Kris' Global Cruising

Kris has left Cruise.co.uk

2011-03-11T11:38:00.002Z

James at Cruise.co.uk is now looking after all of Kris's customers.

Please call 0800 408 6142 for any help or email jamesc@cruise.co.uk.

James is an extremely experienced cruise consultant with years of experience. Please visit his blog http://jamesjetsam.blogspot.com/ to find out more about James and see comments from his many satisfied customers under the "Rate My Service" section.

Mixed News For Egypt Cruises

2011-03-07T15:05:00.003Z

After weeks of political unrest in Egypt many cruise lines have announced that they will be returning, whilst others still remain sceptical and have either changed or pulled Egypt itineraries completley.

This seems to be mainly down to the US State Department who are still advising that it is unsafe to travel in this area of the world and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office who have changed their tune - going as far as to say that the Luxor, Aswan and Red Sea Resorts (including Sharm el Sheikh) are calm. Though they do say that the rest of Egypt is unpredictable and that the situation can change rapidly. With all this being said the doors to Egypt seem to have been re-opened, at least to some of us.

This does not mean that Egypt is 100% out of rough waters, there are still pockets of violence and curfews in place across the country. It is advised that any tourists should take care while travelling.

As you may well imagine each cruise line has taken this news differently, with each one leaning toward the advice of their own consulates. Below is more comprehensive information of how each cruise line is affected:

Costa Cruises - The line has restored its "Corals and Ancient Treasures" itinerary. However, some cruises will still modify their itineraries. Costa are one of the few cruise lines to offer a refund on select sailings to their passengers or to simply transfer their cruise booking.

MSC - Has announced that their ships will not be visiting Egypt at present and this will probably continue until December. Visits to Jerusalem, Heraklion, Haifa, Athens, Izmir, Limassol, Valletta and Taormina will replace stops at Cairo and Alexandria. No compensation will be offered by MSC as the situation is beyonf their control, they will however assess the situation as it progresses.

NCL - NCL's ships will replace a sea day and an overnight in Alexandria with two overnights in Istanbul on the Norwegian Jade for its March sailings. They are taking pretty much the same stand as MSC, offering no compensation but keeping an eye on the situation.

Celebrity Cruises - Have cancelled all Egypt cruise port stops on the Silhouette and Constellation over the next few months at least, they are once again keeping a close eye on the situation.

Azamara - Being part of the same company as Celebrity the message is the same from Azamara and they will be cancelling all Egypt port calls for the forseeable future.

Royal Caribbean - Will change several itineraries on the Brilliance and the Mariner of the Seas and any extra port charges or taxes will be refunded to their customers, though no other compensation is being offered at present.

Oceania - The cruise line has drafted changes to their itineraries for the Nautica on April 20th and the Insignia on April 23rd. These have not actually been put into effect yet and Oceania will assess the situation daily.

Thomson Cruises - Seem top have taken the boldest action and have reinstated their Red Sea cruises effective immediatly. They have also reinstated Cairo as a port of call on Thomson Spirit.

All this seems like fairly good news, or at least as if things are picking up which is great for everyone.

Unrest In Egypt Causes Princess Itinerary Changes

2011-02-28T10:04:00.001Z

With the current ongoing unrest in Egypt the US State Department has decided that it is best that American citizens avoid any travel to there at this time. With this in mind Princess cruises have changed a number of itineraries from April to November.

And though Princess understands this may be a dissapointment for passengers they take the security and safety of their passengers very seriously. They will continue to evaluate the situation and if it improves will take another look.

The affected itineraries are:

The Star Princess - May 18th and October 21st from Rome has changed its itinerary and will replace Alexandria with Livorno, Malta and an overnight stay in Istanbul.

Dawn Princess - May 25th from Sydney will replace Port Said with an overnight stay in Istanbul, to accomodate these changes the ship will call to Ashod on June 28th instead of June 29th and to Mykonos on June 30th instead of July 1st.

Ocean Princess - April 29th from Singapore will replace its call to Safaga on May 20th with Aqaba (Jordan) on the same day

October 15th from Rome, two ports have been affected - Sharm El Sheik on October 22nd and Safaga October 24th have been replaced with an overnight stay in Dubai October 30th to 31st.

Pacific Princess - May 7th to Novemeber 15th sailings between Athens and Venice will be adding Istanbul to its itinerary.

Princess Re-Fits

2011-02-21T11:26:00.001Z

Having been on the Diamond Princess last September I can hand on heart say it is a great ship, the food is excellent, the service impeccable and the cabins some of the best I have been in. Unfortunately I feel there may be one gripe, and this is that there may be a slight lack in entertainment factor for the times when the ship is at sea for a long time.

In Alaska this posed no problem as the only times not in port were spent "scenic cruising" through the glaciers of the inside passage - but on its re-positioning cruise to the Far East I could see this becoming a bit of an issue.

Now to the good news, both the Diamond and the Grand Princess ships are going for major re-fits this year - rumors being that the Grand Princess will be in April and the Diamond in November. The main focus of these re-fits will be to add the "Movies at Sea" that has proved so popular on the other Princess ships. This will surely alleviate the times when you are at sea for long periods of time and don’t want to be stuck in the cabin.

I think this is great news as I like to be doing something for at least part of the day, and sitting round a pool soaking up the rays is not really my idea of fun - but then that’s just me.

Advice For Norway

2011-02-14T10:01:00.001Z

So I flew back in yesterday from an airport which was about the size of and shape of a shed and whose name I certainly can't pronounce, that being said the holiday itself was amazing.

Not a cruise this time but thought it would more than worth sharing my experiences with you. We spent a week snowboarding in Hemsedal which is a tiny little town around half way between Oslo and Bergen, if you like your skiing it is perfect, if not you probably aren't going to find much else to keep you busy for a week.

The main thing I wanted to convey here was the cost of living in Norway, we were told it would be more expensive but I don't think anyone could have prepared us for exactly how expensive it is. For example the night before we left we went for a meal, just two pizzas and two soft drinks and this worked out at around £50 - a bottle of coke or a coffee was around the £3-£4 mark each and you may be thinking this is because we were on a ski resort but I have been assured that it is not.

This brings me to my point - if you are wanting to visit Norways' major cities and Fjords I would certainly take a cruise. This means that you will probably only ever need to buy the odd drink or snack while all your meals are already paid for, and that will save you a small fortune in the long run. Also if you are not going for the type of holiday I have been on all the main cities and attractions are along the coast anyhow making cruising in Scandanavia the ideal choice.

The bottom line is that I would go back to Norway but I would take my own advice and take my snowboarding elsewhere.

All Inclusive Luxury

2011-02-05T10:52:00.002Z

I'm glad I only have to type this and not say it, Paul Gauguin cruises are a luxury ship designed specifically to sail in the shallow waters of the South Pacific, French Polynesia and Tahiti year round. And with no inside cabins and 70% of all cabins having a balcony you can really enjoy the stunning scenery.

As it only holds 332 passengers and 215 crew the ship boasts an absoloutely fantastic service, and even better it is almost completley "all inclusive". The mini bar is stocked daily with soft drinks, beer while water, premium spirits, premium wine, soft drinks, beer and tea and coffee are served through out the ship completley free.

And yes gratuities are all taken care of too.
Probably the big lure to me is the watersports marina which lowers off of the back where you can partake in some kayaking, waterskiing or snorkelling - they even have a PADI qualified diving instructor onboard for those who always wanted to give this a try.

Whacky Themed Cruises

2011-02-02T12:49:00.000Z

So I think everyone knows by now that we do a few themed cruises, Gardeners World, Dance cruises and a few Music and Laughter cruises. I was quite amused when typing "themed cruises" into google, just have a look at what came up.

There is a Pink Flloyd cruise, Nudist cruise, Star Trek and Buffy cruises to name but a few. Of course I can see the appeal for people combining a holiday with something they obviously feel passionate about.
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Though we may find this all a little amusing I'm sure that we all have something that we are particulary enjoy, and that is not other peoples' cup of tea. If we discovered a way of taking a holiday which incorpoarted a great itinerary and activities we would enjoy - then we would surley jump at the chance.

Orion Expeditions

2011-01-30T12:50:00.000Z

Anyone who knows me, has read my blog or spoke to me in any capacity probably knows that I like to do things a little differently on holiday - sitting by a pool for more than a few hours on one day of my holiday would drive me mad, I want to do something.

With that in mind I thought I'd try and broaden my horizons and gather a little info on cruises which take the path less travelled.

Orion Expeditions offer a variety of such cruises through out the year, and there ships are described by the Berlitz guide as "the latest in the quest to build the ideal expedition cruise ship". They have one ship at the moment and are introducing a second in May 2011.

Probably the best thing about these ships is the luxury element, because after a day of hitting the rapids or walking in below freezing conditions across the Arctic we all want to return to a good bed and excellent food.

The basic itinerary through out the year is as follows, the seasons are as the seasons in Australia if you are wondering why December is a Summer month...

- Summer (December to February) Antarctica and New Zealand and sub-Antarctic Islands.

- Autumn (March, April) in remote and unspoilt parts of Papua New Guinea and Melanesia.

- Winter (April to September) in the Kimberley and Arnhem Land.

- Spring (October, November) we return to PNG and explore Australia's East & South Coast.

Windstar Luxury Cruises

2011-01-25T14:59:00.001Z

Usually when people say luxury or 6* cruising the big names spring to mind like Crystal or Silversea - but after a little further digging I think Windstar Cruises are something else.

Windstar cruises are one of the most luxurious and intimate cruise lines, the classic look with towering masts and smaller size makes them look a lot more like a private yacht than a cruise ship.
And the fact that they only have around 150-300 passengers on each of their ships means that they can cater to just about every whim you could have. And because they have some very small ships they can enter much smaller and more private ports than the larger ships out there.

They also include all watersports such as water sking, scenic boat rides and kayaking to name a few so you can always find something to do if you get a bit bored of lying out on the deck in the sun.
I think they look about one of the best I've seen - what are your thoughts?.

Chartering A Ship

2011-01-21T12:47:00.001Z

Groups are taking off in a big way, with more and more people booking large sections of ships. With this in mind I thought "how exactly do you charter a ship".

Actually looking at it the logistics are suprisingly easy, even if getting the numbers isnt.

All cruise lines have a department for chartering ships and most even allow a "part charter" where a group or individual can book a part of the ship usually 50% though some allow as low as 20% or 30%.

Of course even 20% of a ship the size of the Allure of the Seas is going to be around 1500 passengers or so - no idea about you but I dont have that many friends. Of course there are smaller ships such as Sea Dream which only has a 110 customer maximum capacity.

The main pros for booking a charter are fairly substantial - you get a small ship to yourself or a large chunk or bigger vessel. This leads to you being able to book entire dinner sittings or shows purley for your group or organise events onboard while still enjoying all the freedom the cruise gives you.

The cons unfortunatly are quite high too - namley you have to pay for the charter upfront and it is usually non - refundable. And considering most charters must be booked 12-24 months in advance this could cause a few little problems.

That all being said I would love to be able to do this just once, imagine having the run of the whole ship with family and friends - and still being able to sneak off for 5 minutes rest when you want to. It seems ideal.

River Wine Cruise

2011-01-17T10:27:00.000Z

Avalon River Cruises are doing a wine river cruise next year, they probably did one this year too but as I have already said in one of my previous articles its all a little new to me.

Considering the improvement in the river cruise boats, and the fact that they were starting to peak my interest anyway, I think this is probably one of my favourite ideas.

They seem to do four itineraries through out the year - though if I'm honest one is just a reversal of the other.

Looks pretty good to me, but have a look at the link above and tell me what you think.

River Cruising

2011-01-14T13:04:00.000Z

I never really had much dealings with river cruises until the other day when a chap dropped in for a chat about Amadeus Waterways, and it blew away alot of my preconceptions.

Amadeus (or AMA for short) are not like the othe river cruises I have seen or heard about - they actually seem to try and become comparable to the ocean cruise experience but on a much smaller scale.

The cabins are tastefully decorated and about the same size as a cruise ship, the dining rooms give you the same service and quality of food as alot of the 4* ships on the market and they provide great amenities such as free WIFI and free wine with your meals.

