NCL Mediterranean Cruise- Travel Adventures

Hi Everyone,

So this June/July I went on a cruise with NCL along the Mediterranean with my family, and it was honestly the most wonderful and relaxing 2 weeks, which I really wanted to share with any of you fellow travel lovers out there, or anyone wanting to know what the cruise experience was like. I think I'll do what I did on this blog last time I travelled, which was to do a post per country- I try to make the posts a bit of a mixture of a journal type thing for me that I can read back on one day, but also not make it too personal, and give any people travelling there soon some tips of cool things we did or tried. 

Okay so let me start talking about the cruise itself first. We did it with Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) and were on a boat called Norwegian Spirit, and I absolutely loved every second of it! I must be honest, I had never had any aspiration to do a cruise before and it wasn't something I'd thought about, but it is such a cool and fun way to see a ton of places in a pretty short period of time. As you literally just have a day at each city, it kind of just gives you a little snapshot of what the place is like, and gave me an idea of which places I'd love to one day return to one day. I will say that the actual travelling (especially with 6 of us in my family) was quite hectic and activity-packed, and so there was nothing nicer than boarding the ship in the evening and having a swim or dip in the jacuzzi and then sitting on the deck with a drink in hand looking out at the endless sea before having a delicious dinner. There was also stacks to do on the boat- from shows, magicians, the casino and arcade, organised quizzes and gameshows, big boat parties, tons of bars and pubs, etc., you get the picture. Every night they lay out an itinerary of all the things happening on the boat the next day, and there is definitely something for everyone. I cannot even start to explain how much I loved the actual cruise aspect of this trip! Because it's like a once-off payment type thing, there's no fussing about payment once you've boarded, which of course means endless delicious food, snacks, drinks and activities. The main deck has a big pool and lots of jacuzzis with deck chairs everywhere in sight to soak up the European summer sun. There are a lot of lovely places with great views dotted all over the ship ideal for a good drink at sunset and up to 10 different restaurants and cafes to pick from to dine at. The food was pretty excellent and the staff were all so friendly and helpful! My family took full advantage of all the organised games and shows happening, and the various plays and musicals in the theatre were also really cool. 

So our cruise was a 12 day one, which was for me, the perfect amount of time. We also had 2 "sea days" of travelling where we didn't stop off anywhere, which I actually loved as well because it gave you a day to relax a bit and to take full advantage of all the fun things there are to do on the ship. We started in Barcelona and from there went to Toulon, Florence, Rome and Naples. We then had a sea day before heading down to Greece, where we visited Mykonos and Athens. We then went up the Adriatic side of the sea and stopped off at Kotor, Montenegro and Dubrovnik before ending off the cruise in Venice. It was really a wonderful experience and I would highly recommend it to anyone umming and ahh-ing about doing a cruise! 

Some Of My All-Time Favourite Albums

I have been wanting to do a post like this for a while, but it has taken a while to comprise a list of albums that I can truly say are some of my all-time favourites! I am such a fan of buying an artist's whole album and listening to it from start to finish. I think so often the art of a whole album, it's arrangement, the order of the tracks, etc. all gets lost when we just listen to the singles or our favourites on the album. I realise that there is so much out there that I still want to listen to, and tons of albums by some of the greatest singers/bands that I have never even come across yet, but these are some of my favourite albums from what I have listened to so far. There, as usual with my music, is a ton of variety in the genre and era of these albums, but regardless, to me, they are all great! When I say my favourite albums, I literally mean records that I can listen from start to finish and love just about every track. So without further a do, here they are: 

It's About Us- Alex & Sierra (2014)
Alex & Sierra are a couple duet that won Season 3 of The XFactor US. I watched their season and had fallen in love with them, so was super excited when this was released quite soon after the finale. The album is a folk-pop sort of genre and contains a whole bunch of light-hearted and easy-listening tracks. Their voices blend beautifully together and the album is packed with harmonies and all the tracks have their own sense of individuality. Some of my favourites include "Broken Frame", "Almost Home", "Little Do You Know" and "Bumper Cars", but they are all lovely. 

Bad Blood- Bastille (2013)

I absolutely love Bastille, and they are one of my all-time favourite bands. They just exude musicality and their lead singer, Dan Smith, has the most beautiful and unique voice. Smith wrote all the songs on this album and it was released in 2013 with 6 singles on it. I genuinely love every track on the album, and was lucky enough to hear them live, performing many of these songs, which was such a special experience. I was going to try and pick some favourites on the album to recommend to you guys, but I can't pick, so just listen to them all! I would classify them in an alternative, pop-rock sort of genre, and if you haven't listened to Bastille's stuff, I would highly recommend you give them a try! 

