Adventure of the Seas is also coming to Southampton

Following in on from my last post Royal Caribbean have announced that they are going to position Adventure of the Seas in Southampton next year too.

Adventure of the Seas is a Voyager Class ship and is packed full of facilities. She is currently based in the Med and as a slightly older ship she has some really attractive prices. This is really exciting for the UK market and she'll offer strong competition for both P&O's Ventura and MSC's Opera that currently offer similar itineraries. Adventure's reviews are great too a quick glance at the reviews on www.cruise.co.uk show the majority of passengers scoring her with 5*. She will be great for both new to cruise and previously cruised passengers.

Adventure of the Seas will offer a mix of 7 night France and Spain cruises, 12 night Baltics and 14-16 night Med cruises with a choice of Western Med, Italian Med and Central Med. She is also doing 7-13 night Norway and Iceland cruises.

The prices are fantastic, 8 nights France and Spain starts at £549pp in October and 7 nights France and Spain is £599pp in May. Whilst a 16 night Central Mediterranean cruise starts at just £1099pp

If you don't know the ship  her facilities include

• 15 decks of entertainment and accommodations
• Ice skating rink
• Rock Climbing
• The Royal Promenade with a range of eating and shopping choices
• Kids clubs for all ages with disco and video arcade
• Nightclub
• Casino
• Library

These cruises go on sale on the 20th March 2012 and they are launching with free car parking too. I have details of the itineraries and prices so if you would like further information just get in touch

New ships sailing from the UK next year

Celebrity Cruises have announced that they will be locating a second ship in the UK next  year whilst Carnival will be positioning their first ship in the UK since they pulled out in 2008.

Celebrity have seen great success with Celebrity Eclipse which has sailed from Southampton for 3 years now (I don't think I've ever read a bad review) and now they are adding Celebrity Infinity also sailing from Southampton.

Celebrity Infinity is a mid sized ship at 90,228 gross tons and she has just been 'Solisticized' - a make over which gives her the same facilities as Eclipse, Equinox and Solstice. She will offer a range of 10, 11 and 12-night itineraries to include Norwegian Fjords, British Isles and European wine cruises and  she will be the only 5* ship to sail from Harwich. The only other ships that sail from here being Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas, Voyages of Discovery's MV Discovery and Thomson Spirit. Harwich just out of interest is the only port with a dedicated station at the terminal and it is served by a dedicated train from London's Liverpool Street Station, which makes it really accessible.

Meanwhile Carnival Legend is going to based in Dover and like Celebrity will be offering the Norwegian Fjords and British Isles cruises and but also the Baltics and the Mediterranean. Carnival hasn't had a great presence in Europe in recent years but is very popular in the States and the Caribbean with the American market. They do have Carnival Breeze offering sailings from Barcelona this summer which are selling to the British really well so I'm looking forward to being able to offer Carnival to people wanting to sail from the UK again.


Princess are also bringing another ship to the UK, although just for 3 sailings. The new Royal Princess which launches in June 2013 is offering 2 3 night cruises from Southampton on the 10th and 13th June. She then starts her maiden cruise from Southampton on the 16th June, heading out to Iberia.

I think it's fantastic that there are going to be more ships sailing from the UK. It's such a great way to holiday, there is no major rush to get there, ships sail late afternoon and lunch is served on board so you can leisurely check in and relax. There's no problems with luggage either, you can pack as much as you'd like and there's no hanging around airports and rarely are there delays.

Now whilst 2013 itineraries and slowly being announced prices are out yet but are due at the end of next month. If you would like any information on 2013 cruises just get in touch with me and I can contact you just as soon as the brochures / prices arrive.

Don't watch this if you're scared of flying.

Whilst I am a Cruise Specialist I am actually interested in all forms of travel and came across this short clip showing  where the worlds airlines fly from and to across a 24 hour period.
I think it is really interesting as it shows just how accessible our planet is but also just how busy the skies are.

As you watch it you'll see the flow of traffic change as time goes from day to night across the globe.

I would love to see something similar for the cruise lines acoss the seasons, to show the concentration of ships in Europe during the Summer months but out in the Caribbean and Australasia for the Winter.
I hope you enjoy watching this.

Try before you buy...and save some money too

Fred. Olsen are offering potential customers the chance to spend a day on board one of their ships with a number of ships visits on offer this summer.

Guests will be welcomed on board and enjoy a welcome drink and presentation from the experienced staff and then be given a guided tour in a small group to see a selection of cabins and public areas.

Guests will then enjoy a buffet lunch and wine in the ship's main restaurant

Any guests booking within 6 months of the ship visit will be given an further 5% discount or £200pp whichever is the greatest (subject to terms and conditions)

If you'd like to go on one of the ship visits which are on offer across the country just conact myself on 0800 408 6088 or joc@cruise.co.uk. The cost is just £40pp

To view the list of ship visits on offer just please read more

Balmoral - Southampton
20 July
03 August
27 October

Braemar - Dover
14 April
31 May
22 September

Boudicca
7 July - Rosyth
10 August - Rosyth
26 August - Newcastle
4 November - Portmouth
18 November - Portsmouth

Black Watch - Dover
11 June
24 June
07 July
02 September

Read some Fred Olsen cruise reviews at Cruise.co.uk.

It's sales all round!

If you have been pondering the idea of a summer cruise then now is the time book as there are a number of sales this week. These are for a limited period only though so take advantage while you can.

Carnival
Book between today and the 9th February and receive on board credit
$50 per cabin for sailings of 3-4 nights
$100 per cabin for sailings of 5-6 nights
$150 per cabin for sailings of 7 nights
$200 per cabin for sailings of 8 nights or more

P&O & Cunard
Book between the 10th and 13th February and receive a free upgrade from an inside to a balcony cabin on selected cruises. Just read more for the list of included cruises


Aurora - 19 June
Azura - 29 April, 6 & 19 May, 9 & 16 Jun, 14 & 21 Jul, 10 Aug, 2 Sep
Oceana - 13 May, 20 Aug
Ventura - 13 & 20 May, 3 & 17 Jun, 20, 23 & 27 Jul, 21 Aug, 01 & 08 Sep

Queen Elizabeth - 22 Jun, 07 & 14 Aug
Queen Victoria - 04 Apr, 05 & 22 May, 29 Jun, 13 & 21 Jul, 03, 17 &  28 Aug
Queen Mary - 10 & 17 Jun, 04 Sep

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?