The first item this week is a new photo
essay on Adventure of the Seas. Adventure is one of Royal
Caribbean's Voyager class ships. The Voyagers are large ships
(approximately 135,000 gross tons) and there is plenty to see and do
on board. For example, they were the first ships to have the Royal
Promenade – the street or indoor mall running down the center of
the ship's interior. They also have ice skating rinks, on which they
put on ice shows that are essentially musical spectaculars. The main
dining rooms are also spectacular rising through multiple decks to a
grand chandelier.
Adventure is the third ship in this
class. For some reason, she always seems to be in St. Maarten when I
am there. As a result, I have accumulated quite a few photos of her
in that port. This photo essay presents some of them and serves to
augment our existing Adventure of the Seas section. The new essay
is at http://beyondships.com/RCI-AOS-Photos.html
For most of her life, Adventure has
been sailing the Caribbean. However, next summer she is scheduled to
be based out of Southampton, England. In honor of that, this week we
are also presenting a cruise destination photo essay on the New
Forest, which is just west of Southampton in England.
Although the New Forest is called
“New” it is actually a rather ancient place. There have been
settlements there since before recorded history. Even after King
William I declared it a royal hunting preserve in 1079, people
continued to live there. As a result, the New Forest is steeped in
history and tradition. Thatched roof houses, small villages, stone
churches and ponies who roam at will, all are part of its charm.
It is a national park but it is not a
wilderness. Rather, the authorities act to preserve this unique
blend of countryside, forest, heath, pubs and villages.
Our section on visiting the New Forest
begins at
http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination-england-new-forest.html
One of the most popular attractions of
the New Forest is Exbury Gardens. It was the dream of one of the
members of the English branch of the Rothschild banking family and
there is still a connection between the Gardens and the family. It
is a woodland garden with flowering plants, rare species, and lots
and lots of rhododendron. There is also a rather fun narrow gauge
steam railway.
On a recent cruise, I took a shore
excursion to Exbury. I have written down my experiences and posted
them along with some photos at
http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination-england-exbury-gardens.html
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