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Dinner in Peninsular was absolutely fine once again. The food isn’t stunning but it’s very good and there is plenty of it. It has certainly been better than the first couple of meals. We had had a drink on deck as has become our habit but the virtual queue was so short we didn’t bother to join until we started walking to the restaurant. We ate on our own again but chatted to the next table. A small aside which I can’t believe - we haven’t finished our wine package. We bought

We woke early as usual and found ourselves docking in Barbados, our last stop. Our trip was due to start at 9.00 but before that we needed to go to the Live Lounge to complete immigration into Barbados. It’s surprising how much stricter the protocol is here compared to all the other islands. I arrived before the allotted start time of 7.30 and the queue was immense but as soon as the immigration officers arrived and opened up it as incredibly quick. We had plenty of time to t

Santa arrived on the ship around 5pm on Christmas Eve much to the joy of all the children, young and old, on board. We went to the Atrium at 7pm for the Christmas carols. The atmosphere was fabulous. All the kids and their families were on the floor of the Atrium and above all the bars were packed and people were leaning over the bannisters, even the stairs were lined with people. The kids choir started and oh my goodness, they were wonderful. Then the ships crew choir took o

Dinner in Peninsular was absolutely fine - a first again as I had a mushroom wellington which was lovely. The whole meal was very pleasant. We had had a drink on deck beforehand and after we went to the Live Lounge to listen to Exxile, the Caribbean band. We only stayed long enough for one more drink and then to bed. Today we woke up in Aruba - another day, another island and another adventure.  We can’t believe it but they get better and better. Our adventure today was going

Our start today was a little later at 9.30 so coffee in the cabin then breakfast in Horizon. We were definitely disappointed that our original excursion had been cancelled but our Free Walking Tour was a really fabulous alternative. Curacao, or at least Willemstad, is totally different from the islands we’ve been to so far. For a start the island is virtually flat, like its parent country, Holland. Also the buildings in the city are much grander and are beautifully maintained

Last night we decided to go to The Beach Club for supper. They had a space at 7.30 which was perfect. The food there is nice but the atmosphere is a little bland. It is only part of Horizon buffet that’s turned into the restaurant at night. Steve had goat curry which he loved. After supper we went to the lido bar for a drink. We realised that there are two very distinct groups on the ship - the youngsters who don’t want to dress up but just want to party and the the old farts

This was a two day stop in St Lucia so it meant people stayed ashore for the evening which also meant the karaoke lasted well into the evening. We went to Sindhu for another magical meal. We fell in love with the restaurant on our cruise last year so were looking forward to revisiting it on this trip and it didn’t disappoint. We had been ashore in the early evening for a cocktail event at Diamonds International, just to confirm our intention to return tomorrow to buy the watc

Another morning, another island and another exhilarating adventure. But this time it’s an island we last visited 30 years ago on our honeymoon. How appropriate to come back on our Pearl Anniversary. But first a quick summary of yesterday evening - yes it was quiet, yes we did have a drink on deck before we ate and yes, it was Peninsular and then a few minutes on our balcony. Steve wanted to order a drink but we fell asleep before we could 😂. So a good night’s sleep and anoth

The Limelight Club last night was yet another first and we weren’t really sure what to expect. We probably weren’t expecting anything too special, particularly as we had never heard of the artist who was appearing. But as always, P&O surprised us and the evening was excellent. We arrived a little early, just before 7pm, and were shown to a table right at the front. The decor and atmosphere are lovely. We had a glass of Prosecco whilst we waited for our orders to be taken. The

This is an island we visited 25 years ago on a sailing holiday with Lynn and Phil so we are looking forward to seeing it again although we are sure it will be very different. But back to last night.  The panto thing was a bit of nothing really but we had a nice glass of wine whilst watching and waiting for our table. The table didn’t take long even though we’d asked for a table for two. And oh thank goodness, the meal standard was up to what we expected. We “cheated” with two

In the end last night we decided to go back to the Peninsular restaurant. We had a pre dinner cocktail and then joined the virtual queue and were called almost immediately. We had agreed to share our table once again. This was the second time we’ve eaten dinner in this restaurant which in the same as the other two included restaurants and which is where we ate last year on Aurora. The first night I had halibut which at best was ordinary - my fault I thought as of course it ha

Dinner last night at the Epicurean was outstanding, definitely the best meal we’ve had on P&O and we have had plenty of extremely good ones. The restaurant was surprisingly large and last night it was surprisingly empty. A few people were there but it was far from full. However the Maitre d said that was pretty common early on in a cruise and that it gets busier as people become more familiar with the ship and other restaurants. Steve had lamb and I had Iberian pork (😂) but

We had an early start today at 8.30 so Steve went for breakfast on his own as I didn’t fancy it. We then headed off for our America’s Cup experience. We had been looking forward to this from the moment we booked the cruise. There are 3 ex- Americas’s Cup boats here in St Maarten. We were going to go out on two - Stars and Stripes, which we were on, and True North IV, the Canadian boat.   We were each asked whether we wanted a working role or just wanted to chill. We both said

It took a while, but the luggage finally turned up so we showered and had dinner in the buffet restaurant Horizon which was somewhat underwhelming. We hadn’t got our vouchers yet for our wine package so just bought a bottle. Then straight to bed. After not too bad a nights sleep Steve ran his usual chore and went to buy us coffee (ordinary coffee is included but it’s revolting so we buy Costa). We then went to the Oriental Restaurant for breakfast. There was a slight queue bu

After a restless night in Premier Inn we sailed through fast track straight into No1 lounge. A first for us but as we have 3 hours to wait we thought it would be worth it. We were not wrong, much more relaxed, nice food and drink and good view of the airport. We flew Tui to Bridgetown Barbados. The flight was as good as any 8 hour flight can be when you are stuck in cattle. Having read and seen a bit online we booked seats right at the back of the plane which did work well. W

Easy drive from Margate, stopped at Minnis Bay for a bacon roll and then a pint in the bar at Premier Inn Gatwick, and so it begins!

We are starting our next adventure, a cruise to the  Caribbean, and will keep our family and friends updated via travel blog. This is the second time we have done this, it seemed popular first time! We fly from Gatwick to Bridgetown Barbados for a 14 night cruise withP&O on Britannia visiting St Maarten, Antigua, St Vincent, Grenada, St Lucia, Curacao and Aruba. Virtually every day involves excursions of various types, including an America’s Cup sailing experience, snorkellin