Curls, Canapes and three cheers for the free Champagne!

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page" - St. Augustine

WARNING: VERY LONG POST!!! 

Wednesday morning started with an abrupt wake up call, as our next door neighbours decided to put the television on for the weather forecast at 7am! It wasn't quiet - we could here every word and then they decided to start having a conversation over it, even louder. Earphones wouldn't have blocked out the level of noise they were making and trust me, I tried!

Both Claire and I tried to bury our heads under the pillow in a vain attempt to get back to sleep, only resulting in a more successful attempt of self suffocation. 50 minutes passed before we concluded that there was no escaping it - we were awake for the day! and that meant only one thing - showers and breakfast! Hot-cold-scalding showers later (It was beginning to feel like we had a vindictive water sprite in our shower) we dressed for the day on board ship. What to do with it though?

We breakfast in a leisurely fashion before heading back to the cabin to check out the cruise news for what was going on that day. With nothing really grabbing our fancy at that point in time we turned our attention to the evening ahead - with captains cocktail night we knew that we would need somewhat longer than normal to get ready..... well, actually with a 7:30 sitting we figured we'd probably need to head back to the cabin about...... 4(ish)! But what to do until then..........

Pamper ourselves - that's what. We walked down the corridor to the salon to see if they could fit us in to have our nails done for the evening ahead. Luck was on our side; because we were happy to have them done then, they could fit both of us in at the same time; any time after 1pm and it would have been a different story! If there is one night on board ship that most people actually make an effort for it's captain's night and, we know from past experience, that the salon gets booked up quickly with women having their hair and nails done. It's a vanity thing, sure, but oh so much fun! after all, when else do you get an excuse to wear a floor length dress and go all out?!

We both settled on the ever classic finish of a french manicure and were ushered to separate sides of the salon to have them done. I'll own to having not looked after my nails for a while - they had been glorious for most of may and then typically they all started to break about 2 weeks before the cruise, so they were all different lengths, splitting and generally in bad condition - I felt very sheepish as Fay, my manicurist, tried to bring some life back into them. As she got to the polish we hit a snag..... no one could get the bottle open! Fay eventually had to ask one of the spa's masseuses to open it for her, which he did with no apparent trouble or effort, hehe! The troublesome bottle opened the rest of the process went smoothly and Fay left me to set my nails under a UV lamp.

Meanwhile Claire had also finished and paid and come to sit and chat whilst I finished up and we compared and contrasted the final result. Fay had done a very traditional finish on my nails, whilst Claire's top coat had a glitter to it so it sparkled. Both perfectly happy with what we had, we thanked the ladies and left the spa - the only problem was the varnish wouldn't be hard for at least another half an hour and the last thing we wanted to do was dent it or chip it - so there was only one solution. Walk around in the style of Zombies from the Thriller Video and not touch anything! lol!

As we walked past the cabin and into the main reception area we decided to pop our heads round the door to Alistair and Richard's office to say hi (assuming Alistair was in, which chances usually were that he wasn't). Luck was on our side and he was in doing paper work which he didn't seem to mind us interrupting and we had a quick chat about what the rest of the day held for us, which wasn't a lot to be honest. Relaxation was the key word and we explained that we couldn't do much until our nails had set anyway which he found amusing. We were just about to leave him in peace and head up to the Lido to get a cup of tea when Richard walked up behind us trying to get into the office which we were blocking. Not wanted to get Alistair into trouble, we hurriedly spilled out that we were just going and we sorry for stopping any important work - though to be fair, Richard didn't seem to mind in the least!

We left them in peace and headed up for a cup of tea. Making them was entertaining - nothing quite like attempting to hold things with the tip of two fingers! Nevertheless, we succeeded and headed back to the cabin to drink them and check again on the programme of events to see what, if anything we fancied attending. We debated attending the lecture on Baltic Amber, which was being presented by the same gentleman that did lecture on Faberge and the Tsar's, but both Claire and I know a lot (probably too much to be healthy) about Amber......and most precious stones........so we opted for another cup of tea and our books on deck.

Outside, the weather was warm, but there was a noticeable cross breeze that we hadn't had on Monday. We settled down to read just as the napkin folding demonstration kicked off, so we watched on for 20 minutes as we drank our tea, as it drew to a close we finally opened the books and got lost in the realms of fantasy. An hour and a half later my stomach promptly informed me it wanted food and Claire and I went to find some lunch and yes, yet another cup of tea. We had just finished lunch and I'd dug out a pack of cards when Alistair asked if he could join us whilst he had some lunch before he delivered the daily 2pm event of Afternoon Trivia. We told him he was always welcome to join us and asked if we'd got him trouble with Richard for distracting him, which he informed us he hadn't and that it honestly wasn't an issue - thank goodness!

As he finished his lunch he asked us if we wanted to take part in the trivia and whilst we normally avoid it at all costs, we figured we'd have a laugh and take part - calling ourselves Double Trouble ;o) however, just prior to it starting we were joined by two ladies who asked if they could sit the other side of the table, which we were happy to share. As the quiz started, Claire and I dissolved into fits of giggles as we looked on non-plus to the questions. Thankfully for us, we managed to get a decent score thanks to the two ladies who kept feeding us the answers.... nothing like a bit of friendly help, or is that cheating?! anyway, we certainly didn't come close to winning but we had a laugh nonetheless and swore never to play a second time - our general knowledge just wasn't good enough!

