Sunbed etiquette - what do you think?

I have just had a good customer return from a cruise aboard Celebrity Infinity, he had a terrible time with  a lack of sunbeds and fellow customers leaving their belongings on the sunbeds whilst they went off for hours at a time.

Apparently Celebrity have a 'half hour rule' whereby you shouldn't leave your sunbed unattended for more than this time, however this was not enforced. P&O also state in their daily newspaper that they 'do not condone reserving sunbeds' however, again it is not enforced.

Is this something that you have come across? Which cruise lines are the best/worst for sunbed hogging? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Ocean Village departures - Thursday 22nd April

The message from Ocean Village for those sailing tomorrow (Thursday) is to check in as normal…all flights are scheduled to go but are subject to delays. Enjoy your cruises and let me know how you get on.

Celebrity Eclipse helps stranded passengers

Celebrity Eclipse has abandoned plans to sail a host of travel agents from Hamburg to Dover and instead is heading to Spain to rescue stranded passengers. This is great news for all concerned, people get a luxurious journey home and Celebrity get one of the best marketing campaigns ever. The only people to miss out will be those poor travel agents who had bougt new dresses for the event. They'll have to keep them for Celebrity Silhouette next year instead

Eurostar - carrying extra passengers

Eurostar have announced that they have 30,000 standard class seats between now and Saturday from £89 one way. They will be laying on 28 extra trains. This should help those people who have to get to Europe now that it is looking bleak for air travel again.

P&O Free Kids sailings for 2011

Here is a comprehensive list of those sailings with free kids places on board for 2011. These place will be subject to availabilty so you are better to book early.

Personally whilst they appear to be offering alot of free kids sailings there are that many that are child friendly itineraries - the only one that really jumps out at me is Azura 14 October 2011 as this will tie in with half term a for some of the cruise.

Please note these are for free kids only - there are many more sailings where infants can sail free.


Ventura                                              Azura
15 Sep - 12nt Canaries                        04 Jun - 14nt Baltics
27 Sep - 12nt Med                              18 Jun - 15nt Iceland
09 Oct - 12nt Canaries                        27 Sep - 17nt Med
                                                           14 Oct - 14nt Med

Oriana                                               Aurora
20May - 14nt Baltic                            14 Apr - 21nt Caribbean
21 Jun - 14nt North Cape                   05 May -13nt Baltic
11 Sep - 16nt Med                             06 Jun - 14nt Spitsbergen
27Sep - 34nt Caribbean                      06 Jul - 18nt Greenland
31 Oct - 16nt Med                              01 Nov - 11nt Canaries

Oceana
15 Apr - 14nt Med
05 Sep - 12nt Canaries
17 Sep - 14nt Med
01 Oct - 14nt Med
17 Oct - 9nt Atlantic Coast
26Oct - 14nt Med
09 Nov - 12nt Canaries
21 Nov - 24nt Med
08 Jan 2012 - 35nt Caribbean
12 Feb - 14nt Canaries
26 Feb - 24nt Med
21 Mar - 14nt Med

My Azura Review

I have just had the pleasure of a night on board P&O's newest ship Azura and I really liked her. I was lucky enough to have a deluxe balcony room and it was lovely - a large sitting area, 2 flat screen TV's, so you can watch from your bed or the sofa, plenty of wardrobe space and a bathroom with bath tub. Plus the largest bath towels at sea which gave a real feel of luxury from the start.

For my full review just click on read more.

As a sister ship to Ventura the layout and features of the ship are the same but she is marketed at the non family marketed and to attract the classic P&O customer. I haven't been on board Ventura but in comparison to Aurora I loved this ship. She is modern and bright yet still smooth and sophisticated. Lunch in the buffet restaurant was busy, but this can be a hazard of cruising and eating at peak times, the food was kept replenished and there was a good choice of hot and cold dishes. Dinner in the Meridian was fantastic - the restaurant was split into sections giving the impression that you were dining in a much smaller venue and the menu was perfect for me with a good selection of light starters, and main courses (the lobster was divine) giving me plenty of room to sample the puddings and the cheese board. Coffee and chocolates were also served.

With only one night on board I didn't get the chance to sample Sindhu the modern Indian restaurant, the Oriental room or Seventeen,  but I look forward to returning to and trying them all. Just reading the menu's made my mouth water.

The one thing I was really impressed with was the cool ambiance of The Retreat. Situated around the Oasis spa, this exclusive adults area is availaible for £6 per half day on port days and £10 on an at sea day. It has it's own pool, wicker loungers and private massage areas. It did look very inviting and at this price is a very affordable treat.

The evening entertainment was great, I chose to dance the night away in the Manhatten bar and the drinks were well priced, at £1.95 for a wine spritzer and £2.60 for a spirit and mixer the costs are in comparison to a local pub. The dance floor was also plenty large enough for a host of travel agents, although with only a small ladies toilet close by the queues did get a big long.

Finally breakfast was as expected - a good selection on the hot buffet, fresh fruits, dried fruits and pastries. There was nothing special or unexpected - an omelette bar or pancake station for instance but the food that was there was all a good standard and fresh.

Overall I thought Azura was great, my last trip on Aurora had disappointed me a bit but Azura restored my faith in P&O and I would definately holiday on this ship. If you're not booked up for this year I recommend you look at this ship, especially as there are some really cheap deals for her. And if you are already booked then you'll have a great time and I am very jealous. Let me know what you think on your return.

Would I book a guaranteed cabin?

Yes I certainly would. At the moment there are a lot of great deals for cabins on a guaranteed basis, before booking these though you need to know exactly what you may get.

Look at the cabin grade - the cruise line has to give you this grade of cabin or above. Be careful though they could allocate you a higher cabin grade, which may be on a lower deck, or may be an obstructed view. ie - You may have a guaranteed outside cabin, but be allocated an obstructed view balcony. Check that you would be happy with any of the cabin grades that you could be allocated.

With a guaranteed cabin you cannot choose your bedding configuration - this isn't normally a problem as the cabin steward can always remake the beds however on some cruise lines (Ocean Village and Fred Olsen) you may be allocated a cabin with fixed twin beds. So if you're sleeping arrangements are important then always check with your agent first.

Finally, MSC when giving a guaranteed cabin, do not guarantee that you can stay in the same cabin for the full duration of the cruise. If the cruise is busy there is a very small chance that you will be asked to swap cabins during the cruise.

The plus side of a guarantee cabin is the price, you get the same service on the cruise, everything else is included and you get a great price. Cunard are currently offering a great guaranteed deal on Queen Mary 2 -14June. A balcony cabin on a guaranteed basis is £1199pp, whereas to book a balcony knowing your cabin number you'll pay £2279pp. To save £1080pp I would definately risk an obstructed view.