It was June of 2022. We were in Ocean Cruise Terminal in Southampton having gingerly decided to return to cruising now that things were not looking quite so dire with the COVID pandemic. We found a seat away from the crowds, who like us, were anxiously awaiting the signal to board Queen Victoria. Brian picked up a cruise magazine, strategically placed to catch his attention.

I was engrossed in my novel and did not see him paging through the magazine. Suddenly he leant over and showed me an advert. “Shall we do this?” he asked.

There before my eyes I saw the most intriguing itinerary. A round trip cruise from Southampton going through the Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal to India, then across to the Indian Ocean islands, down the east coast of Africa, and then up the west coast back to Southampton.

It was a dream of an itinerary. We were intrigued. However, we had concerns. The cruise was on the Fred Olsen ship the Bolette, we had heard mixed reviews about Fred Olsen. Then there was the cost. 90 days was not going to be cheap. We were panning to do the 2023 Queen Mary 2 world voyage, to make up for our 2020 one that had been cut short. Doing both simply wouldn’t work.

Just then, our group was called to board, so clutching the magazine we joined the throng of happy Cunarders, excited to be back on Queen Victoria again.

As I settled happily into our voyage, loving every minute of being back on board Queen Victoria, the thought of the Fred Olsen cruise was still there. So many new ports to explore, and familiar ones that we love to revisit. What’s not to love.

By the time we disembarked, the decision was made. The Around Africa Fred Olsen cruise had replaced our planned Queen Mary 2 2023 world voyage, and as soon as I got home, the Fred Olsen booking was made.

We were going back to Africa. There will be elephants in my future!

The cruise wasn’t until November of 2023, plenty of time to look at ports and learn all about Fred Olsen.

Then came the email that derailed my whole plan.

The Seabourn Sojourn was doing a similar itinerary in November 2024. It was missing India and Saudi Arabia, but was going to many of the same ports as the Bolette. The temptation was great. I really love Seabourn, and Fred Olsen was an unknown quantity.

But could we wait another year? November of 2024 was a long way away. I was so ready to go back to Africa and explore those new ports. This was a really tough decision. However, the best part was, whatever we decided, we knew we would still have a fantastic cruise.