Quiz over and the cross wind dying down, Claire and I decided to get in a couple of hours of sunbathing before we headed down to the cabin for the marathon task of curling both of our hair for the evening ahead. We claimed sunbeds, took it in turns to go back to the cabin to change and then both promptly fell asleep, occasionally waking up enough to nudge the other and turn over so we didn't turn pink on one side whilst staying white on the other causing an appearance much like a crab stick. Just over 2 hours later we roused ourselves and headed back indoors, making a cup of tea en route and went to the cabin to begin preparation for the night ahead.

We had finally settled on what we wanted to do with our hair about 2am that morning as we were getting ready for bed, the only issue was it meant a LOT of time was going to be spent curling each

others hair. Whilst I only wanted the bottom half of my hair putting into loose curls for some volume (the bottom half is still about the same length as all Claire's hair), Claire wanted her whole head curled in a fashion that I had done for her on the previous cruise. I took the shower first as my hair took an age to dry given its length, thickness and the general lack of heat and power in the cabin's hair dryer! I'd only managed to get it 50% dry by the time Claire had finished in the bathroom and as I battled to get it under some sort of control she plugged in the travel hair straighteners to warm up and began to pull out everything we would need.

Finally getting mine dry enough to work with, I swept it all to one side in a low ponytail and let Claire loose on it. Having never curled my hair by ourselves on the cruise before, I'd had it done in the Salon on the Celebration, we hadn't quite realised that there is a small issue of it being so long and so thick that keeping tension on it was easier said then done and it had to be small pieces otherwise the straighteners were going to end up broken, very quickly! Scarily though, they still made a couple of very unhealthy crunching sounds before we finally finished my hair - and we still had Claire's to go. It was rolling on well past 5 o'clock when we swapped seats and I knew from past experience it would take a good hour and a half to create Claire's hairstyle - eek!

As I set about curling Claire's hair I remembered why I always swore when I did it for her - simply put, I burnt my fingers so many times (and I accidentally caught Claire's ear once too, oops!) that they were numb with pain before the end. As I finished each layer of her hair I blitzed it with holding gel and went on to the next and finally, after an hour and forty minutes, I finally manged to finish her hair too. It was by now 6:10pm and we were due for the 7:30 seating.

Ironically, after the marathon hair session it only took us another 20 minutes to get ready! Make-up, Jewellery, shoes and the all important dresses in place we headed out of the cabin at 6:35 and made our way to Raffles, one of the ship's other bar's for our traditional Captain's night glass of sparkling wine. As we waited for our drinks the lovely bar keeper told us we didn't look a day over 20! hahahaha.... yeah, right! but you've got to love these guys, they know how to make you feel good, even if the same line is said to every woman on board! We sat at the bar and as we drank and critiqued what everyone else was wearing - what! it's not like everyone else wasn't doing it too! - Whilst the men were all pretty much in formal tuxedo's, the range of outfits donned by the women was incredible. There were distinctly more cocktail length than full length dresses on board and black was a prominent colour, as always. As we chatted about the latest trend of using jersey for formal dresses (seriously, we are not in the 60's and it does not look smart!) we noticed a group sat at a couple of tables being greeted by a gentleman in uniform - they were the guests for the captain's table that night.

They were swept out of the bar about 5 minutes later and just as they were the bar tender asked, "ladies are you sticking around for another drink?" We still had time before we had to make a move to get the photos done and join the Que to greet the captain so said yes and were just going to order another round of sparkling wine when he presented us with two glasses of Champagne, courtesy - as he put it - of the captain! lol! it turned out that there were two glasses going spare from the bottles opened for the captain's guests and rather than throw them away he decided it was his prerogative to give them to the prettiest ladies in the room - Yay! there is something to be said for cruising in your 20's and free Champagne is the added bonus.

As we enjoyed our free drinks, we exchanged pleasantries with passenger's, complimenting them on their outfits and accepting them in return and as we finished the champagne, the photographers arrived to start the formal photos. The first stop was in Raffles before exiting into the shopping area. Claire and I have a tradition of having individual photos and one together taken at both stations and we didn't change that pattern, although we did apologies to the other passengers for keeping them waiting, but they just laughed and told us to enjoy ourselves. The first set finished we moved on to stop two where we were met by a photographer we hadn't yet seen on board who, as it turned out was the head of the department. A lovely guy he seemed to have a little bit two much fun posing us for the photo's - although not as much fun as he had the following week!

We gathered up our handbags and joined the line to greet the captain, realising we were standing the wrong way round to show off our best side in the photos - yes, it really does matter! and just as we got to the front to be met by Richard he threw us by saying, 'So I understand you two know Alistair'.... ummm yes. Claire and I shared a look, equally questioning what exactly had passed between the two after we'd left the office that morning and so we weren't entirely with it as the Captain pulled us in close for our photo. As we left the Captain, thanking him and wishing him a good evening we picked up our complimentary drinks and waited in line for the show lounge photo, walking straight past Alistair who was standing behind the waiters.

