P&O's Oceana

I am very lucky in my job to celebrate Christmas on a cruise each year and I can honestly say that this year's trip on P&O's Oceana was the best yet. Now a lot of this is down to the people that I work with who are all good fun and enjoy a party, but also because  I enjoyed the ship.

Oceana has been refitted recently and showed no signs of being 12 years old. Whilst she maintains the traditional P&O feel her public areas bright and colourful putting you in the holiday mood from the start.

In particular I really liked my inside cabin. I'm not normally a fan of inside cabins but on Oceana the cabin was light and airy and had a lot of storage space. I would have no hesitation in recommending one for a longer cruise.

 At 77, 000 tons and carrying 2016 passengers she is a mid sized ship but  is very easy to navigate your way around and she offers a variety of entertainments. In the evening I enjoyed a drink and a game in the Yacht and Compass bar and a dance in Le Club, although I could have easily sampled the show in the theater or tried my luck in the casino.

I dined in the Horizon Grill and Cafe Jardin, her two speciality restaurants and the food was fine, although the service was slightly slow. However some of my colleagues opted for the main restaurant one evening and claimed that the food was even better there - and at no additional charge.

All in all we had a fab time and I hope you enjoy the photo's.

Is this the end for the travel agent?

2013 sees a lot of changes for the cruise industry with the majority of cruise lines now 'fixing' prices and advising travel agents that they can no longer offer additional discounts from their commission payments. P&O, Cunard and Princess introduced this policy over a year ago and now the likes of Fred Olsen, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise to name just a few have followed suit.

As a customer this will make booking a cruise holiday a lot easier, you will no longer have to trawl the internet and spend hours on the phone trying to get the cheapest price for your cruise as all agents and the cruise lines directly will be selling at the same price.

This though has led to concern over the impact that this will have on travel agents. Why book through a travel agent, if you are no longer getting a better price? Personally though I don't think it will be an issue, the UK cruise market is growing and growing, around 1.7million Brits cruised in 2011, a similar figure is expected to be reported for 2012 and predictions are high for 2013. There is more than enough business for everyone and the savvy customer will book with the agent that offers the best service.

Add to this the fact that more and more passengers are cruising for the first time and the travel agent is the obvious person to book with. Why would you call a cruise line direct when they can only offer you one product? There are so many different types of cruise to chose from, from small adult only ships like P&O's Adonia to mega cruise ships with Shrek on board such as Oasis of the Seas. It is only an independent Cruise Specialist  that can talk you through your full options and make sure that you book the cruise that is right for you.

I  have worked in this industry for many years and always made sure that my customers always get the best advice and I relish the future and a return to service being as important as the price that you pay. And the good news for you too, is that there are some great offers out there this year, which I look forward to sharing with you.

2012 - What a year.

As the year draws to an end I can honestly say I have had a great year and have a lot of happy memories to take into the next one.

As a country we have grown and had a lot of good reasons to celebrate and I have enjoyed the party spirit that has prevailed.

I have had some amazing moments that won't be beaten for a long time. From seeing the Olympic torch being carried through the streets of Redditch, something I hope my son will never forget, to watching Federer win on no 1 court at Wimbledon having successfully bid for Olympic tickets.

In the summer I had a great holiday in France, watching Milo meet Mickey Mouse for the first time and a fantastic day out in Paris. We had a ticket for the Bateau Bus which cruises along the Seine stopping off at all the sights and I would highly recommend this to anyone calling there on a cruise.

The autumn was both happy and sad, I had the joy of pushing myself to the limit and running the Birmingham Half Marathon, I trained with some fantastic colleagues from Cruise.co.uk but it was all tinged with the great sadness of losing a dear colleague at a very young age.

And finally work wise I have had a great year. Whilst the industry has been tough the cruise lines have been keen to show off their ships and I have been lucky enough to either sail on or have lunch on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas, Regent's Seven Seas Voyager, Crystal Serenity and most recently P&O's Oceana. I'm hoping a get to see many more next year.

So that's 2012, it's been a good one and here's to next year being even better.

