P&O and Cunard to increase their fuel costs

P&O and Cunard have announced that their fuel supplement is increasing to £6per person per night for all bookings made from 30th December onwards. The current cost is just £3pppn.

This means that if you are looking at a 14 night cruise your costs will increase by £42pp so it is definitely worth booking this week, rather than waiting into the New Year.

OMG I'm going to be 40

Well it's finally time to day goodbye to my 30's and move into the next decade of life as on Friday I am going to be 40.

Fortunately I am not too sad about this fact, I have a great family and great job and haven't got any regrets from life so far and hopefully another 40 years to look forward to.

As it's a big birthday and my birthday normally get lost amongst Christmas I thought I'd treat myself so  I'm joining friends at Hill House in Norfolk which is a gorgeous manor house.

We will all meet for lunch and the the ladies are off to Dunston Hall for a swim, sauna, relax and catch up whilst the men entertain the children. The girls I have known for 20+ years so I am sure we will have a lot to chat about.

 In the evening I have arranged caterers to bringdinner for us and I have pink champagne on ice.

If anyone would like anymore info on Hill House, which is 6 bedroomed property and sleeps up to 13 their full website is just a click away, tell them I've recommended it.

I

Fancy trying 5* Cruising?

Do you normally like to sail from the UK and have you ever thought of trying Celebrity Cruises but are too scared to do so for a 2 week cruise. Well now is your time to do so.

Constellation has just been given a full Soltice Class Makeover and now includes the Martini Bar and Crush which Celebrity claim is the coolest bar at sea, the Cellar Masters wine bar and the Tuscan Grille speciality restaurant.The staterooms have been elegantly refurbished too. The Soltice Class ships are very popular and Celebrity are now taking a large share of the UK Market.

To celebrate this makeover Celebrity are offering a 2 night mini cruise in September 2012 from Amsterdam bask to Southampton a you get a full day at sea to really try out the ship. The prices are fantastic with an inside cabin starting at just £139pp or £259pp for the fly cruise.

I don't think you'd find a 5* hotel to offer you what a cruise does for this price.

For the full details and prices just click on this link Celebrity Constellation.

Read some Celebrity Cruise reviews at Cruise.co.uk.

Travel Insurance with pre-existing medical conditions.

I recently had a customer struggling to get insurance to include pre-existing medical conditions, her original quote being £1900 to cover a 14 night Caribbean cruise that had cost just over £1000.

As she hadn’t got a computer so I searched the web and found a number of insurance companies that specialised in this type of insurance and using these numbers she managed to get the price down by over 60%. I thought this might be useful for other customers so here are a few numbers for you.

0800 096 4602          www.world-first.co.uk

0844 692 8449         www.travelinsurancemedical.co.uk

01625 505700          www.the-insurance-surgery.co.uk

0844 2770844             www.staysure.co.uk

0844 334 0160            www.goodtogoinsurance.com

01689 859102            www.jdtravelinsurance.co.uk

01223 454 290       www.fredominsure.co.uk

A bit about Swan Hellenic

Swan Hellenic's Minerva offers the perfect base for exploring your destination in depth. As a discovery cruise ship you'll enjoy on board guest speakers who will really bring the destinations to life and a programme of included excursions to enrich your days.

The sailings are aimed at like minded people who want to know more about the places they visit, but if you'd rather just relax and explore on your own that's fine too. She is a smaller ship carrying just 350 passengers and and get into some of the samller historic ports of call as well as visiting cultural centres such as Pireaus for Athens and Civitivecchia for Rome.

In those ports that are more frequently visited she offers a choice of excursions, for instance from if it's your first time in Naples you can visit the ruins of Pompeii or as a returning guest you can choose to go to the lesser know Villa Oplontis built by Emperor Nero. I have been lucky enough to have a work trip on Minerva and the level of knowledge given by the excursion hosts was amazing.

Swan Hellenic's prices have no hidden extras too, all you pay for on top of your cruise fare are your drinks. Flights, transfers, excursions, guest speakers and gratuities are all included, as well as your food, evening entertainment and chosen cabin grade.

She is being refurbished in early 2012 and has some great offers for Spring 2012. Postcards from the Mediterranean, a 13 night sailing on the 29th March starts at just £1495pp. For the full details just click here.

Seabourn's connection charges

As you know whenever I call a cruiseline to find something out for a customer I like to post it on here. If one persons wants to know the info then I figure many more people may also like to know too.

My latest tit bit is the internet connection charges on Seabourn ships
They have a number of packages dependent on the usage you require.

Stay in Touch –$0.40/minute

Frequent Explorer – 1 hr for $9.99

Business User - $39.99 for 24 hrs

Always Connected - $234 for a week

Loyalty package – for all sailings of 7nts or more, $399.99

this is a one off price for the duration of the cruise.

Hopefully this will be of use to you.

Here's a cheeky chappy

I'm having a few days off now which has put me in a happy mood and for some reason made me think of this smiley chappy that I saw on board MSC Opera this summer. I thought I'd post him for you all to see and hopefully put you in a mid week good mood too.

I'll be back in the office on Monday and if you need any help whilst I'm off just call my colleagues on 0800 408 6200 and they'll be happy to help you.

