VIKING OCEAN CRUISES- ROYAL VIKING LINE MARK TWO?

There is little doubt that the ongoing emergence of Viking Ocean Cruises has absolutely galvanised interest in cruise travel on a scale unseen for many decades. The whole concept has distinctly nostalgic overtones, wrapped in a state of the art modern package, and deliberately marketed to evoke memories of a more exclusive, intimate cruise experience. Simply and unashamedly, the company draws inspiration from an illustrious, very storied predecessor.

in the annals of vanished cruising legends, the Royal Viking Line evokes a level of whimsical nostalgia perhaps equalled only by the equally salubrious French Line. The company was established by Warren Titus in the early 1970’s with one simple aim; to create the most elegant and exclusive cruise experience available to passengers anywhere.

He envisaged, and then delivered, a trio of stunningly elegant sisters, suffused in Scandinavian chic from bow to stern, that would offer spacious accommodation and gracious service at the pinnacle of luxury cruising. Those three sister ships were, of course, the Royal Viking Sea, Royal Viking Star, and Royal Viking Sky.

This tremendous, triumphant trio succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. The three sister ships became the collective benchmark for elegant travel, and the first choice of the savvy, sophisticated cruising elite that demanded nothing but the very best. Just as likely to turn up at Tromso as Tahiti, the three sister ships carved out a niche in modern maritime history that every subsequent luxury cruise line- from Crystal to Silversea- has aspired to ever since. They truly were game changers.

The sheer, enduring excellence and elegance of their design is borne out by the fact that all three vessels are still in service for other lines, more than forty years after their original genesis. And, despite no longer being the sybaritic showstoppers that they once were, each of these three wonderful ships is still instantly distinctive as ex-RVL royalty.

Titus emphasised space, splendour, and matchless cuisine and service as the bench marks for his three sisters. And now, like a modern day echo heeding that timeless old call, a new class of vessel is gradually taking shape, echoing those age old standards in a series of new, yet startlingly familiar sister ships.

Viking Ocean Cruises is the long anticipated offshoot of the hugely successful river cruise line. It combines the polished, Scandinavian flair of the original RVL with the best features and attributes of the river cruise experience that Viking has come to dominate to such a large extent.

Again, the company decided on a trio of congenial, compatible sister ships. The first of these- the 48,000 ton Viking Star- entered service last year, to reams of critical acclaim from passengers and travel trade alike.

Just the appearance of the ship drew awed gasps from the not easily impressed. There it was once again- that graceful, sharply raked prow that had been the trademark of the Titus trio, and the single proud funnel, placed just aft of midships. The hull- as brilliantly white as an Arctic glacier- hinted at the cool, pristine perfection of those classically styled Scandinavian interiors. In almost every respect, Viking Star is a graceful, beautifully executed nod to her three predecessors.

Next year will see a pair of sister ships- Viking Sea and Viking Star- that will round out the initial fleet (though there is an option for a fourth vessel in the class). Between them, this trio of vessels will take passengers ‘back to the future’ with a kind of intimate, endearing twist of the old days. In so many ways, this is Royal Viking 2.0.

And yet….

This new trio of ships offers a natural, luxurious progression from those 1970’s built ships that makes them as salubrious and state of the art as can be. Every single cabin- and even the smallest measures in at a capacious 270 square feet- comes with its own private balcony. In the old RVL days, balconies on cruise ships were almost non existent.

The symmetry between Royal Viking of old and Viking Ocean of new is hardly a happy accident. Viking CEO, Torstein Hagen, was actually the CEO of Royal Viking Line between 1980 and 1984.

In a mirror image of their river going siblings, the Viking Ocean trio will also offer a full, complimentary range of shore excursions, and many overnight stays in ‘greatest hits’ ports such as Bergen and Barcelona. This is intended to make them fully competitive with the likes of Azamara Club Voyages and Oceania- lines that Viking Ocean will inevitably be compared to.

