Red Duck's Travel Blog

15/06/2022

Sunsets over the North Devon Coast Line.

13/10/2021

We have made the news!

https://www.madeiraislanddirect.com/blog/2021/10/iona-debuts-on-wednesday/amp/

A major arrival in the port of Funchal this coming Wednesday - "A majestic ship -the biggest to scale Funchal arrives on Wednesday. And it's called Iona".

09/10/2021

Hey Duckies…i’m back at the Stern and I’m spending the next 14 Nights onboard P&O Cruises Iona with a total of 5 Maidens Calls for Iona this cruise in the Canaries.

Look out for updates as the trip unfolds.

Day 1 Southampton, UK 🇬🇧
Day 2 At Sea 🌊
Day 3 At Sea 🌊
Day 4 At Sea 🌊
Day 5 Madeira, Portugal 🇵🇹
Day 6 Tenerife, Spain 🇪🇸
Day 7 Gran Canaria, Spain 🇪🇸
Day 8 Fuerteventura, Spain 🇪🇸
Day 9 Arrecife De Lanzarote, Spain 🇪🇸
Day 10 At Sea 🌊
Day 11 Cadiz, Spain 🇪🇸
Day 12 Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
Day 13 At Sea 🌊
Day 14 At Sea 🌊
Day 15 Southampton, UK 🇬🇧

04/10/2021

It has been 84 Days since we last saw P&O Cruises Arvia but she is coming together just nicely. Here she is in Hall 6 at the MEYER WERFT Shipyard in Pappenberg.



Photo Credit: Meyer Werft We**am

14/07/2021

There’s so much to see and do in the so why not make sure you enjoy a great summer staycation.

This is a view from the National Trust house of Agatha Christie out towards the mouth of the in

12/07/2021

For the first time since May 31st we get to see more of the engine room module of Arvia from P&O Cruises



Photo Credit: MEYER WERFT We**am

12/07/2021

Royal Caribbean International are back sailing in and there is no place better for them to sail from than in . Kicking off with 2 cruises celebrating the heroes of the our Blue Light Card holders.

27/06/2021

After 467 Days of no passengers, today P&O Cruises Britannia, the first of the Carnival Cruise Line UK ships sets sail on her first cruise since the pandemic took hold.

Have a fantastic trip everyone!

The picture is of Britannia on her maiden call to Le Harve in March 2016.

30/04/2021

📣 Announcement coming soon 📣

21/04/2021

It’s official the duck will be floating out with P&O Cruises on the in December 2022.

01/10/2020

a natural archway formed in off the coast of in .

30/09/2020

The Dartmouth Steam Railway passing by Park Holidays holiday park.

30/09/2020

Decided to take a trip out to National Trust Greenway House but it was a bit of a torrential washout. Good job I’m a waterproof duck! 🦆 🏡 ☔️

29/09/2020

Not quite Princess Cruises or the P&O Cruises voyage we were expecting but it’s still a cruise and we are off to see Queen Mary 2 and Ventura.

28/09/2020

Read all about my trip yesterday on the Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company train Braveheart and River Cruise along the River Dart.

http://www.duckblog.co.uk/2020/09/27/dartmouth-steam-railway-and-river-boat/

19/08/2020

This is quite an interesting article from Cruise Radio. A ‪family that broke MSC Cruises shore excursion rules are banned from coming back on board. Quite interesting as this is the first large cruise ship that has resumed sailings in the Mediterranean.‬

https://cruiseradio.net/kicked-off-cruise-line-boots-guests-for-ignoring-new-protocols

A group of passengers aboard the MSC Grandiosa has been kicked off the ship for violating new protocols put in place regarding shore excursions.

19/08/2020

Throwback to February 2017 when I was lucky enough to cruise the Caribbean onboard P&O Cruises . You can read about some of my adventures during my 2 weeks by clicking below.

http://www.duckblog.co.uk/tag/a703a/

19/08/2020

Following on from my blog post the other night about my trip to Norway in 2018, here is a short highlights video available on my YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/5M56Bb-DW0Y

Some of my highlights of my trip to the Norwegian Fjords in September 2018.

17/08/2020

I'd like to share a throwback to September 2018 when I was lucky enough to spend the week cruising the Norwegian Fjords onboard the lovely P&O Cruises MV Azura.

http://www.duckblog.co.uk/tag/a824

10/08/2020

It looks like AIDA one of the Carnival Corporation & plc brands, plans to return to cruising on 6th September.

http://www.duckblog.co.uk/2020/08/10/aida-cruises-plan-to-restart-operations/

Home News Aida Cruises Plan to Restart Operations Aida Cruises Plan to Restart Operations News 1 hour ago1 hour ago duckadmin Comments Off 7 views FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinkedIn Aida Cruises are planning to recommence cruising from the port of Hamburg in German on Sunday, September 6th. The...

07/07/2020

Such a shame to hear that will be leaving the P&O Cruises fleet this month. I never got the chance to bring you any blog posts from her decks. Oceana on your new journey.

Oceana to leave the P&O Cruises fleet

Sadly we announce that Oceana will leave the P&O Cruises fleet this month. Whilst we will all miss Oceana, her departure will allow us to focus on our remaining ships and the delivery of Iona later this year, followed by Iona’s sister ship, scheduled for 2022.