I've heard of the ships cat but never....

the ship's fish. Yesterday I was amazed to hear that the ships Quarter Master on Regent Seven Seas Voyager keeps 2 giant goldfish on the bridge of Seven Seas Voyager.

I have tried to find some information out about these and have done a quick search. It appears that they are loving cared for but alas have no names, which seems a real shame so I thought I would start a campaign to name them. I thought maybe Reg for one (short for Regent) but am stuck on a 2nd.

These are the only pets that I am aware of any cruise ship, although Queen Mary will allow dogs to be carried on her transtlantic cruises. If you know of any other pets that are stowed away then please let me know, I'd like to write about them too.

For a photo of the ships fish, just click on this link

The youngest fleet at sea needs a facelift!

To celebrate her 8th Birthday Cunard are giving Queen Mary 2 a complete refit, which is fantastic when cruise lines seem to be trying to save money and cut corners at the moment.

She enters dry dock on the 24th November and the 14 day refit will see more than just a token touch up occuring. Cunard have promised the following:

All 1310 staterooms will have new carpets, bedspreads and curtains and an enhanced sense of confort is being promised.
The Canyon Ranch Spa Club will have new fitness machines and improved features in the Beauty Salon.
The Golden Lion Pub - will have a more American Country Club feel with upgraded TV screens and be more similar to the same pub on board Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth
The Commodore Club will also be re-carpeted and have additions to the white leather furnishings
The Grills Restaurants, Commodore Club, Veuve Cliquot Champagne Bar and Sir Samuels will have new carpets.
And finally the Play Zone and Kids Zone will have a complete refurbishment with new soft play areas, and upgrades in the electronic gaming technology and facilities.

Queen Mary 2 has good reviews already so I think Cunard are doing the right thing in refitting her before the reviews start to slip. If you want to see Cunard cruise reviews visit Cruise.co.uk; I look forward to seeing new reviews after the refit.

A few more days off.

I am now out of the office until Tuesday 01 November spending some time with my family whilst it is half term.

I haven't got anything special planned but it will be nice to have some lie ins and to just play for a few days.

Whilst I'm away please call 0800 408 6200 or e-mail contactus@cruise.co.uk and my colleagues will be happy to help you.

Take another look at Regent Seven Seas Cruises

I have just been looking at a Christmas Cruise with Regent Seven Sea's Cruises and my customer was amazed by what it includes compared to others on the market. They have really increased their offering over the last year I so thought it was worth highlighting a few things.

Regent Seven Sea's Cruises are a 6* luxury cruise line, their service is impeccable and the reviews are great. Most people are aware of this but what isn't so widely known is just what you get included in the costs.

As with most luxury cruise lines, your exceptional food and drinks are included together with a large suite on the cruise. However Regent also include the flights and they really stand out by including a full programme of shore excursions and not just a token 'walk around the local market' excursion. On this particular cruise they offer a choice of up to 9 free excursions in every port of call and include such things as a 4 X 4 Jeep Adventure, Whale and Dolphin Safari, Champagne Snorkel, Catamaran Trip, Kayak through the Mangroves, Horseback Ride and Swim to name just a few. These are quality excursions that really add up.


By the time you've paid for shore excursions, drinks and speciality restaurants on your average cruise you can more than double your holiday costs. Not many people do a shore excursion everyday because of the costs involved but with Regent you can. The cruise prices may look expensive on paper but it really is worth remebering that once on board you really do not have any need to spend a thing.

If you'd like to see this Christmas Offer just click here - but remember that this is at Christmas time when prices are traditionally higher too, if you look at Regent at any other time they'll be even better value for money.

Staying in touch.

More and more people now carry mobile phones or want to stay in touch by email when on holiday and many people can't bear to abandon their tech toys, even at sea.

The cruise lines are open to this and provide many different facilities from Wi-Fi hot spots to cabin data ports, from mobile phone service to ordering your meals via an iPad as featured on Celebrity ships.  Silversea Cruises reports 65 percent of its guests use some form of onboard Internet access, while 50 percent are using mobile phones at sea.

If you do want to use technology on board though its advisable to check your prices in advance.

Phones -
If you can get connected, remember it may not be cheap. Internet access, ship-to-shore phone calls, and mobile phone usage can be pricey. Calling from the phone in your stateroom may cost $9.99 a minute or more. Mobile phone users will get the bill for international roaming or other fees when they get home. People are getting caught out with the new smart phones which may continue roaming in the background even when you're not using it so make sure you turn all your features off before travelling.

E-mail
Internet cafés at sea are now the norm, not the exception. Even small ships and some new riverboats have one or two computers onboard for guest use. It's good, though, to check with your cruise line before you sail about your technical options; they vary by ship and by line, and the landscape is changing daily. All the major cruise lines show their prices on their websites.

Another useful thing to remember with e-mail is to avoid the busy times, connections on ships are still slow and the more people trying to connect, the slower the connection may be. Try visiting the cafe's whilst fellow guests are dining or early in the morning. Connection is also worse in rough seas, or when at sea so a shore day would always provide a quicker connection.

The other alternative would be to use a shore based Internet cafe, these are generally cheaper than on board. Although this seems a shame when you are in port for such a short amount of time.