Viking Ocean will also offer complimentary beer and wine with both lunch and dinner- just like the river boats and another rival operator, Voyages to Antiquity. This is not quite the fully inclusive largesse of, say, Regent or Seadream and, if the line is to really raise it’s game, then fully all inclusive is a must do. For now, this is not the case.

Viking chairmen, Torstein Hagen, has been smart enough to conceive a trio of classically cool, state of the art vessels that are already garnering a tidal wave of attention in the travel industry. Like their RVL predecessors, they emphasise superb food and personal service in casually spectacular surroundings.

But these ‘new’ Vikings offer a whole range of indoor and alfresco dining options that the old RVL trio never did. This is not so much revolution, more the evolution of a classically elegant kind of style and service.

All things in, Viking Ocean is a very alluring prospect; a kind of ‘less is more’ sense of enhanced elegance, shorn of casinos, rock climbing walls and roller rinks, and instead suffused in a cocoon of expansive style and space, in ships that are large enough to be eminently seaworthy, and yet still remaining intimate enough to make fast in the smaller, more exclusive ports that their larger competitors will be obliged to sail past.

Something old, something new, on an ocean that remains eternally blue. A subtle revival and the ageless thrills of a stylish arrival. Hagen is clearly onto something here.

The question is; will anybody else follow in his wake?

From Greenland to Genoa, Viking Ocean Cruises is ushering in a new kind of ocean going exploration.

VENICE IN WINTER- A PRACTICAL ALTERNATIVE

There’s no question that Venice is one of the most stunning, wonderful and unique cities anywhere on the planet. The fantastic brew of imposing Palladian palaces lining canals sprinkled with gondolas that flirt with the crowds of tourists that throng the streets, winding alleys and vast, imposing squares of La Serenissima, is only part of the charm of this amazing sea city.

Venice is irresistible gelato, café concerto orchestras swinging lushly through Strauss waltzes in the sweltering heat of summertime Piazza San Marco, and swarms of fattened pigeons looming against a flaring purple twilight, as dusk steals across the waters of ancient Guidecca. A million sights, sounds and sensations, all wrapped up in impossibly beautiful- and often painfully overcrowded- surroundings.

And, of course, most people are inevitably drawn to this magnificent melting pot in the long, warm summer months. Add into the mix the regular arrival of several cruise ships, disgorging literally thousands of day visitors into the scheme of things, and you begin to understand why exploring Venice in the summer can sometimes be as much of a trial as a treat.

There is one, potential way to circumvent all this; have you ever thought of visiting Venice in the winter?

For sure, the city will be a lot colder, and at times perhaps even freezing. But consider the vast, serene stance of this amazing sea city, dusted with a fresh blanket of powder white snow, and you begin to comprehend the possibility of something truly magical.

Imagine the vast, magnificent expanse of Piazza San Marco, bathed in the glow of lights shimmering on early evening snow, as bells toll over the great square. Perhaps see a stately, mysterious fog swirling like so many agitated wraiths around the Campanile, the famous bell tower, or the ice encrusted prows of rows of petrified gondolas as they sit stiffly at attention, crying out for the warm sun to thaw them out.

February is also the month of Carnevale (literal translation; goodbye to meat) when the entire city takes on a kind of quasi ethereal feel, and the shades of Casanova and Machiavelli lurk among the winding alleys and cafes thronged by hordes of masked revellers. For those who associate the carnival season with warmer, sunnier climes, the chic, chilly Venetian equivalent would prove to be a truly intriguing contrast, indeed.

So yes, Venice will be cold during winter, and often foggy, too. But the great city out of season is not one bit less magnificent. And, in many ways, she can be even more alluring.

Crowds will be much thinner, so getting ‘up close and personal’ to your must see list of Venetian masterpieces will be a whole lot easier, and infinitely more rewarding. Shorn of her heaving, summer time hugger mugger, Venice is an amazing, medieval theme park, shrouded in bridal white, that still fills your sights and senses with wonders on an epic, ageless scale.

