Tuesday, 23rd June 2026

More Than Just the Destinations

If you only read my blog to find out about the destinations and don’t really want to hear all about us living our best lives on board, feel free to skip this post!

When people hear we’re spending 25 days on a cruise ship, they probably imagine endless cocktails by the pool and not much else. While there is certainly plenty of relaxation to be had (and the Mango Daiquiris are excellent), life at sea has its own routines, challenges and surprises.

One of the biggest differences compared with land travel is that you’re not constantly living out of a suitcase. Packing, unpacking and repacking become second nature when you are moving through destinations on land, as is constantly trying to find places to wash and dry your clothes. Then there are the practicalities of everyday life – keeping clothes clean, dealing with the occasional sniffle or upset tummy, and missing family and friends at home.

Thankfully, modern cruising makes staying connected surprisingly easy. The Starlink internet on board has been excellent, allowing me to continue coordinating OzHarvest activities from halfway across the world. A few days ago, I spent 45 minutes on the phone chatting with Dad and my brother, Mark while they were in Taveuni, Fiji. It still amazes me that conversations like that are possible while sailing off the coast of West Africa 😮.

The ship itself has become a little floating community. With only 420 passengers on board, we’re getting to know many of the staff by name and they’re beginning to know us too. Dave even attended a military veterans’ get-together on board and, as always, has found people willing to discuss unusual destinations. His love of routine is perfectly catered for as well – our suite is quickly feeling like home no matter where in the world we happen to wake up.

Of course, life at sea has its quirks. We recently signed up for a complimentary shore excursion described simply as “strenuous” – a word that generated far more discussion than perhaps it should have! There have been unexpected encounters too, including meeting a dancer from the entertainment team from Wagga Wagga while sailing the Atlantic! The world really is a small place.

One thing that has pleasantly surprised us is the value. The upfront cost of a 25-day cruise was a little frightening, but when you consider that on this cruise accommodation, meals, drinks, entertainment, shore excursions and transport between destinations are all included, it compares very favourably with some of the independent holidays we’ve planned ourselves over the years. Thirteen days in and all we’ve spent is $11 on some tablets!

There are also little comforts that seem to have become important. We have managed to stream the series of The Brokenwood Mysteries, a New Zealand-made murder mystery that we started before we left Australia. Sitting on the lounge watching it on my laptop with views over the Atlantic, and a fridge full of whatever drinks we like is not a bad way to do it!

It would not be a blog post written by me if there wasn’t talk about the food.

Of the cruises we have been on, the food is by far the best we have experienced. As it’s a small ship there isn’t the range of restaurant options like there is on the bigger ones, but the menus in each of the dining locations are pretty big, so there’s no lack of variety. The main restaurant (Compass Rose) is excellent. They have quite a few dishes listed on the regular side of the menu, then a daily changing menu on the other side. Lobster, scallops, fillet steak and many other ‘special’ ingredients are always on offer in the ‘regular’ side, and specials have included some wonderful international dishes including the squid ink and calamari risotto I enjoyed for last night’s starter. Usually, I start with a soup but couldn’t pass up on squid risotto! The soup has actually been a highlight – always served piping hot and the options change every meal. A corn and white bean velouté was outstanding – but in fact they have all been very good. The temperature makes all the difference I think – I really don’t like it luke warm.

We mostly choose to go to the restaurant rather than the buffet for breakfast, mostly to reduce our consumption. We sometimes order cereal and fruit in the room first so I can have something to eat before getting ‘Hangry’, then we take our time to get ready and head down to the restaurant for breakfast main course.

Dave’s breakfast of choice is what he calls a ‘Sailor’s Breakfast’, two plain pancakes with a fried egg on top of each. The wait staff have all got to know his order now. They’ve also stopped offering him alcoholic drinks and know he has still water and I have sparkling. When we were lying by the pool yesterday, the waiter just bought us a Coke Zero and a still water without even asking. The familiarity is definitely a plus on a smaller ship.

The absolutely best part about the inclusions on this cruise is the laundry. Most of my readers will know that Dave is in charge of washing and ironing when we are at home, but here there is a complimentary valet laundry service. Just pile dirty clothes into a bag with your name on it, and a day or so later it all comes back clean and ironed in a beautiful box! There has been a stain on a dress I brought with me for quite a while – but they managed to remove it, and nothing shrunken so far, which I was a little worried about. If the clothes don’t fit, it might be more to do with all the food I am eating 😉

To combat the excessive consumption, we took up my gorgeous friend Gillian’s advice and don’t use the elevators. We are on Deck 9, and the restaurant is on Deck 4, so it’s a good few steps to go down and up each time. The pool deck is a level above us, and there’s also a lovely spot at the aft of the ship on Deck 11, where you can sit and have a drink or quiet read. There’s also afternoon tea served there every day – trying to avoid doing that too regularly, although Dave says the scones are nearly as good as Sandy’s.

Even though the ship is small, there’s still plenty to do if you want to, or not if you don’t. We have yet to go to an evening show (we watch Brokenwood instead); there’s Trivia every afternoon; a casino that we have barely seen anyone in; Bridge and Mahjong classes; a well fitted-out gym; craft lessons; shared puzzles; and more. The library has become a regular visiting spot with Dave having read eight books already and we are only on day 13 of the cruise! I brought two books with me and have finished both and am now onto a Danielle Steel one from the library. I put one of the books I brought in there and notice others on the ship now reading it!

OK, this post is getting a bit long and I’m sure you don’t all want to hear any more about how wonderful it all is.

We have two days at sea and on Thursday we’ll arrive in The Gambia, another destination that neither of us knows much about. As I mentioned in my last post, many people still refer to Côte d’Ivoire as the Ivory Coast, but the country’s preferred name internationally is Côte d’Ivoire. On the other hand, The Gambia is one of the few countries in the world that officially includes “The” as part of its name. For years I assumed it was the other way around!

So, its back now to some more R&R. As much as we love exploring new places, there’s something rather special about the days in between. The destinations may be why we booked the cruise, but the life at sea is becoming part of the adventure too.

Sara xx