Wedding on Board

Wedding - Saturday,  12^th January

Today we were invited to the wedding of a couple on our table, Ed and Barbara. We were also privileged to be asked to be official witnesses to the wedding.   Before the wedding Geoffrey collected the groom and took him to the Crows Nest Bar for a quick drink, whilst Doreen stayed with Barbara, who was very nervous.  Her dress was beautiful in the palest turquoise chiffon I had ever seen – she looked quite stunning.

The ceremony was conducted by Captain Trevor Lane (who happened to have been born in Woolwich).

After the ceremony we had the traditional signing of the register, cutting of the cake and, of course, a glass of champagne.  A very enjoyable day.

Sunday, 13^th January.

After two or three days of hot sunny weather as we approached the Equator, we went on our morning two mile walk, very hot and very humid, and the heavens opened and we had torrential rain which drove all the walkers inside.  However, we decided to press on and complete our two mile walk and we got absolutely drenched.  All good fun.

As we speak we are crossing the Equator into the southern hemisphere.  Today the weather is still hot, but not quite so humid.  Tomorrow we arrive in South America, to our first port Recife.  We will do a blog on Recife later.

Tenerife

Tenerife – Wednesday 9^th January

After our son-in-law, Tom, dropped us in Southampton we boarded the Arcadia for our South America and Pacific cruise.  We had a good send off by P & O, with champagne and fireworks.

Our first few days consisted of the crossing of the infamous Bay of Biscay, which I must say was really kind to us.  The seas have been good and the weather is improving each day.

We have got in to our daily routine consisting of breakfast, followed by a two mile walk around the Promenade Deck, a floater coffee, and then our light lunch.  After this we have art classes where we are learning to paint intricate flowers, with varying success.   Then we have some relaxation time before our 6.30 evening meal, after which we go to the cabaret show and then on to the Casino.

Today we visited Tenerife where we had an eight hour excursion to Mount Teide, driving through the Esperanza Forest, stopping at various viewpoints to see the spectacular landscape around Mount Teide.   

After a brief stop at Orotava for lunch we drove north to the coastal town of Puerto de la Cruz, where we strolled around this popular holiday resort.

Before we visited Tenerife we had a preconception of an island full of lager louts, discos and bars, but we can honestly say we have a completely different impression now, having seen that Tenerife has something to suit all tastes.  This could well be a place we may well visit in the future.

Off Cruising Again

We are on our travels again this time we are on a world cruise to South America,across the Pacific via many Pacific Islands to Australia and New Zealand,back across the Pacific for a few days in San Fransisco before flying home.

Needless to say Doreen and I are looking forward to exploring another part of the world, however we will both miss our children Nicola and Andrew and of course our grandchildren Cian and Sean.

For any family or friends who wish to follow our progress we will try and keep this Blog updated regularly.

See you all soon Geoffrey and Doreen