Needless to say, you can always do some of the famous, touristy things right through the winter. You can still enjoy a Bellini in Harry’s Bar, where the legendary cocktail was invented, or take a motor boat across the lagoon to the famous glass making island of Murano. Again, odds are that you can do it in considerably more peace and quiet- a side of Venice that many people simply never get to see, feel, or breathe. And yet, for at least four months each year, this is the reality of life in the city.

Winter reveals the city’s treasures in a different, colder, and yet kinder frame of light. When watery sunshine spills out across the misty surface of the lagoon, the play of light on water can be nothing short of bewitching.

Gradually, yet inevitably, the sun begins to climb higher in the sky. Cafes begin to open out cautiously on the waterfront; the sagging, sodden covers come off gondolas long shrouded against the long winter months. Slowly but surely, La Serenissima blinks herself awake from her mellow winter slumber, and steels herself for the returning throngs that the lighter days and nights will soon bring.

Venice is, and always has been, a city for all seasons. And, like any city, there are pros and cons for visiting at any time of year. The purpose of this blog is to hopefully make you aware that winter, too, offers some wonderful possibilities in this most beguiling of cities. Enjoy!

Venice is most definitely worth considering as a year round destination

INDOLENT ITALY- DREAMING WIDE AWAKE

Italy. Just say it. It sounds good. It feels exotic. A land as full of temptations as any Venetian coffee house, and one no less surprising in terms of sheer, splendid variety.

Consider wandering the streets of ancient Rome, one of the greatest cities on earth. You can drink Chianti and feast on prosciutto within sight of the hulking, ruined grandeur of the Coliseum, where men once literally fought for their lives, while swarms of scooters buzz past like swarms of maddened wasps.

You could savour the wonderful, indolent dolce vita lifestyle on the Olympian, lemon scented heights of stunning Sorrento, where people watching is an art form in itself. Or you could head down to the waterfront lidos, jutting out like spindly fingers into the azure blue hue of the balmy Mediterranean.

History and hedonism combine perfectly in vast, atmospheric Venice, where a glut of slowly crumbling, cake rich renaissance palaces, churches and theatres line vast, meandering canals where gondolas pout at the masses of summer tourists. Sample a real Bellini at Harry’s Bar, where the famous drink was originally invented, or take in the sounds of a full orchestra as you sip café in the unparalleled elegance of Piazza San Marco.

Something more tranquil, perhaps? Head for the vast, sparkling expanse of Lake Como, where million dollar villas peep out from amid vast tracts of deep, rolling greenery. Savour cocktails on the terrace of some wonderful old Grand Hotel, as the slowly setting sun turns the waters of the lake into  a sea of blazing straw.

For a real taste of Italian flair and style, check out tiny, picture perfect Portofino, a serene sweep of old Italianate architecture in shades of ochre and terracotta, wrapped around a sublime, yacht studded harbour like an elegant charm bracelet. People wearing sun glasses worth the entire national debt of small third world country pick at freshly caught fish and mouth watering paella.

For quirky history, meander up to small, patrician Pisa and gaze in awe at the infamous Bell Tower, the Campanile, shearing a full dozen feet from the vertical. Nearby is Florence, with its fabled Statue of David, world class museums, and the amazing medieval shopping arcade on the old bridge, spanning the mighty Arno.

You could check out the countryside of rustic, rolling Tuscany, with its smart, secluded villas and small, timeless towns, where houses still cluster around the bell tower of the local church as if for safety. Here, life seems to take on a timeless, otherworldly kind of quality.

This is just a small sample in the box of delights that is summertime Italy. Get out there and enjoy them. Live la dolce vita for yourself, and experience the difference between merely existing and truly living. Wonderful stuff.

Pisa

EASYJET’S NEW SUMMER 2015 ROUTES FROM NEWCASTLE

As part of a continual, rolling programme of summer flights from regional airports across the UK, Easyjet has announced a pair of enticing new destinations from Newcastle.

