Final distance travelled: 3,850 nautical miles  The cruise had now officially ended. Out of our cabin by the required time of 07:45. No sign of Pika, our cabin steward, or as Roisin had christened him 'Pikey'. All I could think of adding was calling him, in my best pompous Capt. Mainwaring voice ‘stupid boy’!!The ship actually docked slightly early at 08:25. We had our last breakfast in the restaurant and headed down to the Shaker Lounge to ...

Distance travelled: 674 nautical milesRoisin and I have sailed away from Venice on 3 occasions. Passing across the Grand Canal and seeing St. Mark's square and the characteristic Palazzo Ducale otherwise known as the Doge’s Palace and not as I’ve been calling it, the 'Dojo’s Palace. As Roisin pointed out to me, for centuries this was the centre of the Government of the Venetian Republic and to her knowledge no Sumo tournaments ever taken...

After a resounding night's sleep we both woke refreshed and headed down for breakfast to feast on a hearty helping of scrambled egg (or it could just be omelette gone wrong!!) and bacon!! It was possible to have breakfast on the terrace overlooking the Grand Canal for a premium of €10!! One or two people had ventured out only to be turned back by the Maitre’D.We were in no hurry to head for the ship. Check in would start about 12 noon but we had d...

Unlike our previous 3 trips the weather on the day of travel was 'not raining'. Things were looking up already and I’d only just closed the front door.The journey to Venice was, for once, uneventful. The train from Hough Green to Manchester International Airport was on time, there was no undue delay getting through security and our EasyJet flight to Marco Polo airport departed on schedule. Arriving In Venice 10 minutes ahead of ETA and walked straig...