Celebrity Cruises - The best value cruises from the UK

I have always been a big fan of Celebrity Cruises, they have a huge fleet of modern ships and offer 5 star cruising with fantastic facilities, from relaxing days in the Aqua Spa to a choice of flavours in the Martini Bar.

For the last few years they have been really working on increasing their presence in the UK market and have offered sailings from Southampton at very competitive prices. The only problem is that as an American cruise line they so tend to be pricey on board. For 2013 though they are making things easier  and much better value for the UK customer. This summer they will have 2 ships sailing from the UK and are currently offering a complimentary Classic Drinks Package on both ships for bookings made during January and February. This package can normally be purhased for $50per person per day so offers a saving of up to $1400 per cabin.

The Classic Drinks Package will give you unlimited

Beers up to $5 per serving
Spirits up to to $8 per serving
Cocktails up to $8 per serving

Wines up to $8 per serving

Coca Cola brand cans including Fanta and Sprite

Freshley squeezed and bottled juices

Premium teas and coffees

Bottled water

Celebrity Infinity sails from Harwich to northern Europe, around the British Isles, the Norwegian Fjords and Iceland and prices start from just £919pp for a 10 night sailing,  just £91 per night including your drinks.

Celebrity Eclipse sails from Southampton, offering a range of itineraries to the Fjords, the Baltics and south to the Med and Canaries. Eclipse has sailed from Southampton for the last few years  and received good reviews from UK passengers.

Celebrity have always been one of my favourite cruise lines and now with this offering they are definitely my no 1 choice for cruising from the UK in 2013.

A Very Merry Christmas

Well it's Christmas Eve, the presents are wrapped, my son is very excited and I am too.
I've just had an amazing 2 days on board P&O's Oceana with the Cruise.co.uk staff pictured above and now I am ready to celebrate with friends tonight and family tomorrow.

Oceana was fab and I will post more pictures and a review soon but for now I just want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope that you all have a fun and relaxing few days.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Are you celebrating in 2014?

If you are celebrating in 2014 then why not treat yourself to a cruise. It may seem really early to be thinking about 2014 but some of the cruise lines have this month announced their 2014 itineraries and prices. On sale already are;

Crystal Cruises

Silversea Cruises

NCL

By booking early you can give yourselves plenty of time to save for your holiday and you are ensured of the best deal. Crystal Cruises in particular work on a capacity controlled basis and the best prices are always at the early booking stage, as the cruise books up, the prices go up too. 

Booking early also gives you the best choice of  cabins and if you're travelling as a group you can ensure yourself of cabins by each other.

You can view these sailings and many more on our website www.cruise.co.uk

Try a mini cruise in 2013

P&O have today announced the programme of mini cruises for 2013 to replace their cancelled cruise as mentioned in my earlier blog post.

As these are now fairly late going on sale they are very competively priced with prices starting from just £199pp, they are also priced under P&O's Vantage Fare so customers will have their price protected should the Vantage fare be reduced.

If you haven't tried a cruise before then a mini cruise is the perfect way to test the water and I'm sure you won't be disappointed. These ships offer so much more than the facilities of a four star hotel and all of your food and entertainment is included. You also get to visit some interesting ports of call from the serenity of St. Peter Port to the cosmopolitan city of Amsterdam.

These cruises are on sale now and can be booked for a small deposit.

April departures on board Azura

 

16 April - 2 nights calling at St Peter Port.  From £199pp

 

18 April - 4 nights calling at Zeebrugge and St Peter Port. From £319pp

This cruise features Jonathan and Charlotte an operatic duo who shot to fame on Britain's Got Talent

 

22 April - 3 nights calling at Zeebrugge and St Peter Port. From £249pp

This cruise will feature a special celebrity guest.

 

25 April  - 2 nights calling at St Peter Port. From £199pp

May departures on board Ventura

 

27 May - 4 nights calling at Zeebrugge and St Peter Port. From £349pp

 

31 May - 3 nights calling at Zeebrugge and St Peter Port. From £249pp

 

June departures on board Ventura

 

03 June - 5 nights calling at Amsterdam and St Peter Port. From £449pp

 

July departures on board Oceana

 

14 July - 2 nights calling at St Peter Port. From £249pp

 

16 July - 3 nights calling at Zeebrugge and St Peter Port. From £349pp