After my first trip abroad it was a good couple of years before I ventured too far again. And even now 7 years later I still cant believe how it all came about!

You see back in 2006 I was working in Lymington, leading a pretty quiet life and still not saying much unless directly asked a question Then one day in August, I believe it was, we had a Bath travel leaflet posted through the door at work and we all oohed and awed over the cruise offers and things quickly spiraled from there.

My good friend Annie was also working that day and we both said how beautiful Norway sounded and the next thing I know we're talking about booking it and within a couple more weeks it was a done deal! The only issue was that we booked almost a year in advance and spent most of that time panicking about it. You see while people laughing hysterically when we told them our news could be a little insulting, it was also understandable. Despite the years separating Annie and I, we are both known to be rather cranky and at times downright unsociable! Not the normal type to go on a cruise!

Anyway, on with the holiday...

As you can imagine we were both excited and nervous as we boarded The Sea Princess on the 14th of July and we wasted no time in getting better acquainted with our temporary home. Or the cocktails for that matter! We explored the different lounges, the theatre (which was an actual Theatre like you'd find on land) the clubs, library, pools, gym etc before making our way topside to watch as we sailed out of our home port of Southampton. Being so close to home our families were even able to make the trip to watch us sail out.

Our first port of call was Amsterdam where we had already booked in advance to visit Anne Franks house. We had a little time beforehand though so we did a canal cruise which gave us a unique view of both the canal boats and the architecture so present in the city.

Once we made it to Anne Franks house we were glad to have booked ahead as the queues were atrocious. We spent the following hour making our way around the house but to be honest when I think back to it I don't remember the details. What I do remember is the free 2 choose exhibit after leaving the house which raised so many questions while showing how different peoples rights can clash with each other and asking you to vote which side you believe to be right in some day to day situations. It was extremely eye opening and as it always does when it comes to war or genocide my mind goes to the movie bulletproof monk. I know it seems random but there's a scene in it where they're looking at a picture of a refuge kneeling at the feet of a man holding a rifle and the question is asked 'Tell me, deep inside, at the bottom of your soul, who would you rather be? The man about to be shot? Or the man about to do the shooting?'

Understandably after this we wanted to do something a little more lighthearted and so on the way back to the port we stopped at a pancake house for something to eat and to this day I recommend that place to anyone visiting the city...it was just that good!

The day after our stop in Amsterdam was spent at sea, so we enjoyed our balcony and later on I went to an art auction while Annie attended a lecture. We both then had dinner in the main restaurant which meant major dressing up was needed but it turned into a lovely evening as we shared a table with Bob and Maureen a couple who made us feel extremely welcome and Annie still exchanges Christmas cards with them each year.

The next stop for us was Oslo which was my favorite stop of our cruise. We joined a tour which included sailing on the S/S Johanna to the FRAM museum where we learnt a great deal about some of the most well known Norwegian explorers before watching a short movie consisting of some amazing footage shot by a low flying helicopter across Norway.

Before heading back to the ship we then stopped at the Holmkollen Ski jump and were told how skiing was just a part of life in Norway and most kids began lessons as toddlers- Given my own tenuous relationship with balance, you can imagine how surprising I found this! We also heard an amusing anecdote about how a few years before a Moose had entered a department store and frightened many a shopper

Back on Sea Princess, Annie and I went to one of the specialty restaurants and I do believe that this was the first of our meals but not the last, to go on for hours as we got distracted talking! Unfortunately by the time we realized this, the the sea had gotten extremely rough; To the extent that the set table in front of us had everything slid off it, from the vase of flowers to the tablecloth! With great care we decided to make our way back to our cabin and interestingly enough had a rather deep conversation before the rough seas worsened further and forced us to concentrate on keeping our dinner down!

The next day we arrived in Copenhagen and again joined a tour. This one was more of the cities highlights rather than focusing on a particular area. We visited the Little mermaid statue, passed Nyhavn and watched the change of guards at Amalienborg Palace. Once our tour was over Annie and I headed for Stroget which is a pedestrian shopping area before visiting Tivoli Gardens and we finished our time in Denmark with dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. The one regret I have about our stop in Copenhagen, is that we didn't have time to explore Nyhavn.

The last port of call for our cruise, Helsingborg, was cancelled because the weather was too bad for use to use the tender to get to shore. While disappointing this was not a make or break port for either of us. Instead we did tours of the theatre, read books on our balcony and we even did afternoon tea! Before we knew it we were headed back to Southampton.

So after 10/11 months of worrying we ended our first cruise on a surprisingly good note. Having realized that this cruising thing might not be such a bad idea after all

"Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life - and travel - leaves marks on you'' , Anthony Bourdain