I hope you find these tips useful and don't forget when you are staying in touch with friends to send me a quick e-mail too and let me know how you're enjoying your cruise. I'd love to hear from you.















Or simply head for a land-based Internet café when in port. Internet cafés are ubiquitious in cruise ship portsm and usually cost from one to four dollars an hour. Ask the ship's concierge, shore trip staff or other crew members if they know of a facility close to the pier. Local libraries are good bets, and some offer computer use with free minutes.



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Celebrity enhance their older ships

I love the newer Celebrity Solstice Class ships and think that they are probably my favourite of all the ships out there currently. And I'm not the only person who thinks this, you rarely get a bad review from any of the Solstice ships.

Now because of this Celebrity are taking the best features of these ships and upgrading their existing fleet with a $120 million upgrade of Celebrity Infinity, Celebrity Summit and Celebrity Millennium. They are being 'Solsticised'

Each ship will now feature Aqua Class staterooms - rooms with complimentary access to the Persian Garden Spa and exclusive dining in the Blu restaurant. There will also be more dining options including a vibrant Creperie and the Qsine restaurant which is so modern that you order your meal using an iPad. My favourite bar at sea the Martini Bar is also been added along with the Cellarmasters Wine Bar.

Infinity will be completed in Dec 2011, Summit in January 2012 and Millenium 2012 so I can recommend all of them for your 2012 cruise.

Don't forget to have a look at some Celebrity Cruise Reviews.

Regent Prices to increase on 01 October

 

Just a quick heads up but Regent Seven Seas cruises have announced today that their 2012 prices will be increasing on the 1st October. This gives you just 2 days to secure your booking at the best price.

If you normally travel with the likes of Cunard, Oceania, Azamara or Holland America then now is the time to consider Regent. As a six star cruise line their service will exceed what you are used to and just look at what's included in their price:

• FREE return flights


• FREE Business Class flights on ALL Mediterranean and Baltic cruises (C-MS suites)

• 1-night pre-cruise hotel stay on Alaska and Caribbean cruises

• FREE and UNLIMITED shore excursions in every port - (I have looked into these and they really are high end excursions that are offered free - the likes of which would could cost over £1000.00 on a two week cruise with other cruise lines

• ALL fine dining including speciality restaurants

• ALL drinks and beverages - including quality wines and champagnes

• ALL gratuities and tips, no service charges

• ALL onboard activities

• And so much more...

They offer an all inclusive, ultra luxury proposition for the same overall cost of a 4 or 5* cruise line.
 
For more information or a brochure just call or e-mail me

How much would you pay for a wheelchair?

I was amazed recently when a customer of mine advised me that Holland America had charged him $380 for the hire of a wheelchair on a 10 night sailing on board the Nieuw Amsterdam. The gentleman in question does not always require a wheelchair and can get away without them but due to a health issue at the last moment had decided he would be better to have one so arranged it whilst on board.

To make matters worse the wheelchair had the hire companies name 'Special Needs Group' emblazoned on the back.

This is the first time that I have ever heard of a cruise line charging for wheelchairs although to be honest many cruise lines do not actually provide them so at least Holland America offer this facility.

But $380 seems a bit steep - what do you think?

MSC Opera - food photos

I know alot of you like to see what the food is like on the different ships so here are some photos of my meal on board MSC Opera.

My parma ham, kiwi fruit and pineapple medley was a nice light starter, the food was all fresh and it was well presented.

Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for the ricotta stuffed crepe. This dish was really waterey and the crepe really mushy. I do not have a problem with frozen foods and microwaves for mass catering but this was just not nice. Sorry MSC

My main course of warmed sliced beef on a bed of rocket was fantastic, the beef was cooked to perfection being slightly pink in the middle and was complemented really well by the rocket which was really fresh. A big thumbs up to the chef with this one.

I opted for chocolate ice cream for desert, again this tasted lovely but I thought they could have presented it slightly better - surely a little sprig of something or even just a wafer on the top might have made it look a bit more special

Finally, here is a picture of  the buffet food - I didn't taste it but it did look delicious.

MSC Opera

Cabins on MSC Opera

 Having visited MSC Opera last week, I thought I'd share some thoughts and advice on the cabins types.
This first picture is a balcony cabin and my advice would be to book one of these. They are slighty larger and with the full balcony window the rooms are bright and airy

 MSC is a cheap priced product and the difference in cost between the balcony and lower grades is not that high. However if it is out of your reach then my next recommendation would be the inside cabin. The large mirror above the bed really reflects the light well and made the room seem much larger than it is.

The outside cabins (below) disappointed me, the windows did not let much light in and the rooms therefore appeared smaller and darker than I would expect for an outside cabin.

The inside and outside cabins though are actually the same size and the window is good for the mornings to see where you are and what the weather is like before getting dressed. The cabins themselves do not have lots of room and are basically just a place for sleeping and getting ready, however I like the decor of MSC's cabins, the covers are all bright and colourful and give a cheery to the rooms. Which is just what you want on holiday.

MSC drop the price on their drinks package

MSC have announced a reduction in there All Inclusive drinks package for 2012.
Passengers travelling this year have paid £33.30 pppn which is a good price but from the 15th September you can add on the package on to 2012 sailings for just £21pppn.

