Hello Cruising, My Old Friend - it's Been Too Long!

It is no secret that I love cruising, but owing to family caring issues I haven't managed to get on a ship for over 5 years and we badly needed a holiday. This was my 60th birthday present to myself: my favourite ship and 19 days of Med, including Valletta, where I haven't been for many years. Last time I went there I had a waist.

We aren't keen on flying so getting the bus down to Southampton is perfect (the price of the coach was in with the price of the cruise so it was a no-brainer). As soon as the cases are in the belly of the bus, we don't see them again until they are outside our cabins... and we can take a lot more luggage with us than we would have if we'd flown. Also if the bus breaks down, the ship will wait for you. That won't happen if you get snagged up in traffic in a car and those roads to Soton are always chocka.

The first sight of the ship is a lovely one - better than spotting Blackpool Tower on the club trip when you were a kid. My crib for the next 19 days. Look at that sky! Dreadful. The weather couldn't be worse abroad than this could it? I packed a cagoule just in case...

Glorious to be back onboard. It was like a home from home.  Our room - sea view, in the middle, low down by reception so it's nice and stable. Lovely big bed, LOADS of storage and a shower that didn't half pack a punch. Gorgeous cabin steward (and we gave him a break and only had him a few days because the OH is military-standard tidy). Have to say on this cruise, the staff - always friendly on ships - were above and beyond, just lovely all of them. I do miss being called 'Ma'am' now I'm home...  

Captain from York - so in safe hands then! Very dapper and could deffo see him as Nigel Ocean-Sea. 

Just saying... there was no way my first drink on board wasn't going to be the ICE WINE!

Slept like babies. 

Day at seas spent in the company of ex-chief detective inspector Terry Brown. Now it might seem like a weird thing to go to lectures on holiday but trust me, we've seen some fantastic entertaining speakers on board (there was a bloke later on who did a talk that made you think twice about how fascinating wasps were). This guy - was THE best and was instrumental in overhauling interview techniques in police stations - the theatre was bursting at the seams every time. 

The infamous Bay of Biscay... like a mill pond for us. Weather not great, but it's holiday weather so I can put up with a bit of sky rot while we sail south. Plenty to do - or not to do. It's the only time I can do nothing and not feel bored.  Had some great books to keep me company though (Yellowface, R.F. Huang, None of this is True - Lisa Jewell, Deadly Animals, Marie Tierney). But plenty of dolphins to see skipping in the waves (I was too busy watching to take more than a snap so this is all you're getting). 

Got tarted up for the first formal night (not too many on a cruise, just enough to enjoy) and got the diamond necklace out of the safe. 

Lovely restful day at sea again and the next day we were in La Coruna. It wasn't cold but it wasn't sun-bathing weather either, but it was SPANISH and so we were well into the holiday groove and we found a lovely little coffee shop where two fellow passengers sat down and ordered coffees and a brandy. It made me think of mum and dad who always did that in Spain, brought a nice little happy memory back. We kept bumping into this couple on the ship and saying hello. 

Came back to find two lovely bouquets in my room from P & O because I'm special - ha!

Had a gorgeous steak for tea in the Glass House. The crew in there are fab - and what a gem they have in Dennis who roped us into forking out £15 for a wine tasting morning towards the end of the cruise. More on that later

Warming up in Vigo - do you like my new hat? 

We aren't gamblers (mugs game)... but onboard we have an odd little session on the roulette - love it. And there were a couple of fun tournaments on throughout the holiday - and here's me and the other half on the leader board - ha! We had the best fun at the table - and the family birthdays were VERY lucky. 

OH YES, Miss Malinda at the top of the leader board - go me!

Sindhu for tea - the onboard Indian. They don't muck about with their portions and no, I couldn't even make a hole in this lot. But you can't miss the photo ops.

Incidentally - on the last formal night I had a korma here and it was the best one I have ever had in my life! I starved all day for it and I still couldn't finish even half!!

La Ceuta - never been there before but it was LOVELY and the weather is hotting up... The arms have come out, bugger the bingo wings.

Valletta the next day - arms, legs, everything's out now! Malta was my go-to place when I was younger. I had plans after uni to live here and teaching English... and what happened? I chickened out and became a bloody trainee accountant. The rest, as they say, is history. 

