2015

The last few weeks have been partially spent sorting out my cruises for next year. Since I still have a real day job, albeit part time, I am limited in how long I can take so I needed to maximise my leave, plus choose a least a few places new to me, and indeed ships new to me so....

The first and most exciting one goes to Antarctica! And it is with Holland America Line! And it is a fly-cruise - my first!!

Holland America Line have long been on my must-sail list and I have visited both Maasdam and Prinsendam so am very much looking forward to Zaandam. I have to admit this was not the cruise my friend and I had in mind - we thought we would probably choose the first two sectors or Aurora's world cruise but then, my friend disliking flying, decided that if we had to fly, we may as well fly both ways and have more time in South America, which has been on both our bucket lists for a while now. I was surprised as Aurora goes to Rio de Janeiro which my friend really wants to visit. The Zaandam cruises starts for us in Buenos Aires and then travels round the coast to Valparaiso/Santiago, via the Falklands and Antarctica. Antarctica is somewhere I have always wanted to see but never thought I would reach, given the increasing restrictions on cruise ships in the area and the normally very high cost of cruising the region. The Chilean Fjords also were high on my increasingly long list of must-sees as well - so pretty much the perfect cruise for me - I hope! Oh - and not to mention penguins :)

More about the other two 2015 cruises another time.

P&O Cruises' Artemis in the Chilean Fjords



It's come!

For a couple of years now I have been looking for an affordable, practical camera bag that will double as a handbag so I don't have to carry both when out and about travelling. For obvious reasons, in some places, I don't like to advertise the fact that I am carrying a camera either. This search has been pretty fruitless  - until now!

I have seen the Kelly Moore range
http://store.kellymoorebag.com/collections/all

but didn't fancy paying $169 upwards, particularly as they don't appear to have a UK stockist so you have to pay customs dues plus PO fees on top and you don't know what these will be until the package arrives!

Enter Jo Totes bags http://www.jototes.com/  . Lovely feminine styles and colours, but with the practicality of a proper padded camera gadget bag. Mine arrived today - only ordered on Sunday evening - and at a bargain price of $79.

 

It is synthetic leather so not a problem getting damp and comes with a detachable shoulder/cross body strap and lots of moveable padded dividers inside.

 

So now I am set - I just have to sort out my foot, which is extremely painful right now due it seems to flare-up of arthritis - which I didn't even know I had in my foot! 

Happy 10th Birthday Queen Mary 2

Today saw big celebrations in Southampton as the three Cunard Queens returned from their round the world wanderings - just in time to mark the 10th birthday of Queen Mary 2. Sadly I could not be there in person to watch the events, but well remember the time the three sisters were in port together to mark the Queen's golden jubilee in 2012 and the wonderful arrival of the procession of the ships as dawn broke over the city.

 

It is strange how our perceptions change over time. I well remember my first ever sighting of QM2. It was 2004, not that long after her launch. I was on P&O Cruises' Aurora and we had just arrived at Corner Brook, Newfoundland. As we arrived we were told that QM2 was still in our berth and we would therefore have to land passengers on excursions, me among them, by tender at the yacht club marina while Aurora waited to go alongside.

 

 

As we drove through the beautiful countryside in its autumn reds and burnt oranges, I caught my first glimpse of this new liner - and I have to say I thought her hideous, especially compared with the traditional lines of Aurora.

 

So - to come back to my earlier statement on how our perceptions change over time. For a start, on that first sighting, I never expected to ever sail on her. That came in 2009 - a transatlantic crossing and back with a short Independence Day cruise to Boston and Halifax in between. And that was when I fell in love with this beautiful ship. I love the vast expanse of teak-surfaced decks, the elegant interiors, stunning Grand Lobby and huge Queen's Room. I love the fact that you can get away from everyone and sit and watch the ocean or join friends in the bars and lounges. Further adventures on her followed, the last being a short Christmas Market's cruise to Le Havre and Zeebrugge last December.

 

But if I have to single out one abiding memory of this great ship it has to be one wet morning in Rotterdam, when I sat and chatted with Commodore Warner about the book I was co-writing about Artemis (ex. Royal Princess). We sat in a corner of the bridge of the world's newest transatlantic liner, with a view of the 1959 Holland America Line liner, SS Rotterdam ahead of us. Total magic!

 

Happy Birthday Queen Mary 2

Photography

Yesterday I treated myself to a new camera!

OK - I probably didn't NEED one but what can I say? I love photography. I even have nightmares where I am going away but have left my camera at home! I do however need to weed out some of the equipment I no longer use.

For travelling I usually take my Nikon DSLR with two lenses as well as a small pocketable compact camera with zoom. For the last three years the latter has been a Panasonic Lumix TX19. However, this is now almost unusable due to dust on the sensor and I am not inclined to pay nearly half the cost of the camera to have it cleaned. Having said that, I have found a uTube video on how to do it myself so may give it a go sometime soon.

I also have a very small Canon Ixus 105 for slipping in an evening bag or similar, but I am not that enamoured of the pictures it takes.

So, after a big think, and the thought that I may soon start long-haul travelling, I went to look at replacements for the Lumix. So how did I end up with a compact system camera!!

Well, to be honest I totally fell in love with this camera the moment I held it. It is a Fujifilm X-E1. OK, I know the E2 is the later and better model but that was well outside my price range for a second camera.

The X-E1 felt like my lovely Konica S2 rangefinder camera that I learned much of my photographic skills with when I was growing up, only better as you can change the lenses and of course it is digital.

It has a solid quality feel with an excellent 18-55mm fast lens. Even better, Fuji are offering an additional free 50-300mm lens with this model. It also boasts an electronic viewfinder - probably not as good as an optical one but certainly better than cameras with only a screen. Reviews are good and I cannot wait to try it out properly.

I am hopeful that it may even replace my DSLR on some occasions. I just need to go back to refresh myself with photography basics now I have a shutter speed dial to play with!!  

So its first ship-related outing will probably be my visit to MV Voyager early next month. Can't wait!