Included in the package are:

• All drinks in bars list with bar list price up to € 7,00 / $ 7,00, including wines, beers, spirits and soft drinks. 
• Take-away ice-cream in cone or cup
• A selection of wines in the main restuarant and self service buffet, along with mineral water, draft and bottled beer and soft drinks

Unfortunately the mini bar is excluded along with bottles of wine and anything with a list price of over
€ 7,00 / $ 7,00

This package can be added to all bookings for 2012 including Winter 11/12 and Dubai. And what's more there is a rumour that they are launching this with an 'Upgrade to All Inclusive for £1' offer for all new bookings, I suspect the cruise prices may increase though but will keep you posted.

Viking River Cruises give something back

I have just completed some additional reading about Viking River Cruises and it bought a smile to my face to learn that they sponsor two elementary schools in China along the Yangtze river.

The schools in the Jingzhou and Yueyang regions give children who due to their economic status would be unable to attend school without this sponsorship, the chance to learn. I think this is fantastic, as a company there is no benefit to Viking River Cruises in sponsoring these schools and it shows a respect for the countries and people that they visit.

Thomson cruises also give something back although they actually do it via their customers.  With every booking customers are given the opportunity to pay £1 towards a 'Worldcare Fund' which is used to fund projects overseas and help lead to sustainable tourism.

I would like to say well done to these two companies, I am not aware of any other companies that actively fund projects overseas or give to charities, as tourists we can cause quite a lot of destruction to an area and it is nice to know that people care enough to give something back.

Reminder to book your free car parking - Celebrity Eclipse

Just a quick reminder to you all that today is the last day to book Celebrity Eclipse for summer 2012 and receive FREE car parking. This will save you well over £100 if travelling for 2 weeks.

Celebrity have said that the offer will definately not be extended after today.

If you have already booked Eclipse then you must call AB parking to confirm the car parking by the 7th September. After this date the free car parking will no longer be honoured.

To call AB parking just dial 0844 8806848 or visit http://www.abparking.co.uk/ and have your Celebrity reference number and car details available.

My holidays are over

Well it's Bank Holiday Monday and my holidays are over. I'ved just had a lovely week in Cornwall with my family and a friends 5 year old too. We stayed at Well Farm Cottage in North Tamerton which is about 20 minutes in land from Bude. The cottage was lovely and ideal for our needs, it was really well equipped and was set in a courtyard with a play area for the kids which was ideal for the boys.

The weather was kind to us too and as a family that like to explore we had some great days out at Bude, Polzeath and Tintagel Castle. The area is fabulous for families and we all enjoyed the walks, beaches and rock climbing. In particular I loved the great choice of clotted cream ice creams on offer everywhere!

But now alas it is time to return to reality, I have spent the day washing and ironing and am now ready to return to work. However  I am really looking forward to it, September is going to be a great month - next weel I am off to see MSC Opera in Southampton and on the 17th I get to look around Grand Princess. Both of these ships are really important to us as the both sail from the UK and are big for both the couples and families markets. Grand Princess has had a major refurbishment this year so I am really looking forward to seeing what they have done to her.

I will get some good photo's of both and write a review for you all and if there is anything in particular that you would like me to look at just let me know.

Whilst I am off.....

I am now away from the office until the 30th August, enjoying a nice break with my family.

Whilst I am away please call 0800 408 6200 or e-mail contactus@cruise.co.uk and my colleagues will be happy to help you.

If you would like to leave a comment regarding my service, or telling me what you think of my blog in the boxes on the left of this page I'd appreciate it.

Are you a Crown and Anchor member?

If you are, and you've achieved either Diamond, Diamond Plus or Pinnacle status then you need to book a cruise for December.

If you sail in December you  will be recognised and pampered by the entire Royal Caribbean Crew, regardless of the ship you are on or duration of the cruise. (I would expect that from Royal Caribbean anyway) but they are also giving double points for the sailing and triple points if sailing in a suite as well as special commemorative gifts and exclusive events.

There are some great deals for December at the moment to and you could sail with Royal Caribbean in the Med, Caribbean or Dubai at this time of year, have a look at our website or give me a call.

Taking your laptop on P&O ships

I have just investigated this for a customer so thought I would share it with everyone.

You can take your laptops on board P&O ships which is always an advantage if you have work to do whilst on holiday or just want to stay in touch with friends and family. There are a number of wi-fi hot spots as listed

Adonia: Full Wi Fi access available throughout the ship.


Arcadia - F Deck: The Globe & Spinnaker Bar, Deck 3: Cyb@ Center, Cafe Vivo, Horizon rooms, & Library and Deck 9: Gymnasium, The Belvedere & Aquarius pool and bar.

Aurora - D Deck: Cyb@ Study, Crow's Nest & Library.

Oceana - Promenade Deck : Cyb@ Study, Library, Deck 5: The Atrium Lobby & Explorers Bar.

Oriana - Sun Deck: Cyb@ Study & Crow's Nest

Azura & Ventura - Promenade Deck: Cyb@Study & all public lounges. Also in cabins using equipment that can be provided with the purchase of a time plan.

