[Worldtrippers home] [2025 Crystal-Viking]
After last night’s play, we didn’t get back aboard the Viking Sky cruise ship until almost midnight. We missed any “last night” celebrations or farewells with any of the guests.
So we got up before 7:00 this morning to say “goodbye” to anyone we saw. Guests actually started disembarking at 2:00 am, and the process continued all the way until 9:00 am. Because we had no flight to catch, we remained aboard until 9:00 am.
We stored both of our large suitcases and cardboard box aboard ship, and disembarked with one rolling suitcase and backpack each. Once again we took the Uber Thames Clipper boat from Greenwich into central London.
We are spending one night in London, and we chose the Z (pronounced “Zed”) Trafalgar. This hotel is halfway in between our two destinations for the day: the West End theatre district and the Parliament buildings. We had phoned ahead to confirm we could store our luggage there, and we were pleased to learn that a room was already available for us in late morning.
This has got to be the smallest hotel room we have ever stayed in. The room is just about big enough to fit a double bed, toilet and shower. We are used to navigating around each other in cramped spaces, but this took some getting used to.
Our original plan had been to disembark, get a rental car, then drive out of the area. But we mentioned before that our post-cruise schedule keeps changing. This is largely because we had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we couldn’t pass up.
Last year, aboard one of Viking’s new ship launches, we met an invited guest named Alan Brooke. It turns out Alan is Viscount Brookeborough, a Northern Irish peer and member of Britain’s House of Lords. He was the Lord-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II.
To make a long story short, Viking asked Lord Brookeborough to lecture aboard a future Viking cruise. He came to us for lecturing tips, and we had several meetings and phone calls with him. He recently completed his Viking event (aboard a different ship) to tremendous success. The lecture turned into a Q&A, and Alan’s 45-minute slot turned into an hour and 40 minutes. He wanted to thank us by meeting him in London.
And what a meeting it was! At 2:30 pm, we met Alan at the “peers’ entrance” of the House of Lords, one of the two houses of Parliament. He treated us to a two-hour private tour of Parliament, including both the House of Lords and the House of Commons. He regaled us with stories of the history, art and architecture throughout these magnificent buildings. We were able to sit in during live sessions of both houses of Parliament. And as a finale, Alan hosted us to high tea in a room reserved for British peers. It was an astonishing “pinch me” experience, and we are grateful for Alan’s friendship.
The only downside is that Russell was planning to leave his suit aboard the ship. Now, not only did he need to wear it off ship, but he now has to carry it around the UK for the next two weeks. (Yes, truly a “first world” problem…)
After the Parliament tour, we had time to return to our hotel room before heading out again. We met our friends Craig and Liz for a final evening before parting ways. We had dinner at a local pub, then saw another musical play on the West End. Tonight’s feature was “Six,” the story of Henry VIII’s six wives performed as a rock concert. It was light, funny and surprisingly educational.
Both the Parliament tour and the musical were last-minute opportunities; hence the need for a London hotel tonight. Tomorrow morning we will get the rental car and drive out of the area. Our post-world cruise adventure has begun!