We know that many of you are very fond of Oceana and have very happy memories of your time on board. We hope that you will be able to find a similar alternative holiday, whether that is from Southampton or a fly-cruise itinerary.

We are so sorry to disappoint our guests who were booked on Oceana and we are pleased to offer a 125% Future Cruise Credit (FCC). There’s no need to contact us; once processed, your FCC will be automatically applied against each individual on the booking. If the FCC does not meet your needs and you'd like to request a refund, please visit our website, pocruises.com/request

21/01/2020

19/01/2020

It’s getting closer and closer to my next adventure, the maiden voyage of Iona.

11/01/2020

Who’s watching the The Masked Singer UK on ITV? I’m fully backing “Duck”.

25/12/2019

God bless Turkeys and Geese this time of year. Merry Christmas to all my followers, I hope you have a quacking Christmas. - Andrew aka Red Duck.

28/11/2019

5 Years Ago today I flew out to Barbados to join P&O Cruises Azura for my very first Cruise. Today, 5 Years later I’ve sailed my 11th Cruise and I’m only a few months away from my 12th Cruise and Maiden Voyage onboard Iona.

26/10/2019

Day 5 Bruges

We arrived in Zeebrugge and were alongside around 7am and were joined shortly after by Britannia in port on her first cruise after her recent make over.

Today we’d booked the “Bruges on Your Own” full day excursion. This departed from the ship at 10am returning at 5pm. This excursion also included some free Belgian Pralines.

There are some free port shuttles which take you to the gates and another into Blankenberge which is the nearest town to port which is home to SEA LIFE Blankenberge. From Blankenberge you can also get the train directly into Bruges.

Out in Bruges we did exactly what the excursion suggested and went on our own. This was my second time to Bruges so I knew where we were heading and roughly what we wanted to do. We got dropped at the coach station with the “red bridge” and walked into town from there.

After having a walk around town, taking in the sites at our own pace we stopped for a Coke n Coffee in Bruges at Marie van Bourgondie. Shortly afterward we had a walk around the Church of Our Lady.

We had decided that we wanted to do the canal cruise this time but it proved impossible trying to get tickets. Every ticket office we tried were sold out and the one that was open had a queue along its pier, over the bridge and down the street. Instead we headed out to Grot Markt and took a horse and carriage ride instead. This cost €50 for the entire carriage including a guide for 35min. Don’t worry, these horses seem well looked after and have a water and food break on every trip at the half way point.

We wrapped up the day with gift shopping, food and beer. There are plenty of places to get all the above in Bruges. We got the chocolates from Dumon Chocolatier. These have been tried and tested in the past so I recommend them.

We had the famous chips from Tonka which doesn’t look much from the outside but was pretty reasonable. We then carried on further along and sampled the Waffles with Strawberries and Cream from Waffles and Sandwhiches which were amazing. To wash all that Belgian goodness down we stopped off at Ribs and More to have a glass of Brugse Zot Blonde.

All in all a good day had by all, I really enjoyed my second time in Bruges and would definitely go again.

A couple of points to note on this trip. There were some roadworks taking place in Bruges along Katelijnestraat which is one of the main roads, this made navigating those road a little on the difficult side. Also there was a whiff of drains around town too. Not sure if it was related to the roadworks or not but I sure don’t remember that last time I was there.

Like always, if you have any questions please do ask.

Thanks
Andrew

25/10/2019

Day 3 & 4 in Amsterdam

So after our sea day we got to spend a couple of days in Amsterdam. Something to be mindful of though is that and Carnival Group ship (P&O, Cunard etc) are not longer docking in the heart of Amsterdam but instead in IJmuiden with a free shuttle service that runs during the entire stay.

Shortly after docking after 7am the shuttle start straight away. Shuttle info included in one of my images.

We decided to hit the shuttles a bit later in the morning to avoid the early morning rush. Which was a good move. Transfer time to Amsterdam is about 35/40 mins although P&O suggest allowing an hour. You get dropped off by the main trains station in Amsterdam.

We headed firstly to Grand Café 1884 for coffee, this is right opposite the drop off point and DOES NOT offer the traditional cafe culture you’d expect in Amsterdam 🌱.

After that we headed into Amsterdam to take in the sights and yes the sights that you DO come to expect. For those with young children there are the odd places that offer “Window Shopping” options during the day so just be mindful.

Having never been to Amsterdam before I had an idea of what to expect and was surprised it didn’t entirely live upto my expectations by day.

After a day exploring the sights but not the delights, we headed back to the ship. Afterwards a few of us headed back out into Amsterdam to experience what the night time is like and boy does the area change. I’m affraid I can’t offer many night time pics of Amsterdam because I’d have probably had my phone destroyed.

The second day in Amsterdam was a little more low key, mainly staying onboard the ship and just taking some time ashore in the port exploring a few bits of what IJmuiden has to offer. I expect this area to be developed considerably over the next few years capitalising on the Amsterdam Passenger Tax. So I guess watch this space.

Top Tip - If you are visiting Amsterdam on a cruise, go with an open mind and plan in for the extra commute because of docking in IJmuiden now not Amsterdam.

22/10/2019

Day 2 of my adventures are now ready to read on my website. “All at Sea”. Click the link below:

http://www.duckblog.co.uk/2019/10/22/day-2-n929-all-at-sea/