World Cruise 2020

There is something very special about a World Cruise...A world of fascinating discoveries on ship and on shore

Leaving Southampton on a cold dark January night was no hardship, as we all looked towards a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. I was blessed with being aboard the beautiful P & O Arcadia for the first part of this epic World Cruise. The stunning ports of Madeira, Barbados, Curaçao, Panama, Guatemala, Manzanillo, San Francisco then finally Honolulu were on the itinerary. Ukulele workshops and music lectures being my working role

Madeira never disappoints. I have visited many times, but this time I visited the beautiful village of Camara de Lobos. The village that gave Winston Churchill inspiration for a number of his stunning paintings.

Barbados is a favourite destination. In this port you can visit one of the best seafood restaurants in the Caribbean - with a breathtaking spot on the beach.

"Lobster Alive" is a small intimate place and the real cool thing is that you can book online, your table overlooking the Caribbean sea. A special day with friends and ...Rum Punch!

https://www.lobsteralive.net

After a short stop at Curaçao it was a full day of activities and lectures based around our sailing through the Panama Canal. 48 miles of historic marine engineering.

Ukulele Workshops & Lectures

My "Beatles v's Beach Boys" talk really divides folks but also unites. Little did I know when I started this cruising larky, that so many lovely people would have so many stories about these original supergroups with their personalities, their lifestyle and of course their music. I never tire of hearing how the music of this time really shaped young minds...and gave licence to party!! This trip was no exception, as guests shared with me their favourite songs and memories. The final result was that The Beatles were the winners - no surprise there, considering the ship generally had a Uk based guest list. :)

Ukuleles were on fire!!! 42 guests signed up for Ukulele Love!! It was super to see some friends from previous trips...and they choose to return to Ukulele :) The other lovely programme that was available on this trip was "Crew Ukulele". P&O under their Crew Health and Wellbeing programme arrange for crew members to have ukuleles and workshops. This is a real joy...music making with crew that are based all around the ship. We had members of the shore team, bridge officers, security members, restaurant and galley staff - all giving up their rest time to learn ukulele. What fun we had. The final icing on the cake was the uniting of the guest and crew group for our final performance. A good time was had by all!!

Having never visited Guatemala before, I had a few reservations about the visit. How wrong could I have been !!!! What a super day we had at Antigua Guatemala - The UNESCO World Heritage site. Antigua Guatemala was built in the early 16th century in an earthquake prone zone and was once the capital city under the Spanish Crown. What a colonial gem this city is and very much worth a visit. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/65/

The pastel colour cobblestone streets ooze charm with cute artisan boutiques and cafes.

Some areas may seem a little tired, but these streets and ruins are the heart of Antigua.

Meeting old and new friends while sailing, is something I really enjoy as I travel on cruises. One person I admired on this trip was the talented craft teacher Sarah Waters. .http://www.sarahwaterstextiles.com/home What an artist !! This lady directed felting and textile workshops. The results were stunning and all the guests celebrated with their final exhibition.

I must confess, I did have a bit of fan moment on this trip. One of the Celebrity Guest Speakers was the delightful Didi Conn...the American Actress better known as "Frenchie" from the film Grease. Her talks were delightful as she shared the naughty inside stories about the making of the film. BUT..for me the fan moment was meeting her husband - the American film, theatre and television composer David Shire. I was tickled to tell him that I talk about him on one of my music lectures when I discuss his film score of "Saturday Night Fever" for which he earned two Grammy Awards. A gifted composer with many scores and awards with his name on them. davidshiremusic.com

To quote John Travolta in Grease ...Hawaii was "Electrifying". Maybe it was the years of watching old films like "South Pacific" 'Waikiki Wedding" and "Blue Hawaii" but I was super excited about having a few days in Honolulu.

One of the "Must see " sights in Honolulu is The Pearl Harbour National Memorial.

This is a national park honouring the 2388 Americans who died during the Japanese attack on December 7th 1941. There was a very humbling experience when unannounced,

three Japanese visitors started beautifully chanting inside the USS Arizona Memorial.

https://www.nps.gov/valr/index.htm

Then ....there was the question of the ukulele - now was the time to purchase that handmade Koa wood instrument.

I had a brilliant day at the Ko'aloha factory watching the craftsmen at work..and selecting my new ukulele. www.koaloha.com So many ukes...so little time..

Hawaii was everything I expected and more......Aloha (Goodbye)