Through the Porthole: First Cruise: Queen Victoria

A ten day cruising holiday aboard Cunard's Queen Victoria. Docking at La Coru a, C diz, Malaga, Tangier and Lisbon."Author, Gary cements growing reputation." ( Salina Patel, Hounslow Cronicle)"Enjoyable and descriptive...very interesting." (J.Collins)"A rollicking good read." (Amazon Customer) AN EXTRACT FROM THROUGH THE PORTHOLE: I want to go back to a time when travelling itself was the main focus. I don't need to get anywhere too fast. I point a finger of blame at the budget airlines. Flight should have remained a luxury - something special that you could look forward to and appreciate. Flying, in my opinion, has become the lowest form of travel. Getting a budget flight feels to me like getting a bus from a provisional town after the pubs and only club have all kicked out. It's either going to be a loud but good-humoured case of singing and banter on the way home, or it's all going to kick off after a drunken remark. "You looking at my bird, mate?" When we took a coach to Lake Como, I enjoyed looking out the window along the way, seeing villages and sights that you miss when you fly. From the hotel base we visited Milan and St. Moritz. We went across to St. Moritz on the Bernina Express railway. The memories I have of the snowcapped mountains and deep valleys is something I will never forget. I enjoyed going to Milan, as it has always been a city I have wanted to visit. But sitting on a coach for twenty-four hours to get to Lake Como was draining. I couldn't stretch my legs, and the drivers asked that we all refrain from defecating in the coach toilet, or, as he put it, "What goes in there, stays in there until we get back to England." Once we got to Lake Como and based in the hotel, it was great. But the thought of returning home on a coach for twenty-four hours when the holiday was over was a very sobering thought. It was impossible for me to sleep. How others managed it, I'll never know. So Marina, opting for the third mode of travel (sea), has booked us on Cunard's Queen Victoria.