"At 5 o'clock on Friday, October 14th 2011 after all pre-departure checks were completed and clearance granted P&O's Azura let go all her lines, thrust off the ocean terminal berth at Southampton and manoeuvred into the Solent.

"An easterly course was set north of the Isle of White where shortly after the pilot disembarked the ship. We cleared the Nab Tower and steered south westerly into the English Channel towards Cape Ushant off the north western tip of France and onward to the Med." So the Captain's log read.

We cruised for two days crossing Biscay and down the Iberian peninsula towards out first port of call, Cadiz. The sea remained calm and the weather warm. On board we quickly found our way around. Perhaps not that quickly as we lost ourselves and our cabin several times in the maze of corridors on various decks.

Luckily though I did find what would proved to be the epicentre of televised football - Brodies Bar. This proved very important as the next day, Saturday, Liverpool were playing Manchester United, a game I had a definite interest in. We were assured, providing the satellite signal remained intact, the match would be screened at 1pm on Saturday, the kick-off time reflecting the new time zone we were in.

After a walk around the promenade deck and the on board shops during Saturday morning we had an early lunch. I left my wife sat out on the balcony of our cabin and swiftly made my way to Brodies , that is after first getting out of the lift on the wrong deck, then alighting on the right deck but turning in the wrong direction.

Much to my surprise when I arrived at Brodies there was plenty of room at the tables in front of the big screen as well as all the many smaller screens around the bar. I ordered the requisite pint of lager from one of the very attentive bar personnel who asked me which team I supported? I replied "Liverpool", to which he responded "me too, Liverpool very good team. Bob Paisley very good manager." It was Kenny Dalgleish at the time but I said a placatory "yes, very good".

As the match progressed Brodies gradually filled, though still remained quite comfortable and somewhat restrained accept for the occasional outburst of flowery language following an over- zealous tackle or a referee's decision. I did hear the drinks waiter, who had taken my order, ask someone else "what team you support?" The reply came back "The Reds". This left him quite perplexed. He responded with an enthusiastic "me too" but no mention of a manager.

The game, goal-less at the break, became more exciting after Steve Gerrard scored Liverpool's goal from a free kick midway through the second half. But the greatest roar went up when Hernandez equalised for United with only minutes left on the clock. The game then became quite frenetic and Brodies came to life until the final whistle. The result left United two points behind League leaders Manchester City who they were playing the following Sunday and Brodies were again reminding everyone it would be televised providing there was a satellite connection. A palpable murmer ran through the bar. I had the feeling next Sunday's match would prove a little more animated than today's.

We knew we were in Spain because of all the Messi shirts

We knew we were in Spain as we walked through Cadiz and saw all the Barca shirts worn by the locals with Messi's name on the back. Old Cadiz is on a peninsula surrounded by sea and in its centre the Cathedral Santa Cruz de Cadiz, its golden dome gleams in the Spanish sun. The surrounding narrow streets were equally as bad to navigate as the corridors on the ship when we tried to find our way around but Cadiz is well worth a visit.

This is not a travelogue but we left Cadiz bound for Barcelona. There we did the usual Citi Bus tour which took in Barcelona FC's famed Nou Camp and Guadi's "La Sagrada Familia". We walked through Las Ramblas taking in the sights.

Cannes was our next port of call followed by the Italian ports of Livorno and Civitavecchia. In the latter I even saw a large notice in the window of a local bar advertising they would be showing the coming confrontation between United and City. We had another day at sea before berthing at Alicante and then the following day (Sunday, October 23rd 2011) was to become a black day in the annals of Manchester United and I would witness it in the middle of the Mediterranean ocean.

All week since the Liverpool game the talk aboard Azura was of the forthcoming United and City meeting. The ship's daily newspaper built up the expectation with reports from both camps. It was advertised in our daily programme of events and we were continually reminded it could be seen in Brodies Bar (subject to satellite signal). It was discussed at most dinner tables, usually with enthusiasm although not everbody was a football fanatic.

Some conversations came to an abrupt end. I well remember asking an older gentleman what he thought about the coming United, City game? He informed me he didn't play computer games and viewed them as a waste of time!! Around the pool, on the decks or in any of the many venues barely a conversation took place without mention of 'the match'. Then the day was with us.

Again kick-off was at local time, though because of some very talkative table companions, what was meant to be an early lunch became anything but. I eventually excused myself and quickly made my way to Brodies where I was in for a shock. I could hear the noise before I was anywhere near it and when I eventually pushed open the door I came face to face with a tide of red and blue clad humanity.

There were no tables left near the big screen. No chairs close to the surrounding smaller screens. In fact, little standing room anywhere in the bar. I did eventually find somewhere that had a view of the screen and even the luxury of a ledge to perch my lager on, coincidentally served by the same bar person as the previous Saturday who asked the same question – "what team you support?". I replied "Accrington Stanley" which produced a vacant look and a quick exit.

The bar erupted when City opened the scoring

The game itself was played out to the noisiest television audience I've ever experienced. The commentary was completely drowned out as voices rose in unison with every kick of the game and when Balotelli gave City the lead Brodies erupted. The noise continued until the break and then settled into an excited hub-bub as glasses were being rapidly refilled in readiness. (The person stood next to me ordered three pints to see him through the second half without distraction).

Two minutes after the game restarted decibels rose to a deafening level when Johnny Evans was red carded for a foul on Mario Balotelli. The atmosphere which had become a bit fractious in some parts of the bar was aggravated even further 15 minutes later when we lost the satellite signal. It was restored just in time to see a recording of Balotelli firing home his second goal to put City two up. Again the noise was ear-shattering and within another few minutes Aguero put them three goals clear. I really did think at that stage things may develop into something a bit more serious especially with some of the banter going on around the bar.

I noticed now that the red in Brodies seemed to be quickly diminishing as the City supporters celebrated their lead. Then with ten minutes of the game left United scored through Fletcher. At last a glimmer of hope for their supporters whose numbers were now somewhat depleted.

Would this be another of Fergies' famous fight-backs? Alas not, three further goals in the final four minutes, two from Dzeko and one for Silva completed United's annihilation. Brodies was now ringing to the cheers of City supporters five points clear at the top of the Premier League. Blue definitely ruled with hardly a red shirt in sight. At the end I was as drained as my pint of lager having never ever experienced that level of intensity in any televised match I have ever watched. The Captain later gave his usual address over the ship's radio and to rub it in included the result once more.

Life on board settled down on the following day as we docked at Alicante before our onward cruise to Gibralter, our last port of call before two days at sea on our return to Southampton. A final highlight of the voyage was looking from our balcony and seeing my first, (and only) ever glimpse of a whale as the spray from its spout flew high into the air.

It was a magical moment on which to end the cruise - and far more relaxing than the recent match in Brodies for sure.