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Eurodam report
30/Jul/2008
The Eurodam has a very new look but in a very classic way – the subtle interiors hark back to a more restrained era of cruise travel and although cabins are considered pretty compressed, they are tightly laid out to provide plenty of storage space, although not much feeling of spaciousness.
Cunard Transatlantic Crossings
Cunard Line’s transatlantic crossings have been famed for decades, in 2009 the Queen Mary 2 will offer two special short cruises, roundtrip from New York.
Short cruises from Hurtigruten
Hurtigruten’s short cruise itineraries focus on the Gota Canal in Sweden: both a beautiful waterway and a fully utilised transport route with barge traffic carrying everything from trees to Ikea supplies!
Regent Seven Seas Grand Explorations
29/Jul/2008
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has new Grand Explorations voyages on offer for 2009. Seven Seas Voyager and Seven Seas Mariner will between them visit 110 ports between January and May 2009 on a series of fourteen 12 – 14 night cruises.
Last minute cruise offer
Thomson are offering a full-board, 12-night Baltic cruise on Thomson Celebration for just £749
Win a cruise
P&O Cruises has all the ingredients that make a memorable dining experience – unique combinations of sensational food, the finest wines and elegant surroundings, all served up in some of the most awe-inspiring settings the world can offer.
HAL future plans
Holland America Line has said that it has no plans to copy other major cruise lines by home-porting a vessel in the UK and nor will it move into the ‘mega-cruiser’ area. 86,700 tonne Eurodam is the first of HAL’s two Signature-class vessels, holding 2,104 passengers and this is intended to be the biggest capacity vessel in the fleet.
Top four sun decks
Which is the best line for sunbathing, and what do they offer? Here's the lowdown ...
MSC cruise award
The MSC cruise line has just won an environmental award. CiAL, which is the Italian Consortium for the Recovery and Recycling of Aluminium – no, we’re not sure how they got CiAL out of that either.
Carnival Splendor, built for Europe?
17/Jul/2008
In an interesting development, the new Carnival Splendor sundeck seems designed for Northern European sailings. Of course the ship has a British godmother too, and this may suggest that soon Splendor will be permanently based in Northern Europe.
Rock cruise in 2009
Sixthman deal in music cruises and they have a rock-go line up for 2009. You can take a cruise with: Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38 Special, Marshall Tucker Band, Molly Hatchet, Blackberry Smoke, and others on the simple man cruise
Eurodam details
HAL's Eurodam is the first in the new ‘Signature Class’ series of Holland American Liners, and it’s very much in the HAL style – while there’s plenty for youngsters from toddlers to late teens, they don’t have the dedicated deck space that you find on other lines.
Cunard Autumn Insights
16/Jul/2008
This autumn the Cunard Insights enrichment programme is bound to please passengers. A special highlight of this autumn will be the October tandem transatlantic crossings by QM2 and QE2.
Southampton cruise experience centre
Southampton plans to have a multi-million-pound tourist attraction which will tell the story of cruise travel! Southampton's legendary passenger liners will be re-experienced in the £20 million Titanic and Ocean Liner Experience.
Carnival Liberty
Carnival Cruise Lines has said that it intends to double UK passenger numbers this year. Carnival chief executive Gerry Cahill says the cruiseline's "fun" ships are ideal for the UK market.
Cruise insurance for over 65s
15/Jul/2008
War veteran Kenneth Brown is 91 and has his own cabin cruiser which he sails on the Thames, so he was astonished to be repeatedly refused travel insurance for a package cruise to Spain.
Carnival Splendor - splendid for kids
Newly launched Carnival Splendor could have been designed just for the kiddies. Splendor has the biggest kid space of all Carnival’s ships. 5,500 square-foot children’s play area is on Panorama Deck and divided both into two levels and two areas.
Destination review - South America
There are few regions that offer as many contrasts as South America and a cruise can be the best way to experience them. Chile, for example, is famous for the wide range of wildlife that gathers where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans converge.
Recession holiday worries
14/Jul/2008
A cruise is one of the best value holidays. Why? Here’s three reasons: 1. You pay upfront for your cabin and all the food you can eat for the duration of your cruise – that means you don’t have to worry about having enough cash in a local currency to buy dinner.
Cunard has a six night eastbound transatlantic cruise on the Queen Mary 2 on offer. These crossings involve uninterrupted days and nights at sea. Sunset delivers glamorous dining followed by extensive live entertainment.