They do charge you for using their wi-fi and a variety of time plans can by purchased on board, a sample cost is £35 for 100 minutes of use (personally this seems quite pricey to me, but I am only comparing to my monthly at home charges)

If you only need a small amount of use you can also purchase 'Pay As You Go' for 50p per minute.
P&O also offer the chance to use their on board computers when you purchase a time plan or you can hire a lap top on board for £10 per day, subject to availability.




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I'm off for a few days

Just to let you know I am away from the office for a few days now, I'll be back in on Tuesday 2nd August.

If you'd like any help whilst I'm away please call my colleagues on 0800 408 6200 or e-mail contactus@cruise.co.uk

Pre book your My Time dining

There seems to be a bit of confusion regarding My Time dining on Royal Caribbean Cruises so I thought
I'd post a few facts to help you.

My Time dining gives you the flexibility to dine at the time you want to within the normal restaurant hours, this is generally from 6pm to 9.30pm with slight variations per ship. You still dine in the main restaurant and you still receive waiter service.

 There are two ways of ensuring you dine at the time you want to, you can either just turn up at the restaurant and be seated by the waiters. At this stage you can ask for a table with just your party, or ask to dine on a larger table with other guests. However dining can get very busy, and if you turn up at peak times you may have to wait for a table to become available.

Royal Caribbean therefore offer you the facility to prebook your My Time dining in advance. This can be done via your cruise personaliser on the Royal Caribbean website, you can either chose to book for the same time for every night of your cruise or look at each night individually and pick a different dining time for each night. This is great if you are trying to fit around shore excursions / days at sea. They offer dining times every 15 minutes so you can really tailor it to suits your needs. You can also again choose to dine alone or with others guests.

Now I haven't actually done My Time dining yet but hope you find this helpful. perhaps if you have experienced it yourselves you can let me and other cruisers know whether you are better to select your times in advance or just sort it on the ship.

Zumba themed Dance Cruise

As you know I'm a huge Zumba fan so I'm very excited that at Cruise.co.uk we are presenting an exclusive

Zumba Themed Dance cruise as part of our Cruise and Dance Programme.

On Royal Caribbean's Independance of the Sea's this 3 night mini cruise combines 2 full days in Paris with 3 Zumba Fitness dance classes.

She sails on Wednesday 2nd May 2012, and is berthed in Le Havre for Paris all day Thursday and  Friday until 8pm and then sails back to Southampton on Saturday 5th May.

Prices are £319pp for an inside cabin, £360pp for an outside and £410pp for a balcony. For more information look at my post on Cruises.co.uk  (just click on the link) or give me a call or e-mail

Luxury Cruise Deal

I've got another special deal for you and this ones a beauty, it's so special that I can't tell you the ship or cruiseline (you'll have to call me to find out) but I can tell you the following
The ship sails a 10 night Norwegian Fjords Cruise on the 7th August 2011 and as a luxury cruise line the following are all included in your price.
Gratuities
Bottled water, sodas and speciality coffee & teas
Selected wines with lunch and dinner
Open seating in the Main Restaurant
Speciality restaurant dining reservations for Club Suite Guests
Complimentary shuttle service in port

The cabins will be allocated on a guaranteed basis at these prices;
Inside stateroom £645pp
Outside stateroom £842pp
Veranda stateroom £1016pp

Flights and transfers can be added however you would be best to add your own. BA have flights from Heathrow for just £179pp, its in and out of Copenhagen and the port is just a short taxi ride from the airport. Which makes this a really cheap holiday.

To get the full information on this cruise just give me a call or send me an e-mail.

How important is entertainment to you?

People choose their cruises for a number of reasons - if food is your highlight then pick Oceania or Celebrity,
if you're after high action activities then Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas or NCL's Epic are the ships for you and if you're after music or comedy then Fred Olsen are a must.

Each year Fred Olsen have a number of themed cruises where 'Music and Laughter' are the highlight. These cruises do not cost any more than their other sailings and the entertainment is guaranteed to make you smile. They have just announced their programme for Winter 2011 and 2012 and there is a wide range of musical acts on offer from pop to opera.

So if the entertainment that you have on board your cruise is important to you read on and you can select the cruise to suit you.



Boudicca
16 Oct 2011 - D1123 - Classical Music - Classical Connnections
                                                                 Comedy - Don Reid

01 Nov 2011 - D1124 - Jazz - The Phoenix Jazz Band
                                       Comedy - Dave Kristian

26 Nov 2011 - D1125 - 1960's Pop - The Tornados
                                       Comedy - Ricky Jay

10 Dec 2011 - D1126 - Comedy - Berni Flint

20 Dec 2011 - D1128 - Jazz - Colin Bryant & His Hot Rhythm Orchestra
                                      Comedy - Ricky Jay

05 Jan 2012 - D1201 - Comedy - Don Reid

19 Jan 2012 - D1202 - Smooth Soul - Irie J
                                     Pop - Abba Magic

07 Mar 2012 - D1204 - Pop - It Takes Two - Tina Turner & Rod Stewart Tribute

20 Mar 2012 - D1205 - 1960's Pop - The Upbeat Beatles

02 Apr 2012 - D1206 - American Songbook - Robert Habemann, Lee Gibson, Trevor Brown

Balmoral
28 Oct 2011 - L1119 - 1960's Pop - The Upbeat Beatles
                                      Smooth Soul - Irie J
                                     Comedy - Andy Rudge

