Selasa, 26 Juli 2011

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

Rabu, 20 Juli 2011

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.

Rabu, 13 Juli 2011

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

Rabu, 06 Juli 2011

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.

Jumat, 01 Juli 2011

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

Kamis, 23 Juni 2011

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!

Kamis, 16 Juni 2011

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?