What they lack, obviously, is the size and therefore the entertainment on large cruise ships - but I feel they make up for this with the unusual destinations they can make there way too and the fact that, for the most part, you dock in the town with no lengthy transfers like Rome or Paris on the larger ships

They also have very little time "at sea" and you spend a lot of time at destinations - which is great considering that most excrursions are included in your price.

As I say I never really thought of a river cruise before, but now I may at leaset consider it.

Alaskan Charter

2011-01-10T12:48:00.002Z

Alaska always interested me, and when I took a trip on the Diamond Princess earlier this year I was not dissapointed.

If you would like to read more about my Alaskan trip visit my blog by clicking here.

If only I could have gotten a little closer to the wildlife and scenery then it would have been perfect. With that in mind, and thinking that there are others who probably feel the same, I have been doing a little research.

There is a new small company called "Alaskan Dreams" - and when I say small I mean small - they have one boat with a maximum capacity of twelve!!

Have a look for yourselves by clicking here- prices look to be around $3900 upwards. This boat will take people on wildlife spotting trips, let you Kayak straight off of the side and right up to the glaciers to see the calving up close and personal - Glacier Calving.

They even do private charters - if you have the money - or research trips for all you budding scientists out there.

The boat itself boasts cabins with there own on suite and a galley which "turns out retaraunt quality food", to me they look quite well appointed if basic, but you dont go to Alaska for the room so I dont really see a problem here.

As I say it looks very interesting to me and I could waffle on and on for ages, but take a look at the site above and I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

India to Southampton

2011-01-06T16:15:00.000Z

I booked a great little tailor-made trip for a repeat customer of mine last month and thought I'd share the trip with you all.

It involves flying to Dehli and spending a couple of nights and days sight seeing old and new Delhi. Of course no trip would be complete without a hop across to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.

You then transfer to Mumbai for a couple more nights with a fully packed itinerary of sight seeing tours both in the city and the Elephanta caves.

All this before boarding the P&O Arcadia to sail back home via Egypt, Greece and Rome - including the fantastic Suez Canal transit, Sharm el Sheikh, Safaga and Port Said before continueing on to Athens.

Have a look at the full itineray here.

You arrive back in Southampton 24 days later on the 5th of March and as always these holidays are completey customizable.

Let me know what you think.

G'day for a Cruise

2011-01-04T14:04:00.000Z

I have an Australian tailor-made which quite frankly is out of this world, and trust me on this one as I have visited a fair few places on the itinerary - albeit via land and air.

It is on the Queen Mary II in Febuary 2012 for 27 nights and kicks off with 3 nights in Sydney where you can visit the Opera House, Markets and Harbour all in a short walk of each other. For those who want something a little different you should also book in on the Sydney Bridge climb - read about it here on my blog. - all this with a free Sydney Harbour cruise thrown in.

You then embark upon the QM2 for your 24 night cruise taking in Brisbane, The Whitsundays, Cairns, Darwin, Bali, Freemantle, Adelaide and Melbourne all before catching your flight back to the UK.

As I already said I have been to a few of these places - The Whitsunday Islands, Cairns, Bali and Sydney - so can vouch first hand exactly why you would want to visit here.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T11:25:00.003Z

Well my break is almost at an end and I'll be back to it very soon.

Hopefully its good year for all.

Take A Voyage

2010-12-28T13:39:00.001Z

Voyages of Discovery offer something in the middle if you don't like the bigger cruise ships and think that 150 is maybe a little too small. Their ships hold roughly 650 passengers, so are small enough to get into some of the smaller ports but big enought to cross the ocean without too much trouble.

What makes them stand out the most is the fact that they have NO hidden charges. All gratuities and service charges are included - so no need for that prickly subject of tipping, and you pay no extra charge no matter what restaraunts you eat in.

Not too mention the free coach transfers or parking on all UK sailings - they seem to tick all the boxes.

Of course you still have to pay for your drinks but you can't have everything.

And with prices starting around £1700 for 14 nights on a five star cruise it really does seem great value for money.

Is it really as good as it sounds? Who has been on Voyages of Discovery and can let me know?

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T11:21:00.001Z

Hope it is all going well and that you have a great christmas, see you in the new year.

Christmas Break

2010-12-16T01:00:00.002Z

I'm now off for a (hopefully) well deserved break until the 4th of January.

I will check back over this every few days and whenever I can, drop me a message and I'll come back to you as soon as possible.

Happy Holidays.

Galapagos and Machu Picchu

2010-12-12T15:22:00.001Z

Another place where I have never been but really like the idea of, after watching many programs and reading much about it, is the Galapagos Islands. And if you book with Celebrity Xpedition you can visit one of the seven wonders of the world - Machu Picchu.

The Xpedition doesnt actually go anywhere else during the year so really has cornered the market for this area of the world.

To me it seems like a fantastic thing to do combining Peru and Galapagos, two of the most unspoilt ares of the world with fantastic scenery and wildlife that you wont see anywhere else.

Of course I can want to go as much as I like, but I have no first hand experience (and most people dont), so which of our cruisers out there have already been and what do you think?

First Time For The Queens

2010-12-10T12:51:00.002Z

On January 13th all three of Cunards ships will meet in New York for the first time.

I'm sure Cunard will make a big deal of this and believe it or not there is still some availability on the QM and the QV.

This should be a very big occassion and should be ringed in red on all your cruise calenders....

Aurora Christmas Cruise...

2010-12-06T10:12:00.001Z

Ok so due to illness at the end of last week this blog is a little late but just wanted to put down a few of my thoughts on the Aurora - which is the first P&O ship I have been on.

Having experienced a few other cruise lines - NCL, Princess, MSC and Fred Olsen to be precise - I was eager to see how P&O matched up. As this was a christmas cruise with all my fellow consultants it was a little different to the one I took with Princess in August, that being said I would personally recommend Princess on what I have seen.

This is not to say that the Aurora was a bad ship, far from it, the cabins were a good size and kept immaculatly clean, the balconies were also a good size but all seemed to be sheltered - this didnt bother me at all, especially in the harsh November weather - but just something people may want to be aware of.

The public bars and night clubs (it was a christmas party after all) were well decorated and suited most of our purposes to the very early hours of the morning - I'm sure some photos will be flying around soon, but I dont want to be the first to open those flood gates.

Unfortunatly the food and service was not up to the food i have experienced on some of the other cruise ships, I have no idea if this was because we were on a two day mini cruise or if there was another underlying reason. All I know is that some of the food was cold and when sent back was just put in a microwave, some of my colleagues also only just got their main meal as we were finishing our deserts and the staff did not seem hugley attentive.

The bars also took quite a long time to deliver drinks, though if I'm honest this probably wouldnt have taken just as long if we had all had to line up three deep at the bar and waited to be served - at least while we were served we could carry on with the night.

As I say I hope this was just a one off as I have heard good reports about the Aurora from several of my customers.

But as always I would like to end on a high note - the whole two days were brilliant, from the first night when we were out until 5:45am to the next day when we were in Bruges with only two hours sleep and not really enough time for a hangover to sink in and finally the little poker game with some of the lads on the second night when everyone was a little more subdued. In short I would not say that the ship is a bad one - I just think I have been on better.

Voting For You Consultant....

2010-11-26T14:31:00.000Z

Ok so this year cruise.co.uk has got into blogs and forums in a big way. The powers that be have now decided to put us in the front line so you decide who the best consultant is. It is very quick and easy and to put a vote in for me - and I really hope youve been happy enough to do so.

To put a vote in simply got to http://www.cruise.co.uk/questionnaires/blog and click on whichh agent you like the most.

If you need anything else drop me a personal email or a telephone call.

Many Thanks

Kris

Where Have I Been?....

2010-11-19T09:00:00.002Z

One of the most asked questions to me, (and probably most consultants), is "have you been there?". With this in mind I thought I would compile a short list of areas of the world that I have been to and could give some advice on if you are also thinking of going.

Firstly I'll start with America since I have been to this continent the most, and have travelled to, through or around a great many of the states and cities. Probably the one that will be of most interest to all you cruisers out there are Las Vegas, New York, Seattle, San Francisco and Alaska but feel free to ask away if you have questions about any trip you are thinking of taking. I should also mention that I have travelled Canada, albeit a lot less extensively - I have however recently returned from Vancouver.



Europe, believe it or not, is a road less travelled having visited only a handful of places such as Barcelona, Amsterdam, Cyprus, Andorra, Paris and many years ago I was in Greece (though my memory may be a little fuzzy on that one).


One of my favorite places is Australia and I hope to make my way back here in time, it such a huge place that it take weeks just to do one coast - my main ports of call here were Sydney, Cairns, Whitsunday, Surfers Paradise and Byron Bay - all were absolutely fantastic and I would recommend you visit here at least once if you can.


Lastly I will include Asia and the Far East, yet again it was a few years ago now but was a great holiday visiting such places as Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Bali. These places are a little more unusual and off the beaten track but were fantastic.


As I say just drop me a quick note if you have any questions or travel stories you would to share just let me know.

Important Change To Indian Visa Requirements For Cruise Travelers

2010-11-12T09:47:00.002Z

This all came about after I booked a great little tailor-made cruise for one of my passengers to India taking in the breath taking sights of Delhi, Mumbai, Agra and the Elephanta Caves and cruising back to the UK. The cruise itself is amazing and I would ask anyone interested to certainly get in touch, but it is not the main focus of this blog.

I have recently been informed that the Indian High Commission, the governing body who deal with all Visas for British tourists visiting India, have changed the type of Visa required by cruise travelers. The old system when visiting more than one port in India on the same cruise was to hand write in a small box on the Visa sticker. Now the Indian High Commission will issue a Multiple Entry Visa for all cruise travelers.

This is great news as it simplifies the whole proccess and should leave much less room for error. Cruise travellers will still need to submit the full details of their holiday to qualify for this special Visa and anyone who has booked with us may use this site http://www.uk.cibt.com/victoriatravel, this will make life a lot easier and can even offer discounts on certain Visas.

What's Included In My Cruise?

2010-11-08T13:26:00.002Z

This is a big question and gets asked a lot. Basically all cruises receive a quite a lot of benefits "as standard", these include all your food - and when I say all your food I mean it. Not only can you go for three sit down meals a day there is a variety of buffets and small places where you can grab a snack whenever the urge takes you. Room service is generally free but does have some stipulations on times. It also usually includes tea and coffee at the buffets along with some kind of squash or ice tea.

In fact it is usually a bit easier to tell people what they don’t get included - usually alcohol, shore excursions, shop purchases and spa treatments as well as some speciality restaurants must be paid for. Some cruise lines do include drinks packages for an additional supplement however the new trend seems to be to give onboard credit so that you may spend this on what ever you want.

As I tell all my customers, you can quite happily spend absolutely nothing extra on your cruise - you could also spend thousands if you so wished, either way cruises still remain one of the best value holidays on the market.

Last Minute Cruises

2010-11-01T09:34:00.001Z

Cruise holidays work a little differently to other holidays, a last minute cruise will usually not be within the next few days or even weeks - especially if you are looking at going anywhere except from the UK.
This is not because of anyone being unhelpful; cruises just sell very quickly and well in advance. Of course we have got lucky a few times and with the introduction of our tailor-made holidays we have more options for you but generally I would try to book yourself a cruise at least a couple of months in advance.

We will always try to accommodate our passengers and this is not meant as a put but is just the way things work in the cruise industry.
That all being said if you should never give up, to avoid disappointment you should have a couple of options or may need to make a slight compromise on which airport you will fly from. Always ask our advice we can usually help you find something even if it is a couple of days later or looking at something you may not necessarily thought of - lets face it we look at cruises day in and day out and it may be much easier for us to look than you.

I have had several customers in the past who have found a holiday that they enjoyed very much even though it wasn’t exactly what they had in mind when they first called.

The Best Cruise Line For.......Families

2010-10-28T09:00:00.001+01:00

So I thought I would follow on from my article on "what is the best value?" with an article on what would be the best value/cruise line, in my opinion of course, for families.