As we tried to work out exactly what Richard had meant by his comment we ended up thinking up some strange and surreal comments and caught a fit of the giggles. In the midst of our laughter we caught sight of Alistair and were going to confront him on what Richard had said only for us to be called up for our photo. After it was taken we turned back to speak to him but he'd vanished to do something and so we took our seats and chatted with those around us. Conversation flowed from what part of the country we were from, to the old reliable of how many cruises had everyone done to what jobs we all did. Only before either Claire or I could answer, the lady sat next to me decided to say, "and of course, you two work on the ship!" -  What?! ummm no, sorry - we really don't!

Having corrected them and clarified that we really don't work on the ship we were given a grateful reprieve by the arrival of the canapes. Having just picked up the nearest ones to us without checking what they were it resulted in a game of pass the canapes as Claire gave me hers as it was a mouse of strong blue cheese - and Claire really dislikes cheese - and mine going to a lady opposite as it had caviar on the top - yuck!

Thankfully, a few minutes later the show lounge settled as Richard came on stage to introduce the Captain. This being the 3rd Captain's Night we'd now attended, we started to notice the same reoccurring jokes, including the time honoured classic about if the captain's on the stage, whose steering the ship. Speech made, we were introduced to the heads of department in turn and finally, the staff were all presented with champagne and a toast made by the captain for a smooth sailing and a relaxing holiday. As everyone left the stage, Richard once again came on to address us all, politely asking us all to not dally on our way to dinner as they needed us out so they could reset for the first performance of the night. But before he finished he looked at his hand where he was still holding his champagne and asked if anyone would like it - thinking he was joking and for a laugh, I said I would - only he actually noticed me doing it and so came off the stage and over to where we were sitting to give it to me. I couldn't stop laughing as I accepted it and said thanks. As we made our way out the show lounge to go for dinner, Claire informed me that she would be stealing some of the champagne, like I didn't already know she wouldn't.

We were seated at dinner with the second of the ships guest lecturer's and his son. The gentleman was ex-police force and was doing a series of lectures on crime and prevention, which held no appeal to either Claire or myself but we chatted about what places we were visiting on the cruise and where they'd been before. We were just being served our main course when Richard walked through the restaurant, on his way to the office, when he stopped off to ask us if we were enjoying the champagne. Thanking him again, I did tell him that I thought he was joking on the stage and nor did I think he could see me. Richard informed us that he could see everyone and it was a bit of a tradition to give away his glass to someone in the lounge. That said he left us to our meal and he said he'd see us around the ship later.

As we finished dinner, we checked the time and realised we could pop back to the cabin to touch up the makeup before heading up to the show lounge. As we entered the cabin we were greeted by our latest towel creation - the swan. I loved coming back to the cabin to see these! Makeup fixed we moved upstairs for that nights show, By Special Arrangement; a selection of popular songs presented in a style only the Thomson Show teams can ever deliver.

We were really lucky that as we got to the show lounge there were a couple of seats still available on the front row. Sneaking through everyone else that was sat, we asked the two ladies on the other side of the table if we could join them, which they readily agreed to. As we took a seat they complimented us on our dresses and asked Claire where she'd got her shoes from - got to love female bonding over all things frivolous and fun! We asked them if they'd be so kind as to take a photo of us, which they happily obliged to do and we in turn offered to take one for them - resulting in Claire taking a very strange crouching pose on the steps to the stage!

As we chatted before the show started the two ladies asked us exactly which department we worked in. Somewhat confused, we asked them why an earth they thought we worked for the ship, to which they replied that they had seen us all over the place and most of the time we were talking to a member of staff, so they simply assumed we worked on the ship. Telling them the same as we'd told the others earlier, we explained that we usually fall in to talking with the staff, especially the entertainment team as they're often the same age as us and we'd met Alistair on our first cruise so we always stopped to talk to him. We just finished explaining in time for the show to start.

Settling back to listen to the songs and enjoy the show Claire and I sang along to most of it. Like I said before, we love music! You should take a look at my strange and eclectic music collection to fully appreciate how important music is in my life - it's my escape and I can't tell you how much I enjoy listening to music being sung live every night of the cruise! it's heaven!

With the show over, we made our way up to the bar for the last musical event of the evening, Daniel's Cabaret. Once again, Daniel's cabaret was in a totally different style to the others and this time we were being serenaded by the crooners and swing classics by Dean Martin, old Blue Eyes himself and Bobby Darin to name but a few. Now, as Claire and I settled into some seats we wondered if we were going to get pulled onto the dance floor that night and actually we were both in the mood to dance so we sat back waiting to see what would happen. As it turned out we weren't pulled up and although Daniel invited everyone onto the dance floor for a slow number it just doesn't work without a guy - I mean, I love Claire, but hell will freeze over before I slow dance with her! Oh well, maybe next time we'll get asked for a slow dance by someone......perhaps if we did get up to dance together someone would notice and take action, or maybe we'd just cause even more gossip?!

