THE SCOTTISH ADVENTURES OF A CRUISE SHIP ADDICT

I’ve never known a cruise like it! The entertainment on here is wonderful! I can’t fit it all in. I brought a load of work to do, but I don’t have any time to do it! Today started off with an enlightening talk about Tender embarkation for people with mobility problems (I have never known a cruise line to do this before), then it was off to the Port Talk on Cannes and Le Spezia. I’m really looking forward to Cannes, where I’ll have a look at the Yachts and maybe choose one for Campbell to buy for my birthday in 10 days. The talk on Le Spezia reminded me of when we landed in Livorno on Sea Princess a few years ago. Suddenly 10,000 people descended on Livorno and it was chaos! It was like being dropped into an enormous nightmare. Later, Livorno Department of Tourism said on one of my Cruise newsletters that they had a very successful day managing the 5 cruise ships in port. I was wondering if they ever took into account the passengers’ viewpoints. It felt like an episode of ‘I’m a ...

Three giants have appeared in Southampton! Firstly, there is Cunard's QE2. Not a giant in size but a giant in reputation. The modern's world's most famous ocean liner is embarking her passengers today for her final double transatlantic voyage - from Southampton to New York and back to Southampton. Cunard have been famous for their transatlantic voyages for over 160 years, since their first scheduled sailing by Britannia in 1840. This will be a particularly poignant voyage as this will be the last time she visits her second home, New York. Rumour has it that New York will not let her leave without a massive celebration. Accompanying her on this double transatlantic is her sister, Queen Mary 2 - a giant in size at almost 160,000 gross registered tonnes. This is a real treat for ocean liner lovers everywhere. Finally, in port at the same time is P and O's Ventura, She is the newest and largest addition to the P and O fleet at over 100,000 gross registered tonnes. Ventura i...