Quite simply put if I were to be asked which would be best I would say Royal Caribbean, for me it pretty much wins hands down.

They have fantastic ships with a wealth of onboard activities so no wonder they are such a huge player in the industry. All you have to do is to look at the ships which have flo riders (onboard surf parks which are barrels of fun), ice rinks, full size basketball and football pitches, rock climbing walls and probably some of the best kids clubs not only on cruise ships but anywhere. The list just goes on and on.
That is not to say that there isn’t anything for adults to do, fantastic bars, a great shopping promenade and great shows which rival such productions as Cirque De Soliel (hopefully I got this spelling right). This being said I would probably not try and go on a romantic get away in half term with hundreds of kids running around.

Other cruise ships have some great facilities too, and yet more don’t (but we will get to that later). P&0, Princess, NCL and MSC all have some good kids clubs and the new NCL will be great for families with the introduction of their new ship the Epic which will have their first rock climbing wall and a water park at sea.
I may have a different opinion after I return from a two day jolly on the Epic in June but for now its still Royal Caribbean all the way for families.

And feel free to let me know if you have a different opinion and why.......

Why You Should Buy Your Flights With Us

2010-10-25T08:21:00.000+01:00

Wll quite simply it is just the most secure way of booking a holiday. We generally have very good prices on flights, transfers and hotels and if you book these with uas you will be full ABTA and ATOL protected - and trust me this is something you want.

I know you all probably think I am a little one sided in my opinions on this matter but it honestly is the best way.

Ok think about it this way - if you were to purchase a cruise from me and then decided that you could organise all the flights and transfers for yourself, maybe (and not always) saving a few quid in the proccess. But what happens when your flight is delayed, or worse cancelled, and you are left stranded at the port as your ship sails off into the sunset?. The nasty truth is that you will be left with a bill for a cruise you cant take or will have to pay for another flight to try and catch up with the cruise or a hotel to stay in while you wait for your flight home.

Booking everything through us gives you something that is well worth any amount of extra money, piece of mind. If your flight was delayed or cancelled as we mentioned before you would be fully covered by booking the package through us - no extra expense to yourself and you would not miss your holiday. That is not to say that things cant go wrong if I book you a package, it can, the difference is that YOU do not have to worry about it I do.

Of course we will never force you and if you would like to book all your own flights etc I hope everthing works out and that the scenario mentioned above never happens to you.

What Type Of Cabin Do I Need?

2010-10-18T09:43:00.026+01:00

This is quite suprisingly one of the most asked questions, evryone has done their research on the ports and a lot have already looked at the different ships so this is really the last consideration before finally booking.

And as you can imagine it is one of the most important, if you dont like your cabin then a large part of the trip will not be living up to the name that cruising has made for itself.

The only problem with this question is that there a multitude of answers dependent on where you are going, who you are going with and how long you are going for - and perhaps most importantly - what are you like. If you get clostraphobic you probably dont want an inside, if you get sea sick you will want a cabin in the middle of the ship and so on.

As a cruise consultant i will be able to help you with the first few questions such as where you are going and the best cabin for you, for instance I would strongly consider having a balcony in Alaska or the Fjords because you sepnd so much time in your room and there is so much scenic cruising.

The last question is down to yourselves, though if it is your first time I would try and get yourself a mid-ship cabin just incase, apart from this we will give the best impartial advice we can and hopefully get you your ideal cabin.

Talior-Made Holidays

2010-10-15T10:03:00.000+01:00

As you may or may not be aware cruise.co.uk has quite recently moved over into tailor-made holidays and we are sending a lot of literature out for this. It is something we are all tying to get going and something we think will really help our customers.

The holidays we have put together are just a taster of what I can do for you but I can customise any of these or even build you a holiday from scratch. I can do just about anything for you as long as there is at least one cruise, no matter how small, involved in the quote.

We have always tried to be the best in helping our customers, both past and future, and hopefully this is comething else that we can become known well for doing.

What Exactly Is The Best Deal

2010-10-11T14:21:00.002+01:00

This may sound like a bit of a wierd question, surely we all know what a good deal is? The thing with cruising is that it is not so clear cut - there is just so much to consider.

Firstly it is not all about price, obviously its a factor to consider but is not everything. For example a cruise on a six star ship such as Crystal or Silversea is never going to be priced the same as Thomsons or MSC, this does not mean that they are not good deals.

Think about it this way, even though all cruise ships offer a great service and never leave you wanting for anything, some offer a little bit more. I will stay with the six star example - these ships quite often offer the highest service and some even offer all inclusive packages. If you look at it this way they offer excellent value for money.

Another consideration would be if the booking comes with free parking or onboard credit, if a cruise costs £500 and comes with no extras but another cruise costs £1000 but comes with £300 onboard credit and free parking the prices are actually very similar, considering you would probably spend £300 over a week between two of you on trips and drinks.

As you can see its always worth looking at all the possibilities as you may get much more than you thought with that cruise that is just a little bit more expensive.

You Don't Have To Take No For An Answer...

2010-10-04T12:06:00.000+01:00

You know the call, you phone your travel agent for a cabin on a cruise and it there is nothing left, but sometimes this is not always the case. Some cruises are sold as sections OR as a larger cruise, for instance some ships will do an Eastern and a Western Caribbean cruise and drop into a port in the middle so you can buy the cruise as an Eastern or a Western cruise. When things like this happen cabin availability is not always so cut and dry.

I have had two examples of this very recently, one where it was part of the world cruise and a cabin was available on one part of it but not the sector my customers wanted, the other actually had the cabins available on the sectors but not the full cruise that my customers wanted.
When we get to this situation it is always worth a quick call to the cruise line. If your travel agent or consultant has a good relationship with the cruise line, as I do, you may be able to get that cabin you wanted. Also if the cabin is like my latter example you will usually save money by buying it as a full sector instead of several smaller ones, and will not have to change your cabin half way through your trip.
Now I'm not saying it will happen every time but trust me when I say it is always worth a call, that extra couple of minutes of work could turn your holiday from a good one to a great one.

What To Consider When Going To Alaska..

2010-09-27T09:38:00.000+01:00

Well as I said I will be writing a fair few blogs on Alaska over the coming weeks, the only problem with this is where to start?. After much thought I think it would do the logical thing and start at the beggining and work my way through.

There are many things to consider before taking this trip of a life time, what cabin should you book?, should you stay before or after? and what should you pack? are just a few of the many questions you will need to ask yourself.

Of course the main thing to do would be to research, and I hope this is helpful in that respect.

So first things first, what cabin should you book - this is actually quite a simple choice, get a balcony. I honestly dont think you can cruise through Alaska without one, it doesnt matter where it is on the ship as most the time you will be in the inside passage where weather is very rarley rough (the only time it may get rough is for one night when crossing out into the Gulf of Alaska). For most cruises any one would recommend a mid-ships balcony and would probably be right, but in Alaska you probably want one right at the back or front as you see both sides of Glacier Bay or College Fjord. This being said it is just important to get a balcony wherever you can.

Wether you should stay before or after your trip is a personnel choice, but if you do have the time and can stretch the budget a little then Vancouver is a fantastic city which you could easily fill a couple of days walking and busing around. And Alaska is quite simply a beautiful area of the world to vist, almost completley unspoilt. If you want to see wildlife I would recommend making your way up to Denali and going into the park, and if you can push up a little further north to Anchorage you may even be lucky enough to see the famous Northern Lights - so well worth the trip.

The only thing that may cause a problem in Alaska is that it rains or snows for around 300 days of the year so pack warm, I would recommend thermals as they are light and keep you very warm, that being said we were lucky enough to only have a shower in Ketichan and one day of rain in Vancouver - with the weather being uncharictaristicly warm and dry. I certainly pack for rain though and take a few warm clothes because more likely than not you will need them.

Over the next few blogs i will try and go into things in alot more detail, so watch this space.

First Impressions Of The Diamond Princess

2010-09-20T14:17:00.001+01:00

As promised here it is, this is the first review of my recent Diamond Princess cruise to Alaska. If there are any questions or advice you need then just let me know:

Ok first things first - if you are going to do Alaska, (which I would really recommend), and like me you decide to embark at Whittier there really is absolutely nothing there once you go through the tunnel apart from a few shacks selling coffee so I would aim to arrive as close to your embarkation time as possible. That over with I must say the embarkation process was a breeze, I was on the ship within 10-15 minutes of dropping off my baggage and could go straight to my cabin - the bags arrived a few hours later while grabbing some lunch and having a wander around the ship, everything was in order.

Onto the cabin in a bit more detail. We were lucky enough to have a Veranda Suite on Baja Deck overlooking the back of the ship and quite simply it was amazing. The room was well proportioned containing a living area with a couch and a Bedroom in open plan, though you could pull a curtain across if you wanted some privacy as the sofa converted to a sofa bed if you were travelling with a third person. The room also included a large L-shaped closet with plenty of space to hang your clothes, a separate toilet and shower/bathroom with full size jet bath and a sink/worktop for preparing drinks etc. The room also came with a safe, 2 TV's and 1 DVD player - there was a full library of DVD's available to rent and watch during the cruise but we never used this service so could not tell you exactly how this worked. And to the best bit of the room - the balcony - this was quite simply brilliant, it contained 2 sun loungers and a table with 3 chairs - my only complaint would be that there was a pillar to the one side which blocked a small bit of the view when standing inside but didn’t really effect anything whilst on the balcony, if you ever go to Alaska my advice would be to book a balcony it is more than worth it as we spent hours out there. Some people would tell you not to have a cabin right at the back due to noise or the motion of the ship in rough waters, and while we did have one bad day at sea it was worth it for the panoramic view whilst taking your scenic cruise days, the cabins at the front or the back really do have the best view of both sides.

The service was great too, admittedly it was a little different as we had a few extras with our cabin such as free washing and dry cleaning, free canapés and a free mini bar to name a few, but never the less I really could not fault it. Our steward was helpful and always around if you need him but didn’t feel like he was too over bearing. The staff were all generally of a very high standard in all the restaurants, always willing to help and with a smile on their faces; nothing was too much trouble for them. And this was just in the "standard restaurants", the speciality restaurants were something else - with Sabatini’s being my absolute favourite for dinner and breakfast. Stirling steakhouse also lived up to our expectations and both are worth the $20 service charge to eat there. Sabatini’s only charges for dinner and you can only eat there if you are a suite customer, I think Captains Club Elite members can also eat here

The ship itself was also pretty good, though I will be the first to admit that we didn’t get to use the full array of facilities due to the amount of time we spent ashore or on our balcony watching the stunning scenery in glacier bay and the inside passage. And though true we had the first night and day at sea the Alaskan gulf was a little choppy - with gale force winds and 40ft waves - and this made my wife a little sick for about half the day, once she took some tablets everything was fine but it did obviously eat into our schedule a little. Saying that we did manage to play a few games of tennis and golf on the putting green and visit the steam rooms in the spa a few times (another freebie in the suites). The shows seemed a little outdated for my likes but very well presented, I think it was just not geared toward my age group but this didn’t bother me either.

At every port we did our own thing as some of the excursions were a little pricey and everything was quite close - or had a very good transport system for getting us there. We still had a look at the Princess shore excursions for ideas of what to do and just made our own way there.

In short I would say the Diamond Princess was great and this was a holiday which I would recommend anyone does at least once in their lives if they get a chance, I would definitely have no problems sending anyone on this ship or this itinerary and will be looking at what I can do next time.

I'm Back From The Diamond Princess

2010-09-17T09:19:00.001+01:00

Well after two and a half weeks away I am back, and the holiday was brilliant. I havent been back too long so the photos arent downloaded yet but expect more than a few blogs over the coming days and weeks and a review on our website - which I will post a link for too.

Anyway if you need me as I say I'm back and ready to help.

The Wait Is Over.....

2010-08-26T09:24:00.001+01:00

Well I booked it ages ago and it is finally here, I fly to Alaska on the weekend well Seattle actually, i dont actually amke it to Alaska for a couple of days. Never the less I really can not wait to board the plane and be on my way, being a typical man I still have masses to do and havent even thought about packing but I'm sure it will be fine.