Glass House for tea... their 'little plates' which are just ideal when you don't fancy the full mashings of courses in the restaurant. Even the little plates were big enough.

And THIS is one of my two favourite people on the ship (although there were so many we grew fond of).  More about Dennis later. 

Messina isn't my favourite port, not unless you're going on a trip and we were heading back to the ship after a leg stretch instead of hanging around but we decided to just stay until 12 to see the 'astronomical clock' that everyone was banging on about. If you'd told me I would be standing there with tears streaming down my face at a golden lion roaring and a golden cockerel cocking and figures moving and Ave Maria playing I would have laughed you out of town - but it was beautiful. And I was wrecked. Everyone was watching it as if we were witnessing a spaceship landing.

Then the second Italian port - Salerno and our only organised trip - Amalfi. I didn't want to come home. The OH didn't ask the price of the famous lemon sorbet, (12 euros each!) but they were worth every penny... and we felt slightly better to find out some people had been charged 15 euros for smaller scooped out lemons and no seat. Heaven on earth. And boiling. Boiling and beautiful. Pics don't do it justice. How lovely to be hanging out of your window in the morning and saying 'Ooh look where I live.' If you have seen the Equaliser 3, you'll know what I mean about how blissful this stretch of Italy is. Also watch Equaliser 3 for a million other reasons.

Next Civitavecchia - though we've been to Rome a lot so decided to explore the port and have lasagne, pizza, white wine and a 'gelato' in the sun because they always taste better in Italy. Best coconut ice-cream the OH has ever had. He's not shut up about it ever since!

Goodbye Italy - hello Corsica! A Corsican food market and an antique fair, bliss walking around - and MY first ice-cream of the holiday and bloody gorgeous it was as well!

Napoleon was born in this very house!

So to Dennis and the wine-tasting morning he'd roped us into. We thought we'd get a little taster glass... but nope, full on five glasses and cheese and crackers - we were totally ballocksed. It was the best Sunday I've had in ages. Though I must confess, I had a little gulpy moment when we both realised it was Father's Day and we raised a glass. It's the first holiday when I've not got into port and rang my parents to tell them how we're getting on which was odd. And the OH lost his dad just before I lost mum so it's been a sad few years and we needed to smile a bit. 

Lovely dining companions - you always meet some great people on ships! 

And then onto Alicante - which was magnifico: blue seas, blue skies, syrup-yellow sun... hot hot hot... and just the place for having a shop, a walk and then a jug of Spain's best - sangria. 

And then a lovely double Grand Marnier in the gentleman's bar (yes they let us in) and here is Rony who is very good at selfies. And talking.

The last port was busy Lisbon... and you just have to have the Pastel de Nata there. Oh my god, they put the ones you get over here in their place! And they're warm. I don't even like custard. Dear lord above, I wolfed it. And another (be rude not to - disrespectful to Portuguese pastry chefs not to show public enjoyment).

And then two lovely sea days in which the weather got slowly cloudier and cooler but the seas stayed calm and people began to disembark and security had to drag me off the ship.

I am not sure having done 19 days that 14 will ever be enough again - it was a perfect length. Full of joy and more importantly REST because if we felt like a nap, we'd take one without thinking 'I shouldn't be doing this, I should be cleaning/working/shopping...' So nice to let yourself off the hook. All we had to think about was ourselves and what pair of shorts we were putting on that morning. One trip to the laundry only to wash some smalls - my it can be a passionate place there. Two old blokes arguing over a basket - ha! I got in like the SAS, did what I had to and left pronto.

Perfect holiday, as always. It was just wonderful to be back on a ship, they haven't lost their magic for me. Each to his own, of course, but we like the smaller ships, adult only - I've done my stint mixing with the yoof. I feel as if I'm dropped ten years. A bit of fresh air and sunshine and some laps around the deck to keep the old knee from stiffening and I'm restored.

Oh and if you're reading this and thinking 'Cruises aren't for me. I'd be squashed/confined, I don't like crowds, I couldn't do with that sort of holiday'... I was once that person. And so was my OH, who said he'd 'hate it on a ship' when we met. So I took him on a short taster one. Now he's on the bus home looking up where we can go next.