Travel Blog

Sometimes described as the ultimate gay destination, Mykonos is a very pretty place indeed. I ventured out with three of the solos, Larry, Jone and Diane and we strolled around for a couple of hours through the multitude of narrow streets. The 1989 film Shirley Valentine was filmed in Mykonos.…

From landing at Athens airport to getting into a taxi took 17 minutes which was a personal best. First in the passport queue, bags came off almost immediately and off I trotted to the taxi rank where Mikis was waiting to take me to the Novotel. Although better than my…

Although this is trip number seven to Antigua it's the first visitation as a blogging traveller therefore I thought it would be only right and proper to make some kind of record of the trip. Antigua is 21 miles by 14 so you can easily drive round it in a day.…

Despite numerous trips to Antigua, I hadn't ever ventured to Antigua's sister island Barbuda which lies 30 miles off the North coast however this was about to change and Anne and Keith needed little persuasion to join me. There are four ways to get to Barbuda (or five if you…

Norway is a mixture of natural beauty and man made ghastliness. My top place was Flam with Geiranger close behind. The least likely place I will revisit is Trondheim. Norway has a population of just under 5m and has an abundance of wealth through natural resources giving it the third…

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…