Meraviglia, a brand new and astonishing cruise ship launched with great fanfare – World Meanderings (n°43)
By Annick Dournes & Frederic de Poligny Meraviglia means marvel and it’s the well deserved name of the new MSC cruise ship that cumulates all superlatives: 315...
La Gomera; an Untouched Island.
I fell in love with La Gomera, which is the 2nd smallest island in the Canaries. We spent a day there when I was on a Thompsons Cruise, and...
Malta Diary A long-standing romance in a marriage of convenience
I am ready to bet my last cent that every seafaring sailor throughout the ranks of the British Royal Navy between 1900 and 1960 at some time...
Travel photography in Myanmar
Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma, offers a wealth of subject matter for travel photographers. Over the past couple of years travellers have flocked to explore a country...
Trevor’s Week for 23rd March 2017
Well, congratulations to Daryl Farmer our volunteer rescuers who has after 96 days at sea finished his solo row across the Atlantic. He arrived in Antigua about 1:30 am...
Sussex Man expected to finish Atlantic Row on Monday.
A Sussex man who has been at sea for over 3 months on his own rowing single-handedly across the Atlantic Ocean is expected to finish his 3000-mile journey around...
Ranjit Recommends: Bateaux-licious London
On a typically busy but atmospheric Embankment pier in London lies the Bateaux London Cruise liner. Indeed, all passengers were looking slick and resembled the latest fashion line as...
Wendy’s Wanderings; ORANGES AND LEMONS SAID THE BELLS OF ST CLEMENTS
As I sat on the seafront at Worthing this week with the wind blowing through my hair and sea ebbing and flowing, my thoughts turned to those people...
Malta Diary ‘Drake is in his hammock and a thousand miles away….’ The Maltese in the fabric of the British Royal Navy and the British Merchant Navy
The opening stanza of the poem ‘Drake’s Drum’ heading this piece, written by Henry Newbolt at the turn of the 20th Century, was one of the first poems I...
Ranjit Reminisces: It’s a hole!
Often heard the captain of a ship say that ‘we are going to be passing a rock on the left/right hand side’ or ‘we will be going around...
A 42 year old man from Forest Row in East Sussex who is so passionate about raising money for a local animal charity he will be spending Christmas away from his family!
FOR VIDEOS SEE BELOW: Alone at sea for 90 days Daryl Farmer will be raising money for East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS), rowing over...
DINNER ON THE ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA A never-to-be-forgotten experience.
This is my favourite article of 2016. It was an experience that will live with me for ever! A lone piper played as we walked along the long red...
Thomson’s Canaries Cruise.
We’ve just had a wonderful week’s cruise with Thomson’s. We enjoyed every minute of it. What a difference from our Costa Cruise From Hell last year! COSTA DIADEMA; another...
Cruising to Wellness
Wellness themed holidays can be experienced in many forms but if you like fresh air, open skies, and the sound of waves on rewind, then take to the ocean...
I Like the Slow Bus to Paris.
My frequent idea of travelling from London to Paris has always primed my sense of adventure. I do it quite often and have become something of an authority. I...
An eclectic city-break in Istanbul – World Meanderings (n°34)
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny Istanbul is like a plate of Turkish mezze, full of varied flavours, colours and sensations. Passed centuries and different cultures have each...
Malta Diary Malta’s Grand Harbour – majestic, historic and beautiful
A major chunk of the history of the Mediterranean region, for centuries known as “the cradle of civilisation” before Marco Polo’s long trek to China and the discovery of...
Cruising the Greek Islands- Fifth and last part – World Meanderings (n°30)
By Annick Dournes & Frederic de Poligny On board the Celestyal Crystal we continue our journey through the Aegean Sea and after a whole night of navigation we berth...
Cruising the Greek Islands. Part four – World Meanderings (n°29)
By Annick Dournes & Frederic de Poligny Today is our fourth day aboard the Celestyal Crystal and it now feels just like being home, finding our way from our...
Cruising the Greek islands – Part three – World Meanderings (n°28)
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny Kalimera! This is the way to say good morning in Greek or you can as well say Yassu, like you would say...
