Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
is offering a winter sunshine cruise with a
difference this December, perfect for those who have always wanted to find out
what the ‘real’ James Bond is like!
Black
Watch’s 10-night ‘Africa & Algarve’ cruise,
departing from Southampton on December 10, will offer an intriguing theme of ‘Espionage’, through the line’s
award-winning onboard enrichment programme,
Vistas. This fascinating topic will be hosted on board by Cold
War specialist, Major General Peter Williams, as the cruise visits the attractive coasts of Portugal, Spain and Morocco, where
it visits Tangier, with its legendary reputation for international spying.
After studying
History at Cambridge University, Major General Williams spent more than 30
years in the British Army (Coldstream Guards) and enjoyed an unusually varied
career. As an Infantryman, he carried out ceremonial duties in London, spent two
years in the mountains of Oman, served twice in Northern Ireland and commanded
an armoured infantry battalion based in Münster, Germany. In the early 1990s, he
wrote speeches for the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, an American
General. During the Cold War, he specialised in
intelligence. After studying Russian and German, he spent more than four years
in the 1980s in Berlin and East Germany, in effect working as a military
spy.
This spy-themed cruise
visits some very attractive ports in Portugal, Spain and Morocco. First is
Portugal’s elegant capital, Lisbon. Its many palaces, gardens, churches and
cafés offer a mix of attractive architectural styles; the Ponte 25 Abril is very
similar in design to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The next port,
Portimăo in the Algarve, is a relaxed seaside town at the centre of the local
sardine industry, so there is no shortage of fine seafood restaurants and cafés
to enjoy, alongside the pretty harbour.
Next stop is Gibraltar,
ever-popular with visitors from the UK, who enjoy its British ambiance, but with
much better weather than we enjoy at home! The next port, Ceuta, is
an autonomous Spanish enclave in North Africa; here, Monte Hacho offers
panoramic views of the city and its coast, with views across to Gibraltar. It is
a unique blend of African and European influences.
Tangier, in Morocco, is
the next port, and is ideally-suited to a cruise with an ‘Espionage’ theme.
It is said to have a legendary spying history, and has often been used as the
location for spy fiction and films – including two James Bond films, and, most
recently, ‘Inception’ in 2010, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio.
The last call on this
sunny winter cruise is the Spanish port of La Coruna, with its array of
architectural styles, from the medieval to the modernist. The Torre de Hercules,
believed to be the world’s oldest lighthouse, towers over the shoreline. There
is also a scenic old quarter that is well worth a visit, with fine galleries and
museums. Black Watch then returns to
Southampton.
Prices for this most
unusual cruise start from £899 per person, based on two adults sharing an
inside, twin cabin Grade ‘I. This price includes all meals and entertainment on
board, and port taxes, as well as all Major General Williams'
Vistas talks and
lectures.
For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's cruise-agent specialists.