17 Nov 2011 - L112 - Soul - George McCrea
                                    Country Rock - Beckett Brockovich Band
                                     Comedy - Bob Taylor

30 Nov 2011 - L1122 - Pop - Bee Gees Magic
                                     Comedy - Bob Webb

08 Dec 2011 - L1123 Music & Comedy - Beverley Davison
                                   Comedy - Don Reid
                                   Comedy - Phil Melbourne

05 Jan 2012 - L120112 -  American Songbook - Robert Habemann, Lee Gibson, Trevor Brown


Braemar
28 Oct 2011 M1123 - Opera - The Operababes
                                    Opera - Anthony Stuart Lloyd
                                    Comedy - Barnaby

08 Dec 2011 - M1126 - Disco Pop - Sounds of Boney M
                                       Smooth Soul - Irie J
                                       Comedy - Bob Taylor

Black Watch
01 Nov 2011 - W1118 - 1960's Pop - Steve Love Band
                                        Comedy - Bob Webb
                                        Comedy Magic - Mandy Muden

26 Nov 2011 - W1119 - Jazz - Colin Bryant & His Hot Rhythm Orchestra




17 Dec 2011 - W1121 - Pop - Bee Gees Magic
                                       Pop - Abba Magic

11 Jan 2012 - W120112 Pop - It Takes Two - Tina Turner & Rod Stewart Tribute

                                       Pop & Rock - Across the Pond - Elton & Elvis Tribute

I am Zumba mad

 Now for those of you that don't know me personally I am hooked by Zumba and so am very excited that Zumba classes are being rolled out across the Princess fleet.

Zumba is a latin based fitness class which combines dances moves - salsa, merengue, mambo with fitness move and is set to Latin American style music. It is really contagious and really good for you. 
Zumba burns anything from 400 - 700 calories per hour just dependant on your size and  the effort that you put in to it.


Now as a girl who likes to eat and drink aswell, Zumba on Princess ships will hopefully offer me the chance to maybe not put on quite so much weight on holiday. I hate doing that 8 week pre cruise diet to just go and put on half a stone on my cruise and have to start again.

Princess have been trialling Zumba on selected cruises since December 2010 but have seen the classes prove to be so popular that they are now taking it fleetwide. Currently it is featured on Caribbean Princess, Dawn Princess, Diamond Princess, Emerald Princess, Grand Princess, Golden Princess, Island Princess, Ruby Princess, Sapphire Princess, Sea Princess and Star Princess and they have promised 1 to 2 free classes on every sailing by 2012.

I am particularly impressed by the fact that it is free - as many cruise lines charge for there exercise classes.

If you're not sure what Zumba is, here is a YouTube clip of some customers enjoying Zumba on Emerald Princess in 2009. Click Zumba Please note this is not one of the classes that Princess are now running - if anyone is going on Princess this summer I'd be greatful if you could send me some footage!

Is a kettle really a health and safety issue?

I have just enquired with Thomson as to the use of kettles in their cabins and been advised that they are not provided and customers cannot take their own as it is a 'health and safety issue.' My customer is also not allowed to take her own kettle for the same reason.

I am slightly confused as to how a kettle can be a health and safety issue, I understand that hot water can burn skin but surely cruisers can decide themselves if they are willing to take the risk in order to have a cup of tea.

Thomson are not alone in this Celebrity and Royal Caribbean also do not allow kettles in the cabins but Fred Olsen do.  Maybe as Fred Olsen customers are generally slightly older they are more responsible. I can 't quite see why some lines provide it whilst others don't, I assuming it's a cost issue. But in the grand scheme of things a kettle and a couple of cups is hardly going to break the bank but maybe I'm missing something?

Fantastic Late Deal

Well I don't often put deals on my blog as we have a separate offers section on forum Cruises.co.uk but this was is just so good I wanted to advertise it in as many places as possible.

MSC Opera is sailing an 8 night cruise on the 22nd July 2011 and we have some very special rates for it.
Inside cabins are just £499pp.


She sails a lovely cruise down the coast of France to Spain and calls in at one of my favourite places - La Rochelle, be sure to get off the ship and have some mussels for lunch.
The full itinerary for this 8 night sailing is:

22 July - Southampton
23 July - Amsterdam
24 July - At Sea
25 July - La Rochelle
26 July - Bilbao
27 July - La Coruna
28 July - At Sea
29 July - Cherbourg
30 July - Southampton

There is limited availability left but I can still offer:

Cat 1 inside cabins at £499pp
Cat 9 outside cabins at £549pp
Cat 10 balcony cabins at £599pp
Cat 11 suites at £899pp

And there's free car parking too!

(Unfotunately all the cabins for 3 or 4 passengers are already fully booked)

If you want to take advantage of this great deal, just give me a call or e-mail me your phone number and I'll call you

I've just had a great weekend away..

Well I've just had lovely few days off, as well as Milo's school holidays it was also a special birthday for my Dad and he paid for us all to go away for the weekend. We stayed in the Cotswold Water Park, which is only an hour away but somewhere that I'd never heard off.

