My first cruise of 2016 has almost arrived! Today we leave for Southampton where we will be staying overnight, before Gavin and I will board P&O Cruises' Ventura on 15 February 2016. This will be our second cruise with P&O Cruises, having spent 2 nights aboard the newer Azura in April 2013. On this occasion however we will be on board for 4 nights. Following our departure from Southampton we will spend the next day at sea, before arriving in beautiful city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands via the busy North Sea Canal. Next on our itinerary is busy port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, which I have been to once before but Gavin has not. We are both really looking forwarding to enjoying a cruise with P&O Cruises again. In recent years we've been on quite a few cruises together, but many have been on smaller, older ships, so we are excited to be boarding a much larger newer ship again.
As ever, whilst on board I hope to get the opportunity to meet the Captain and present my brand new drawing of Ventura. It will be a little strange being back aboard Ventura, as she was the second ship I ever stepped foot aboard all the way back in April 2008 when I was just 14 years old. How time flies! Upon our return we will be sure to post lots of photos and a complete cruise review on our website. Our Facebook and Twitter pages will be working as normal whilst we are away and we might even post and tweet from the ship should we get time. Bon Voyage...
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Having already got four cruises booked this year, I have been trying my best not to book any more, at least not just yet anyway. But, yes you guessed it, today I booked yet another cruise! There isn't long to wait either, as we depart Southampton on 18 March 2016. Our Non-Executive Director, Gavin and I are booked on a 7 night cruise aboard Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines' flagship, Balmoral. Our itinerary includes three ports of call, Antwerp, Belgium, Hamburg, Germany, where we will stay overnight and Amsterdam, Netherlands, which is interestingly another overnight visit. This will be our third cruise with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines' having previously enjoyed two 2 night mini cruises, on Braemar and Boudicca. We are very excited to be booked on a longer cruise on this occasion and to be sailing aboard the flagship in the fleet!
Now with just over a month to go I need to find some time around all my current drawings, to slot in a brand new drawing of Balmoral to present to the Captain whilst on board. Of course, the drawing will feature the new livery, with her dark grey hull and bright red stripe above. Until next time... happy cruising! For 2016 I currently have four cruises booked, so far! It is certainly going to be an exciting year, with four very different cruises to look forward to. The first cruise is just one month away, on P&O Cruises' Ventura. I will be sailing on a 4 night cruise to Amsterdam and Bruges. This will be my second cruise with P&O Cruises. My next cruise is in May on Royal Caribbean International's brand new Harmony of the Seas, the new world's largest cruise ship! This is another 4 night cruise, which visits Rotterdam with a sea day either side. It will be my first cruise with Royal Caribbean International! In July I will be spending 4 nights aboard my favourite and much loved Queen Mary 2. The voyage is from Southampton to Hamburg and back, with two sea days so there will be plenty of time to enjoy the ship. The Cunard flagship is scheduled for a re-fit just before, so she should be in shipshape for us! Finally in September I will embark on my first cruise with MSC Cruises on board MSC Splendida. This will also be the longest cruise I've done so far. The 7 night cruise visits Bruges, Amsterdam (overnight), Hamburg and Le Harve. We also have one sea day to fully relax on board. I've currently got my eye on a few other cruises, so there might even be more to come! I look forward to hopefully meeting some of you on board. I would love to know what cruises you have booked and where you will be sailing to. ENDS
For more information please Contact Us on the following details below Harry Cotterill, Chairman & Artist, Cruise Cotterill Mobile: +44 (0)77789 40245 E-mail: harry_cotterill@hotmail.co.uk Last month I enjoyed a 2 night mini cruise aboard Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines' Boudicca, which took us from London, Tilbury to Rotterdam and back. On 15 December 2015, on the day we boarded the ship I had the chance to meet with the Master of Boudicca, Captain Sten Jensen. We had only been aboard for a few minutes before the Captain came to meet both myself and our Non-Executive Director, Gavin Pamment, as we had gone to reception to ask about meeting him. When he met us at reception I asked if we could present my drawing on the bridge. The Captain was more than happy to escort us to the bridge, where I presented my drawing. Bouddica was the only ship in the Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines' fleet which I had not yet visited or cruised aboard. She was also the only ship in the fleet of four which I had not yet presented a drawing on. She was however the 71st ship my drawings have been presented on. The drawing which I had produced featured the new grey hull and red stripe which was added to the ship around a week or two before our cruise. The Captain seemed very impressed by the drawing and at first did not realise that it was for him to keep. When I told him he found the perfect place on the bridge, where he promised to display it. I'm still working on my Cruise Review on Bouddica, but it should be online in the next week or two, so be sure to keep a look out for it! ENDS
For more information please Contact Us on the following details below Harry Cotterill, Chairman & Artist, Cruise Cotterill Mobile: +44 (0)77789 40245 E-mail: harry_cotterill@hotmail.co.uk So here we are, the last day of 2015 has arrived and this means my last blog post of the year. That being so, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who have supported Cruise Cotterill throughout 2015. Depending where you are in the world, you might have already welcomed the New Year. I wish you all a very Happy New Year and hope to see so many of you again aboard ship in 2016! ENDS
