When the alarm went off at eight o’clock this morning, I awoke to see that Trevor was out on the balcony, where Borealis was already docked in Vigo, Spain. “Guess who we are tied up alongside?” he asked. “Balmoral?” No. “Arcadia?” No. It was none other than Ambition, the Ambassador Cruises ship on which we’d…
Venturing to Vigo (Part 2)
Didn’t get up until 8.40 this morning as I was so tired. We hadn’t slept well, not only because of the noise in our cabin but because of the movement. Lying in bed, you would roll first one way and then the other, and we could hear things falling over and/or sliding onto the floor. …
Venturing to Vigo (Part 1)
We got up at 8.00am and, as I was getting ready, my phone rang. A quick look at the screen told me that Ronnie was calling. We had a brief chat in which we both commiserated that we’d missed each other; however, as he only lived 10 minutes away he would walk the dogs and…
Calling into Cobh
Well, today turned out to be a bit of a damp squib for me, in more ways than one. My own fault really. ☹ We got up at eight o’clock as usual, and went out onto our balcony where the sky was cloudy with patches of blue. It was only a gentle wake we could…
Cruising the Irish Sea
Got up around 8.00am and the first thing we did was to go out onto the balcony to see what the weather was like. It was crisp and cool and there was a slight sea breeze which was emphasised by the ship’s movement. There were only small wavelets and we counted ourselves lucky, as we…
Borealis in Belfast
Woke up at eight o’clock and went out on our balcony, to the iconic sight of Samson and Goliath, the massive yellow Harland & Wolff gantry cranes that dominate the Belfast skyline. The sky was that cool blue shade you see just before sunset and not long after sunrise, and the Belfast Lough was calm. …
Leaving for Lime Street
We were up at 7.30 this morning in a state of suppressed excitement and a touch of anxiety, as today we had to take the 10:18 train from Durham to Liverpool to join the fabulous M/S Borealis. Yes! We are going on another cruise, this time on the wonderful Fred Olsen Borealis, on which we’ve…
Onward from Oban
Got up at 7.30 this morning and looked out of our porthole at the dull and grey weather, which just about reflected how I felt, knowing that our eventful and unusual little cruise had come to an end. 🙁 Up in the saloon, Charlie was bustling about in the galley, preparing breakfast, while Skipper Jemma…
Never Gonna Stop the Rain
I’m never gonna stop the rain by complaining,Because I’m freeNothing’s worrying me. B. J. Thomas – Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head Got up around 8.00am and went up to the saloon deck for breakfast, wandering out on the aft decks to see what the weather was like and inhaling a lungful of fresh, crisp…
Hell or High Water (Part 2)
We all sat around the table enjoying our beers, while Skipper Jemma advised we would be leaving now and getting to our next sheltered anchorage as soon as possible, as Storm Nigel was indeed on the way, and we hoped to beat it into port. She advised us that the next hour or so was…