A new, weekly flight to Rhodes will take off effective from June 4th, with one way fares on offer from £30.99 one way.

Another new service to Corfu- again on a weekly basis- will commence effective of June 7th, with one way fares priced from £23.99.

Taking off at a slight tangent- quite literally- the airline will also offer summer services to the Croatian coastal city of Split, with flights on Tuesdays and Saturdays. This service commences from June 2nd, and offers one way fares from £26.99.

If something not quite so sizzling and more distinctly cooler is your choice, then Easyjet is now also adding a new, year round service to Geneva from £17.99 each way.

Easyjet these days now offers assigned seating on all flights, and these new short flights provide the possibility for an exhilarating short break in some of the most perennially alluring islands in the summertime Aegean, or even the possibility of a short, exhilarating weekend break along one of the greatest cities of the Croatian Riviera.

As for the Geneva flights, these should prove hugely popular with the ski-ing fraternity, or even those who just like the idea of buying a rail pass and travelling through the exhilarating Swiss landscape at a more sedate pace.

With matchless ease of convenient access by road, metro and air, Newcastle Airport is one of the most welcoming and hassle free airports anywhere in the mainland United Kingdom.

Exciting times for both Easyjet and Newcastle. As ever, stay tuned.

Newcastle is an increasingly important centre for Easyjet

MY TRAVEL BUCKET LIST; PROBLEMS AND PANACEAS

I think most people consider the idea of a ‘bucket list’ of things they would like to do, experiences that they would like to try or, most often, places they would like to see as part of some kind of ‘greatest hits’ highlights of their lives. Once achieved and ‘ticked off’, these things mark our progress through life like so many emotional lightning rods. They connect us to those moments when we raised our game, rose above the everyday, and went for the things that really mattered on some deep, undeniable level to ourselves, rather than just being blindly channelled and herded in some direction by the people and events swirling around us.

Trust me, travel writers are no different. The more I see of the world, the more I realise how little that I have actually seen. It’s like peeling an onion; once you begin, you suddenly realise that you’ve embarked on a mission that’s going to take forever. And, in terms of travel, that’s a shockingly good analogy- though not one I can take credit for.

The one thing I have come to realise about my ‘bucket list’ is that I am going to need a bigger bucket. I had naively assumed that, by this phase of my life, I would have ticked all my main boxes, lived my dreams, done my share of smiling in the sunshine. And, up to a point, I have.

But by it’s very nature, travel is not about standing or sitting still, is it?

So, I got to considering the things that I would still like to do and, purely in a spirit of fantastical conjecture, here are a couple of things that I’m flinging without either fear, shame, or the vaguest concept of when- or even if they might ever happen- into my bucket. Here we go….

SAILING DOWN TO RIO

Rio. Just say it. It rolls off your tongue like a Salsa parade, and tastes as damned fine as the most potent caipirinha. Sultry, alluring, sun kissed and stunning, Rio is one of the great, must see destinations of the world.

But flying there? Nah. Not for moi….

Such an epic destination should be the climax of an epic odyssey. And, of all the cities on the planet, the great sea-city that is Rio De Janeiro deserves to be approached in the most dramatic and apt way possible. From the sea….

Consider even the idea of sailing from Italy in late October, just as Europe begins to sag into yet another cold, melancholy, pre winter gloom. Take some big, spectacular Italian cruise ship and set out through the Mediterranean. Swing out west, through the Pillars of Hercules, and set course for the Canary Islands, the open Atlantic and, at the end of all that, landfall in South America.

Imagine the days getting longer, warmer and more welcoming as you unwind on board, surging south west over the Equator. And, at journey’s end, there is the hallowed, matchless approach to the great city itself. In, past the looming bulk of Corcovado, past Sugar Loaf Mountain, and into that stunning bay. An epic journey that cries out to be achieved in epic style. And, let’s face it- you can’t scrimp on something as sassy, sultry and downright dramatic as that.