I will be gone for around two and a half weeks and when I get back expect to see lots of photos as well as my review and I'm sure more than one blog will be posted here.

I will be back on 16th September, after taking my cruise on the Diamond Princess on the 4th and staying a couple of days in Vancouver before flying back to sunny old England.

Airport Relief...

2010-08-21T10:27:00.000+01:00

I have recently had soem fantastic news regarding my Alaska holiday, the BAA strikes have been called off, and they were scheduled to be on when I was flying to Seattle. I have been very lucky with this as I now do not have to worry about re-organizing hotels or missing days of my much anticipated trip, not to mention all the hassle with claiming for these things through my travel insurance.

All I will say on this matter is you must get travel insurance for your holiday, there have been so many instances of strikes and natural disasters latley that it just isn't worth risking it. I know it would be horrible to miss your holiday - but how much worse would it be if you lost all your money for it too and couldnt even book another one to get over the dissapointment?.......

Onward To Fairbanks

2010-08-15T13:21:00.000+01:00

After spending a couple of days in Seattle I will be off to Fairbanks, one of the most remote areas in Alaska which is less than 200 miles form the arctic circle. I have just read an interesting fact apparantly temperatures range from between -65 and +90 dependent on the time of year!!. Lets just hope when I'm there that this is a little more tame.

Alaska is all about the wildlife and the scenery, there are very few roads and the towns are few and far between making this one of the most unspoilt areas around. Fairbanks also brags that you can see Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights, during the right time of year, unfortunatly the chances for me will be very slim to say the least - it is one of the lowest chances due to the year and the fact that I wll be going in summer, but fingers crossed.

As I said this area will all be about nature walks and some visits to the old gold mines around the area but will be more about having a relaxing couple of days before we start our long drive down to Whittier.

But as I have asked before - any more ideas?

First Stop Seattle

2010-08-12T13:06:00.001+01:00

As you may have read by now, its off to Alaska with me. But before I take part in my cruise, and for a couple of days after, I will be spending some time with my feet firmly on solid ground exploring Seattle, Alaska and Vancouver.

As we all know it takes a lot of research to get the most out of your holiday, after all you are genearlly only in one place for a day or two before moving on to a new destination when doing a land tour like this.

So my first stop is Seattle which holds paticular interest for me for two reasons, firstly its a place I have never been but have always wanted to visit, secondly it is the birth place of some of my favourite music. With this in mind I have a check list of things I would love to do while there.

Of course top of the list for tourist attractions would have to be the Space Needle probably followed by Pioneer Square and the Pike Place Market, within Pioneer Square is the Waterfall Park and at the base of the Space Needle is the Rock Museum which will also be of interest to me.

But this is all old news, what I would like to know is who out there has been to Seattle and what is there to do "off the beaten track", the tourist spots are all well and good but what I love to do is find somewhere that maybe not everyone knows about. Of course these places by there very nature are difficult to find, if they werent then they would be on all the tourist websites and in all the books.

I look forward to any suggestions.

I'm Free

2010-08-09T13:22:00.000+01:00

We are extremley busy here at http://www.cruise.co.uk/ so if you are having difficulty getting through my direct line is free - just drop me a line on 0800 408 6123 or an email on krish@cruise.co.uk.

Hope to speak to you soon.

I'm Off On The Diamond Princess

2010-08-09T13:16:00.001+01:00

In just three weeks time I fly out to Alaska for a cruise I have been looking forward to for months. Luckily since booking just about everyone I have asked has said it is a good ship and has enjoyed it - which is a good thing really since I'm the one who recommended to my wife that we should go.

The cruises leaves from Whittier in Anchorage and sets sail along the inside passage for seven nights ending up in Vancouver, and visiting such places as Juneau, Ketchikan and British Columbia. Recently I have been speaking to alot of customers who have been on a cruise like this and have been getting some suggestions for trips or places of interest.

So basically the point of this blog is to see is anyone has any ideas/ suggestions on what is good to do in this area of the world - it could be a shore excursion with the cruise line or something you did yourselves. Just drop me a quick message if you can think of anything, and I can always look at what I think would interest us, I'll let you know which ones we did when I get back.

Emerald Princess Mysterious Power Loss

2010-07-31T08:53:00.002+01:00

On sunday night just 90 minutes after leaving port the Emerald Princess lost all power, this included air conditioning, lighting and propulsion. The power loss lasted for just over four hours.

This has lead to the Princess Cays stop being cancelled, the privatly owned beach is a favourite amongst passengers and Princess have already stated that there will be compensation paid to customers on the ship for missing the scheduled stop.

Perhaps the most worrying thing is that Princess cruises have absoloutly no idea why this happened, they are taking a technician on board in St Maarten on Wednesday and luckily there has been no further problems. The cruise line hopes to have any problems resolved before the end of the cruise but will keep customers and agents informed of any developments.

MSC Add Extra Costs...

2010-07-27T12:32:00.002+01:00

It has come to light that MSC have been charging customers to use a tender to go ashore in Portofino, I know this sounds crazy but unfortunatly it is true. It seems that they have been doing this for at least the last couple of years, but I must state this only takes place on certain itineraries.

MSC justify this by saying that they sometimes use Portofino as a "technical stop", this basically means that they drop in to do minor work or checks on the ship, and since this not a scheduled stop any passengers wishing to go ashore are classed as going on an excursion. The trip usually costs 13 euros for an adult and 10 for a child which includes transport between Portofino and Genoa and use of the tender ships. If customers do not wish to use the transport then they still have to pay the same for tenders.

MSC say they do not charge for regular stops or ports of call, only for these technical stops - but this does beg the question, what exactly constitutes a technical stop and what constitutes a port stop?.....

Why Its Better To Book Early...

2010-07-20T09:11:00.001+01:00

Recently I have had alot of calls asking for "last minute deals", and though it is true that you may sometimes pick up a good discount for booking late with cruises, usually it is much better to book way in advance...
A lot of cruise lines offer great benefits such as on board credit and free parking when you book several months in advance, and you also guarantee you will get the cabin you want. If you wait until the last minute you will be left with very little or, in the worst cases, no cabins and this means that you will have to compromise on where you go or just not be able to go at all.

Most people who have cruised before know that you need to get in asap and some even get there cabins "pre-registered" with us before the new itineraries are released so that they get exactly what they want before anyone else can snap them up, and believe it or not this can be 12-18 months in advance.

Now this isnt to say that you wont get any cruises right now for the next few months, I would still definatly drop me a line and I will be glad to help you. And if I cant find exactly what you want right now I can always get you on a cruise for next year.

And Now For Something A Little Different

2010-07-13T13:10:00.001+01:00

Celebrity cruises have released some itinararies with a bit of a difference for next year starting from Istanbul, which is located on the famous Bosphorus Strait that connects Asia and Europe. The cruises will be taking place on the newly revitalised Celebrity Constellation and will be travelling in September and October 2011, though I'm sure these itinaries will prove so popular that they will sell out extremley quickly this should at leaset prompt Celebrity and other cruise lines to offer this more.

The trip which offers the seasoned cruiser something a little different to the usual Medetarranean cruises offered will take in Ephesus (Kusadasi), Bodrum and Marmaris, Turkey; Rhodes, Santorini, Athens (Piraeus), Mykonos and Chania (Souda), before returning to Istanbul. Bodrum, Marmaris and Chania are new ports for Celebrity Cruises and examples of ways the cruise line is designing unique experiences in exotic destinations to appeal to discerning cruisers.

These sailings are replacing the Constellations usual cruises from Barcelona and Amsterdam in, though these cruises do include Athens and Istanbul repectivley this cruise would suit all of those who have done the Med and just fancy a change. You can een extend your trip and book all these cruises as back to back cruises for a whooping 35 nights extravaganza.

I for one am all for cruise companies introducing new and exciting destinations and long may it continue.

Beauty Is Only Skin Deep ... Thankfully

2010-07-06T09:25:00.003+01:00

The ship is absoloutly fantastic - on the inside. From the outside unfortunatly is a differnt matter, never has the expression "dont judge a book by its cover" been more apt.

As you can see it looks a little like a block of flats on the sea - but luckily this is where the similarity to a high rise stops....

As you enter it quickly becomes aparant that The Epic would be more at home in Vegas than Peckham with Ice Bars, Casinos, several themed bars and even a water park on the top deck. During my brief stay I experienced all of this and it was brilliant. And alot of of it was visually stunning.

So though they say you only get one chance to make a first impression I would implore you to not worry too much when you see the ship for the first time. And lets face it when you are sat back on deck with a cold beer watching the world go by the outside of the ship and what it looks like will be the last thing on your mind....

Size Does Matter

2010-06-29T11:58:00.001+01:00

Now I quite liked the Norwegian Epic, it seemed to have a good selection of activities, bars and places to eat and also seemed quite bright, airy and spacious. Though I must say the ship was not full but I would hope they could cope when it is.

But I do have one complaint (and it is quite a big one unfortunatly). I'm not going to pull any punches here - the balcony rooms were just too small.

I shared with a colleague for two nights and as much as we get on I could not see myself in a cabin for two weeks with him, or anyone at this point. I understand they try and get as many cabins in as possible but think they have just taken this ship too far.

I don't usually complain, and certainly not about a free cabin on a ship like this but I think this picture does the cabin complete justice - the bathroom was seperated by a simple curtain and you had to dry yourself in the entrance hall, and just hope a steward didnt come in while you were. The sink was at the end of the bed in the main room and you couldnt pull out the stool from under the console table due to it hitting the end of the bed!!.

And to make it all worse you simply cannot get two people past the end of the bed, I'm not the smallest guy in the world at around 6' 1" and of a slightly larger build but I dont think that matters.

Such a shame that this lets down an otherwise good ship.

Norwegian Epic - The Review

2010-06-24T13:31:00.005+01:00

As promised here is my overall review of my little adventure on the Norwegian Epic. I will be throwing in a few more reviews of more individual nature at a slightly later date, but for now I hope you enjoy.

We arrived around 5pm after quite a stop start departure due to some engine troubles with the ship but we were all extremely excited when we pulled up. First impressions of the ship, I'm afraid to say, are that of a floating tower block - but don’t worry because this is where the similarities with a set of council flats stops there. In fact the ship reminds me more of Vegas than anything else.

We had a standard balcony, and though the cabins were very nicely decorated they were a bit on the small size, and I was not too impressed with the bathroom setup, but more on that later. This being said the ship has such a great wow factor that I wouldn't let the cabins put you off.

You could not go hungry on this ship, there are Irish bars serving typical pub food like burgers and chicken wings up to Cagney’s Steakhouse or the Wasabi Sushi Bar, or if you fancy eating at your own leisure the buffet up by the pool is fantastic (trust me I tried them all).

The entertainment was brilliant, and again very Vegas like, and I was looking forward to the Blue Man Group for weeks before we travelled - this was the second time I had seen them and I was not disappointed.

There are bowling alleys in the pubs, water slides, a rock climbing wall and a massive casino. Add this to the children’s program, the night clubs, comedy club and blues bar and I'm sure that NCL have done what they set out to do, which is make a ship with something for everyone that will rival the Royal Caribbean ships.

All in all I would recommend this ship to families and kids of all ages like me, me and all my colleagues had a fantastic time.

NCL Epic Launch

2010-06-18T10:10:00.002+01:00

Now as I think I have mentioned before I will be attending the inaugural launch of the new ship from Norwegian Cruise Lines, The Epic. As cruise consultants we get these little perks every now and then and this ship was the one I was hoping to get the most out of all of them, I may have even dropped a few hints to that effect.

The ship looks fantastic and I have already done a couple of blogs about what is onboard so you should have a read of those as well. What I am most looking forward to is the activities onboard - The Blue Man Group hold a particularly special place in my heart as I saw these 4 years ago on my honeymoon and my wife is absolutely green with envy that I am seeing them again. I also intend to make a bit of a fool of myself on the rock climbing wall if they will let us, and will also be finding a spot in a bar somewhere on the ship with a few friends and a few beers to watch the England match.

I will take plenty of photos for you all and write a review for all those interested so you can check back here late next week and have a look into it.

