It was a life defining decision, a road not taken, a moment of choice as in the film Sliding Doors to go one way or another.

A charming Fred Olsen Cruise Lines representative at the entrance to Liverpool Cruise Terminal asked me: “Are you getting off at Southampton? Or going around the world?”

For a moment I hesitated . . . Would anyone miss me for 99 days? Could I blag my way through 36 ports and 22 countries, using my two-day cruise key card for global circumnavigation, maybe illicitly sleeping in a lifeboat if, annoyingly, some usurper had booked my suite?

Standing in the drizzle brought me rapidly back to earth. Filled with short-haul shame, I muttered those embarrassing words “Southampton, please”.

“Go and stand over there,” she smiled encouragingly. And so, I joined 200 other nano-cruisers escaping mizzly Merseyside for sun-kissed Southampton.

This voyage was the start of Borealis’ 2024 world cruise. Worryingly given my alleged ship-expert status, I didn’t even know until then that any world cruises departed from Liverpool, but apparently Borealis’ first was last year.

As a tantalising taster this two-nighter made it possible to enjoy the first leg of this epic earth embracing, with a reality check in the form of coach ride back from Southampton.

One passenger told me she was using the ship as a means of getting to Southampton to stay with friends. Who said ocean liner travel was dead?!

The Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ (FOCL) mini cruise is one of Liverpool’s best kept secrets, which should be outed for the greater public benefit of all.

With the Mersey port geographically so well placed, you can enjoy return voyages from the heart of the city to destinations around the Irish Sea and English Channel.

It’s a great way to experience a fine cruise liner before committing to a longer voyage, or take a family break at a very reasonable cost in an entirely safe, secure and very comfortable, and varied environment. I met one family with three generations travelling for those very reasons.

Having enjoyed several short voyages from Liverpool aboard Olsen’s now withdrawn beauties Boudicca and Black Watch, I was excited to join one of their replacements, MS Borealis, formerly Holland America Lines’ flagship MS Rotterdam.

Borealis’ canny Norwegian owner clearly bought the liner two years ago ‘sight as seen’ and kept her fabulous Dutch, Indonesian and Asian artwork and antiques intact while grafting on the Olsen family’s own art collection and historical artefacts. She truly is a beautifully dressed vessel, even more glamorous than her renowned predecessors.

Although 26 years old, Borealis looks like she’s come straight from her builders and is a credit to Olsen’s care and maintenance. I visited the ship as Rotterdam on her first call to Liverpool and she looks even better than I recall.

Built for long-distance world cruising, Borealis is a spacious ship with a one-class capacity of around 1,400 passengers and 600 crew (mainly Thai, Filipino and Indian).

In the Aurora Borealis Restaurant – a fantastic two-deck space overlooking the stern – my friends asked if we could all be seated together, the Maitre D’ Jefron Rodrigues, rather startlingly said: “Oh yes, I know Peter!”

Either the FOCL press office had sent a very thorough briefing, or he’s got a fantastic memory from a past voyage. But I must add that the ship’s hotel crew were super friendly and attentive to everybody.

As for accommodation, my double bed junior suite with lounge and balcony on Highland Deck 6 was gorgeous.

Among the many fine public spaces, the real showstopper is the three-deck atrium with a centrepiece sculpture of Hercules holding up a blue heavenly body with gold stars above the earth.

Of course I tested the sauna, lido pool and hot tubs, but as a man of simple pleasures my favourite place was the open sided Promenade Deck, which wraps around the entire ship. With its teak decks and mahogany rail, dotted with steamer chairs, this exudes an ambience of classic ocean liner style.

Many cruise liners now corral all passengers indoors except for an open topped lido deck. On Borealis I could lean on the Promenade Deck rail, letting the bracing breeze ruffle what’s left of my hair while staring hypnotised at the rolling swell and ship’s breaking white wake.

This is exactly what I want from a sea voyage. Due to the incredibly clear January skies and sunshine, features like the Scilly Isles and Seven Stones light vessel pirouetting on her lonely anchorage were illuminated to starboard as we left the Irish Sea.

While on the port side, rounding the equally brightly lit Land’s End and entering the English Channel was gaunt Eddystone lighthouse and the southern Cornish coast.

Food is excellent and, of course, constant. The gluttonous cartoon layabout Homer Simpson once excitedly declared he found a new meal – brunch. Well, he’d love cruising, as there’s also breakfast, morning coffee, lunch, dinner and the midnight buffet.

My Fred Olsen favourite is afternoon tea with exquisite warm scones so light they practically float off your plate and into your mouth, of which four did just that.

Overall, the catering is excellent (there are also supplementary speciality restaurants). Although FOCL is rated as a mid-priced four-star line it’s hard to see how you could ask for more, unless you pay sky high rates for a really small five star boutique ship.

On this short voyage we had Saturday morning talk about the Beatles, but evening entertainment in the Neptune Theatre was not a live show but a film, Top Gun Maverick, allowing us to appreciate not only the superb aerial photography but also the strangely ageless Tom Cruise’s two acting expressions: passive face and ironic smile. And they criticised Roger Moore’s limitations!

All too soon it was over. Borealis docked in Southampton and those of us disembarking had a rude awakening with an early breakfast and ashore at 7.30am. However, you could catch up your sleep on the coach to Liverpool Cruise Terminal.

For those luckily back aboard Borealis next stop was Bermuda.

• The next FOCL Mini Cruise @FredOlsenCruises is in spring when Borealis’ sister ship Bolette takes over her Liverpool schedule. Passengers can join Bolette in Southampton (coach from Liverpool) for the two-night voyage to Liverpool (ref: T2407) departing from Southampton on 17^thApril, 2024. Prices from £349 per person, coach £25.
• Shipnerd note: Borealis took 36 hours to sail 570 nautical miles from Liverpool to Southampton. Return by road was four and a half hours for 240 miles.