Well, it’s been a few weeks since I last blogged. Let’s just call it the post-cruise blues. Not to mention the absolutely awful english weather. You may have seen pictures of the flooding in the Severn and Thames valleys. I’m glad I don’t live in Tewkesbury. But for whatever reason, I’ve found it hard (actually, impossible) to out pen to paper – err, finger to keyboard. But now our thoughts are beginning to turn to our next cruise – 4 nights on Fred.Olsen’s Braemar in September, as she repositions from Newcastle to Southampton. She’s small (just under 20,000 tons), very British, and the cruise is down the North Sea, so it will be very different from the cruise on Galaxy in the Med. Somehow, I’m not expecting any 40 degree temperatures. Fred.Olsen are among the mainstays of the UK cruise market, together with P&O and Thomson. They operate an eclectic range of older, smaller ships, but they’ve been steadily growing: from 1 ship (very old, very small) for 10 years up until 1996, two until 2001, then three for a few years, a fourth was added just over a year ago, and next spring they’ll finally get to use Norwegian Crown (renamed Balmoral) which they bought early this year but immediately leased back to NCL. We’re looking forward to it – we think it will be very different from Celebrity. Whether that’s ‘different and good’ or ‘different but not so good’ we’ll know by the end of September.
The best cure is planning another trip, so you’re on your way to feeling better! I have nothing in the works — nothing — so I’m finding it hard to get over my self-pity that my grand three week adventure is over.