ACROSS AMERICA BY RAIL

Now this one is arguably the daddy of them all…

I’d fly straight to Los Angeles, stay for a couple of nights on the venerable old Queen Mary, and take in a few days of the fresh, vital sunshine on Manhattan Beach, before boarding one of those fantastic, implausible, double decker Amtrak trains for the ultimate voyage; coast to coast, with a series of spectacular city stays en route.

Over a couple of weeks, I’d watch the vast, natural smorgasbord of North America unfold from my seat like a succession of spectacular drum rolls. Mountain ranges and rolling prairies, great gushing rivers and tracts of bone dry desert. Great, concrete forests of glass and steel…

We’ll roll across mighty bridges and into flaring purple and yellow sunsets. And, like fantastic exclamation marks, I’d take a couple of nights in, say, sultry, sassy New Orleans and cool, classy Chicago. Anyone detecting a bit of a jazzy vibe here?

There would be time in beautiful, patrician Philadelphia before the final arrival in the greatest city in the world- New York. And, as the train shuddered to a halt at Penn Station, there would surely be the feeling of having completed an epic adventure.

But that is not the end of it. Oh, no. My sense of wanderlust is a bit gilt edged these days. And, in one final flourish, I would take the Queen Mary 2 back to Southampton.

Think about that; seven lazy, languid, highly styled days on the last great Atlantic liner, making the most timeless and peerless of all voyages. Unburdened with ports of call or any other diversion, I would have seven full days to absorb the full, magnificent scale of the entire trip.

In the words of the great Al Green; simply beautiful.

So; what floats your boat, then?

QM2. Because second best is sometimes just not good enough.

THE AGELESS LURE OF THE CRUISE LINER….

Even now, there is something about putting to sea on a ship that just feels so timeless and right compared to being  on any other form of transport.

Yes, that’s a pretty damned profound statement, and it’s one that not everyone is going to agree with. But in defence of such a statement, I’d offer the following as an explanation…..

No one would argue that a jet plane is infinitely quicker and more convenient as a form of mass transport. Which is why liners are largely extinct in the first place. And there are many jet airliners, both past and present, that have been extremely beautiful in terms of appearance.

But nothing for me has the instant drama and majesty of a cruise ship or an ocean liner, or it’s subtle, wondrous progression from a shimmering, implausible mass tethered briefly to a pier, to a fabulous floating wonderland, ablaze with light and music, progressing in state beneath a sky ablze with stars, or lunging gamely towards a flaring sunset, chasing a horizon that it can never, ever reach. No other form of transport presents itself with such dramatic flair, symmetry or sheer poise.

And, while take off on many flights is indeed an adrenaline surge, it is not one that compares with the subtle, beguiling thrill of putting to sea from Barcelona, Genoa or New York on a warm summer night. A beautiful evening, a cold drink to hand, music in the air and the gentle vibration of deck under foot as the gap between ship and shore widens almost imperceptibly- these things are powerful magic, a series of sensations passed down through the ages. They still have the power even today to move people on more than one level.

And it’s the sounds, too. Give me the subtle, seductive sound of deep ocean swishing alongside some sound, sturdy hull standing out on its course to who knows where, rather than the antiseptic interior of yet another transatlantic jet, with its forced smiles and food regulo five.

And yes, many of my friends are just as passionate about planes and, indeed, trains and cars as I am about ships. Which is fine because, if we were all the same, life and how we engage with it would be dull indeed.

And, while there are many charges that even the most ill informed of people can level against sea travel, the idea that it is ‘dull’ is certainly not one of them. The only way not to enjoy a sea voyage is to embark in a sealed, wooden box.

An endless voyage, across a succession of seas ranging from the sublime to the outright stormy, on a series of stunning, elegant vessels, each one as distinctive as a human fingerprint, each as elegant as a charm bracelet.

