Free flights giveaway

Well it's back Royal Caribbean are giving away free flights on the majority of their Summer 2012 Mediterranean Cruises. And they are offering them on peak dates too.

They offered these last year and it was really popular, this year they have 10,000 flight seats to give away and are offering free flights and transfers from:
Belfast, Birmingham, Dublin, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Manchester and  Newcastle.

The free flights giveaway is great because it means that your fligts and transfers will be provided by the cruise line giving you added protection in the event of strikes, ash clouds delays and cancellations

The dates and airports offered vary on each date and cruise so the easiest way to see which ones are best for you is to call or email me. But please read more to see the list of all sailings with free flights.



The following sailings have free flights attached
Adventure of the Seas
7 nts Western Med
7nts Canary Isles

Grandeur of the Seas
7nts Italian Med
7nts Spanish Med

Liberty of the Seas
5nts Western Med
7nts Western Med

Mariner of the Seas
12nts Greece & Turkey
7nts Western Med
12nts Holy Land

Navigator of the Seas
7nts Eastern Med

Splendour of the Seas
6nts Western Europe
7nts Greek Isles and Turkey
7nts Greek Isles
6nts Greece & Adriatic
8nts Greek Isles and Turkey

Serenade of the Seas
12nts Med Greek Isles
12nts Med Venice

How strict should a dress policy be?

There is always lots of discussion as to how formal cruising should be and fortunately nowadays there are several ships to choose from dependent upon your individual preferences. Customers can choose between a cruiseline that has several formal nights on board where black tie is a necessity or they can select a cruise line such as NCL or Oceania where black tie is not required at all.

The dress code is stated in advance and is generally enforced during dining. Now I am all for cruise lines stating their dress code and then enforcing it, customers know what they are booking and should expect to adhere to it. However I have just heard of an incident on board P&O's Azura when I think they were taking it to the extreme.


The gentleman concerned had worn a suit and tie to dinner on a 'semi-formal' night and had then retired to the Planet Bar at about 11pm for a drink. As it was late he had returned to his cabin and dropped his jacket off but upon entering the bar he was politely informed that he had to wear a jacket.
Being he gentleman that he is he returned to the cabin and donned the jacket again.

This time he was allowed to return to his friends, could order a drink and was allowed to remove his jacket to be comfy.

Now I know P&O have had a bad press and people have complained that standards are slipping, but was this really necessary? What do you think, and what do other cruise lines do?

If you need any help....

Well we've all only just come back to work but I'm taking another week off and will be out of the office until Monday 22nd January.

Whilst I'm away please call my colleagues on 0800 408 6200 and they will be happy to help you.

Thinking of extending your stay in Venice?

If you are then don't forget that they have now introduced the Venice Tourist Tax, which adds up to  €5 per person per night to your stay. This tax introduced at the end of 2011 is on charged on a sliding scale from  €5 per person in a 5* hotel to €3 per person in a 3 star.

If you're staying in the neighbouring islands or Lido are the cost is slighty reduced to  €4.50 per person for a 5* hotel. Children under 10 are exempt for the charge and 11-16 year olds pay 50%
The city is  cleverly calling the charge a 'cultural donation' and  it is to go towards a £20 million restoration project to save Venice from the sea.

Venice is a beautiful and amazing city however it is an expensive place to stay. It will be interesting to see if this tax puts people off from staying there this summer. Personally I don't think it will,  €10 for a couple on a room is probably less than 10% of the hotel cost.

This tax has to be paid by the tourist and isn't included in costs advertised by travel agents or hoteliers so don't forget to have some Euros' with you to pay it.

Happy New Year to you

Just a quick note to say Happy New Year to you all.
I'd like to wish everyone a very prosperous year and hope that all your dreams and resolutions come true.

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.

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