I can’t keep calm…I’m going on a cruise in 31 days! I know it may seem a little excessive to do a pre-cruise blog now, but my next cruise is for 35-nights and I’m a little excited, so I decided it was OK to start shouting about it earlier than usual.

So, I will leave Southampton on February 8th aboard P&O Cruises Oceana, we will spend 3 days at sea before reaching Funchal and then another 5 days at sea before arriving in the beautiful Caribbean and then sailing north to the USA! Our ports of call are: St Lucia, St Kitts, Tortola, Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, New Orleans (overnight), Key West, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, Charleston (overnight) and Ponta Delgada. I know, it’s pretty epic!

I’ve missed Oceana, it’s been over a year since I last cruised aboard her, so I’m excited to go ‘home’ as well as back to the Caribbean. I have been to Madeira, Ponta Delgada, St Lucia, Montego Bay, Tortola and Cozumel before, and they are all places that I am quite happy to visit again, although this time I will be doing different things. I was going to go back to Cane Garden Bay in Tortola, but I am now going to be spending the day at White Bay on Jost Van Dyke instead, I hope I made the right decision. In Montego Bay, I will be visiting the notorious Annie Palmer House; in Cozumel I am thinking of doing a short tour before once again hitting the shops; and in St Lucia, a visit to Rodney Bay is currently at the top of the list. Madeira and Ponta Delgada will be a mix of relaxation and exploration, but Ponta Delgada is still a work in progress…I’ll come back to you on that one.

The other ports on the itinerary are all new for me and I’m looking forward to meeting each and every one of them! I have booked a few shore excursions, one of which is a visit to the Kennedy Space Center in Port Canaveral. I’m not really a Space fan, but it’s NASA…I have to go and buy the t-shirt! Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman jumped out of the computer and hit me in the face, so there you shall find me on February 23rd. I’m told taxis are cheap and easily available in Grand Cayman, so assuming the tender process goes without a hitch, I’ll sun myself for at least 5 hours. What else…ahh, yes! Patriots Point in Charleston, I am hoping to visit if I can hail a cab (there’s nothing quite like the thought of a U.S. aircraft carrier to fill a few hours), although our call time in South Carolina is not the best to be honest, so it could be a flying visit: 2PM until 11:30AM the following morning. What’s that all about?!

I’m not going to mention everything that I am doing, I’ll keep a few surprises. 🙂

Going back to Oceana, I can’t wait to see her again. It’s the little things about her that I love the most: the views from the Pennant Bar, Cafe Jardin for breakfast and the occasional evening treat, her wonderful crew (some of which are old friends and I know will be onboard for this cruise), and how she gets herself all excited when the anemometer starts showing an increase in wind speed. I really do like that ship and I know her like the back of my hand…31 days and counting.

If you are on this cruise then please let me know!

You can follow my journey via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I will be blogging too, of course, but for lots of picture updates, join me on social media. 🙂