Cruising the Greek islands: an everlasting feeling of beauty and serenity- Part two. World Meanderings (n°27)
By Annick Dournes & Frederic de Poligny Welcome back on board the Celestyal Crystal that continues its journey through the Aegean Sea. We are not the...
Cruising the Greek islands: an everlasting feeling of beauty and serenity- Part one – World Meanderings (n°26)
By Annick Dournes & Frederic de Poligny We all have in mind the distressing images of the thousands of migrants disembarking on the Greek shores last year and...
St Barts, the sweet pearl of the French West Indies – World Meanderings (n°23)
By Frederic de Poligny With less than 25 square km, St Barts is surely one of the smallest inhabited islands in the West Indies. This is not the only...
MALTA DIARY: The ill-fated voyage of the MV ‘Star of Malta’ in 1955 – and my ill-fate because of it!
It was the 29th of July 1955 and I was nine years old. We were in Malta on holiday from England, that is my late mother Pauline, my...
MALTA DIARY: Bridge or tunnel – never-ending saga between Malta and Gozo
Man has landed on the moon, is making preparations to land on Mars, has orbited the planet Earth a thousand times and probed the Pacific depths with a...
A Graceful Visit to Windsor Castle and the Thames Valley by Coach.
Recently, I joined a group of fellow writers to enjoy a modern day motor coach trip. We were guests of the Coach Tourism Council and we all met just...
Slowing down on the Canal du Midi – Meanderings through France
By Annick Dournes & Frederic de Poligny This year the Canal du Midi celebrates its 350th anniversary and its 20th year as UNESCO World Heritage site, providing the...
‘Slow tourism’ on the French Canals – Meanderings through France
Annick Dournes & Frederic de Poligny If you often dreamed about being a bold captain sailing the seven seas but never had...
Let Paris surprise you for an exciting Valentine’s Day – Meanderings through France
Annick Dournes & Frederic de Poligny As Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday this year why not spend a romantic weekend in Paris? If weather forecasts are...
Funchal in a day on a cruise ship
We were on the P & O Oriana which called into Funchal for the day, so decided to take advantage of every minute. As soon as we were...
Harry the tour guide.
You may recall that I am Eastbourne’s only sight-seeing guide licensed by the council. Recently, I was contacted by a Dutch travel agent, with a party of 53 to...
Cruise Size
Different passengers have different ideas of the ideal size cruise ship that suits their purpose best. There are now ships that take in excess of 5,000 passengers, with almost...
Proof Discovered that Cuba was part of Atlantis?
The huge yacht looked out of place moored beside the Hotel Hemingway, near Havana in Cuba. What was it doing there? My journalistic instinct began to twitch, and, after...
COSTA DIADEMA; another Costa disaster waiting to happen at sea!
The Costa Diadema was launched in November 2014. Every week it sails round the Mediterranean, docking at Savona, Marseilles, Barcelona, Palma Majorca, Naples, La Spezia, and back to Savona,...
Cruising the Caledonian Canal, Scotland
We cruised along 58 miles of the 60 mile long Caledonian Canal in the luxury barge, The Scottish Highlander. It was a leisurely trip. The barge travels so slow...
Malta Diary Humanity crisis escalates – international indifference to horror and atrocities
Addressing a political meeting following a romping victory in Malta and Gozo’s mid-term Local Elections on Sunday 19th April, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat began in sombre mood when...
The go-anywhere acceptability of the Suzuki Swift 4×4
IAIN ROBERTSON Beset by Boxing Day snow, the sheer practicality of the compact and zesty Swift gave Iain Robertson a most fitting conclusion to a hectic 2014, as he...
World Wanderings ~ A very special cruise on board the SS Sudan (Back to Egypt, Part 3)
There is no other ship like the SS Sudan sailing on the Nile. She is actually the only steam ship, nowadays all the other ships are MS, meaning motor...
Mumbai Memoir 20- Sail with the wind!
Mumbai has been blessed with a natural harbour. Located on the West coast of India, the city has witnessed a lot of maritime activities since its ancient days....
FLANDERS WWl. FORGIVEN BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN! Part 3.
By Lyn We travelled on our minibus to Diksmuide, beside the River Yser. The entrance to the museum is an 84mts high gravestone! 10 people are buried here; nine...