It's an area of 133 lakes covering 40 square miles and despite the fact that it used to be quarries, it is beautifully scenic and offers all sorts of facilities and entertainments from birdwatching and walking to windsurfing and jet ski-ing. It is a place that attracts all types of people and all age groups.

We stayed in a 5 bedroomed luxury holiday home on the Lower Mill Estate, which was a complex of luxury house all with lake views and on a site offering spa facilities, an indoor and heated outdoor pool, children's play areas, trampolines and tennis courts. The site itself was nice and quiet and the house was fab with 3 balconies, giant beanbag sun loungers, a hot tub and barbecue.

We spent most of our time eating and drinking and it was really good to spend some time with my brother's family and my nephews.

 If you are looking for a weekend getaway and can't find a mini cruise to fit your dates, then I would recommend this area. The details of the property we stayed in can be found via this link  

Plus we have my Mum's big birthday next year, so if anyone knows of similiar places that are great for 3 generation families from 5yrs upwards then let me know.

It's school holidays again

Well my son has only been back in school for 4 weeks since the last bank holiday and he's off again so it's time for me and him to spend some more quality time together. We are also lucky that after a month of wind, rain and chilly temperatures the forecast is good and I can hopefully get a bit of a tan whilst running round the park.

I'll be back in on Tuesday next week as school holidays are never just a week and in my abscence just call my colleagues on 0800 408 6200

Buy a Celebrity Drinks Package and win a cruise

Celebrity have just updated their drinks packages on board so to save you all trawling through their website I thought I'd give you the prices here. Plus if you do pre-purchase one of their packages you can then visit
www.celebritycruises.com/thirst1 and be in with the chance to win one of the following:

• Tickets to the Olympics including first class hotel, dinner in a leading restaurant and more
•  A 7 night Celebrity Caribbean cruise including flights and more
• A trip for two to the New York City Food & Wine Festival including flights, hotel, director’s passes and more.

Premium Package: $54 per day

Includes unlimited fountain and canned soft drinks, juices, premium
teas and coffee, all speciality coffees, smoothies, Evian®, Perrier® and
Pellegrino®, Red Bull®, Vitamin Water® and all non-alcoholic cocktails. Also
beers, wine by the glass, cocktails, frozen drinks and spirits up to $13.75.

Classic Package: $44 per day

Includes unlimited fountain and canned soft drinks, juices, premium teas
and coffee, all specialty coffees, smoothies, frozen drinks, non-premium
bottled water and beers up to $5.75. Also wine by the glass, cocktails and
spirits up to $9.25.

Premium Non-Alcoholic Package: $18 per day

Includes unlimited fountain and canned soft drinks, juices, premium teas
and coffee, non-alcoholic specialty coffees, Evian®, Panna®, Perrier® and
Pellegrino®, Red Bull®, Vitamin Water®, all non-alcoholic cocktails and nonalcoholic
frozen drinks.

Classic Non-Alcoholic Package: $14 per day

Includes unlimited fountain and canned soft drinks, juices, premium teas
and coffee and non-premium bottled water.

Soft Drinks Package: $7 per day

Enjoy Coca-Cola® fountain and canned soft drinks for the duration of
your cruise.

Bottled Water Package: $12 per day

Refresh your thirst from our selection of both still and sparkling bottled
water, including Evian®, Perrier® and Pellegrino®.

Wine Package

Try our Build Your Own Wine Package – buy 3 bottles at $75 or more and
receive 15% off. Starting from $191.25.

Don't miss the early booking offers

Just a quick reminder that P&O & Cunard's early booking offers expire at the end of May and so you must book before then to get the additional benefits.

Cunard

• Free car parking on all roundtrip sailings from Southampton of 5 nights or more.(excluding roundtrip transatlantics)
• On board spend on transatlantics, med fly cruises.
• Free child places on selected cruises
• Discounts from the brochure price

P&O

• Free car parking on all roundtrip sailings from Southampton of 7 nights or more
• On board credit on all med and Caribbean fly cruise for all customers
• On board credit on all other cruises for past passengers only
• Discounts from the brochure price
  

The other added benefit of booking in advance is the opportunity to select the cabin that you would like and not have to have take a 'guaranteed' cabin where you could be positioned anywhere.

MSC do the right thing

Customers on board MSC Opera have had an awful weekend following an explosion on board on Friday night and subsequent electrical failure. They have had a weekend of dark corridors, poor sanitation and no air conditioning. This must have been horrendous for them and my heart goes out to all those passengers on board who had no doubt saved for their holiday and were supposed to be enjoying a relaxing break.

MSC cruises though have led the way in customer service by automatically crediting everyone with a crdeit voucher for their full cruise, to be redeemed by December 2012. Giving everyone plenty of time to use it. This I think is great, they could have just offered compensation to cover the lost days, the cruise is due to finish tomorrow or imposed more stringent time constraints on the voucher. It's good to see in today's world of cost savings that some businesses still put the customer first.

Derren Brown to appear on P&O again - pre register now

All fans of Derren Brown, the psycological illusionist are going to be very excited as he is going to perform on P&O's Adonia later this year.  He played on Aurora in September 2009 and the cruise sold out within moments.  He will perform a great show and if you are lucky like one of my customers last time you will be asked up on to stage and hypnotised.

