7pm on the 3rd, which was an hour later than her original Dover schedule.  It was later changed to 7.15pm.  But, because she was still bunkering from the tanker Syros (which arrived around noon), it was put back to 8pm.  We got down to the marina at around 7.40pm, just light enough for static photos.  Syros was leaving as we set up.
Not a lot of people know this but it was exactly four years to the day since she last sailed from Southampton, that time she was docked in QEII and followed out Sea Princess.  We had a lousy summer then too, but at least that day was better than this.  While it had rained on and off, that seemed to have passed while the wind was still quite strong, albeit not as bad as it had been.  There were a couple of cars down there and one bloke who likes trains and occasionally ships we got talking to.  He had also been down for Dawn Princess, but from Mayflower Park.  Symphony had two tugs and she began to move away from the berth silently twelve minutes early.
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			(C) Copyright Patricia Dempsey 3rd September 2009 Not to be reproduced without permission