Cabaret over, we headed out for our ritual nightcap and the deck soon filled up with passangers and crew who were all still on a high from the night. Alistair joined us in due course and commented that after all the talk and planning, the hair was worth all the effort. Lol! As the drinks were delivered we told him what Richard had said as he presented us to the Captain and asked what exactly had been said after our departure from the office that morning. He insisted that it was nothing really and we let the matter drop, instead turning to the topic of when, or if, he was ever going to be free to join us for dinner in the Compass Rose. He told us he thought the next night would be ok but he needed to check the schedule so he'd let us know.

That settled we talked a little about anything and everything, laughing a lot and probably drinking far too much. But hey! that is what Captain's Night is all about - above any other night on board, it's about going all out to make an impression and having fun! and even if we failed on the first account(here's hoping not) we certainly didn't on the second.

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Copen-hagen-haagen-hagen

'To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted'

- Bill Bryson

Tuesday morning saw us docking in Kalundborg, Denmark. As one of the gateways to Copenhagen it has a fascinating history of its own and can boast of being one of the few places in the world that still has a 5 spired church and beautifully preserved medieval town. Unfortunately, there just wasn't time to do Kalundborg and Copenhagen and we had settled on the later.

Although we weren't the first tour off the ship, we were still due to leave by 8:45 so after very slooooooowly dragging ourselves out of bed (having spent at least 10 minutes arguing who should use the bathroom first, so that the other could claim 5 more minutes in bed), we were both rudely awakened by the shower - where the temperature fluctuated between freezing us and burning us - I hasten to add, this happened to both of us.... separately! a quick glance out our window to confirm favourable weather conditions and we dressed for the day ahead, finished packing the bags and headed for breakfast. Fruit, a danish and a couple of cups of tea later we were ready to face the day and headed back to the cabin to grab the bags and our tickets before heading off ship.

Our trip was called Country, Castle and Copenhagen. Try saying that after a few glasses of wine! A mixture of history, countryside, city, sight seeing and shopping. We quickly found our bus and claimed some seats and were pleasantly surprised when everyone for the trip arrived early and we were able to head of ahead of schedule. We had a little over an hours transfer to the fairytale Renaissance castle of Frederiksbog situated in Hillerod; home to the kings and queens of yesteryear and is advertised as being the most beautiful castle in Denmark. With no guide to enlighten us until we got there I caught up on some sleep - along with everyone else on the coach (not that I'm trying to make myself feel better or anything.....)

The castle was built between 1588-1648 but most of it had to be rebuilt and restored after a fire in 1859 and since 1878 has been Denmarks Museum of National History - founded by the managing director of Carlsberg (yes, the drink). Like so many of the properties we visited on this cruise, we saw but a tiny percentage of the whole site but what we did see was mind blowing and breathtakingly beautiful.

The level of detail was beyond exacting and the amount of gold!!! I'd be rich beyond my wildest dreams if I had a tenth of the gold from one of their rooms! And don't even get me started on gushing about the ceilings - I swear from Frederiksbog to the end of the cruise, I spent most of my time looking up at gorgeous ceilings. If I thought for one minute I could have got away with lying on the floor to photograph every one of them in detail - well I would have done! as it turned out though, there was no way I would have been able to do so and Claire is probably very thankful she didn't have to disown me for such bizarre behaviour!

From the castle we drove for about an hour through the beautiful forest and countryside to Copenhagen, learning about the rulers of the country, the impact of various wars and political takeovers, key people of note and current political and business affairs. It was a pleasant hour, although I own to having spent more time watching the scenery than listening to the guide.

When we arrived in Copenhagen, our guide went into full scale information overload - every building, every street, he had a story to tell us - it was incredible! our first stopping point for photos however, was the world famous little mermaid statue in the harbour. I don't know what I was expecting when I saw it, but I guess possibly something slightly bigger.

Despite it's small stature it was very pretty to see sat in the cleanest harbour I think I have ever seen! From the little mermaid we toured round various gardens and aspects of the harbour front, hearing numerous tales about battles involving Lord Horatio Nelson. From the gardens we moved onto an area known as palace square, where the royal family and numerous wealthy aristocrats had winter residences built in a great circle, which to the east lead to a great domed cathedral and to the west, the harbour.

We had a few minutes in the royal square to wander round before heading back the coach park and so Claire and I decided to nip over the road down to the harbour front and walk back that way. I'm so glad we did as we spotted the most awesome sand sculptures being created on a floating basin in the harbour! it was obviously something to do with the summer festival we kept spotting posters for, but whatever their purpose they were so cool!

It was a short hop from the coach park to our dropping off point in Copenhagen itself. We had a little over an hour to wander around, shop and eat and so we followed the tour guides suggestion and went down the main shopping street of the city. We shouldn't have listened to him. The main shopping street is just like every other major metropolitan city in the world! seriously disappointing. By the time we'd walked most of its length (only stopping for a lunch of freshly cooked waffles - healthy, I know!) we'd already wasted half an hour. Turning back we decided to walk back the water front and have a look in the amber museum's shop - there is always room in the collection for another piece of amber jewellery, at the right price. Sadly, Baltic amber - with their 25% VAT is not at the right price!

