There's life on the ocean waves - a whale of a time! (Cruises in general)

Member Name: yabbadabbadoo

Product:	Cruises in general
Date:	03/11/08 (329 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All inclusive, luxurious travel

Disadvantages: watch out for the crooners...

Have only been on a couple of cruises holidays in Europe to date, am already well and truly hooked, and in my opinion with all-inclusive food and on-board entertainments, and so many cheap deals to find on the web it really is brilliant value for money.

Just love the feeling of waking up in a new port / city / country virtually every day (and not having to unpack and repack!!) Cruising is definitely becoming less the preserve of the older generations, with much less emphasis these days on the formal nights, and much more on family entertainment and activities.

My most recent trip was a year or two back, so before our little boy came along, myself and wife went on an 11-night midnight sun cruise to Norway.

Perfect combination for me - an Italian cruise line (i.e. unbelievable food - pastas, pizzas, ice-cream desserts the works) and scenery to get the few remaining hairs standing up on an end - the fjords and glaciers have to be seen to be believed - truly breathtaking!!

The boat -aptly called 'Costa Europa' had 6 main nationalities on board -Italian naturally, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and the minority group the english speakers - including us only 10 english and 9 americans passengers on board, but was really good to reawaken the desire to learn languages again as the entertainment staff and hosts doggedly reeled everything off in 5 languages!

We were truly relaxed, we'd seen wild reindeer, ice-blue mountain lakes, and even saw a whale pop up in the glistening midnight sun lit seas as we supped pints of the bubbly ice-cold Paulaner Weizen and marvelled at the majestic mountain Fjord lands rolling into the distance - absolute perfection and then she picked up the new schedule for the next day's activities on the cruise line -and there it was in stark print

5.30pm Super Karaoke - why not come and join our ents team for a singalong!

Now naturally as a sociable British chap brought up in the best of pub traditions I'm always up for making my own 'entertainment', and on top of all that crazy fun running around all day doing the sightseeing tours and onboard activities I thought what better way to unwind than with a spot of bad Karaoke. Admittedly the wife wasn't quite so enthusiastic, but hey, where's there's a mike and a cheesy track I was always going to wade in...


Her day of dread passed quietly, a whole day at sea, just relaxing, reading, some gentle exercise -perhaps he wouldn't go through with it, surely he won't mind if I give it a miss. So cometh the 5.30pm, her plan is in place, with her mum bravely stepping in to support me and Al promising to join us after it was all over at 6ish.

Our first singers take the stage - a strange old man in a wooly jumper making a half croaky attempt to sing a spanish lullaby - the small crowd shuffles in their seats. Then a frizzy haired Italian housewife makes a brave play with a tuneful if a little quiet version of an old Italian favourite. As the only english singer in the room looking out over a confused crowd, registering the fear in their eyes an overwhelming sense of comic karaoke duty filled my senses. "Put me down for a bit of Celine Dion son - here we go". Up to the stage I go, microphone in hand , a soft gaze out to the ocean ,a delicate pause as the music plays me in. Almost tuneful to start with, still confusion in the ranks - is this really a genuine effort...

Then its chorus time

NEEEEAEAARRR FAARR WHERRRREAAAHAHAHEVVER YOU ARE- smashing through the sound barrier, waking even those unfortunates in cabins below sea level with a blood curdling sense of melodic desparation and there you had it - 5 languages , 5000 years of separate european culture united in one thought - this guy is utter sh*t but he just doesn't care and by golly they started cheering!!!

And as I stood for the enchantingly melancholy interval music - arms outstretched like Kate Winslet once at the front of the boat,our ents staff -big pieces of paper stuffed in ears duly obliged and did the Leo Dicaprio hold - and I pronounced - "I'M FLYING , I'M REALLY FLYING!"-

and the final twist in my good lady's tail, that things on the boat never did run on time, that we'd only started shortly before 6pm and therefore as she arrived there I stood all 6ft 2 of buffet filled to bursting stage mania, encouraged by a now postively bewildered crowd, primed and ready to leap up on to the top platform and give it the big finale...truly the sun never sets in paradise!!

Summary: Give cruising a go!