That’s why I love sea travel.

Timeless and never tiresome. The ocean rolls on in it’s endless, fascinating panorama

THINGS I MISS FROM CRUISE TRAVEL

Ah, nostalgia. It’s not what it used to be, is it?

Being an alleged gentleman of a certainly undeniable age, I have been looking back lately at my thirty-odd years of cruising and sailing history through a pair of (Mateus) rose tinted glasses. We can all be wistful with wine and, with hindsight, we become uncommonly wise at times, too.

I am also mindful that I am slowly slipping into a kind of mental quicksand that I define as ‘Victor Meldrew syndrome’; a kind of crusty, sporadically grumpy stupor that has less and less tolerance for the so called ‘hip’ and ‘cool’ of the new. For me, the beneficial onward march of technology peaked with the corkscrew.

In that frame of mind, I came to contemplate some of the things I miss from the good old days of cruising. Feel free to sing along if you know the words…..

PAPER STREAMERS

Scarlet ribbons, scarlet ribbons.. not just scarlet, but every damned colour under the rainbow. How wonderful it was to behold that technicolor torrent of streamers that rained down the soaring flank of some departing cruise ship or liner on sailing day! What fun to aim our fragile paper arrows at friends, family, or indeed anybody that took our fancy. Gone now.

I get it, too; sweeping up that tidal wave of multi hued detritus must have been an arduous, truly soul destroying job for the poor, broom wielding chaps clutching their brooms on the pier. Each one a little King Canute, desperately attempting to keep down a rising tide of coloured tat.

Of course, it is so called ‘environmental concerns’ that did away with this spiffy, life affirming little sailing ritual. But, in the immortal words of the prophets called Madness, ‘Oh, what fun we had’….

ACTUAL TICKET WALLETS

Oh, the moment that your travel agent would write or call to tell you that your travel documents had arrived.

Opening them was like being a kid on Christmas Day all over again. Ridiculous excitement; the herald of good times ahead, writ large in brightly coloured baggage tags and wrapped in faux leather. I pored over every bit of witless, written inanity as if it were the text of the Bible itself. Shore excursion options! Order your on board champagne! Flowers in your room!

Now it’s all e-docs; uniform, alien and utterly lifeless. It’s as if Simon Cowell had been put in charge of streamlining the whole process.  And printing out, cutting and sellotaping your luggage labels? Dear God, give me strength.

Mind you, the spiffy lines still do the whole, magnificent show with proper, apt aplomb. On those days, Victor tends to vanish, and my olden, oft missed sunny disposition surfaces and smiles. Worth having just for that.

POST CARDS

Yes, yes, I know you can buy them now. And also that some ships do still offer them in the folder in your cabin. But at one time they were gratis, easy to grab, and available for all. Small, pretty, and giving you that perfect, airbrushed view that you could never usually get pier side, or from a tender doing its own, unique version of rock and roll at any given anchor port.

OK, that’s it for now. Anything that you miss? Let me know, and let’s be one in our global grumpiness.

NORWEGIAN OFFERS ALL INCLUSIVE; JOINS CARNIVAL AND ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Silversea; the very definition of ‘all incluisve’

With the news today that Norwegian Cruise Line is to introduce an all inclusive drinks and dining package next year right across their full range of thirteen ships, the line becomes the latest in an increasing list of mainstream cruise operators that have gone down that route in the last few years. This headlong charge toward being fully inclusive has gained startling momentum over recent years, and yet has been little remarked on.

For two decades, all inclusive was the sole preserve of upscale operators such as Silversea, Seadream and Seabourn. Eventually, their direct competitors- Regent and Crystal- were dragged kicking and screaming down the fully inclusive footpath. Recently, deluxe operator, Hapag Lloyd Cruise Lines started offering ‘beverage credits’ on board Europa 2 for UK passengers. Fully inclusive here, too, is almost certainly just a matter of time.

