Go to gate 50

We had a lovely sunny sea day after leaving Spain, heading for Madeira. In the evening, they held the Mariners Cocktail Party for 3, 4 and 5 star Mariners. It’s normally four and five star, but they allowed the riffraff…

It took 2 1/2 hours to get to Heathrow, mid-morning, which severely disrupted my lounge time. I was picked up by a driver from Cameroon and this was the first time I had an all electric taxi to the airport.…

We arrived in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city with 15 million people, around 7pm for an overnight. It’s quite unusual to arrive at a cruise port in the evening. A number of people decided to get off and have a look…

Next up was the Greek island of Kos which is only around 2.5 miles off the coast of Turkey. I stepped off alone and headed for the beach. Dimitra doesn’t do beaches. I walked through the Old Town which was…

Next up was the Greek island of Kos which is only around 2.5 miles off the coast of Turkey. I stepped off alone and headed for the beach. Dimitra doesn’t do beaches. I walked through the Old Town which was…

I was lucky enough to board Holland America’s Oosterdam early due to my loyalty status. I had not been on this ship and I liked it immediately. The capacity is just under 2000 which is the perfect size for me. …

I arrived in sunny Athens and rather bizarrely we didn’t have to go through passport control. I taxied to my hotel in an upscale neighbourhood of Athens. My room wasn’t ready so I decided to stroll around Athens and see…

After crossing the border, I had a 60 minute drive to Constanta, 40 miles away. I found a hotel with a sea view and the smallest balcony I’ve seen in my balcony evaluation studies. I went for a walk around…

Shortly before 11 o’clock on the 27th of September, 2024, I entered Bulgaria which was my 100th country. I was on a five hour bus journey with a bunch of Spanish teenagers, but at the least the seat next to…

The very early taxi ride was most acceptable in a Mercedes driven by a Romanian ex-footballer who played against 1978 World Cup and Golden Boot winner, Mario Kempes in the UEFA Cup in the late 1970’s. Heathrow was heaving -…