Rock Out On The Epic....

2010-06-10T15:14:00.002+01:00

The Norwegian Epic is starting to sound better and better to me. Not only have they got my favorite live show to date onboard, the Blue Man Group, they now have Gibson guitars onboard - for passengers.

Now you may be looking at the first few lines of my latest blog and thinking that I have finally lost it. I can assure you I haven’t and I am being completely serious and if you were to look at my profile picture then read this you will probably make a few assumptions about what music I am into, and for the most part would probably be right. So as you can imagine I think this is great news.
The guitars can be rented for a minimal fee of $10 a day and will include a personal amplifier and headphones for your cabin, so you don’t disturb the other passengers; you also get a companion pod so you can create a variety of effects from blues heavy metal. The guitars are available for pick up in the Fat Cats Blues and Jazz club and can be rented every day except on embarkation and disembarkation day.
This is just another of the things I will have to sample when I go and see this great ship later this month, and in fact I just cant wait.

The Importance of Travel Insurance....

2010-06-07T15:07:00.002+01:00

Most people know how important this is, but some still think that in this day and age they can get away with it and save themselves a few quid. Sure you save yourself £40 or so by not insuring yourself for your holiday but once you take in the $400 - $500 dollars you get charged for a few injections and some stitches and it doesn’t seem like such a great deal.

We have actually had customers who booked their own flights and missed a cruise when they were cancelled - and couldn’t claim a penny back. This is a cost of £2000-£3000 for 2 people, or more, depending on where you go and what cabin you wish to have.

And closer to home - I have had two occasions, both in America, where I was overjoyed to have had travel insurance. Both include my wife and though she is usually quite a safe person for some reason she is prone to injury on holiday, maybe it’s the heat - who knows? The first instance happened around 8 years ago and we were on holiday with another couple, my wife got what seemed like a fairly innocuous blister on her foot and of course as most of us would she just left it. A couple of days later while at a water park it really started to hurt her so we went to the first aid booth thinking it would just be a couple of pain killers and a plaster. We were told to immediately go to a hospital, a little scary, but apparently it was a poisonous bite and she had to go on a drip for two hours a day, three days in a row at around two am (as it took that long to get seen this was the time they finished with us after the first visit). Anyway this cost us a lot, over $500 if I remember correctly - of course we were fully covered but if we hadn’t been....

The second incidence happened on my honeymoon 4 years ago while watching the Blue Man group in Las Vegas, who I hope to be seeing in June while on the Epic, if you sit in the front row for these you have to wear a disposable mac like they sell for water rides in theme parks because they spray paint al over the place. After the show everyone left these on the floor and my wife tripped and split her head slightly. So after another trip to the emergency room and 2 staples in her head we had another whopping bill.

So as you can see you really have no choice but to get insurance, I know 99% of the time you will wont need it, in fact I hope you never need it, but imagine the ramifications if that big accident happened and it was the 1 time you didn’t.

British or American Ships - Whats The Difference?

2010-05-31T10:28:00.004+01:00

Well first of all lets get one thing straight, wether a ship is British or American has nothing to do with who is the parent company or where it is sailing from, it doesnt even really have a lot to do with where they are registered.

Take P&O for instance, a lot of their ships are registered in the States but they are probably one of the most well known British cruise lines in the market today. And Cunard (who by the way are owned by the same parent company as P&O) who have a traditional British feel but are actually classed as an American ship.

Basically it all comes down to, as usual, money. Quite simply an American ship uses Dollars and a British ship uses Stirling.

Now that cant be the only difference I hear you all say, and you would be correct.

A big difference is that firstly if you register your ship in the Carribean, as most American ships and infact most of P&O's ships do, you can host weddings onboard. This is the reason the Azura is the only ship in P&O's fleet which doesn't have a small chapel and the facility to hold a wedding ceremony onboard.

Next up is the age old bug bear - tipping - most American cruise lines will add a "service charge" to your bill automatically for any drinks and every day onto your onboard account for the cabin steward. This has become a bit of a sore point for many people, just have a look at our forum - http://www.cruises.co.uk/509-gratuities_tips - and make up your own mind on this. Most people know by now that you can ask for the daily charge to be removed but I think in the future this will become a mandatory part of cruisng, possibly just included in the overall cruise fare. Infact Azamara have already effectivly introduced this on their "all inclusive" ships.

But if we are honest there isnt actually a huge amount of difference, the food may change and the activities differ largly from ship to ship but all cruise ships offer a fantastic level of service to rival most hotels and you should really just go with what suits you.

Read my other articles on what cruise ship may be best for you and then give us a quick call if there are any other queries that you need awnsering. Hopefully this has cleared up at least a few of the questions though.

The New Epic Ship From NCL

2010-05-24T10:54:00.002+01:00

In late June NCL release their latest addition to the fleet, The Norwegian Epic. I am particularly interested in this ship for several reasons, the first being that I have been lucky enough to be invited to the launch party on the 22nd of June.

This ship looks magnificent with a water park and climbing wall, along with all the other activities usually found on a cruise ship I think this will be NCL's best. I like to have something to do whilst on holiday and am not one for just sitting around by the pool and this time I don’t think I will be disappointed.

In my opinion it also has one of the best shows out there - and I don’t mean just on cruise ships. I saw The Blue Man Group around 4 years ago on my honeymoon while in Las Vegas and they were fantastic, the best of several shows which I have seen whilst in Vegas. I look at other cruise ships and the shows they offer and, if I am totally honest, many do not appeal to me.
NCL are obviously trying to break into the same market as Royal Caribbean, except on a smaller scale, and I'm of the opinion that this is a great move on their part and that many people will welcome this ship with open arms.
As I have already said I will be on this ship very soon and will obviously tell you if it has lived up to all my expectations, I'm sure I won’t be disappointed.

BA Cabin Crew Told To Get on With It.....Again

2010-05-18T10:24:00.001+01:00

Now I just cannot understand why BA cabin crew are striking to start with, they are some of the best paid out there and quite frankly with the recent problems with the volcano they have not endeared themselves to the British public. Maybe its just me but I always thought the point of striking was to protest against some grave injustice or dangerous working condition, but BA crew just seem to be getting greedy and are getting absolutely no one on their side.

So imagine my surprise, and joy, when the high court ruled that their strike action was illegal, just like the last time they were on strike. So not only are they getting it wrong with the public they are also getting it wrong with the law, surely they need to realize that now is not the right time. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who will be very happy when this whole thing is over and done with, by the end of August would be ideal - when I'm off on holiday.

The Best Cruise Line For Adults...

2010-05-12T10:38:00.002+01:00

I get asked quite a lot about the best cruise lines for the more seasoned traveler who doe not want to have lots of, or even any, children running around onboard. If you are one of these travelers never fear because even though cruising has become a very family friendly industry in the last few years there are still plenty of options for yourselves.

Firstly P&O has two adult only ships in the Artemis and the Arcadia, with the Adonia introduced soon. These ships are generally smaller and do some of the slightly different itineraries like the Fjords; in fact I have had customers with children slightly disappointed that they couldn’t get on these ships.
Next would be Cunard, and though these are not strictly adult only ships they do not provide as many children’s services as a lot of the other cruise lines, the only exception to this is that I do seem to get a lot of families enquiring about the Trans Atlantic crossings, so maybe there would be a few more children on these sailings. In the Med or Caribbean most families would choose a cruise line such as Royal Caribbean or the New Norwegian Epic.
Fred Olsen is another great example of the smaller ship and does not really cater for children, yet again they are not actually banned from the ship, it is just not equipped to deal with lots of children and most travel agents probably would not recommend this cruise line for young families.
And of course if you avoid the half term you are going to have little or no children on your cruise. Bear in mind that this works both ways and families generally will no go on the less family orientated cruises, as long as they can get the right advice from their agent.

The Advantages Of A Package Holiday.

2010-05-07T11:04:00.002+01:00

I have recently had a few customers come back to me who are a little miffed that the cruise lines did not help them when their flights were cancelled due to the volcanic ash; I can't help but wonder why when they booked their own flights.

I know booking your own flights and accommodation may sound like a great idea and you could well save yourselves a few bucks, but all things considered is it really worth it when something like this happens? If you were to package your holiday through a reputable company and a consultant such as ourselves, who are fully ABTA and ATOL bonded, sure it may cost a little more but you will have complete piece of mind if things were to go wrong.
Volcanic eruptions such as this are thankfully few and far between, but strikes from the likes of BA and the train staff in France recently are much more likely, and if you book your own flights you are just as liable. So bottom line it is always better to pay a little more for a package because if you miss your cruise because nature decides to cause another pesky little problem then unfortunately the cruise line can, and will, refuse to reimburse you for your holiday.

Cruise Ship Launch Madness

2010-04-27T17:52:00.003+01:00

This week sees the launch of the new itineraries for Cunard, P&O and Princess, with most other cruise lines already launched this is the big one. People look at cruises well over a year in advance and cabins book up quick.

This isn’t to say that you won’t get a cabin on your dream cruise but to ensure the greatest success I would recommend that you pre-register for your favoured cruise, this essentially means giving all your details to a cruise specialist such as ourselves and letting us book them as soon as they go on sale.

The newer ships sell very quickly (such as the Queen Elizabeth), as do some of the more unique itineries and of course the school holidays. For these ships and times of year be prepared to compromise or have a back up on the type of cabin you want so you will not come away disappointed.

My last tip would be to book early, this not only ensures you have the best chance of getting the cabin you want but also gets you the best price as several cruise lines will gradually, or drastically, increase the price of these cabins after selling the first quota of them which could leave you out of pocket. Never fear though just give me a call and I’m sure I can get you the best price.

Celebrity Equinox.....The New Maiden Voyage

2010-04-20T16:37:00.001+01:00

The brand new Celebrity Equinox will be setting out today to pick up around 2000 holiday makers in Bilbao and will be bring them back to UK shores. And before you ask, I'm sorry but it is fully sold out.

Apparantly the lucky few will have to pay for food and drink onboard and there was a small fee to ferry them back but many would be glad to pay it and get back onto home soil. Celebrity have been very smart here as this is a great PR exercise and will obviously make them a nice little profit to boot.

I wonder how long it will be before the other cruise lines jump on the band wagon.......

Volcano Cruise News....

2010-04-16T12:07:00.003+01:00

I’m sure a lot of you are a bit worried about the volcano erupting in Iceland and the affect it is having on holidays, what with a lot of flights being grounded and airports closed.

Hopefully this will clear up soon, and if people are unlucky enough to have their holiday cancelled then if you booked through an agent such as ourselves at least you have a degree of security, after all we are fully ABTA and ATOL bonded. Now being a glass half full kind of guy all is not lost if you still have a cruise booked or want to get one booked up......

This is because all sailings from UK are still going, so no fly cruises are seeming like a great idea now especially as with late booking fares with the likes of P&O, Princess and Cunard being so low.

I know this may seem like a bit of a silly thing to say and I know this won’t comfort some people who will inevitably miss their hard earned and long anticipated holiday, I really do feel sorry for these people, but as they say very cloud has a silver lining.

The Best Deal?

2010-04-13T11:52:00.003+01:00

I often get asked "what is the best deal?". Now this may seem like a simple enough question, most people think this is purely down to price, but it is actually quite a lot more complicated than you would first think.

Firstly, and this is only my opinion, price is NOT everything.
The best deal to me is the best value, taking into consideration the entire thing you will get for your money and how much you will enjoy the holiday. Lets face it there is no point going on a cruise for £599 per person, (by the way good luck finding that price), if you have a miserable time and the ship is actually a small tug boat and you have to catch your own food. This not say that there aren't some great deals out there, there is a cruise line for everyone and due to the huge amount of customers cruising they cant really cater for everyone.

So the real point here is that every cruise ship offers fantastic value for money, but to find the best deal you need to really research the product. Look on the internet, in brochures and above all speak to a cruise consultant who should, well I hope should, be a fountain of knowledge.

Look out for more on which cruise line is best for who later.

Did The Captain Really Just Say That?.....

