Birmingham Half Marathon

Well I thoought you'd like to know that I made it. I managed my 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 18 minutes which isn't bad for a first timer.

The run itself wasn't the most fun that I've ever had and I really struggled at the start to get into it but overall it was an amazing day. There were so many supporters cheering, and bands playing to keep us entertained that it really helped spur me along.

On top of this I knew that I was raising alot of money for a very good cause and my friends and family have helped me to raise nearly £500 for Sarcoma which I am really chuffed with it. Thank you to everyone who donated.

 As you can see by the end of it I was a very happy girl and what's more I have now finally stopped aching and am contemplating doing it all again next year.

Just 5 days to go until the Half Marathon

Well it's just 5 days to go until the Birmingham Half Marathon and I am now getting very nervous.

I have managed a few 10 mile runs which they tell me is as much as I need to do but an extra 3 miles on the day still sounds like a lot.

I am hoping to run it it under 2 and a half hours and ideally in around 2hours 20 but we will see.

On a positive point the money that we have raised so far for Drew's charity is amazing, and we have boosted his total up to over £10,000. The support from our customers and those that use the Cruises.co.uk forum has been fantastic.

Channel 5 are televising the run so please look out for us all. We'll be wearing blue Sarcoma vests and if any of you live in the Midlands region we will be featured on Central News this Friday evening as well.

If anyone would still like to donate you can do so via www.justgiving.com/ulegend

P&O announce a new ship

P&O have this week cut the steel on a brand new ship due to enter service in Spring 2015.

At 161,000 tons she will be the largest ship to have been built specifically for the UK market.
She will carry 3611 passengers and therefore take about 500 more people than Azura and Ventura.
However she will still be smaller than Independence of the Seas, which sails from Southampton but was not orinally built specifically for UK customers. Independence had a tonnage of 160,000 and can carry 3634 passengers.

The new P&O ship which is currently unnamed is being described as 'modern classic' and will offer a a unprecedented number of passenger facilities along with a number of P&O's classic features. Details of which P&O are keeping close to their chest for the time being.

I am curious as to whether they will be following the family route of Ventura, or going more sophisticated like Azura. I am also doubtful as to the need for another large British ship, however it is good to have a modern fleet so I imagine one of the older ships will be leaving the fleet and heading to P&O Australia.

However I am not a traditional P&O fan and do prefer her larger ships so I for one am looking forward to seeing what this ship has to offer.

I'm running a half marathon in aid of a friend and colleague

In just under 3 weeks I will be running 13.1 miles in the Birmingham Half Marathon. This is something that a group of us at Cruise.co.uk are doing to raise money for Sarcoma UK. A sarcoma is form of cancer that that attacks bone and soft tissue, it predominantly attacks young people and being a rare disease it is not as well supported as other cancer charities.

We started this training earlier in the year after a colleague Drew was diagnosed with the disease and whilst undergoing treatment Drew set up his own charity ULEGEND raising money directly for Sarcoma UK.

Drew sadly passed away on Monday and we are all devastated.

At 30 years old Drew was a fantastic and brave man. He was always the life and soul in the office and kept us all entertained, with his funny sayings and half-hearted attempts at dieting. Since being diagnosed in October 2011 and setting up his charity Drew managed to persaude people to do all sorts of challenges and raised over £6000 for Sarcoma and I hope that we can now double that for him.

13 miles will be hard but this is worth it, my training is going well and I am confident that I will get around, although I may be limping by the end of it.

I am asking everyone if they could spare a small amount of cash to help raise money for Drew's charity - donations can be made via www.justgiving.com/ULEGEND and more information on the charity is found via www.ulegend.co.uk

If you do donate just put my name in the box and please e-mail me too and then I can thank you personally

Crystal Serenity

Well I am now back from 4 amazing nights on board Crystal Serenity and thought I would share some thoughts with you.

Being a 6 Star Luxury Ship I thought she would be stuffy and pretentious but she was honestly one of the most relaxed ships that I've been on. With just over 800 passengers on board she was full of space and even on the sea day there were empty loungers and a feeling of tranquillity on board. She can take 1000 passengers but I really don't think if she was full you would ever feel crowded.

The other guests ranged in age and typically were predominantly in their  late 50's and 60's, probably 20%  older and 20% younger.  There were several 3 generation families and young honeymoon couples on board too. Whatever your age you won't feel out of place on Crystal Serenity. I also liked that there was a huge mixture of nationalities on board, American, British, Latin American, Europe, Australian, Chinese and Japanese.

The ship herself was furnished in a very luxurious manner, deep plush carpets, wall paper in the corridors as opposed to the plastic walls that I experienced on other ships. My stateroom an AA deluxe stateroom with verandah was spacious with lots of little extras - as well as the normal toiletries, cotton buds and cotton wool was provided, along with a kimono as well as the bathrobe. The towels were the thickest that I have ever used and I struggled to wrap it around my head. The Crystal ships are refurbished every 2 years.

 

 

Crystal differs from the other cruise lines in that they offer a large ship and with this comes a great choice of restaurants and bars, from cafe dining by the pool and al fresco dining with the Lido buffet or the more formal Crystal Dining Room or the speciality restaurants Preggo and Silk Road they all offer fanastic choices and exqusite food. Nobo's Silk Road was my favourite.

They also had a lot of entertainment for those that want it. In the daytime enrichment programmes are offered although I prefered to partake in Afternoon Tea and sunbathing and at night there is a choice of show lounges and a huge cinema.

All in all I was very impressed with Crystal. With its all inclusive value and excellent service it offers a fantastic premium product. It is pricey so isn't suitable for everyone but if you normally travel in a suite and like the big ship feel (Cunard, Celebrity, Holland America) but with lots of space then I would definitely recommend this ship.