Cruise.co.uk xmas party.

We at Cruise.co.uk had our xmas party the weekend just gone on the Balmoral and I have to say it was a bit of an adventure for us all. Before we had any festive food and drink we had to try and get to the ship which was leaving from the Port of Dover and it ended up being a real problem.

We thought due to the weather it would take a little longer to get there than normal but I don’t think any of us expected the traffic we was stuck in and we finally found out that it was down to a strike in Calais. We managed to

Introducing the new Adonia.

P&O Cruises is to add a small ship to its fleet that will accommodate 710 passengers and visit “off the beaten track” destinations off limits to bigger vessels.

The new ship, which replaces Artemis in the fleet, will be named Adonia and will join the fleet in May 2011, to become the smallest of P&O Cruises' seven ships. It will be an adult-only ship, along with Arcadia.

Adonia was built in 2001 and has previously been with Princess Cruises and Swan Hellenic. More than 75% of its cabins have balconies.

The sweet smell of success.

MSC Cruisesis looking to add something new with fragrant cruises. A special perfume, MED by MSC, has been custom designed for the new MSC Splendida and will be infused at low levels into the air-conditioning and detergents on the ship, pumping the "fresh, fruity and warm scents of fig, almond and vetiver" into the subconscious of its passengers.

A press release rhapsodizes: "Think of the Mediterranean and one immediately thinks of sensory delights; the perfumed lavender fields of Provence, the fruit of fig trees warmed by the summer sun, fresh herbs and citrus flavours and the enchanting scent of floral jasmine caught on an ocean breeze. Many of these typical Mediterranean scents are represented in this ambient fragrance."

It pays to be different...Azamara reveals new changes.

Azamara, one of cruising's youngest lines, is embarking on an ambitious overhaul that starts with a name change. The "new" Azamara Club Cruises will become a destination-focused cruise line that takes aim at the notion that people who cruise aren't genuine travelers.

With a new tag line that reads "you'll love where we take you," Azamara's primary focus will be on creating dynamic itineraries, shore excursion menus and enrichment-oriented programming that will make cruising as much about the destination as it already is about the journey. The effort aims to overturn one of the ironies of cruising, which is that travelers visit a lot of different places -- but never have much time to really see them. Azamara intends to provide, onboard and onshore, a cruise experience that is all about people and places that you meet along the way, says Larry Pimentel, president.

Christmas 2010...get in early!

I have found out this year that it is best to book early for Christmas cruises because there can be more problems than just the cruise being sold out

Christmas is a real popular time for people who want to holiday and cruises are no exception and are extremely popular and the biggest problem I have found this year is flights. Cruise lines have an allocation on flights and sometimes they can request more room and get other flights but once the seats are gone they are gone! The hard thing once that happens is getting other flights depending on destination of coarse but they will probably be a lot more expensive or indirect my advice is to book both early or book the cruise early with the flights and transfers.

Climate change...we all need to do more!

This week is the UN conference on climate change is in Copenhagen where they are looking to discuss the change we have had in our weather and the planet getting warmer due to pollution. I think this is a big problem and could have major consequences for the world and maybe cruise lines could do more to help the environment.

The first decade of this century has been the warmest on record and the polar ice caps are melting at a rapid rate and I think that everybody needs to pitch in where they can. Travel is one of the world’s biggest polluters we have lots of planes in the sky and ships in the water and I think that the people who control these companies need to make an effort to make travel more green.

Crime wave hits cruising.

Several Europeans were among a group of 18 tourists held up by two men wielding shotguns during a guided tour of an eco-park close to Nassau last weekend. Their local guide was tied up and a woman hit in the face with the butt of a gun as the robbers took money, cameras, mobile phones and passports from the passengers.

Last month, in another daylight incident, 11 cruise passengers were robbed at gunpoint as they stood at the top of the Queen's Staircase, the city's landmark attraction.

Carnival's new dream!

Carnival Corporation has ordered a new ship for its Carnival Cruise Lines brand which will be the third in its Dream class of vessels.

The 130,000-ton ship will be built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and will enter service in spring 2012.

The unnamed ship will have capacity for 3,690 passengers and feature many of the same facilities as Carnival Dream, which made its debut in September.

Hot off the press...QE2 up for sale?

I have just been reading that the QE2 which was sold to a Dubai based property company part of the state run Dubai World for $100 million maybe put back up for sale to help pay off some of the debts that are currently crippling the country's economy.