2010-03-30T14:48:00.007+01:00

There have been many tannoy faux pas' over the years, just read on to the bottom and you can see a selection of the (mostly) hilarious announcements made by cruise and airline captains over the years. But before we get on to that I'd like to relay one of my own mildly embarressing, but really quite funny stories with you.....

Now I don’t really like to admit this but not too long ago, (yesterday in fact), I was on my way out of the office and was speaking to my wife to tell her I'd soon be on my way home, I was just saying goodbye when my direct line rang and of course I had to take it. It was a customer wishing to make a booking and all was going perfectly well, but I think my mind wasn’t quite in gear after I had set myself up to go home and was in relaxation mode. So the bottom line is that instead of saying "I love it" to a joke the customer had just told me I may have inadvertently said "I love you". I hadn’t even realized until my colleague told me, in fact I was almost convinced I had said the words I wanted to say, but then it dawned on me that I had actually let it slip.

Now don’t ask me how, I'm sure I've never said anything like this ever before and hopefully never will again, but my colleague, manager and wife all had a good old laugh and a great time extracting the Michael out of me for it, as I'm sure many others will after they read this blog. My only hope is that I at least brightened the customers’ day, or they didn’t register exactly what I said - either would be great for me.

But this leads to an interesting question - we all say things that afterwards we think "did I really just say that?", and they are all inevitably very embarrassing. Just take a look at some of the things said over tannoys. Happy reading and I hope this at least distracts you from my comments.......

All too rarely, airline or cruiseline captains and staff make an effort to make the usually tedious announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:

Recently a cruiseline captain on the P&O made what he thought would be a joke about all of his passengers reserving sunbeds with towels, unfortunatly he was reported for a supposidly racist remark when he told his passengers to "stop being so Germanic". He was actually reported to human rights watchdogs for racism and had to issue a formal apology, apparantly there was only one german on board who was a receptionist for P&O. Just goes to show that you really must be careful what you say.

On a Southwest flight 245 (SW has no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, "People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!"

On a Continental Flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."

On landing, the stewardess said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have.

"There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane".

"Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."

As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Ronald Reagan, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!".

After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Memphis, a flight attendant on a Northwest flight announced, "Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted."

From a Southwest Airlines employee: "Welcome aboard Southwest Flight 245 to Tampa.. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."

"In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favorite."

"Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Southwest Airlines."

"Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and, in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."

"As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses."

And from the pilot during his welcome message: "Delta Airlines is pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"

Heard on Southwest Airlines just after a very hard landing in Salt Lake City the flight attendant came on the intercom and said, "That was quite a bump, and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt."

Overheard on an American Airlines flight into Amarillo, Texas, on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Amarillo. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!"

Heard on a Southwest Airline flight. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing and if you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em."

UK Sailing On The Up And Up

2010-03-14T10:32:00.003Z

In recent years and due to the increasing number of no frills airlines cropping up - not to mention the price and the recent speate of strikes - the publics growing disenchantment with flying has had a positive effect on the cruise industry. And with this boom more and more people are opting to sail form the UK, the number of people embarking from British ports has increased by nearly a quarter in the last year, with nearly 40% of cruises booked departing from these shores.

And with the anticipated launch of three deicated ex-Britain cruise ships in 2010 and the launch of Cruise and Maritime as a company which sals purley from te UK no fly cruises are set to continue growing.

Fortunately getting to and from the British ports such as Southampton and Dover is fairly easy by road, at least for people in southern England. And for those that live further afield and dont fancy the long drive there are effecient public transfer links which make this kind of holiday entirley feasable for everyone. Cruise lines even offer transfers from around 50 departure points in Britain to help the whole experience run smoothly.

So whats the catch? I hear you all ask. Well the main catch would be that the time you spend getting to your destination, a flight to mainlaind Europe will only take a few hours for instance but a ship will generally take a full night of sailing, with other destinations such as America taking much longer. With Europe at least the time difference doesn't actually equate to that much, what with the hours spent in airports and transfers, and I know which option I would prefer - i.e. sitting back with a nice drink on a cruise ship while others battle with baggage claim at the airport. As said with destinations such as America I would probably choose the fly cruise option to maximise my holiday here.

So the bottom line is you either commit to a longer cruise, most ex-Britain cruises being around the 12-14 day mark as a minimum, or maximise the time spent at your destination by flying. For many passengers relaxing on board during those long sea days is all part of the experience.

Is it an overall better experience sailing form te UK? At which point does it become "not worth it"? What are peoples experiences with siling form the UK and which ports are Best? Drop any comments you may have in the box below and I will try and compile this and look out for more article on this.

Questions You Dont Really Want To Ask On A Cruise Ship.......

2010-03-09T11:42:00.000Z

I have been looking into this after being asked/overheard a few silly questions myself, so without further ado here they are for your amusement:

1) Does the crew sleep on board?

2) Is the island completely surrounded by water?

3) Does the ship generate its own electricity?

4) What time is the midnight buffet?

5) What do they do with the ice sculptures after it melts?

6) How do we know which photographs are ours?

7) Do I put my luggage out before or after I go to sleep?

Any other ones that people have heard and thought were paticularly funny? please just let us know.

New Cruise Ships This Year....

2010-02-26T12:52:00.002Z

For some cruise fans, there's nothing like a new ship. And this year they will not be disappointed.

Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Celebrity Cruises, MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises are all introducing new ships to their fleets.

Most these ships were ordered several years ago when the economy was booming, and the new vessels are, in many cases, sisters to already existing ships. Holland America is launching the Nieuw Amsterdam, a twin to its two-year-old Eurodam. Its maiden voyage will be on the 4th of July 2010.

Meanwhile Celebrity is unveiling the third in its popular Solstice Class series with the Celebrity Eclipse whose maiden voyage is on the 26th of April and has proved very popular. Royal Caribbean, which is the sister company to Celebrity, will be launching the Allure of the Seas in December a twin to the two-month-old Oasis of the Seas - the world's largest ship.

Looking for something that's truly one of a kind? The big exception to the sea of copies is the new ship coming for Norwegian Cruise Line, the Norwegian Epic, which is like nothing the line ever has done before. More than 50% bigger than Norwegian's existing ships, Epic will take the line's trademark Freestyle cruising concept to a new level with an array of 20 eateries and big name Las Vegas-style entertainment. The Epic launches on June the 24th and is already very popular with cruisers.

If its luxury you want six star cruise line Seabourn will be launching the latest addition to their fleet mid 2010. The Sojourn launches on the 6th of June and due to the relatively small size of this ship and the large following Seabourn has I would expect this ship to sell out fairly quickly.

MSC will be launching the Magnifica in a matter of weeks, and you probably won’t be able to get a cabin on the maiden voyage. For more on this check back to my blog over the weekend as I will be visiting the ship to be one of the first to get a proper look at it.
And last but by no means least is the Queen Elizabeth from Cunard line, this already has a lot of interest and from the information I have seen so far looks to be a fantastic ship, combining all the things that make Cunard traditionally great with a slightly newer feel to it. The Queen Elizabeth launches on its maiden voyage in October 2010.

Two major lines that don't have a single ship debuting in 2010 are Carnival and Princess. Carnival has two more ships on order, but they don't debut until 2011 and 2012. After years of rapid growth, Princess does not have a single ship on order.
With the peak period for bookings now underway I would strongly suggest that you think about booking these ships now if you want that new ship feeling. That’s if they haven’t already sold out……

Royal Caribbean to cruise Australia.....

2010-02-25T08:30:00.002Z

I have had a suprisingly large amount of customers recently wanting cruises which cruise around Australia, there are a few out there but mainly only as part of a world cruise or a port of call before heading into Asia.

Well good news for all those cruisers out there because after the successful launch of the Brilliance of the Seas into Dubai this year Royal Caribbean have decided to send the Radiance of the Seas to join the Rhapsody of the Seas which is already there and in its third season.

The Brilliance will start her first cruise from Sydney in October 2011 with itineries for late 2010/2011 being released in March of this year. It is expected that this will be extremley popular with the British market as well as the Australian one. Especially considering that I recently booked a customer in Australia and with the current exchange rate he saved an absoloute bundle booking with our company.

This move will probably be copied by several of the other cruise companies in the future and I'm sure will be welcomed by all, but until then places will be very limited so I'd book up early if its something that interests you.

Whats More Important, The Destination Or The Ship?.....

2010-02-24T07:50:00.001Z

Its a conundrum, do you go for the big cruise ships from the likes of Royal Caribbean or P&0 with absoloutly fantastic activities like ice skating rinks, flow riders, climbing walls, full cinemas, a zip line, promenades the list goes on and on. Or do you go on a smaller ship which has, by comparisson a very small amount of activities to partake in.

I'm not actually sure I can answer this question myself as I am completley torn, do i go to the Caribbean on a large ship like the Oasis of the seas and just jump off he ship as and when but completeley and utterly wear my self out with all the great onboard activities. Or do I take a cruise on one of the smaller ships and go around the Fjords or Alaska? (well actually I think I've kind of answered that one).

Its all really down to what you want, and the old saying that it is horses for courses. The best thing to do is to research as much as possible, ask friends, cruise consultants, books, the internet and so on and so on, then and only then can you make an informed decision.

But at least you can be assured that with all the great cruise ships out there you will certainly be able to find something that suits you.

P&O Breakdown..

2010-02-23T13:56:00.003Z

Every cruise line has a different thing to offer so I thought I would try and give a little advice on exactly 'who does what'. Let’s start with P&O.
P&O have a kind of mixed bag of ships and depending which one you choose they will actually cater for just about everyone, this is probably why they are Britain’s favorite cruise line.

The Arcadia and Artemis are completely adult only and are probably a little more geared toward destinations and the traditional, with a fair few cruises to the Fjords and Baltic’s over the year.
The Aurora, Oceana, Ventura are all very 'family friendly' ships with a great range of kids clubs and activities for the little ones on board, all while keeping the great service that you come to expect from P&O. The Azura, which is to be launched later this year will follow in the footsteps of these three ships and only a little bigger and better.

The Oriana is probably the most traditional of all the ships P&O currently have in commission, and would probably appeal to anyone who has sailed on Fred Olsen or Cunard.

On the family friendly ships there are a variety of kids clubs catering for all ages from 2 – 17 with a variety of activities ranging from painting and cooking for the younger guests to discos with ‘virgin cocktails’ for the teens. P&O also offer a night nursery running from 6pm to 2am for 6month to 5 year olds, so you can have a relaxing and romantic night off. For even younger guests there is a baby listening service activated through your phone system.

P&O still has the traditional formal nights, generally once every 7 days but it is always a good idea to check on this, and the minimum dress code for dinner is smart casual, with no sportswear or trainers in the main restaurants.

Another great feature for P&O is the amount of sailings that start from the UK, these sail to many destinations generally in the Med and Europe. They also offer a good selection of fly cruises mainly for the Caribbean and America, though they do sail as far as Australia.

All P&O ships currently in commission also offer an onboard marriage service, the Azura will not offer this service as it will be the first ship to be registered in Britain as it’s home port, all of P&O’s other ships are registered in the Carribean.

Hope this has been helpful and look out for my other cruise line reviews.

To Alaska....

2010-01-29T10:47:00.005Z

As per my earlier posts I have indeed decided to go on the Diamond Princess to Alaska in September with my wife, her parents also booked a cabin on the ship and everyone is really looking forward to it.

I'll post my review as soon as I get back from the cruise.

In the meantime if anyone has any tips, reviews or advice for The Diamond Princess or Princess Cruises in general, or even a place we should visit on our drive down from Fairbanks to Anchorage drop a comment into the box at the bottom. I'll be watching with interest...

Another Cruise I'd Love To Do

2010-01-19T17:24:00.007Z

Number two on my list, in no real paticular order I might add, is this quite unusual but exciting cruise. This great cruise is with Princess Cruises and once again drop me a line if it interests you.

Known in the southern hemisphere as the last frontier, Papua New
Guinea is home to a thousand ancient tribes, thick jungle and jagged saw-toothed mountains. It’s a rare step into the unknown in modern times, but thankfully made all the more comfortable thanks to the 72-passenger Oceanic Discoverer. An excursion boat piggy-backed on the rear of the Discoverer enables deeper exploration of the many uninhabited islands of the region.

