Experience the Magic of the Northern Lights on a Cruise Ship

 itself is magical. The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, are one of nature’s most dazzling spectacles. Witnessing the glowing ribbons of green, red, purple and blue lights dancing across the night sky is truly an unforgettable experience. For many, seeing the northern lights is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. One of the best ways […]

Gibraltar in a Cruise Ship Day

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It overlooks the Strait of Gibraltar and is bordered by Spain to the north. At just 2.6 square miles, it is one of the smallest territories in the world, but it packs in plenty of sights and activities for visitors […]

Barcelona in a Cruise Ship Day

Harry Pope

Barcelona is a vibrant city with so much to see and do that it can be overwhelming trying to fit it all into one day. But with some planning, it is possible to hit many of the highlights and get a good taste of what this amazing city has to offer. Start your day in […]

Celebrate a Ruby Anniversary, with a Cruise with Fred Olsen

We have now been married with our Golden Anniversary, I wrote this in 2013 when we were so much younger. Both of us have lost considerable weight in the intervening years, so be kind when you look at the photos. Some said our marriage would never work (no names, but she was female, and closely […]

Marrakech, January 2023 (Part 2) by Chris Ackrill

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Welcome to Part 2 of my holiday journal. In Part 1, my wife and I started a Winter break to the sun. We’re in Marrakech in Morocco, and we’re planning a trip to the Atlantic coast at Essaouira.   Won’t Get Fooled Again… …though we probably will. Everyone gets scammed in the medina eventually. On Tuesday […]

Marrakech, January 2023 (Part 1) by Chris Ackrill

CA Cafe de FRance 2

A winter break with sunshine – brilliant! The only thing I was nervous about was getting from the airport to the accommodation, and then negotiating the dark alleys of the old town to find somewhere to eat on our arrival. There were taxis operating outside the arrivals hall, but there was no discernible ranking system. […]

Cruise Virgins – Checking in, by Harry Pope

Wonder of the Seas

You are there at the port, looking up at your home for the next few days or so. As you are a cruise virgin, it’s unlikely you will have been so close to a cruise ship before. My, but it’s big. Especially if it’s one of the newer ones, such as P&O’s Arvia or Iona, […]

Cruise Virgins, by Harry Pope

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This is the first in a series of articles about what to do when you go on your first cruise. Just because you might be an experienced cruiser, carry on reading because it could be interesting in any case. As an English writer inevitably my articles are about European cruising, but a lot of the […]

World Cup Travel Bucket List by Chris Ackrill

I’m going to compile a holiday bucket list. The idea came when I was watching the World Cup and I began to wonder what goes on in some of those mysterious faraway places. I realised I’d already visited sixteen countries, whose teams started the World Cup: Wales, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, […]

Camera Obscura on Eastbourne pier

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Written in 2019 Walk onto Eastbourne’s 1870 pier, and you won’t be aware of a hidden history that hides behind locked doors. It’s called a Camera Obscura. The pier was originally built as a promenade out to sea, no buildings, but when it suffered extensive storm damage on January 1st 1877 capital was required to […]