I first went to sea at age 5 accompanying my father who was Master on HMS Warspite as she returned from Malta to Portsmouth; no doubt it was against all regulations, and I might be the youngest person to have "served" on a UK Warship!
Since,during the war, you could not use lights at night in the UK, to train as a pilot for the Fleet Air Arm I was sent to Canada, going out on the Queen Mary via New York, and back on the Mauritania. I went out from Liverpool to Bombay on the Otranto . My flying career was on the carriers, HMS Victorious and HMS Striker.
In more recent years I've cruised to over 100 different countries on the Aurora and Saphire (P&O Cruises); Sea Princess, Sky Princess, and Grand Princess (Princess Cruises); Braemar and Boudicca (Fred Olsen Cruises); and the Van Gogh.