Over the course of the year, little of the planned work has been carried out on QE2 to convert the vessel to a luxury hotel. The ship has been re-flagged and has spent some time in dry dock for work on the hull but there is no evidence that
refurbishment has started on the interiors, which, according to announcements made a year ago, were due to be converted into luxury suites and fine dining outlets.

Running on water...Gyms at sea.

I am a person that likes to think I keep myself relatively fit and like to go the gym a couple of times a week and one of the things I find excellent on the ships are the gym facilities they offer on board the cruise liners. I find with any holiday you always tend to let go where you eat and drink yourself silly and on cruise I think that is even worse but in a good way as the food is amazing and there is lots of it to eat and if you’re like me you always tend to eat the things that are not the healthiest!

Does size matter? Does big mean better?

As you are probably aware the launch of the new Royal Caribbean ship The Oasis Of The Seas is now upon us and now as the the world’s biggest passenger liner it is making me think is bigger any better? Royal Caribbean have really gone to town on the oasis which is 220 tonnes and carries over 5,500 passengers it has its own outdoor shopping area with a park, all the restaurants and bars and much more family entertainment.

I think it is amazing seeing something this big floating on our seas but being so big will it compromise it's standards and services? I speak to a lot of people who will argue for both sides and I am sure that some people will love the ship and some will hate it but I do think it is a great advertisement for the cruise industry and I think it looks brilliant and cant want to give it a try but I would love to know what you think.

We are top of the league yeah we are top of the league!

Everyone has different opinions on who is the best cruiseline or what is the best ship but i want to know yours so we can find out who is top of the league!

The early bird catches the worm!!!

In my view it is always best to book your cruise as early as possible in order to get the cabin you want. I am always speaking to people who are always trying to wait to get a cheaper price or any other extra's but that does not always work and I have had a lot of people that have been left disappointed as the cruise has sold out or the cabin they wanted is no longer available.

Where I would love to cruise.

The world is such a big place and there are so many country's I am yet to visit and thats why I really like the concept of cruising because you get to visit lots of places on one holiday. A few of the places i would like to see are Alaska and Aisa as they are not the normal holiday that you would normally go on and i think you would get a unique view of these places on a cruise holiday.

Are speciality restaurants really that special?

Cruiselines are always looking to do something different on board there ships and make your holiday that little bit more special and one of the ways they do that is the specialty restaurants. A lot of customers I speak to ask me about these and I always say it gives you something different whilst on board than just eating in the main and buffet restaurants and you could also use these for a special occasion or a nice romantic meal.

What is becoming a bit of a trend now is we are starting to get well known culinary names opening restaurants on the ships we have names such as Marco Pierre White, James Martin and Garry Rhodes to name a few there are also all different types of eateries with such a diverse selection from Chinese, French, Italian to steak houses and burger bars.

The specialty restaurants do come with a charge depending on which cruiseline and what restaurants you choose will depend on the amount. The prices can range from £10-£25 per person but you would get your full meal for that price now considering some of the names and the quality of the food I think this is a very reasonable price. On some ships there will be quite a few to choose from but I would defiantly recommend trying at least one of them either for a change or a special occasion I think they are worth a try.

Should all cruises go all inclusive?

One of the most asked questions i get on a daily basis is can we go all inclusive? Now there are cruiselines out there that are all inclusive and some that offer drinks packages on to your cruise price. Cruises are as most are probably aware are full board so you receive all your food and entertainment free but most named soft drinks and alcoholic drinks are charged and depending on which cruiseline you go on depends how much you will pay.


The cruiselines that offer all inclusive are mainly 6 star cruises and lets be honest they are not in everybody's price range and may not have the facilities that appeal to all. So would it be a good idea for other cruise companies to maybe offer this service maybe on top of the cruise price or include it in the price?


There are cruises out there that do offer drinks packages such as MSC & Costa, with these companies they offer free drinks at meal times both alcoholic and of the soft variety but they can only be consumed when you have your meals and not any other time. Thomson and Island cruises are probably the only non 6 star cruiseline that does offer an all inclusive drinks package which is well received by is customers and the people that like to have a drink whilst on holiday.


I wonder if other cruise companies will start to look at this? I think that this would be good not just for the people that drink alcohol but also people that don't and enjoy there soft drinks and non alcoholic cocktails etc. I wonder if we will see this come in to play in the next few years for other cruises?

And the winner is.....The Celebrity Equinox.