Life aboard the Queen Elizabeth was a bit like living at Cliveden/the Ritz or in endless episodes of Downton Abbey, or in a novel by P.G Wodehouse or Agatha Christie. We were constantly surrounded by live music of all types, and with one crew member for each couple, we were literally waited on hand and foot. The ship is Art Deco style, spotlessly clean and ultra luxurious. The staff were excellent; extremely polite, attentive and friendly without exception on every occasion that we encountered them. The food was abundant and top quality and we had the option of silver service breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus complimentary room service 24 hours a day and a running buffet. That's not to mention the afternoon tea. Every day at 3.30pm, the doors to the ballroom open and 20 waiters emerge wearing white gloves and brass buttons bearing the teapots aloft. After they have taken their bow to light applause, a harpist strikes up, or a pianist or a string trio and they would serve cucumber sandwiches with no crusts, cakes and scones with jam and cream. We also had lectures to attend; the history of navigation, the story of Pinewood studios, an interview with the highly entertaining Captain Aseem Hashmi.

And in the evening, there was live music and dancing every night (jazz and swing), plus live acts in the theatre including soloists and groups. The best of these were a male vocal group performing songs from the shows called The Barricade Boys and topping the bill, Will Martin, a Kiwi soloist who performed pop and classical numbers and was an excellent singer and entertainer. He was so good on his evening show, he was brought back by popular demand for a matinee.

And that was just at sea; never mind all the exciting ports of call and adventures we had ashore. Stockholm was beautiful and we didn't see half enough of it but had fun in the Abba Museum. And Russia was so romantic and full of history. We had an excellent two-day tour there in a small group delivered by a local guide from Alla Tours that we had booked privately and we saw a great deal of St Petersburg thanks to their efficiency and know-how. We visited the Peter & Paul fortress where the Tsars are buried (including Nicholas II and his family since 1998), the Catherine Palace, the Hermitage, the Peterhof Palace gardens with their fountains overlooking the Gulf of Finland, the Yusupov Palace and the basement where Rasputin was murdered. Read more