Quantum of the Seas has arrived in Southampton

There are so many new cruise ships being launched in the next couple of weeks, and I want to go and visit them all....unfortunately I have to make do with my good ol friend the internet and view the many photographs and videos online instead

There is always so much excitement when a new ship is released, never more so than the new Quantum of the Seas with Royal Caribbean. How amazing does this ship look?


Now when I saw the Allure of the Seas all I could think of was WOW, this ship was fantastic, there was so much to see and do, and how good it was to say I've been on the world's largest ship (she beats her sister ship the Oasis by all of 2cm or something). But I honestly think Royal Caribbean have beaten their record by the Quantum and the Anthem of the seas. Every time you think they have thought of everything they prove they don't and come up with a new concept and more innovative ideas

So for everyone living in or near to Southampton I would say you MUST go down the the docks and see this fabulous ship before she leaves us for far away shores, but be quick she's only there for 2 more day

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Just booked my next holiday.....Hurtigruten here I come

How excited am I?

Went into work the other day and had an email with an offer that was too good to be true so the little voices in my head said book me now !!

So here I go again to the Arctic circle in the search for the elusive Northern lights.
Now don't get me wrong I have been so lucky to see them on 3 out of 4 trips but I want them to be bigger and better and more colourful than before....is that just plain greedy? I can quite happily say that I have now have a slight obsession with them (in fact slight is probably the wrong word). I want the perfect photo and no matter how many articles I read and how many books I read I still just haven't managed to get the perfect shot......but let me tell you when it's minus 30c and your hands and feet are frozen it's near enough impossible to focus a camera, select the correct setting and keep it still before they disappear.....as anyone who has ever followed them will know they are very unpredictable, lasting from seconds to hours

I can imagine you screaming at me saying are you crazy, is it really worth it?
Is it worth standing outside like a lemon for hours and hours just waiting... is it worth having your glasses freeze over so you can't see out of them (my mum)....is it worth trying to open the flask of coffee that you made to keep you warm and then finding out that it had frozen....is it worth falling down time and time again in snow that you don't realise how deep it is until you're already on your knees....
Well yes it is most definitely worth it. When you first see that little faint green line you think ooh is this it (to be honest the first time I saw them I thought is this what all the fuss is about? It looked like a cloud), but then they grow longer wider the curtains fall and they dance all around you if your really lucky. Its a feeling that makes you want to laugh and cry, dance and pray, but most of all its that you can go home and tell everyone that you saw them :)



And when you start looking at other peoples photos online....that's when you start planning your next trip

Which leads me to this cruise, I am so excited but scared at the same time, I'm used to luxury cruises so this is going to be an experience but a good one I hope. And the best bit about it, we'll be on the ship so if we get cold we can go inside for 5 minutes to thaw out

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