Something a Little Different.

2010-01-19T17:16:00.005Z

Thought I'd start out posting some cruises that are a little unusual but very interesting, see what you think. The first on my list is a Celebrity Expidition cruise to the Galapagos Islands.

Since Charles Darwin did his great PR job with the Galapagos, people have come to these islands off the coast of Ecuador to snorkel with sharks, stroke iguanas, watch seals play and scan the sky for flamingo, boobies and frigate birds. With onboard naturalists, Zodiac landings and a low passenger quota, Celebrity’s 90-passenger expedition ship adds some nautical niceties to this unusual cruise.

This and all other cruises featured here are available to book through myself so why not give me a call.

Where Did That Come From?

2010-01-06T10:08:00.000Z

Sat in the office yesterday I looked out the window to see the snow hammering it down, we had around 3" in a couple of hours. Sure the wethermen had all said that there probably would be snow but lets face it they had all said it before, and it just hadn't happened.

Now I love the snow, I think it brings out the kid in alot of us and theres absoloutly nothing wrong with that. Ok I know the whole country will probably grind to a halt, we are based in Redditch and it was almost as if the world was coming to an end, shops closing at 2pm, buses stopping running even earlier than that and a definate increase in those people strapping sandwich boards with logos such as "the end is nigh" on them. (Maybe I exaggerate just a little here).

Let it snow is what I say, its winter so why are we so suprised?. Also think about this, if it didnt snow then everyone would go on about global warming so just enjoy it and take is as it comes would be my advice.

Thinking Of A Holiday

2010-01-04T12:16:00.003Z

So its a new year and I have a few family members wanting to go on an Alaskan cruise with Princess in September, anyone out there have any thoughts, advice or opinions on this one?

Well It Was An Adventure........

2009-12-23T11:18:00.007Z

So there we were on a coach travelling to Dover to pick up the Balmoral for our Christmas trip to Amsterdam, and we had the wonderful news from our equally charismatic driver that "there are ten hour tail backs on the A2 and we may have to turn back". At this point I think the old British stiff upper lip cut in, there was absolutely no way me or any of my colleagues were going to miss this.

So a couple of hours later after we had finally moved the extra ten or fifteen miles down the road and the inevitable traffic jam had ensued we all decided that it would be best if we walked the last three point seven miles, yes really. We trudged off the coach in minus whatever temperatures and grabbed our bags, on a related note please remind me to get a case with wheels for next year, and then we set off. It was cold, it was wet and it was miserable but I still found it quite funny, and since someone had already said the wonderful words of "how far can it be" and "what's the worst that can happen?" I knew it wasn’t exactly going to be the most uneventful walk of my life, so with these words ringing in my ears we set off into the bewilderness.

Cut to about ninety minutes later and I will be the first to admit that I was starting to lose my sense of humor as were many of my colleagues, blisters were forming, aches were surfacing and people were slipping and sliding all over the place and to top it all off we had just had our lovely warm feeling from making the long hard walk ripped away from us when we realized that the ship had been docked on the furthest possible point away. Yet we persevered and around two hours, five miles and several curses later we finally made it to the ship at around five pm with a little time to spare, which certainly would not have happened had we stayed on the coach. On the plus note I must say the last five minute journey in a shuttle bus felt like an absolute heaven sent miracle and checking in was very fast and efficient.

After this long day you would have thought it would have dampened our spirits, but all it took was a nice shower and a change of clothes to get me ready and raring to go again. Sitting in the Ballindalloch Restaurant looking my smartest and surrounded by good company and fantastic food I could almost forget the early unpleasantness, and apart from a few aches which a very nice red wine started to take care of I felt the night was off to a great start. After dinner all of us, a good fifty people that is, made our way up to the Lido Bar for a few quite drinks, which turned into a few more until someone decided it would be a good idea to invade the night club. After several more hours of talking and red wine we had somehow arrived at four am, which I then realized was actually five am Amsterdam time. Looking around I could see that the night was unsurprisingly coming to an end, and so I took a stroll back to my cabin for my well deserved two hours of sleep.

Next day I was up at around quarter past seven and in to breakfast for another nice meal, albeit in a bit of a zombiefied state. After having my fill I meet with the rest of our group and made our way into Amsterdam, and it seemed that we were destined to take walks in the snow just about every day. Fifteen minutes later we realized we had indeed headed in the right direction and I was very glad that I had packed a jacket and thermals usually reserved for my snowboarding holidays, as the snow was streaming down in Amsterdam, apparently for the first time since 1981 we were later informed. The city has beautiful architecture interspersed with some more modern and industrial areas, and yes it has all the things you have heard about but I must say it is not exactly shoved in your face at every corner and can be easily avoided if you so wish. The boat tour was a good way to see the city fairly quickly and extensively and my only regret was not having enough time to see everything, Anne Franks House and the Van Gough museum were something I wish we had time to see, but these book up many months in advance and we just didn’t organize it in time. At around two thirty we decided that it was getting too cold and were starting to get the old aches again so made our way back to the ship, as a side note I found out the hard way that lunch finishes at two thirty so instead made my way back to my cabin for to try and catch up on my beauty sleep.

Dinner on the second night was even better than the first, which if I'm honest I didn’t think would be entirely possible, the difference tonight was that many people looked a little more tired me included and we lost a fair few quite a bit earlier. The order of business was the same with drinks in the Lido Bar starting around eight pm, I hasten to add that I was nearly asleep at this time and but by ten I had gotten my second wind thanks to my old friend caffeine. At twelve I made my way to the midnight buffet and then off to bed, I think I'm getting too old to party two nights in a row.

Disembarkation was as smooth as embarkation and with the added bonus of being able to walk straight onto the coach; otherwise some of my colleagues may have started a small riot. After working for a couple of hours in the office it was off for a well deserved sleep, but I must say all in all it was great weekend adventure and despite the problems, (which I'm sure we will all look back on and laugh at in the years to come), I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

Cruises - The Ones I Would Want To Do......I Think

2009-12-01T09:21:00.009Z

OK I have obviously looked at cruises ALOT and have decided to do a bit of a run down on the cruises which i feel would be the best to go on for one reason or another.

These are of course my own personal opinion but if you have any other ideas or suggestions then why not drop it into the comments or drop me a line.

So without further ado here is my first choice for your enjoyment.....

Up first is NCL's transatlantic crossing, I like the idea of this cruise as it is twelve days and visits a variety of differnt countries. Starting in Barcelona around mid September then visiting Lerwick, Reykjavik, St. Johns, Halifax and finishing in New York. The reason it appeals so much to me so much is not only the several stops but the fact that you never spend more than two days in a row at sea, with a total of five days out of the twelve. Most transatlantic crossings go from Southampton to New York direct with a full six days at sea - and that just would not be something that interests me.

The Cost of Flying in Luxury....

2009-11-30T10:06:00.007Z

Now I'm six feet tall and get quite agitated if cooped up on a plane for more than a couple of hours, this has nothing to do with a fear of flying but more to do with feeling claustraphobic. So if your anything like me you might want to have a quick browse of this article.

I think you can gather that I need my room on a plane and standing up in an aisle for the whole flight just is not feasible, the flight crew would probably strap you to your seat if you tried this on a long haul flight and lets face it you probably need a sleep too, which also can not be done in the aisle.

In this case what exactly are we meant to do?

Well there are infact several options, firstly you could pay the many hundreds of pounds to fly in a beautiful first class cabin such as the one pictured here, but if your anything like me then this is a little out of reach (mores the pity). Business class is a little cheaper but doesnt have the full luxury of first class, still this could easily cost another three or four hundred pounds.

My reccommendation, as a man who has taken several flights in his life, would be to pay to get fire exit seats. Quite why you have to pay for this responsability and privilege of having to open the fire exit I'm not sure (you didnt use to have to). Despite this they are extremley good value, usually arounf £50 - £100 for a flight this is by far the cheapest upgrade possible, and the leg room you gain is phenominal, I do it alot especially on long flights. I would get there early though as these seats sell out quick and you could end up being stuck in a set where your knees are round your ears, and god help you if the person in front puts there seat back.

A good money saving tip would also be to see if your partner or friend who is travelling with you would not mind sitting where the door impacts, (if they arent as fussy about space as someone like me), if they do agree you only need pay for one fire exit seat, bargain.

Exactly How Inclusive is "All Inclusive"?

2009-11-30T09:50:00.005Z

Now we all know that cruises are great value for money, this is wether you take a two week cruise around the Caribbean on Ocean Village for £500 or a mini cruise with Crystal for £1000, the fact remains that you get alot for your money. Yet my question still remains, the cruise lines throw around the phrase all inclusive, (as to many hotels in the world), but the fact remains that it really isnt as all inclusive as you first think.

Now dont get me wrong I'm not wingeing away here or trying to put you off im merely trying to give a broader picture so you all know what to expect.

So fair enough shore excursions are not generally included, unless you just want to get off and take a stroll round a city on your own, (nothing wrong with that). But if you fancy going off and doing anything fun or going on a specialist tour you are going to pay, and generally you are going to pay high. I would suggest choosing what excursions are the most important to you and booking them quickly to avoid dissapointment, I would also have a back up plan for this eventuality, but I think thats another blog for another day.

You can eat as much as you want and pretty much at any time you like, so broadly speaking yes your food is included. There are however a few exceptions to this, firstly speciality restaraunts are generally paid at a supplement of around $15 - $30 a time. This can get very expensive of a two week cruise if you want the full waiter service. And on the brand new Oasis of the Seas you even have to pay $75.00 to dine with the captain.....

Entertainment is great on the ships and generally free, except if you would like to sit in one of the specialist areas, such as a box, which will cost around $20.00 per box and comes with drinks, canopes and a private waiter, so actually very good value.

Next is alchohol, ok alot of people dont drink or drink very little so this may be a good idea, also we dont want it to turn into a cruise just for binge drinkers now do we. Some ships have started to introduce drinks packages now, so watch this space as this may well change soon. More suprisingly fizzy drinks, such as lemonade and coke, are not generally included on a cruise so if you have children this cost could mount up, but never fear the drinks packages coming your way will certainly have a childrens option.

Ok and spa treatments, but I dont really think we can complain about this, the services are an expense that has always been there and quite frankly always will be, but if you would like to save yourself some money try booking while the ship is in port, most lines give a good discount at these times.

Suprisingly though if you wish to save money on all these things you could cruise one of the six star cruise lines, such as Crystal. Though these ships do not have all the amenities of some other ships, such as wave rider boards on Royal Caribbean, they have some great money saving features for example the dining is all specialist dining and completley free, and the things you do have to pay for are usually swallowed up with your free $500 - $1000 onboard credit per person available on most cruises. However these cruises would not generally be recommended for families with small children when spending alot of time at sea, in my humble opinion.

As i say all in all a cruise is great value for money, but just make yourself aware of exactly what is included on a cruise and what isn't, and remember each cruise line is different.

The Balmoral Party Time....

2009-11-27T15:48:00.005Z

Off on my first cruise in a few weeks to Amsterdam on Fred Olsens Balmoral. What a fantastic christmas party this is going to be, and I feel sorry for the people in work the day after. I was actually smart this year and booked the next day off, oh well people enjoy.

Towel Animals and How to do Them

2009-11-26T15:13:00.006Z

I see these everywhere on cruise ships and in hotels. Thought I'd post a couple of videos on it , hey it interests me so theres a chance at least one other person in the world will want to see it....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM0kMAHT-wI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AvCF73GFLA&feature=related

Recover from Your Holiday with a Cruise

2009-11-23T09:57:00.002Z

I think you will have noticed by now that I am more interested in holidays a little further a field than Britain and Europe so I thought I would write a small article on land tours, and why you should always do them before a return cruise if possible. This is not to say that you should not do at least some of your holiday on land, in fact I positively encourage it, I personally love seeing new sights and visiting new places and feel that to fully appreciate a holiday a mixture of both land tours and cruising is the way to go.