But the ‘big boys’ have taken a lot longer to respond. Actually, ‘all inclusive’ packages have been available as add-ons on some European cruise lines, and mainly on European itineraries, for a lot of years now. Louis Cruises in particular has been offering optional add-on packages for a long time, although with the caveat that the packages are only valid from 1000-0200 each day. Anything served before or after charged extra. Mind you, that would surely be far and away long enough for most, especially on such destination intensive short cruises.

MSC Cruises bit the bullet very early on in it’s giddy ascent towards becoming a player, offering a series of soft and alcoholic drinks packages that also folded in such treats as ice cream, and these proved tremendously popular. So much so that principal rival, Costa Cruises, did something similar. Out in the Far East, Star Cruises has offered an add on, all inclusive policy since its inception in the 90’s.

Carnival now offers a form of all inclusive package

But, as so often before, the big game changer came when Carnival first trialed, and then rolled out, the first all inclusive, optional add ons across its vast fleet of Caribbean Fun Ships. This has been such a success that first, Royal Caribbean and now, Norwegian, has followed suit.

There has been some reluctance in certain quarters to go down this route. I suggested it as an option to one mainstream line a couple of years ago, and was told immediately that it would not happen.

Well, now it has.

What of the British based lines, I hear you say? Well, Thomson Cruises operates as an all inclusive package for many cruises but, baffling to report, they continue to charge an extra tariff on some itineraries to upgrade to all inclusive. As a product, it needs to be more uniform than it currently is.

Most surprising to my mind was when Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines put together an inclusive package, charged at a very reasonable £10 a day premium. For this most traditional of lines, this is a savvy bit of forward thinking. Cunard and P&O have not yet shown any interest in pursuing a similar policy, but that will probably change as well.

These inclusive, add on packages often come with certain caveats. Typically, all occupants of a cabin must buy the package and, as a rule of thumb, only one drink will be served at a time.  And most of these packages are not truly ‘all inclusive’; premium brands, champagnes and fine wines will certainly attract a surcharge, though often considerably less than the actual per drink cost.

And now Norwegian has joined in the fun….

Personally, I consider the bulk of these mainstream enhancements as just that- enhancements, rather than truly all inclusive. The actual ‘all inclusive’ product as we know it remains pretty much the preserve of the handful of boutique lines named at the top of this piece.

CRUISE SHIP FOOD; A PICTORIAL MENU….

Your table awaits….

Ah, cruise ship food. Still the number one topic of discussion, dissection and, indeed, digestion, on any vessel at sea. Whether we’re talking about the three star ships or the sublime, six star exclusive resorts, the on board obsession with food- from dawn till dusk and beyond- continues to dominate our voyages.

Of course, it’s never simply about actual taste. Presentation, service and room ambiance are just as much ingredients of any shipboard meal as the food itself. Each is an ingredient in what is- hopefully- a series of elegant repasts on an ocean, where sea air naturally sharpens the appetite to perfection.

Bountiful breakfasts. Languid lunches. Delicious dinners, even mouth watering midnight snacks. All are potential high points in cruising’s global pantheon of taste.  But it is always that sensational first sight of your meal order that really sets the anticipation running like tap water.

With that in mind, here’s some foodie photographs from on board different ships. Stuff that looked so good, it begged to be immortalised in film. Stuff that looked too good to be eaten until it had been snapped.

Well, thanks to that wonderful invention called the digital camera, now you can have your cake and eat it, too.

Bon Apetit!

Ice cream treat, Regent style

Dessert, Carnival steak house style

Snacking on Regent

How about a little dessert? Or a lot…

Culinary excellence is standard on Silversea

Piggy was appreciated by all.

Silversea version of continental breakfast

Breakfast starter. Lamb chops to follow

Fabulous Russian lunchtime feast

A=Rosa Flora lunch buffet

All the bread was fresh baked daily

Yum-tastic buffet on the Rhine

Outdoor lunch buffet goodies

Crepes and cakes. Peachy, no?

