We should have spent today at sea, but because of the change in itinerary we awoke to find ourselves docked in Invergordon, on the Cromarty Firth. Once again the day was bright and sunny – we really have been very lucky, considering how fickle the weather is in Britain. Our excursion today would take us…
Staying Cool in Ullapool
The Marco Polo dropped anchor this morning in Loch Broom, upon the shores of which is located the picturesque little village of Ullapool. We had not booked any excursions today, deciding instead to explore the village ourselves at leisure. When we went down to breakfast the day already showed signs of being another scorcher without a…
Castaway in Stornoway
When the alarm went off at 7.45 this morning the first thing we did was look out of our window to see what the new day was like. There was not a cloud in the sky or a ripple on the sea. We were already at anchor in Stornoway, capital of the Isle of Lewis…
Highlands and Islands
We awoke this morning to a bright day with a little fog on the horizon and a flat calm North Sea. It looked as though it was going to be another fine day today. We were due to arrive in Kirkwall, Orkney at around mid-day. We went along to the buffet restaurant for our breakfast,…
Blog on the Tyne
Well here we are again folks, on yet another cruise – our 30th to be precise. 🙂 This time it’s a mini 5-day voyage on board the M/V Marco Polo, a delightful old ship (built 1965) on which we have cruised twice before; in the Mediterranean in 2001 and all the way down to Antarctica…
How Cruising has Changed over the Years
Having taken our first cruise almost 24 years ago when there were relatively few good cruise ships about, we have noticed many changes, and not all of them are for the best. For a start, ships actually used to look like ships. That is, their outlines were long, sleek and streamlined and (when viewed from…
Time to Go Home
We had to get up early this morning as we always do on disembarkation day. The Balmoral was due to sail at 6.00pm tonight on her return journey to Southampton; quite a lot of the passengers (at least the ones that don’t have to go to work on Monday!) who had been on this voyage were…
So Good They Named It Twice
Woke up at 5.00am this morning; we didn’t have a cat in hell’s chance of getting back to sleep again because the Balmoral had taken the pilot on board on her approach into the Big Apple, and she was revving her engines with a vengeance. This caused quite a lot of noise and vibration, so…
All at Sea
Woke up early to a bright and sunny day and, guess what? That’s right, tonight is formal night so that meant free ‘champers’ at breakfast time again. 🙂 We hot-footed it up to the Palms Café and once again I enjoyed some fresh fruits, smoked salmon, coffee and a couple of glasses of the gratis…
Halifax – The Titanic Connection
We got up early this morning and looked out to a very grey and foggy Halifax. We were due to go on one of the excursions this morning; to the Titanic cemeteries. It might seem strange to come on holiday and spend half a day looking at grave stones, but there were 300+ victims of…