Abbey Road- The Beatles (1969)

I am a massive Beatles fan, and to pick out one or two albums was very difficult, but I immediately knew Abbey Road had to be one of them. It was their second last studio album, released quite shortly before they disbanded in 1970. This album is, in my opinion, just complete genius, it just baffles me how excellent these songs are, from the lyrics, instruments, cool little solos and riffs, the way they flow together, to the catchy rock tunes, I just love this album! Some of my favourites are "Oh! Darling", "Octopus' Garden", "Here Comes the Sun" and of course the end "medley" (which consists of "Mean Mr Mustard" through to "The End"). The songs in this medley at the end are basically a whole bunch of short tracks that all flow together to form one long piece, and I absolutely love it! This is for example, where it's so important to listen to a CD in order from start to finish, otherwise you'd never be able to appreciate the musicality and brilliance of arrangements like this! 

1962-1966 ("The Red Album")- The Beatles (1973)

This is a compilation album that was released a few years after The Beatles disbanded, it was put together by their former manager, Allen Klein, comprising some of their best tracks and singles off their studio albums released between 1962 and 1966. I know this is not technically a proper Beatles studio album, but it happens to be one of my all-time favourites because it contains loads of my favourite songs by them. Their music released in this time period was some of my favourite, is some of their earlier, more pop-rocky work and consists of plenty of delightful love songs along with a ton of other great stuff. 

The Stranger- Billy Joel (1977)

I am such a Billy Joel fan! My parents brought me up listening to this type of music, and I absolutely love him, he is just so incredibly talented. Whilst I do enjoy all of his music, this has to be my favourite album of his. It has a wonderful mix of both upbeat and slower songs, and includes a couple of stunning ballads. I think some of my favourites have to be "Vienna", "Movin' Out" and "Only The Good Die Young". He is an absolutely insane pianist and I am always so impressed by the diversity in his songs, the depth of his lyrics and the way he pieces really interesting arrangements and chords together. 

Tapestry- Carole King (1971)

Carole King must be one of my favourite pianist singer-songwriters and this album particularly is so well arranged and just a thoroughly enjoyable listen. King wrote/co-wrote all the tracks on Tapestry, and it was her second studio album. She is a brilliant pianist, and has a pretty unique and powerful voice. Playing the album from start to finish, it just plays so nicely all as one piece, and is just really a wonderful listen. 

Rumours- Fleetwood Mac (1977)

This is another album my mom brought me up listening to in the car all the time, and as a result all the songs are so familiar and I just love this album! All four members of the band have such distinct and unique voices, but they all blend together so well. Some of my favourites are "Don't Stop", "Never Going Back Again" and "I Don't Want to Know", but they are all great. 

Hairspray The Soundtrack (2007)

This is not everyone's cup of tea, but I love it and I feel I wouldn't be doing myself justice if I left it out of my top albums. Firstly, I love the movie and musical, and so of course I would enjoy the soundtrack, and am not even slightly ashamed that I genuinely know every single lyric to every song on this album, hehe. The songs are all to do with the script of the play/movie, but some of the actors of the 2007 rendition have really incredible voices, and I just love this 60s style, pop, swing sort of vibe. 

Sweet Baby James- James Taylor (1970)

This is one of my absolute favourite albums. I am a huge James Taylor fan and he is a huge inspiration to me as a guitarist, songwriter and folk singer. This was Taylor's 2nd studio album and I think the one that really got him on his feet and super popular and well-known. I genuinely love every track on this album, there's just something about how the album as a whole plays from start to finish. It is short and sweet, and one that I always find myself playing when I'm stressed out and just need to take a breath. The songs are lovely and have quite a bit of variety as individuals and (as always for James Taylor) the guitaring is amazing. Some of my favourites are "Steamroller", "Sweet Baby James", "Blossom" and "Suite for 20 G" but I really love them all a lot! 

One Man Dog- James Taylor (1972)

Like I said at the start, obviously this is very subjectively my all-time favourite albums, and as I'm such a James Taylor fan, it wouldn't have been right to leave this out or try and pick between One Man Dog and Sweet Baby James, so I'm just putting them both in. The two albums actually have a very different feel and are at different points in Taylor's musical career and interests. One Man Dog has a lot more upbeat and slightly more experimental bits and bobs, and consists of a few little jigs and instrumentals which are really cool. I absolutely love "Nobody But You", "Little David", "Mescalito" and "Dance", but again, this is an album that plays really nicely from start to finish. It has a nice variety of very typical folky stuff and then also some more bluesy and upbeat stuff, and yeah, it's just a really great album. 

