A really nice guy who is working relentlessly for world peace (when sober) Read more Ashton-in-Makerfield, United Kingdom
  • Day 14

    Conclusions

    November 19, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Not a bad cruise, food average, cabin good, great location on deck 9 not far from the concierge lounge.
    Plenty of activities during the day, not that we did any of them.
    Extra stuff for pinnacle members was ok but nothing spectacular. Hotel director was SanJay Kumar, nice guy but you didn't see much of him.
    Hello Clo was the cruise director, she was lovely and visible every where.
    Over all the staff were very friendly and helpful.
    The evenings were spent in the Star Lounge and we had a great group of people, some of which were old friends and some of them new.
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  • Day 8

    Boston, United States

    November 13, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    Well after 6 straight days at sea, we finally arrived in Boston Massachusetts. As you will know this is where the American revolution started.
    This was my first time in Boston and I was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. One of the things I wanted to do was to walk the Freedom Trail. This is a walk you can do around the city seeing all the points of interest concerning the revolution. I managed to get only 3 of them in, mainly due to Mr Google and his maps not working very well on my phone. But I digress. I got to see the Old South Meeting House, which was where in 1773, 5000 men met to protest against the "tea tax" imposed by the British government. This culminated in the famous Boston Tea Party, were after the British government rejected their protest a group of the men, crept down to the south Boston port area and boarded the tea clippers and dumped the majority of the tea into the harbour, and this action basically started the American revolution.
    I also found the Old State House, which originally was the seat of British government before the revolution, and after became the office of the states first governor, John Hancock.
    It was also from the state house balcony that the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence was read on 18th July 1776.
    Just outside the State House is the site of the Boston Massacre, which is where a group of British Redcoats opened fire on an angry group of protesters, killing 5 of them. The British government described it as the "unhappy disturbance in Boston", but Paul Revere labelled it as the "Boston Massacre". The British soldiers where tried for murder, but were defended by John Adams, a young Boston lawyer, who was as loyal to the idea of justice as he was to the patriot cause.
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  • Day 7

    Beatles diamond gig

    November 12, 2017, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Karl and the lads from Beatles Celebration, we're on board from Southampton to Boston, and did the usual 3 spots in the theatre.
    And once again Karl offered to do an extra gig in the star lounge free of charge, for the diamond members. He's done this a number of times on previous cruises, and it's always appreciated.Read more

  • Day 4

    Quiet cruise

    November 9, 2017, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Well we are into day 4 of the crossing, and although it's been quite pleasant, it has also been quite uneventful.
    We had a nice meal on day 2 for suite guests and pinnacles.
    Up to now nice is the best word I can use to describe the cruise.
    Things might buck up as time goes on, there is 10 days to go after all.
    So for now here is a picture of the concierge lounge! Lol 😁
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  • Day 2

    Pleasant surprises

    November 7, 2017, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    With the amount of diamonds and above on the ship, the evening drinks have been moved from the diamond lounge, to the Star lounge.
    It's not my favourite location for evening drinks, but I know lots of people in there so that makes up for it.
    There have been a number of pleasant surprises as far as cruise friends go, for a start there's Nigel and Freda, George and James, who I've not seen for ages, also Helen Casson, David Harker, Andy and Jeanette, Heather and John, Terry And Jackie, and Karl Lornie from the Beatles Celebration. He'd actually told me that he wouldn't be able to make it as he was booked to go on the Radiance! The lying bugger. Also there is an American couple, Cheryl and keiry who we met on the Explorer on the transpacific cruise we did in April 2016. So with that lot on board it should be a great cruise.
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  • Day 1

    Coach to Southampton

    November 6, 2017 in England ⋅ ☀️ 3 °C

    Well, up to now the coach journey has been good.
    The check in at the coach station was great and very quick, we got on the first coach to leave and we are making good time, despite having to come off the motorway at Stoke to avoid an accident.
    Back on now and halfway down the toll road.
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  • Day 11

    La Spezia, Italy

    September 27, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Today we where back in La Spezia, and this time I decided to have a walk up to the Castle of St George,high above the town.
    It was built in the 14th century as a defence for the town of La Spezia, but nowadays it is an archaeological museum.
    The walk up there is quite a hike, but well worth it, as the views of the city and the harbour are beautiful.
    Also there is a pretty park that you can walk through as an alternative to the steps, you end up at the castle whichever route you take and the park, although slightly longer is very pleasant.
    The museum itself was closed at the time I was up there, but even so it was a pleasant if strenuous walk up.
    I stumbled upon a small modern funicular type lift that could be taken to get you back down to the lower street level, which I gratefully took.
    On the way back to the ship I took a stroll through the Giardini Pubblici, which quite simply translates to Public Gardens, which are beautiful and run along the sea front back to the port.
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  • Day 9

    La Seyne-sur-Mer, France

    September 25, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    This was the docking port for the cruise ships visiting Toulon, which was a short ferry ride across the bay.
    As I'd never been to either place, I decided to give the ferry a miss and have a mooch around La Seyne sur Mer itself. As I left the ship I could see that I'd probably made the right choice, as the queue for the ferry was quite long.
    It was a pleasant 15 minute walk from the ship to town. Just before the town proper, I came across quite a nice park called Parc De La Navale, which although not a particularly pretty park, is very pleasant, and has lovely views across the bay.
    At the far end of the park is the Pont basculant de la Seyne-sur-Mer, which is where I was heading for.
    It is an old railway lift bridge 🌉 which was used to get trains across the bay to Toulon. It is permanently vertical these days, and has been turned in to a 44 metres tall, observation platform, and is a tourist attraction.
    You take a lift up to the top where the views of the town, the harbour and surrounding area are beautiful.
    You then walk down the stairs where you come across a small museum platform which houses the original engines that used to raise and lower the bridge, all in all it's well worth a look, and best of all the whole thing is free.
    After that I strolled further into the town, which is very quaint and typically old French, with narrow winding streets and beautiful old buildings. I came across a church called  Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Voyage, which translates to Our Lady of the good voyage.
    It is a fairly plain church inside compared to some I've been in, but does have impressive gothic arches.
    Quite a nice little town which I will explore more if I come again.
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  • Day 8

    Mirador del Poble-sec Park Barcelona

    September 24, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    After the slight disappointment of the graffiti park I had a walk to another place I'd seen on the map, namely Mirador del Poble-sec Park, it is a public park set part way up Montjuïc which is a big hill or small mountain that overlooks the port of Barcelona on one side and the city on the other.
    It's quite a hike but well worth it for the views.
    I made it up to the port cable car station right by the Miramar hotel, which gave me some great views. I only scratched the surface today, as there is much more to see up there.
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  • Day 8

    Jardins de le 3 Xemeneies Barcelona

    September 24, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Well it's turn around day today, so, I decided to have a mooch around Barcelona, but not around La Ramblas.
    I picked out on the map, a park called Jardins de le 3 Xemeneies. This means Gardens of the 3 Chimneys and is built on the site of an early 20th century power station, and is is one of five official graffiti parks in Barcelona, where graffiti artists can officially display their talents, they just have to book a date and time and away they go.
    This means that the artwork is constantly changing.
    The idea is great but the reality is slightly different.
    Some of the artwork is brilliant, but the park is full of litter and homeless people dossing down.
    Which is a shame on many points, firstly that people have nowhere to live and are forced to sleep on park benches, but also a public space that has been put to good use is spoilt.
    This should be a pleasant and interesting place to sit and relax. But is rubbish strewn and quite intimidating.
    But having said all that it is worth a look all be it a quick one.
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