I'll start with what I think is the biggest reason to do your land tour firstq uite simply the land tour will be exciting but tiring with jumping on and off buses, trains or any other public transport. Bear in mind with a land tour you will also be packing and unpacking every day, so as stated its gonna be busy no matter where you go. Imagine relaxing on a cruise for a week or two doing as much or as little as you like, and generally just unwinding. Then you have to get off and start a hectic tour, as I said these tours are great fun and let you see sights and experience things you would never normally get a chance to, but lets face it you want to do the cruise second.

Next lets consider say going to America, fly across and go to great places such as Las Vegas, NY, San Francisco, the list goes on. You can do all the exciting stuff first and get your cheap shopping out the way, and bring back as much as you like without paying the massive import tax, (see my other articles "Cheat the Taxman...." and "Vegas, a Sure Thing?"). Gone are the days of $2 to every pound but its still a very worthwhile thought, and things are getting better all the time. So why not tour the US and take a transatlantic cruise from NY at the end, you can go anywhere and apply this reasoning to any destination so its certainly worth a thought.

This type of holiday has everything you could possibly want so why not give it a go, I'm sure you wont be disappointed.

Time to Get Your Act Together....

2009-11-20T21:37:00.004Z

Ok I know I havent got the greatest cruise experience yet, though I hope to soon rectify this, but it seems to me that very few of the acts, bands and shows would suit me. Ok take out of the equation The Blue Man Group who have recently signed onto Royal Caribbeans' cruise ships, these are a top notch show and were one of the best I have ever seen. And I know theres a few tribute bands to old bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, but all in all the selection for the likes of me is pretty poor.

Cruise lines are starting to do more and more speciality cruises, such as Strictly Come Dancing, Gardeners World and The Antique Road Show. So heres an idea why not get a music cruise going, and by music I mean real bands who play there own instruments and write there own songs. I love my music and a mini cruise with some great alternative and rock bands, almost like a music festival at sea, would really appeal to me.

Just imagine all the great bands and atmosphere of the likes of Glastonbury or Reading without the camping and rubbish food, the cabins and food facilities of a cruise ship would suit this purpose very well with a minimum amount of fuss or effort on the cruise lines part.

This may be a pie in the sky idea but quite frankly I would book up tommorow if a mini cruise such as this was added to a cruise lines itinery.

Vegas, a Sure Thing?

2009-11-20T20:59:00.007Z

Let me start by saying that most the stories you hear about Las Vegas have at least a grain of truth to them, there are ladies of negoitable affection and over the top tackiness everywhere. Now that being said you can easily avoid or simply ignore any of the less savoury areas of the strip.

I have been to Vegas three times now over the years and I can at tell you that it is certainly an experience. It is certainly not a family destination, escpecially at weekends when it gets stupidly busy, so families with small children will be hard pressed to fill more than say two or three days. Sure you can visit the Grand Canyon, and with the new Skywalk recently completed I would recommend this as a must see attraction, though I must say the absoloute best way to see it is via helicopter.

If your an adrenaline junkie like me I would reccommend you spend half a day quad biking in Death Valley or take a dune buggy tour out in Little Bahja, the tours vary from the scenic to the insane but this is an absoloutly fantastic way of seeing some of the sites you wouldnt normally see and is great fun too.

So in short yes I would say go to Vegas for three or four days and preferably during the week if you want to see the nicer side of it, then hope across to New York, (a mere 5 hour flight), and get your transatlantic cruise home, but most of all enjoy.

Sunday Sailing

2009-11-20T20:42:00.005Z

One of the single greatest experiences of my life was this sailing trip around the Whistsunday Islands in Australia, I hasten to add that to date it is the only cruise I have been on, but it left me wanting more.

Yes the cabins are the size of a shoe box and barley fit the two people they are designed for, in fact they are like a childs bed with space underneath for your luggage and a top bunk above. The food is not the best in the world either, though some of the fresh fish is quite good.

This being said what could be better than bobbing along on the ocean waves in a traditional style sail boat and visiting unspoilt islands every day?. And when I say unspoilt I really mean it, there are no shops, markets or hawkers on tarmac roads, no one lives here and it is almost completley natural.

The waters are also the bluest and clearest I have ever seen, which is a good thing considering the fact that you will spend alot of time in the water snorkeling the great barrier reef and seeing some of the most spectacular and unique sites you will ever have the good fortune of seeing. My only regret on this trip was that I didn't take a water proof camera, (well at least not a good one), so I could have captured sights on film.

At night everyone gathers round the deck or inside the cosy, well I think hut is the best way to describe it, on the main deck and play some cards while sipping a few beers. The whole experience has a great sense of adventure you wont normally find on your usual package holiday.

As already stated I think that to get the most from a holiday I would be tempted to do both land tours and cruiseing, and Australia is a perfect country to do this in. I would recommend taking a couple of weeks, time permiting, work your way down from Cairns and visiting such beautiful places as Byron Bay, Noosa and Surfers Paradise, then grab a cruise from Sydney for the perfect end to a perfect holiday. And remember to read my article on the Sydney bridge climb for more information and ideas.

Buffet Eating - Whats the Point?

2009-11-20T15:19:00.001Z

I mean really, what is the point?. I spend the rest of the year preparing and cooking my own meals at home so why would I want to go 'self service' on my holidays?

I have gone this route before and am the first to admit that the food is not actually the most awful food in the world, but I don't want food that's 'OK', I want food that's great. I go on holiday to get away from it all not to carry on as if I would at home, but hey its not all bad at least there's no washing up to do. That said I would still personally prefer to pay the extra £6.25 - £9.40 ($10-$15) and have a full waiter and Al la Carte menu.

To me an additional £44 - £66 for a 7 night cruise is a measly amount to pay for the full service (especially considering the relative good value of a cruise in the first place).

Walking the Line Down Under.....

2009-11-20T15:13:00.004Z

Anyone who goes to Sydney as a port of call on their cruise and gets the time just has to do this amazing tour. I went around 2004 and the views from the top are simply the best you will get anywhere in Sydney.

You enter from just above the highway and right next to the Sydney Opera House, (so you can see two of the most famous sights in one sweep).

You climb up to the highest point, across the width of the bridge and back down the other side in some kind of massive elongated U-turn.

Be warned though that this tour is not for the faint of heart as you stand several hundred feet in the air above the bay and with the wind reaching silly speeds, don't worry though you will be clipped to a reinforced steel wire, well most the time.

Also bear in mind that it is best to book before you arrive to avoid disappointment as places go quick, and usually several months in advance.

I would reccomend watching this short video, and I'm sure it will convince you im right about this tour.

Sydney Bridge Climb Advert

How Far do You Actually Need to go to Leave Britain?

2009-11-20T15:00:00.003Z

I go on holiday, as I think I have stated many times, to get away from normality and the usual daily routine. To this end I feel that certain places around the world are not really for me as they have become "too British", and im sure I'm not the only one.

Let me say now that I am not 'Brit bashing', I my self am British and am the first to say that as a whole we're not a bad old lot. The point that I'm really trying to put across is that I can not understand why anyone would want to travel for several hours, or sometimes even days, to go to the local Red Lion pub just to sit down on your beautiful balcony and read the tabloids over a full english.

I love meeting new people and experiencing new cultures, its one of the main reasons I travel and will continue to do so for many years to come. And so my original question still remains, exactly how far do you need to go to leave Britain, which raises the further questions; can you ever really leave the British influence behind? and if not which destinations around the world have kept there culture and authenticity the most?.

Australia is the one that springs to mind the most, and maybe this is not that suprising as it is the furtherest point away from us. But considering that Australia was a British colony it is actually quite suprising to me. I am a big fan of Australia as the people here were the friendliest, funnest and quite frankly maddest set of people I have ever met. I would reccomend Australia to anyone and I will certainly be going back.

Another big suprise is most of the USA, no really they may be completley over the top sometimes, but they are not paticularly influenced by the British. I must put a slight disclaimer, if you want culture and non British then stay away from Disney as more and more British are moving around here and opening retaraunts and B&B's, by the way i love the theme parks in Disney so give it a go if you have small children or just love big thrill rides, its a must do atleast once in your life. San Francisco and the Colorado Rockies are some of the nicest places to be in the USA so I would reccomend these to anyone and, believe it or not, Las Vegas is a great place to be if you can get there in a quieter time.

Canada was also a big suprise, a beautiful country with really friendly people and some great things to do. The only problem you will get here is the language barrier if you go to some of the french speaking areas, though most will speak some English which unfortunatly takes some of the authenticity away.

But what it basically comes down to is that just about every country has at least a small spot where you can find the real people and culture, and in doing so have a truely authentic holiday, some countries just have just been commercialised less than others. So all in all there are several places you can go to get away from it all, so I would say just go for it. Try something new and I'm open to suggestions if anyone else has some for me.

Cheat the Taxman......

2009-11-20T14:59:00.010Z

If your anything like me you like to take advantage of just about every other countries lower tax rates and cheaper shopping, therefore it is a little annoying that all the airlines have recently reduced the baggage allowance for transatlantic flights.

This is especially so as the shopping in places such as the US are so cheap compared to Britain. Imagine going to New York (or another favourite destination with great shopping experiences) and having no baggage allowance left, unfortunately this is a problem that more and more of us are facing.

This predicament leaves most people in a quandary as to what to do. Do you pack light and spend your holiday luggage allowance on shopping so you can snap up all the bargains, spend the whole holiday washing clothes, what about packing heavy and just paying the extortionate rates charged by said airlines, or do you pay the fare for an upgrade to get yourself some extra allowance?. All these options are a massive inconvenience to yourselves putting a strain on either time, money or both.

However there is another option open to you how about flying to the US and spending a few nights in a major city, such as New York, using your normal allowance on the flight out there and then taking a transatlantic cruise to get home?. Incidentally cruise ships have NO baggage allowance rules, so take as much or as little as you want on board.

So easy peasy, go to New York, Sydney, Vegas or a hundred other great destinations for the sales and pay no tax, what more could you want. And to think all you needed to do all these years to cheat that pesky taxman was to book a cruise, which I'm sure you always wanted to do anyway.

Are you Sick of the Sea?

2009-11-20T14:40:00.003Z

Is sea sickness holding you back from taking a cruise? if so you are not the only one and I would like to offer some reasons, advice and tips on what to do if this happpens to you.

First things first, cruise ships are nothing like ferrys, fishing boats or sail boats which get thrown around by rough seas and feel much like a rollercoaster. Cruise ships have large stabilisers and a much differnt hull to ferries, which are flat bottomed and designed for speed NOT comfort, so for this fact alone you will be less likely, though not completley immune, to getting sea sick.

That being said it should only take a few days for you to get your sea legs and during this time there are several remedies to help you through your rough patch.

One of the most common remedies are the simple motion or sea sickness wrist bands that affect your preassure points and stop sea sickness. They supposedley work very well but you must put them on a couple of hours before boarding the ship else they just wont have any affect whatsoever, they also have the benefit of being one of the cheapest remedies on the market, at around £15.00 a set they have the added benefit of being able to be used several times. My only question would be how do you know when to take them off?.

You could also get an injection to stop the sea sickness, and though this is almost 100% effective it is very expensive, costing anything from $30.00 to £70.00 dependent on cruise line. The worst part of this cost being that it will not generally be covered by your health insurance. Also remember this cost is per injection and you may need more than one.

Ginger tea is also meant to work quite well and settle the stomach, this is apparantly not only a good cure for sea sickness but any type of nausea. Other people have reported that this has limited success and you would probably have to take it with you yourselves, on a long cruise this can be a bit of a pain.

Simple fresh air is very good but you want to stay low and to the middle of the boat, that is where you will encounter the least motion, unfortunatly all that lovley fresh air is generally at the top of the boat and more to the stern, unless you fancy staying in your room and hanging over the balcony for a week or two. So basically to get yourself a cabin as close to mid ships as possible and try not to get the top deck if this is your first cruise and sea sickness is something you are worried about, but remember though your cabin position may help you get a good nights sleep you dont want to be stuck there for your whole trip, mid ship cabin also sometimes come with a premium price tag.

All this things should help and im sure there is a hundred and one other remedies I probably dont know about.