Excuse the blurry picture, I couldn't find one in focus anywhere on the internet. 

Pageant Material- Kacey Musgraves (2015)

Kacey Chambers is actually a singer I only discovered about a year ago, round about when this album came out, but I immediately fell in love with her. I am a big country fan, and she just has the most simple and stunning voice. I love that the tracks on this album show a lot of variety and have some lovely pedal steel, guitar and of course, vocals. I love what Kacey Musgraves stands for and what she sings about. I like that she isn't afraid to challenge typical stigmas and beliefs within the Southern community and I think she is a very important role model for a lot of young girls. She is a great songwriter and there's something quite captivating and sweet about the sincerity and "frankness" of her lyrics. Some of my favs on this album are "Somebody To Love" and "Biscuits" but they are all great, and the album as a whole is very whole-rounded and just a lovely listen. 

A/B- Kaleo (2016)

I am not going bore you with how obsessed with this band I am- in fact, let me just refer you to a whole post I dedicated to them a bit earlier this year. I absolutely love Kaleo, they are an Icelandic band who are up-and-rising and still relatively undiscovered, but I just love them to bits! The lead singer has the most unique, powerful and brilliant voice and their songs show such enormous diversity in genres. This is the type of band where you listen to their music and you can just appreciate how musically talented they are. Their songs are very different to a lot of popular music at the moment and the lyrics are different and quite insightful actually. This album actually only came out about 2 weeks ago, but almost all of the tracks had been released on their Youtube channel previously, so I have been a fan, and have essentially been listening to the album, for about a year now. Do yourself and have a listen, I couldn't be more obsessed if I tried! 

The Lumineers- The Lumineers (2012)

I love the Lumineers, and I think that they are quite a unique sound on the market in amongst all the pop and house music. I love their chilled folk rock sort of vibe and am a big fan of their writing. I love so many of the songs on this album and it's one of my favourites to listen to while studying or just relaxing. I saw them live in 2014 (I think) and they were absolutely amazing, and yeah, I just have a lot of respect for them as artists and songwriters. 

Songs About Jane- Maroon 5 (2002)

When I started making a list for this post, this album was the first one that came into my mind without a second thought. I freaking love this album and honestly think it is some of the best stuff Maroon 5 does (although I still love them now and the change in sound they took after this album). In terms of music, this album is in some of my earliest memories and was one of the first albums my brother and I owned, which is quite something considering I was only 7 when it was released. But I still have my original copy of it and very frequently listen to it from start to finish. I love Adam Levine's voice and the guitar work and slightly more rock-y sound to this album is really cool. This is one of those albums that I like to listen to from the beginning and just let play in order, it just plays really nicely as a whole and yeah, is just a really top quality album. 

Four- One Direction (2014)

This wouldn't be a very true representation of me if I didn't include some One Direction. I know they are not for everyone, but I am unashamedly a huge fan and to be honest, picking an album was near impossible, and I'm still not completely convinced this one is my favourite, I just don't kooow. I love their second and third albums too, and then I am also a big fan of their fifth one which recently came out. But the reason I picked 'Four' is because I think it's my favourite one in terms of how it plays as an album, which is what this post is all about. This album, as of all the One Direction albums, is pop-py and light-hearted and just the type of music that will always perk me up and have me singing along and dancing around. 

Good Old Boys- Randy Newman (1974)

I love Randy Newman- I think he is a superb pianist, I like his quite gritty and different voice and most of all, I am a big fan of the way he writes and what he writes about. I was doing some reading on this album and all of the songs are based around typical "Southern" views and beliefs, and Newman's satirical comments and takes on them. Some of my favourites are "Rednecks", "Birmingham", "Louisianna 1927" and "Mr. President. 

California 37- Train (2012)

I really like Train, and they are often quite underrated I think. I have said for a long time now that they are actually one of my favourite bands, and I would love to see them live one day! I love the lead vocalist's, Pat Monahan, voice and their overall pop-rock sound. I think they do something interesting and just a little bit different but still produce very likeable and catchy music. This album specifically is one of my favourites of theirs. 

And that's it! I've been trying to scale my mind and go through my iTunes to see if I've left any out, and to be honest, I'm sure I have, but these are definitely some of my all-time favourites! Definitely check out any of these that you haven't heard before, I highly recommend them! Happy listening xx

(PS: I feel the need to quickly apologise, once again, for not really posting on here recently. I have been very busy with varsity and then went overseas for a couple of weeks and didn't have any internet. This post has also taken me a while to put together, and so basically I just didn't get round to posting as much as I would like. But expect some exciting travel posts to follow soon-ish).