Nevertheless, we'd had a fabulous time in Denmark. The sun had kept its appearance from the day before; Frederiksborg was a hidden gem and whilst I'm not sure I'll ever go back to Copenhagen, I was glad we'd chose to come into the city, rather than stay by the port. Back on board the coach, our guide made his goodbyes and left us in the capable hands of the driver for our hour and half transfer back to ship. So guess what we did? yes, we slept! Well, if we were going to keep our late nights, early starts, long days going for the full length of the cruise, then napping on coaches was also going to essential! lol!

We were late back to port though, as we suffered bad traffic on the motorway, but we weren't the only coach - we beat the last one back by a couple of minutes! But as we disembarked and hurried aboard we were sent on our way by the Ruds Vedby Garden Drum Majorettes.

We dropped the bags off in our room and went to get a much needed cup of tea and stood on deck, watching as the ship pulled out of harbour, sending us on our way to Riga. We stayed on deck, lazily watching the world go by before finally settling on getting a fresh cup of tea on our way back to the cabin to wash up and get ready for the night ahead. The ever essential 'what are you wearing' issue resolved the bigger issue of the night was actually the hair. Now, you may or may not have noticed I have fairly long hair. In fact, my hair sits about the middle of my back and is thick - really thick and thus is more often called the travelling birds nest then actual hair. It also means that the vast majority of hair styles require an extra set of hands as my arms just don't bend that far back!

Some swearing later, Claire managed to tame my hair into the style I wanted and we settled hers quickly enough too, clean and simple that night,  unlike what I knew was to come the following evening for formal night. We left for dinner a little later than planned and having clearly not been filled by waffles for lunch - who knew they weren't suitable substitutes to real food? we ate 4 course for the first time since we'd come on board.

Feeling suitably fat and trying not to let the moaning of our fellow passengers get to us - they really were a grumpy lot that night! we headed back to the cabin to retouch the makeup before we made our way up to the Broadway for that nights entertainment; Tuesday Night Live with Maurice Grumbleweed.

Now, forgive me, but whilst I feel old I'm not actually old enough to remember Maurice from his hay-days as part of the Grumbleweeds. Claire and I were in the distinct minority group in that regard and he was warmly received by the vast majority of the passenger's on board. Not that having never previously heard of him was an issue; he actually is one of those comedic entertainers that appeals across all ages with his brilliant mix of stories, one liners and music. Some of my personal favourite jokes were to do with Saga Cruises; be nice and comment and I might tell you one or two ;). I have to say that whilst Maurice did have me in stitches with laughter for nearly an hour the thing that really stuck with me was a poiniant story he told of going out to entertain our troops and a song he had subsequently written for them called Hero's - you can listen to it here.

After Maurice had finished his set, Richard came out to speak to us - as is tradition on the ship after the shows. He asked if we'd all enjoyed our day in Copen-hagen-haagen-hagen...... I have no idea why he said it, I can only presume it was because someone pulled him up on prenounciation but now I have it stuck in my head, I honestly can't just say Copenhagen any more! it's earning me some very strange looks off friends. Oops!

Show over we headed up to High Spirits as usual but the nights main game show was still in full swing so we headed out to deck to enjoy some fresh air and take a couple more pics.... as if we didn't have enough from the day!

A little after ten we headed back into High Spirits to listen to the band and claim good seats for that nights Cabaret - Laid back and live, which was to be performed by one of the show teams vocalists, Rob.  Much like Alistair's show the night before it was a mixture of some of Rob's favourite songs from artists such as Dean Martin, Neal Diamond and Matt Munro. He was great, a completely different character in his cabaret to on stage and we had to love him somewhat as he was from our neck of the woods! small world and all that! Half an hour of up-beat, larger than life songs later and the night was over.... well, as far as live music was concerned and Claire and I were never ones to stay inside for the late night disco.

We headed out to claim our usual seats out on deck and shortly after were again joined by Alistair, who had finally finished his official duties for the day. Talk turned to our trip, the next day's formal evening and the fact we had already spent an exhuberant amount of time discussing hair styles, what Alistair had to do the next day and when he was due to appear in one of the main shows. Time passed pleasently by as people came and went to talk with Alistair and we finished our drinks and a little after 1 we parted company in search of our cabins and the hope of a lie in the following morning!

Oh and the little thing we'd forgotten.... the clocks went forward by an hour as we went to bed! Urgh!

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North Sea Sunbathing!?

Monday morning dawned bright, clear and calm. It appeared that our worst fears about a choppy crossing over the notoriously bad north sea weren't going to be realised, woo-hoo! I'd like to say we had a lie in but that would be untrue, by 8am we were up and about and getting ready for our day at sea. We breakfasted in the Compass Rose Restaurant, that's the formal restaurant on the Spirit - but we did go for the self service option! I'm not that lazy, thank you very much.... and before you all shake your heads in despair at us choosing the formal restaurant for breakfast I think you all need a little update on the ships layout:

We were never being picky or snobbish about where we ate - but what's the point of having a cabin on the same floor as the restaurant and not using it?!?! The other restaurant involved walking up a flight of stairs, through the show lounge (above the compass rose restaurant) and into the area which is white on this floor plan........ 100 steps vs 10,000 steps......I knew you'd understand...hehe!