Exquisite presentation on Europa 2

Caviar starter to a stunning alfresco dinner

Oh chocolate, be my guiding star….

Kobe Beef nirvana on Regent

Flashing blades in Teppanyaki……

 

TRAVEL 2014- MY BEST BITS SO FAR

St. Thomas, Caribbean

2014 has been a banner year for me for sure; more diverse and unpredictable in terms of travel and sights seen than for many a long year past. From Caribbean beaches to Budapest cafe society, 2014 has not been short on adventure so far.

I kicked off at the end of January with a welcome return to the balmy waters of the Caribbean, on an eight night Carnival Breeze cruise out of Miami. After the long, leaden British winter, it was sheer poetry to feel cold beer in my hand, and warm sand between my toes at the same time. Gorgeous stuff.

The spring equinox marked a long overdue return to the Nile, after an absence of fourteen years. Drifting idly in the gilded wakes of Akhenaton and Cleopatra is still like being awake in a living, moving dream. And the monolithic remains of what was once the greatest civilisation in history, strung out along both banks of the surprisingly verdant river, stir the soul and the psyche on some unfathomable, yet undeniable level. if you are tired of Egypt, you may very well be tired of life itself.

Next came my first ever cruise along the mighty Rhine. Heading north from fabled, imperial Cologne, we spent a week sauntering around a string of Dutch and Belgian delights. I found myself overwhelmed by the taut, sturdy, majesty of beautiful Hoorn, and by the cake rich glut of expansive Gothic architecture in stately, patrician Antwerp.

But few things beat arriving in Arnhem, the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War, and walking over the famous, resurrected ‘Bridge too far’ that was the focus of the entire bloody fiasco. A hair raising, sobering moment that will stay with me as long as I live.

July gave me the opportunity to take a long anticipated, weekend swing out to lively, lavish Budapest; a beautiful, colossal statement of ancient imperial ambition that rolls out along both banks of the Danube like some amazing ceremonial carpet. It was a chance to catch up with old friends, and savour superb local food and wine in this genteel, Art Nouveau suffused city. In the long, light summer nights, it really was love at first sight. I cannot wait to return.

And then, north to Norway. And how! Take a real ocean liner- the legendary Marco Polo – now working as a sedate, Art Deco dream of a cruise ship, one where the numbers on board are measured in hundreds rather than thousands. Throw in the most amazing and versatile big band- all twenty of  ’em- that I have ever heard in my life, and set a course for what is arguably the most stunning scenic smorgasbord on earth.

Bring on the fabled, pine draped fjords of old Norway one after another, like a conga line of classical actors playing out some ancient, incredible theatre. Garnish with amazing, long summer light and the occasional shower. Cue reindeer in the hills, and butterflies in the fauna. Snow on the mountain tops, and strawberry daiquiris in the hot tubs on board. An endless voyage into a land of trolls, witches and uneasy, half glimpsed ghosts. A true epic adventure.

And that’s where we are now. While there is much more to come- starting with Croatia next week- here’s hoping you enjoy this mix up of where I’ve been so far. The equivalent of an eighties mega mix, if you will.

Above all, enjoy the journey. Because if one thing remains true for me, it is this; it’s not so much always about where you go, as it is about how you get there. Bon voyage!

Magens Bay, St. Thomas

El Morro, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Winter? What winter?

Carnival Breeze at Grand Turk

Temple of Luxor, Egypt

The Nile is eternal

One of those amazing, ageless statues

Queen Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple

Temple of Philae, Aswan

Local transport, Antwerp, Belgium

Sunset over Hoorn hafen

‘A Bridge Too Far’, Arnhem

Sailing the springtime Rhine

 

Parliament building, Budapest

The Chain Bridge, Budapest

Cafe life, Budapest

The Fishermen’s Bastion, Budapest

Marco Polo, Eidfjord, Norway

Live like a local, Norway

Voringfoss waterfall, Norway

Good morning, Flam