Me and Bear

I started working at Cruise.co.uk  in January 2014 and thought you might like to know a little bit about me…..

I was born in London but as a child spent a great deal of time playing in the Hopfields of Kent while my parents worked on the farm.  In fact I am very proud to say that my father was born in a hop hut in Goudhurst!  He met my mum, a Londoner in the hopfields:  married, and split their time between London & Kent whilst raising myself and my brother.

I spent many an idyllic summer throughout my childhood riding on my dad’s tractor, picking apples and plums,  and using the hop fields as a huge playground where all us kids would spend our days blackberry picking, collecting cobnuts, and helping bring in the hops to the Oasthouses.  Then at night, sit around the campfires listening to the adults singing songs which would lull us off to sleep

Hop PickingHop PickingI started my career in travel at the tender age of 17rs working in a large Retail agency in the West End, then gaining experience in Business Travel, Group Travel, Tour Operators as well as small independent agencies. I’ve even run my own agency, Viva Mexico! I’ve been lucky to have had the opportunity to travel extensively by air, land and sea ever since.  Feeding the ‘traveller’ in my blood!  From taking the ferry from Dover over to Calais, driving through France, (getting lost in Paris), Switzerland, (listening to the sound of the cow bells in the Swiss Alps), Italy, (climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa),  and watching the spectacle and drama of a Bullfight in Spain!

I got my first taste of ‘cruising’ around the age of 10yrs when we kids rode the Woolwich Ferry back & forth!!   Not quite the same as the grandeur of the more modern ships of today, but at the time, cruising from South to East London was an exciting voyage!  And set me on my path of exploration and discovery!

Woolwich Ferry

I’ve also lived in Melbourne Australia, our family emigrating on the £10 Assisted Passage scheme as a child, some making the 6 week journey on P&O’s Canberra and the rest by British Caledonian Airways. I vividly remember my first day at my new school, watching my fellow pupils riding their horses into the school grounds where they were left to graze until the end of the day!  I realised then life would never be quite the same again, and I was a long way from Peckham!!

£10 Pom

More recently I’ve just returned to the  Costa del Sol,  where I previously lived for 7 years,  but that’s another story….

 

 

Cruise Qualifications

Click here to see my cruise qualifications.

 

Ships I have been on

P&O Ventura

Ventura - P&O Cruises - www.simplon.co.uk - Copyright (c) 2009 Ian Boyle;

 P&O Adonia

Adonia Hero Image

Royal Caribbean – Navigator of the Seas

  • Navigator of the Seas Hero Image

Royal Caribbean – Adventurer of The Seas

  • Adventure of the Seas Hero Image
  • MSC Magnifica
  • Me and Magnifica Magnifica

Places I have visited

I’ve been very fortunate to travel extensively over the years, and lived abroad, so rather than list every single place, here’s a brief overview:-

Europe:

  • Balearics, (Majorca, Minorca, & Ibiza)
  • Belgium  (Bruges)
  • France
  • Germany (Frankfurt, Hamburg)
  • Greece & Islands (Athens, Corfu, Mykonos, Crete)
  • Ireland (Cork, Killarney, Limerick)
  • Italy (Venice,Genoa,Rome)
  • Netherlands (Amsterdam)
  • Spain (Lived in Costa Del Sol)
  • Montenegro (Kotor)
  • Corsica (Ajaccio)
  • Switzerland
  • Turkey (Hisaranou, Fethiye, Olu Deniz)
  • Russia
  • Estonia
  • Scandinavia – Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki

Rest of The World

  • Australia (lived in Melbourne)
  • Hongkong
  • Jamaica (Honeymooned in Montego Bay & Ocho Rios)
  • Malaysia
  • Mexico (Acapulco, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Cozumel, Merida, Oaxaca, Mexico City)
  • USA (Orlando, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Yosemite, Carmel, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Malibu, Santa Monica)

and the list continues to grow……

 

 

 

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