‘Every day was thrilling: visiting temples, shrines and cities I never thought I’d see’

Your memories of adventurous cruises around the world delivered a vivid array of enchanting stories

“Do not climb on the Pyramids,” exhorted the teacher. At home, shy and rule abiding, while out in Egypt no one was going to stop me climbing up the huge block. The resulting photo is my best-loved souvenir. So many memories: snorting camels, the glimpse of sails through palms as feluccas sailed the Nile, massive paws carved out of stone, Pyramids bigger than anything I had ever imagined. A day trip longer than I had ever been on. We left the ship before 7am, to return around midnight. In the year of the long, hot summer, December 1976 saw me lapping up the sunshine on a wondrous school trip aboard the late SS Uganda, leaving me a love to last a lifetime: Egypt.

Karen Williams, Devon

WHALE OF A TIME

Back in 2015 I made an exhilarating cruise to the High Arctic in Fred Olsen’s Boudicca. We travelled up the spectacular Norwegian coast, then leaving North Cape behind we approached brooding Bear Island with its cloud cap. Further north still to Svalbard (Spitsbergen) with signs warning us of predatory polar bears. The sun refused to set and beluga whales were sited near our ship. Then we set a south-westerly course towards the very remote Jan Mayen island, with glaciers plunging to the sea, between black, volcanic cliffs. Then over to Greenland and finally east past Cape Farewell towards the Faroes and home via the Orkney Islands.

Geoff Simmons, Herefordshire

FANTASTIC VOYAGE

For my eight-year-old self, it was the cruise of a lifetime. The adventure began on the River Waveney at Beccles – surely this was the Limpopo River. On board I manned the prow, as we cut through clear water teeming with silvery darting fish. As we motored along, the putt-putt-putt of the diesel engine disturbed herons from the river’s reed-bound banks. There were no doubt crocodiles too. Mooring was the height of excitement: my brother and I leapt ashore like pirates, armed with rope and pegs. Eventually we steered for home, crossing the vast Breydon Water to Beccles. That was over 60 years ago, but it remains my cruise of a lifetime.

Paul Buck, Cambridgeshire

Himeji Castle seems to float magically over a sea of pink blossom

GETTING THE WIND UP

It was a great experience swinging through Parque Nacional La Amistad, Costa Rica, from tree to tree on nine different zip wires. The shortest ride was 68ft and the longest 551ft, and each of us had to control our own take-off and landing – if you pulled up too soon you would be suspended in mid air and if you left it too late you hit the next deck very hard. However, the biggest adventure was on board MV Island Star itself. Who knew that the Caribbean could be so rough? Between Colón in Panama and Oranjestad in Aruba, there were gale force winds followed by storm force winds up to 52 knots. We missed calling in to Trinidad and the captain (with 40 years’ experience) said he had seldom encountered such high waves.

Joan Richards, Kent

ATOLL STORY

Serendipity brought a lifetime of magic memories cruising across the Pacific to visit my dream destination of the Marquesa Islands. I wanted to experience the culture and archaeology but to get there I had to visit the Hawaiian Islands, Fanning Atoll and the Society Islands first. From walking through lava flow tubes dripping with fauna to seeing Kilauea in all its fiery glory, the islands didn’t disappoint. In Rangiroa, dolphins danced 8ft in the air in a turning tide. Then on to the Marquesas, where I fulfilled my dreams and topped it all by meeting a horseman who tanned a hide, made it into a saddle and decorated it with Polynesian icons – and who let me ride his mare on the beach. It isn’t the places that I remember most but Polynesians I met on my journey who are rich in infinite kindness and generosity. Mahalo!

Eleanor Impey, Hampshire

BEAR WITH US

In 2000 we joined Clipper Adventurer for a late-summer small ship cruise from Greenland to Nova Scotia via Baffin Island and the Canadian east coast.

The highlight was the visit to Akpatok Island in the entrance to Hudson’s Bay. Towering cliffs host millions of seabirds and the narrow scree below becomes the summer refuge for many polar bears stranded and hungry.

We saw one with triplet cubs which the experienced expedition staff had never seen before, and from our Zodiac, close to shore, Janet photographed a female with two well-grown cubs who rushed down to the water to see us off but pulled up short having made their point. Moments later a huge male charged into the water heading for the nearest Zodiac, followed by an instant response of outboard motors and radio shouts of “Get out, quick!” We did. Janet and Marcus Croome, Cornwall*