The first morning on board has to be a full English Breakfast; toast, eggs, bacon, tomato, sausage, hash brown..... yummy! we were almost tempted to finish with a danish pastry with our tea but thought that was a little over the top - we had our waist-lines to consider after all! lol! (although if you'd seen the amount we'd just polished off you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise)

After we finished we went back to the cabin and grabbed our copy of the cruise excursion guides that we'd been given and headed to the Broadway Show lounge for the Port Showcase. On previous cruises we'd have been off ship on the first full day and so we'd have made our choices soley from the descriptions in the guides, and although we already had some idea of which trips we wanted to book on to, as they were available to see and book months ago online, we thought we'd actually go and listen to the excursion team, just in case something cropped up that we hadn't considered before. As it turned out, the showcase didn't sway our choices, but what we were grateful for was not having booked the St Petersburg excursions we originally wanted prior to sailing as it turned out that the 2 we were looking at, clashed. Thankfully, the second day in the city had a trip almost identical to the one which we weren't going to be able to do so it didn't turn out too badly. Being somewhat history mad, architectural mad and basically culture fiends we settled on lots of trips that took in lots of museums, cathedrals, palaces and many walking tours........ again!

Who said cruise holidays were relaxing? not us!

We handed in our booking form and headed out to the deck with a cup of tea to be greeted by a warm, sunny day. We took up residence on a couple of chairs and read for an hour or so before going back into the Broadway for a fascinating lecture on Faberge and the Tsar's by the on board guest speaker Mr Robert Ochodnicky. Faberge has to be one of the greatest jewellers of all time (my opinion only), but he was also an engineering genius! (seriously, it's enough to make you jealous).  I've grown up hearing stories about the Tsar eggs, their hidden 'gifts' and his eye for detail from my late grandmother - who used many of his smaller designs and reoccurring symbols, such as the lili of the valley flower, as inspiration for some of the chain's of office that she designed whilst working in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter. Her passion for the man behind the masterpieces was contagious and so I was delighted to hear someone, who clearly loves him as much as my grandmother did, speak. The hour long lecture flew by and its end we both felt more enlightened and, in my case, even more obsessed with Faberge and the eggs than we had when we sat down.

The decision then came whether or not to stay in the show lounge for the afternoon Cabaret, dedicated to Simon and Garfunkel and performed by two of the show team - Daniel and Craig. Why we ever pretend that we aren't going to stay for these performances and ask each other, are you sure? is beyond me! Claire and I love music, love theatre and generally love listing to people sing (well, people who can sing exceptionally well sing, anyway). And so we moved to better seats and sat back to enjoy a pleasant half hour or more listening to the guys perform some absolute classics including, the Boxer, Cecilia and, of course, Bridge over Troubled Water. It was only after this that we thought it might be an idea to find some lunch and we finally headed to the Lido Restaurant for food followed by a spot more reading.

Reading, however, rapidly went out the window as a wall of heat enveloped us as we stepped back out on deck. Not only were we having a calm crossing, we were actually going to be able to get some sunbathing in too! who would have thought it - sunbathing on the north sea! seriously, I'd have looked at you sideways and asked if you'd taken your little pink pills if you'd suggested that to me before I left England. Not that I was about to complain, oh no! Sun is my friend and I was happy to embrace its beautiful rays and soak up some much need Vitamin D. We claimed some sunbeds on deck 7 and took it in turns to run back to the cabin to get changed and lotion up. There is nothing like some sun to make you feel less like a member of the living dead and halfway human again and so we decided to forgo any of our afternoon plans and make the most of the strange orange globe in the sky. We lazed about til gone 5 before making a move back to the cabin to shower and change for dinner and the night ahead and whilst we didn't look any browner, we felt a whole lot healthier! 

Dinner was a quieter affair then the night before, but to be honest, it would be difficult to top the musical serenade. Once again, we ate too much, although instead of ordering dessert we asked for a slice of the remaining cake..... only they didn't quite understand that we didn't want to finish the cake, simply eat some of it, and so they cut - what could have easily been enough for 4- into half. The sugar, cream and general excessiveness of the cake would probably have put me into a sugar coma for the rest of the night if we hadn't moved, forcing my metabolism to attempt to break down the glucose overload.

We didn't, however, move very far and from the restaurant we walked upstairs to the show lounge for that nights performance; a Blast of Broadway. This show was very similar to one we had seen on the Destiny in 2010 - although they were all totally different Broadway shows and hit songs. The team were sleek, funny and utterly charming. It was also suitably loud enough that my brain couldn't shut down - there was only way one I could foresee getting over the sugar overload.... time for more wine! lol! It actually works too - now, cocktails would have been a bad plan and anything with a mixer of carbonated drinks is also a no go, but wine - wine is the perfect counterbalance.