Adonia sails on the 12th December and for 3 nights from Southampton and offers a great pre Christmas shopping trip too. She calls in at Zeebrugge to give you chance to buy Belgium chocolates for Christmas presents and Le Havre to stock up on the champagne. 

Prices start at £299pp for an inside cabin, which is a great when you consider how much you would pay for a theatre ticket to see him. The cruise goes on sale on Wednesday 18th May and if you would like to sail on this cruise you will have to preregister, so please feel free to give me a call and I will get you booked on the day.

How do I get home after a repositioning cruise?

There are some really good cruise deals on repositioning cruises - ones where you fly out to the Med or thre Caribbean and cruise back to Southampton or vice versa.

However this can be complicated as your car is often parked at the embarkation point, generally the airport and you are dropped off at the port many miles away. Some cruiselines do provide a return coach if you book the cruise in advance however on the late deals you are often left to your own devices.

National Express offer a daily departure from Southampton to Gatwick from £27.40pp or Southampton to Manchester Airport for £36.30pp. They can all be viewed and booked via http://www.nationalexpress.com/

Alternatively you can take the train from Southampton Central to London Gatwick for £14.90pp or to Manchester Airport for £23.50pp. These can be booked http://www.thetrainline.com/. Remember that train tickets are cheaper the more in advance that you book them.

Cheap parking at Southampton (and airports too)

I have just been given details of a cheap parking company for Southampton port who are much cheaper than C&PS and AB parking, the two suppliers used by the main cruiselines.

Whilst the parking is not at the port, they offer the convenience of valet parking within the standard costs. You drive to the port and they will meet you there, take your car and park it and then meet you again at the end of the cruise.

For 1 week the prices start at £57 whereas C&PS charge £79.

Why not give them ago... www.looking4parking.com

Do you know what you are being sold?

Now I don't often like to say how good we are, but I was amazed this afternoon as I have taken two calls in a row where my customer has been quoted a Royal Caribbean fly cruise by other travel agents but not been given information regarding the flight routing.

Both customers were quoted Splendour of the Seas from Venice with flights from Birmingham and neither Thomas Cook or the Cruise Village advised my customers that the flight would definitely be on an indirect route. It is not possible to fly to Venice directly from Birmingham.

As a cruise specialist my job is to make sure that I am telling my customers everything that they need to know regarding their cruise, and not just offering them the cheapest price on the market (although I do like to do this too.) The one lady I spoke to is not a keen flier and so is now looking at other options, had she booked with one of these agents her holiday would have been spoilt.

If you are phoning around for prices, make sure you get the full information from your agent, and my advice would be to stick to cruise specialists who will sell you the cruise and flights that are best suited to you.

It's time for me to take a break

Easter may still be nearly two weeks away, but the school holidays are now upon us, so it's time for me to take a break.

I've got the next week to spend some quality time with my energetic 4 year old. Whilst we're not going away anywhere we've got an action packed itinerary sorted involving picnics, adventure play grounds and swimming.

 Life with Milo is always good fun and I'm looking forward to a break, although I must admit that April isn't the best time to have off with all the 2012 cruises going on sale, It's always a  fun month to work and a time when I catch up with a lot of my old customers who always book at launch stage.

I'm back for 1 day on Monday 18th, then back in properly in Thursday 21st April. If you need any help in between just call my collegues on 0800 408 6200

Enjoy city breaks...take a river cruise

If you're someone who cruises in order to experience new places and try new cultures then river cruising is definitely something for you. Probably the fastest growing part of the travel industry, it is something that not a lot of people know about and that is not that easy to research or purchase. So I thought I'd tell you a little bit about it.


All of the major rivers of Europe and the eastern globe are great for river cruising - from local destinations such as the Seine and the Rhone to the Imperial Waterways of Russia and the Yangtze in China. These rivers are vast - in someplace a mile wide and are home to sumptuous floating hotels.

River Cruises generally accommodate around 200 passengers in all outside cabins and they glide along the waters calling in at the major towns and cities on route. Always stopping in town they are an easy and convenient way to visit many of the major cities. In Budapest you just hop of the boat (we're allowed to call them boats when they're on a river) and you're in the centre of town. You then experience a full day of sightseeing and taking in the local flavours. This is vastly different to ocean cruises, where you may be berthing up to 2 hours away from the place that you are visiting.

River cruising is similar to ocean cruising in that dinner time is a major focus of the day. There is little entertainment on board and the evening revolves around a leisurely evening meal, most cruises pride themselves on having chefs who shop in the local towns and produce meals that are specialities of the region. After dinner there may be some piano playing, or in some cases local dancers come on board and do a small show, but do not expect the west end style shows or comedians and entertainers associated with the large cruise lines.

In terms of price, the head line figures of River cruising can look expensive - however nearly everything is included - most companies provide wine, beer and soft drinks with your dinner, food is all included and excursions are all part of the package. The only spending money you really require is for trinkets and maybe a coffee whilst walking around town.

River cruising isn't for everyone, but if you do enjoy sightseeing and have enjoyed visiting cities and towns in the past, then why not give it a go?