One of the best things about travel blogging is the people you meet. I met Katie when we were being shown round the fab Viking Sky cruise ship when it was docked at the Portsmouth International Port. Shehnaz Hansraj from Viking was showing a small group of bloggers and press around the ship and we got an inside view of what life is like if you are lucky enough to be cruising with Viking….I can recommend! Katie blogs mainly about cruising and has been on many ships and she give’s the young traveller perspective about this luxury form of travel….she is also a Disney addict. I caught up with her to ask her a few questions and this is what she said!Where are you from and how did you get into blogging?
I am from Northamptonshire and have lived here most of my life I also spend a lot of time in London as my husband works there. I studied media and journalism at university and have always loved writing but when I left uni I started working in customer service and ended up staying there for about 10 years. It wasn’t what I wanted to do forever and I knew that I had just kind of fallen into it. So about 2 years ago I decided that I had, had enough and I handed in my notice. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do but I knew that I loved writing and travel and after a bit of research blogging seemed like the best option.
Like me Katie hasn’t been blogging for long.
I have been running my blog for just over 18 months. So still pretty new to the blogging world but I love it!
So what does a busy blogger do each day?
I have an office at home where I work from. I try and spend at least 5 hours a day working, depending on what I’m doing so either in the morning or if I am busy I will work in the evening. Firstly I will always check on my social media accounts, I have a really good checklist that I use, so I don’t forget anything and can reply to comments and requests and post about new articles on my blog. …….then I will try to check anything that might need updating on my blog. Then I will try and write, either post for my blog or sponsored posts for clients.
What is the main theme of your blog?
The main theme of my blog is cruising for young people. I felt like I needed a niche when I started it as there are so many travel blogs. As I have progressed though I have expanded my blog to include more general travel and also some food and lifestyle posts. But my main theme is still cruising.
What is the most memorable trip that you have taken and why or the most memorable moment on a trip.
Probably the first cruise that my husband I took together. We sailed with P&O to Norway. It was all very last minute as we both suddenly had some leave so we just booked it. He had never cruised before and really wasn’t sure if he would like it, but luckily he did and it’s now one of our favourite ways to travel. Norway was incredible and it was one of the most beautiful places I think anyone could cruise to. The scenery is just so impressive.
One of the ports was Olden, which was a tiny place but set in the middle of amazing mountains. There was an excursion you could take to go up to the Briksdal Glacier but when we enquired it was fully booked. So we thought we would just do it on our own. We got off the ship and managed to get a taxi to the foot of the mountain and then it’s about a 45-minute walk up to the glacier. We weren’t really sure what to expect, but once we got to the top and you see this incredible glacier wedge between 2 mountain tops it was just mind-blowing. Then the most amazing thing is, there is a beach at the top of the mountain which has been created by the ice slowly melting. There were even people swimming in the water. I wasn’t brave enough to try, it was much too cold, but this was definitely one of the most special things we have ever been able to do on a trip and I would recommend a Norway cruise to anyone.
Where are you travelling to next?
Our next trip is booked for August and we are going to Disney World for 2 weeks. I am also a total Disney addict and we try to visit at least once a year and I never get bored of it.
Top three experiences or destinations on your bucket list?
I would love to one day take an Alaskan Cruise, they look amazing and I think it would be a really interesting destination and really different to any other cruise I have taken.
I am desperate to take a holiday in Hawaii. Whenever I see it on TV I just always think it looks like paradise and I really want to go and experience it for myself.
We are planning at some point to take a trip and visit Japan and China so we go to Tokyo Disney and Shanghai Disneyland. They look amazing and I feel like I need to tick them off my Disney Parks list.
Thank you Katie for spending time on the Grey Traveller blog, if you want to find out more about Katie and cruising catch up with her on do – you – cruise.com.