As we moved onwards and upwards from the show lounge to High Spirits we stopped off to take a look at the embarkation photos from the day before. It wasn't totally horrific, certainly the best of the 3 to date, but still bad enough that we wouldn't be purchasing it for the collection. A quick giggle at everyone elses photos - it's a must! and we went to find some seats for the night's final act - Spotlight Cabaret.

Much like the night before, the cabaret was half an hour of songs performed by a member of the entertainment team. Monday night was Alistair's turn. He performed a range of songs across a number of musical genres including some of his favourites from Michael Buble, The Script and The Killers. I could be being entirely biased...... what am I saying, I am being entirely biased, but Alistair nailed every song, in some cases he sang a little too well (but that's another story!) - he's got such a versatile singing voice and it was lovely to see him performing again.

His cabaret over and the night still calm and warm, we headed out onto deck to finish our drinks and our night out there. It was such an incredibly clear, dark night - the kind you normally only get in the middle of the countryside in England, but it was so quiet too - nothing but the sound of the waves gently lapping against the side of the ship. It's that kind of calm that you very rarely get to experience in life and always want to take away with you, even though you know you can't!  If I could experience nights like that every time I cruised it would be enough, without everything else, to keep me cruising for the rest of my life.

Ok, philosophical smush over.

As we sat enjoying the peace, various members of staff came out for a nightcap before heading down to crew quarters and with them came Alistair, who once again asked if he could join us. As I said, it became a nightly thing - but it took him nearly a week to stop asking. We chatted about his choice of songs, the birthday celebrations that were to take place in the staff mess after curfew and our plans for the following day - our first port of call; Kalundborg, Denmark - transfer for Copenhagen. We talked about what little we had done with our day and told him about our sugar overload episode at dinner and he mentioned that as crew they don't get to eat in the Compass Rose unless invited by visiting friends and family - so we promptly invited him! As the night, or should I say morning, drew closer to 1am we parted company; he to drinking games in the crew bar and us to our beds to be properly rested for the following day.

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Baltic Highlights: It's my birthday!

'Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life' - Jack Kerouac

The first of July dawned bright and clear, a good omen for what was to lie ahead. Not only was it my birthday, but also the first day of my long anticipated holiday! Two weeks of cruising round the Baltic with my best friend; nothing to worry about but where our next glass of wine was coming from or which of our many dresses we were going to wear that night. Bliss!

Just gone 8am, we loaded up my brother's car and headed out to pick up Claire before making our way north. Unlike previous cruises, this time we were sailing from the UK, Newcastle to be exact. Thankfully my oldest brother has friends in the city and was going to make the most of driving us up - a long 7 hour round trip otherwise! We'd originally planned to have the free coach transfer but when the weight limit came in less then we'd have on a plane and I wanted to take a carry on dress cover too it became clear that the coach wasn't going to be a good option. All I can say is thank goodness for having the best family in the world that don't object to playing taxi (when appropriately bribed with the offer of filling the petrol tank).

The drive was unremarkable and by 12:15pm we were unloading the car at the port of Tyne and checking in, with the usual round of questions about health and the awful photos for our ID cards (they were truly hideous on this occasion); down the ramp and the first photo of the cruise: the embarkation photo is a must, even if it is never purchased lol! A quick shuttle ride round the corner - we could honestly have walked the distance but safety prevents you being allowed to - and we were making our way on board to our home for the next two weeks - the Thomson Spirit. This is the 3rd ship of the Thomson fleet we've been on and the sister ship to the very first we travelled on, the Celebration- enabling us to be at home very quickly. No getting lost down corridors or trying to work out if you have to go up two levels and across to get to the deck. Perfect!

After we'd been shown to our room for the next two weeks, deck 4 next to reception and opposite the housekeeping office (anyone think they were keeping an eye on us?!) we were left to settle in, and settle in with style we did too! My parents had arranged for champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to be in the cabin as a surprise for us to kick start my birthday in style - best parents ever!

So having skipped breakfast, drunk nothing but coffee on the way to the ship, we thought it perfectly sensible to indulge in a liquid lunch! Hehe! By the time the first glass had been consumed the suitcases had started to arrive, mine first then Claire's about 20 minutes after. After quickly hanging the dresses and sorting out the safe to leave the valuables behind, we did eventually go in search of a late lunch. As we headed to the lido restaurant (me wearing a HUGE birthday badge courtesy of Claire) the topic of conversation moved to excursions, drinks packages and the chance that any of the staff we'd met previously would be on board.

Once we'd eaten our fill, we topped up the mugs of tea and went for a wonder round the ship: a slow process as the staff kept stopping us to wish me happy birthday (damn that badge). As we finally made it back through the final bar, which was to become our home for every evening on board - High Spirits- we stopped to look at the staff photos, never for a second imagining we'd see a familiar face. Maybe the fates were being kind, or just looking forward to seeing what mischief would arise, but there on the wall as Assistant Cruise Director was Alistair, our old friend from the Celebration! He was part of the show team in 2009 and although we'd stayed vaguely in contact via Facebook we honestly had no idea he was on the Spirit. We looked forward to the reunion.

