IN the darkest days of Covid, the Fred Olsen cruise ships becalmed just across from my garden office in the Port of Rosyth became a symbol of hope for me. A hope that one day we would be able to get out and about again and try to move on with our lives. I vowed I would be on the first sailing out of Rosyth, and here I am.

There is something truly special about cruising directly from and back to Scotland, with no messing about with flights and transfers to distant English ports. I just parked up by the ship 12 days ago on June 2 in Rosyth and settled in for what I rate one of the world’s great sailaways – the remarkable voyage down the Firth of Forth.

If you ever get the chance to cruise the Forth, grab it with both hands. There is nothing quite like sailing under the epic trio of Forth Bridges – our stately MV Balmoral had to retract her radar so we could ease under. Then we pushed on, peering down at the abbey on Inchcolm, nosing at Inchmickery and Inchkeith, with Edinburgh Castle waving farewell in the background. The waters soon filled with gannets as we passed Bass Rock, the world’s largest gannetry, to find our way into the North Sea proper.

Last week I shared our first port of Gdansk with you. Our next port of call was a pleasant surprise and a direct result of the usual two-night stay in St Petersburg being cut due to the war in Ukraine.

Any concerns I had on missing out were soon charmed aside by a favourite holiday retreat of Swedes, the beach-fringed island of Gotland. I joined an excursion that included a medieval church and a ride on a vintage train, before enjoying free time wrapped in the Hanseatic glories of the island capital of Visby.

Fred Olsen has the best range of onshore excursions of any company I’ve cruised with. On the Estonian island of Saaremaa, I enjoyed a full-day tour that swept us to windmills, a formidable castle, farm museum and to a delicious lunch in a windmill now housing a restaurant. In Stockholm, my tour took in the old town as well as the famous Ice Bar; in Copenhagen, a brilliant fun cycle adventure also had us feasting at a local market.

The range of excursions proved especially handy in ports where you have loads of time. In the German port of Warnemunde I jumped on a commuter train to explore the historic city of Rostock – home to one of Europe’s oldest universities – and in the afternoon joined an excursion to Unesco World Heritage-listed Wismar, that culminated in a tasting at a local brewery. I ended the day with a swim in the Baltic before dinner.

Dinner is the main foodie event onboard. The main restaurants offer similar comfort food menus with nothing too adventurous. The creativity for anyone looking for a change – many passengers were content just to stay at the main restaurants – came from the two speciality options.

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Vasco wove in the gentle spices of the old Portuguese colony of Goa with a chef shipped in from Goa. Colours & Tastes was my favourite. I kicked off with a spicy chicken bao bun, before a tastebud-tingling chilli beef dish accompanied with steamed jasmine rice. Over our 13 nights there were three gala dinners too, where we all got to posh-up in our gladrags, creating a real sense of occasion.

Days aboard Fred Olsen are as action-packed as you want them to be. Cruising from Scotland means sea days at either end of the trip. That suited me as I got to spend half each day writing and the other half experiencing the cruise. I loved the aft saltwater pool and its twin hot tubs, which were quieter and more private than the similar pool area on the top deck. I had a go at indoor curling, deck quoits and table tennis too.

There were loads of organised activities for the – mainly Scottish – passengers on this mid-sized ship. Yoga classes and mile-long walks beckoned, with more sedentary bridge playing seminars and quizzes. Regular talks also illuminated the colourful cities and port we encountered, whetting our appetites from the next port of call.

After dinner there were musical shows in the large Neptune Lounge too.

I am writing this now as we leave the Baltic behind and make our way back across a glass-calm North Sea. A wee porpoise has just skipped by my window.

My plan is to get up early tomorrow to join the gannets and cetaceans at the mouth of the Forth for another stunning sail up the estuary to Rosyth.

At Rosyth I’ll be raising an orange juice toast to a vessel that for me became a symbol of hope at a dark time for all of us.