Whilst it was quite sad saying farewell to England knowing that we were about to commence our journey home – the fun of boarding Arcadia once again did offer some compensation.

We are four days into our cruise and are currently moored in Funchal, capital of Madeira. The four days have passed incredibly quickly, it has been very easy to slip back into cruising life. To keep us occupied and to maybe help combat the overeating – I have taken up shuffleboard and deck quoits...