For more information please Contact Us on the following details below Harry Cotterill, Chairman & Artist, Cruise Cotterill Mobile: +44 (0)77789 40245 E-mail: harry_cotterill@hotmail.co.uk To all our wonderful followers, supporters, customers and cruise line and travel agent friends... We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your kind support, assistance, custom and friendship this year, and wish you a very Merry Christmas! ENDS
For more information please Contact Us on the following details below Harry Cotterill, Chairman & Artist, Cruise Cotterill Mobile: +44 (0)77789 40245 E-mail: harry_cotterill@hotmail.co.uk I'm getting more and more excited for my 2 night mini cruise on Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines' Bouddica. It's now just one week away! We set sail from Tilbury and will visit Rotterdam before returning back to Tilbury. This will be the second time Gavin and I have sailed with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, having done a 2 night mini cruise on Braemar earlier this year in April. We enjoyed the experience on Braemar, so are confident we will have a wonderful cruise on Bouddica. Last month Bouddica went into dry dock at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany. During the refurbishment 28 new 'terrace balconies' were added to the ship, on Deck 7. These new cabins extend out 1.2 metres from the ship’s bulkhead, providing guests with an increased choice of cost-effective balcony cabins. Our mini cruise will be the second cruise following the refurbishment, so we will be amongst the first passengers to see the updates. As some of you might have seen, late last month I completed a drawing of Bouddica and as you've probably guessed, I will indeed be presenting it to the Captain whilst on board. I've been in touch with Fred. OIsen Cruise Lines' public relations team to get it arranged. Having completed the drawing, I actually had to go back and 'refurbish' the drawing, to include the new red and grey stripe which has been painted on Bouddica's hull. Thankfully I had already included the new terrace balconies as I did my homework! Following our cruise and return home we will be posting a cruise review with plenty of photographs too! We are also hoping to be able to post to our social media pages during the cruise so be sure to keep a look out on Facebook and Twitter. ENDS
For more information please Contact Us on the following details below Harry Cotterill, Chairman & Artist, Cruise Cotterill Mobile: +44 (0)77789 40245 E-mail: harry_cotterill@hotmail.co.uk Although we've already got four cruises booked for 2016 and we've said "NO MORE CRUISES!", Gavin and I have just booked a great last minute deal with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, sailing on board Boudicca. The 2 night mini cruise, departs Tilbury on 15 December 2015. We will visit Rotterdam the following day before returning back to the UK. Boudicca is the only ship in the Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines fleet which I have not yet visited or cruised aboard. This will be the second time Gavin and I have cruised with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines this year, having both cruised on Braemar in April. Upon our return, we will be sure to share with you lots of photos and of course will be putting together an in-depth review of our mini cruise. We will also do our best to keep in touch with you with social media whilst on board Boudicca. We are really excited about our most recent cruise booking, especially as it is aboard a ship we have both never stepped aboard. We know she will be similar to her sister Black Watch, but still can't wait! ENDS
For more information please Contact Us on the following details below Harry Cotterill, Chairman & Artist, Cruise Cotterill Mobile: +44 (0)77789 40245 E-mail: harry_cotterill@hotmail.co.uk As many of you will know, we have already got a number of cruises booked for 2016. Today marks 100 days until our next, which will be aboard P&O Cruises' Ventura! On this particular cruise will be myself and Gavin, who acts as our Non-Executive Director. We're both getting really excited and cannot wait. The 4 night cruise departs Southampton on 15 February 2016. We will enjoy a day at sea, before arriving in Amsterdam the day after, then on to Zeebrugge before returning to Southampton. We would love to know if you or someone you know will be on board. Perhaps you won't be but are now tempted to book? If you will be on board, be sure to visit our Facebook page and join our event. It would be great to meet you on board Ventura! ENDS
For more information please Contact Us on the following details below Harry Cotterill, Chairman & Artist, Cruise Cotterill Mobile: +44 (0)77789 40245 E-mail: harry_cotterill@hotmail.co.uk I hope you have all had a fantastic Guy Fawkes night! Gavin and I went to our local fireworks display in Colchester tonight, in our town centre's main park, Castle Park. The event named King Coel's Kittens was established in 1962 to raise funds to purchase resources for people and groups with special needs living within the local community. Below are just a few of our photos we took of the spectacular event! We hope that you enjoy them. We will be having our own small fireworks display on Saturday, so make sure you look out for our photos! ENDS
For more information please Contact Us on the following details below Harry Cotterill, Chairman & Artist, Cruise Cotterill Mobile: +44 (0)77789 40245 E-mail: harry_cotterill@hotmail.co.uk |
Harry CotterillHarry Cotterill set up his blog when he was just 16-years old, making him one of the youngest cruise bloggers in the world. In later years he became known across the world for his amazing talent of drawing cruise ships! Blog Archive
May 2024
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