Travel Blog

Alesund was a revelation. A pretty town/city of about 45,000 people. Me and the trio of Aussie ladies decided to climb the 414 steps to the top of Fjellstua. Fabulous views from the top and worthy of being the number one attraction.The local church was supposedly worth a visit but…

A couple more sea days before the final three stops. We're heading south again so it should get warmer. I have to say though, the sea days on the MS Amsterdam earlier this year were far better in terms of activities. The two daily quizzes are both later in the…

Sea Day Saturday was a sea day, heading north and at five something in the morning we crossed the arctic circle. I think they thought we might get up early for it. No chance. I went to the 11am seminar for a "flat stomach" with Serbian Alex. He's an energetic…

I've had worse days. Whilst I was still sleeping the captain sailed stealthily into Geiranger fjord which is the one featured on most of the fjord holiday adverts. It's supposed to be he most picturesque and by golly it's quite something. Five of the singles crowd were due to meet…

On Monday morning we arrived in a small village called Eidfjord in the Hardanger district. Eidfjord has a population of 950 and ranks 406th in Norway. It's a very picturesque place and despite there being some temptingly expensive tours on offer, I decided to go freestyle. There was a 5…

It was actually quite odd spending the day with a bunch of complete strangers. Not one person all day that I'd ever met before. How often does that happen? Of course it didn't stop you lot all texting me with little reminders. The flight to Schiphol was just under an…

Well the chaps and I have had a terrific week sailing on the water. I don't think I've laughed so much for years. As the week progressed our behaviour became increasingly juvenile but we managed to survive and I got my deposit back. The weather was fabulous for the first…

I'm starting to regret using the pavlova joke before I'd experienced Fiji Airways. I will go out of my way to avoid them in future. Since I am geographically removed from most of their route network this should not pose a problem. Arriving at the airport I was greeted by…

It seems like only a few months since I was last here! We sailed into Melbourne and docked in an area near to St Kilda which is a coastal area about 30 minutes from the centre of the city. Australian customs required everybody to get off the ship whether they…

The storm we were due to pass through was avoided in large part because the captain took a detour. We ended up with 10ft swells instead of 15ft but they still put the sick bags out at every lift shaft. I think some people were affected but they stayed in…

Our first stop in New Zealand was at Waitangi which in on the north island in an area called the Bay of Islands. Cruise Director Gene (from Provo Utah) urged us all to get up at 5:30 for the sail-in which was said to be spectacular. I suppose definitions of…

We had four days at sea between the Cook Islands and our first of three stops in New Zealand. Some of the ship characters Tanned Jeff lives on the ship for 7 months of the year and this is his 15th world cruise. Home is Virginia Beach when he's not…

Dear all or Kia orana as they say in Rarotonga, Drama this morning as we stopped in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It is notorious as a "missed port" due to the sea swells and this morning was no exception. The captain had warned us the day before that we…

We arrived in Tahiti in the early hours and from quite a distance away the shadowy outline of the hills and peaks was quite breathtaking. Tahiti is the main island of French Polynesia and is a sprawling metropolis compared to the other islands we'd visited so far. We docked at…

Nuku Hiva is the second largest island in French Polynesia (Tahiti is the largest) and has a population of a whopping 3,000 most of whom are the size of a small family hatchback. French Polynesia is split into several island groups including the Society Islands, the Marquesa Islands and rather…

Today we reached our first Pacific island, Nuku Hiva in the Marquesa Islands of French Polynesia. I'd almost become so used to being at sea I wasn't sure I wanted to get off. During the first few sea days I thought I'd learn how to play bridge which is basically…

Our first stopping point was at Peurto Limon (Lemon Port) in Costa Rica and as we hadn't booked a official tour, Karla and I jumped into a taxi and had a private tour lasting about 3 hours. Our driver Manuel spoke excellent English and was very friendly and informative which…

The flight from London arrived at Miami International at 2pm and I was on the ship by 4pm which was good going. The taxi driver from the airport to Port Everglades was from Haiti and came to the US 30 years ago using a dead persons birth certificate which he…

On Thursday morning I flew from Brisbane to Hong Kong and something told me it would be a good idea to get to the airport over 4 hours before departure. Whatever that "something" was needs a good talking to. I couldn't even get into a lounge... I'd been scared into…