Tea drunk and unpacking still to do we headed back to the cabin to finish settling in. Just as we'd finished putting away the last of our things the tannoy went to inform us of our safety drill- it's a bore but essential..... don the life jacket, make your way to your lifeboat station, oh and don't turn too fast or you'll probably knock someone over or out! Our drills on the past have always been on the first morning at sea, but this time we hadn't even left dock and the local residents and members of the sailing club all lined up to see us look like idiots. So glad to entertain them for half an hour. Drill done we returned to the cabin, stashed the jackets again and went to find a cup of tea as we sailed away.

Now evenings on board ship basically consist of food, drink, shows, quizzes, music, dancing and more drinking - it's just a matter of what order do you want to do things in. For us, however, the evening always starts with the task of getting ready for the night. Yes, dresses people. 14 glorious nights of donning my lovely dresses that don't get to see anywhere near enough wear at home. But it's not just dresses, it's the hair too and the shoes, jewellery, bag.... The whole lot. Now it may sound like a lot of fuss and energy but Claire and I have it mastered and down to a fine art and, short of curling each others hair (a mammoth task) we can actually be showered, dressed and out in all our glory in under an hour (and as we discovered later in the holiday - in 23 minutes flat)

Dressed for the evening and the giant birthday badge attached to the handbag, we headed to the restaurant for dinner. As we remembered from the previous cruises, the food was nothing less than fabulous with far too much choice and filled with calories! (it's a miracle that the dresses still fit at the end of the holiday!) but by the time we reached dessert it was time for the ultimate round of embarrassment. Claire and my Mum had ordered a birthday cake for me, which in itself was lovely and fine, but they never just deliver it..... oh no, they sing, sing a bit more, make as much noise as possible to attract as much attention as possible and then - when you just about ready for the ship to sink to save you getting any redder in the face, they finally wish you happy birthday and let you have your cake in peace! oh joys...... lol! (Claire - revenge is seriously a dish best served cold!watch your back hun!! ;P)

Dinner finished, we made our way up to the Broadway show lounge for the welcome show, a medley of some of the many songs, dance routines and costumes we would see over the following two weeks in the Broadway. As always, the show team were amazing! I've heard of second rate entertainment teams on other cruise lines but Thomson always have exceptional singers and dancers, who can act to boot. Fabulous. With the show over the ships cruise director, Richard, welcomed us all on board and introduced the show team, along with other members of the entertainment teams - including Alistair, who we spotted within seconds - but as he wasn't wearing his glasses, wasn't so sure it was us he was smiling at! lol!

As we exited the Broadway and headed up to High Spirits, Claire and I were in agreement - Alistair was far more confident than the last time we saw him. He'd also grown up, in all the best possible ways! We took seats in the front circle of the dance floor to listen to ship band; The Beats, and await the welcome aboard cabaret. The wait wasn't a long one as we'd been to the second sitting of the Broadway show and we'd barely settled and got our drinks before it started. We came to discover that one of the perks of Alistairs role as Assistant Cruise director is that he still gets to perform and so he took to the stage and the microphone with other members of the show team, but after the first song, the singers changed places and Alistair was freed up to dance and about 30 seconds later we were on the floor with the opening line from him of  'how long's it been?'........'2009, Red Sea'..... 'Seriously?!'...... 'yeah, long time no see - good to see you again!' ........ 'You too!'

We spent the next half hour dancing and chatting on and off as Alistair popped back to sing every so often, it was great - like we'd honestly only said goodbye a few months before. As the cabaret drew to a close we were parched and boiling and decided to make our way out on to deck for a nightcap and a cool down. The show team had vanished and we had assumed Alistair had gone with them too but a couple of minutes after we'd sat down he reappeared and asked if he could join us. Keen for a chance to talk at a normal level that didn't involve straining the voices we happily agreed, it was to become the cruise ritual. As we began to chat, Alistair admitted he'd already clocked us on the passanger manifesto and had indeed been trying to spot us at the welcome show. We talked about the Celebration, the old show team and the band and who we were still in touch with and when the waitress came to take our drinks order, he insisted on buying the round in honour of my birthday.

It was then, about 12:30 am, some 17 hours after we'd 'officially' started our holiday back in Birmingham that I finally felt like we were away - that work, home and all the stress that was there could stay there for the next 14 days. It was the pefect end to what had been a lovely day and the perfect beginning to an epic holiday and a renewed friendship.

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I'm Back!

Hi Everyone,

Long time no see! I'm back off my AMAZING holiday now :( and i've gone straight back to work at the deep end so between unpacking/washing holiday clothes, work and organising a newly decorated bedroom I've not really had 5 minutes to sit down and say hello. So hi!

I'll be back over the weekend with a breakdown of the holiday - just need to organise all the photos - all ummmm 2000+ of them, eek! I really need to learn to take less images!

Til then though, hope you're all well and i'll be round asap to catch up on everyones blogs.

Happy crafting! x