The children all want to cross the sea likeVikings
SIR FRANCIS Drake said: ‘It isn’t that life ashore is distasteful to me, but life at sea is better.’ And it is the same for me – I just find I am happier on water. We live next to water, on the Solent near Southampton, so we see cruise ships coming and going all the time.
I often take our children out in our little speedboat to wave at the passengers, imagining where they’re going and the fun they are having on board. They have also seen the waterslides and giant cinema screens, and clamoured to try a cruise themselves.
So now we are booked on our first family cruise, on the new Cunard ship Queen Anne in August, to Norway.
I’ve shown, Zia, who’s 12, Wolf, nine, and Orla, eight, pictures of the fjords with perpendicular mountains soaring out of the water, and they can’t believe their eyes. They are very keen on Vikings – we all are – so we are looking forward to crossing the North Sea and seeing where they came from.
My parents are coming too. We all love being on the sea, and the coast of Norway has been special for me ever since we sailed there – my parents, sisters and me – when I was about ten, in a 36ft ketch. It had red sails and a green hull. We went from Orkney to Bergen, a huge adventure, but I was very seasick.
One of the best seas for cruising is the
Aegean, around the Greek Islands. You see the beauty of all the islands, archaeological sites in abundance and there are great beaches. As well as that, the food is delicious and locals are friendly.
The lovely thing about cruise holidays is that life on board is simple. It is as if you are on a tiny island with your loved ones, yet that island is moving and can take you anywhere in the world.