European cruise offer
8 Night Best Of Europe Fly/Cruise on Celebrity Century, sailing on 21st August 2008. This cruise starts from Amsterdam, Holland.
Tips for a great first day’s cruising
13/Jul/2008
It’s the first day of your first cruise? Wonderful – and here’s how to get the best from those all important first hours. If you are on a fly-cruise, you may have had a long flight to reach the ship and time zone changes may disorient you.
Oceania - regional review
Oceania is the region that covers the South Pacific islands and Australasia. In some brochures it’s also called the Micronesia region or Polynesia. Cruises to this area are increasing in popularity for two reasons.
Thomson Caribbean Gems offer
Flying on 25th January 2009 from Gatwick you join the Thomson Destiny on a tour of the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Antigua, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica and St Maarten.
Cruise offer - Carnival Splendor
12/Jul/2008
A 12 day European tour on the new ship Carnival Splendor is being offered from £918 per person.
cruise prices to rise
The Association of British Travel Agencies (ABTA) has projected a steep rise in holiday costs next year. Currently the cost of an average two-week break is £560 per person or around £2,240 for a family of four.
Fred Olsen hamper offer
Fred Olsen is offering Christmas hampers worth £100 to any passengers booking on of ‘guaranteed’ offers for a pre-Christmas Canary Islands cruise.
Cunard Music Sailings
11/Jul/2008
Cunard Line has announced a new partnership with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) which is usually based at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center. A highlight of the partnership is the NSO’s debut trip aboard Queen Mary 2 as part of the Cunard Insights programme..
Hurricane insurance terms demystified
You’ve got your holiday insurance and it includes hurricane cover, but what do all those phrases and clauses mean? Here’s a guide: • Mandatory evacuation ‘Conditionally covered’ or ‘Not covered = means that if you're thinking of cutting short your holiday because of a hurricane, you need to check your policy.
Fred Olsen cruise walks
If you’re a keen walker, why not try one of the Ramblers Worldwide Holidays? These are called portfolio holidays and feature a ‘Cruise and Walk’ programme in partnership with Fred Olsen Cruises.
Surcharge causes couple to cancel
10/Jul/2008
A Dorset couple say they have been forced to cancel a dream cruise holiday after they were landed with a £892 fuel surcharge. The Bennetts had paid a £900 deposit on a £9,000 Mediterranean cruise.
Celebrity smoking ban
Celebrity Cruise lines has said that from October 1st 2008 there will be a no-smoking policy in staterooms and on verandas. It’s a real ‘ouch’ policy too – if you are detected smoking, a fee of around £120 will be added to your bill as a ‘cabin-cleaning’ charge.
Cruise insurance for hurricanes
If you’re planning a cruise in the Americas or the Caribbean, it’s worth familiarising yourself with the changing insurance cover in these areas, especially relating to hurricanes!
Windstar offer extended
09/Jul/2008
Windstar Cruises has extended the original ten day sale on certain October 2008 sailings in Europe aboard Wind Surf. It now runs until July 25th for new bookings and could save you up to £300.
Orient Lines gossip
Following on the news that Orient Lines (the company that used to operate Marco Polo) has been sold, Gerry Herrod (founder of Orient Lines) has bought a ship!
Amputation after cruise ship burning
Ronnie Dunbar, 53, was sailing on Ocean Village last year when he decided that rather than take an excursion around Belize, he would sunbathe on deck.
Preparing for your first cruise
08/Jul/2008
Here’s now to make sure your cruise is problem free: • Make sure you have proper and up to date identification which may include a passport and driver’s licence. Ensure that your passport has at least 6 months period before expiry as many countries insist that the passports do not expire within 6 months of entry
How solo passengers can save money
The easiest way to save most on your cruise is to ask your cruise operator or travel agent to seek out a roommate for you. Sharing a room can almost halve the cost of your holiday.
HAL adds Brisbane to cruises
Holland America Line is including Brisbane in its itineraries with the inaugural voyage set for 2010. Volendam will visit the port, and the Tourism Minister said the ship’s visits to Queensland would generate big economic returns for the state.
Carnival Splendor offer
07/Jul/2008
Sailing from Dover on the brand new Carnival Splendor this twelve day cruise will be visiting Copenhagen, Berlin, Tallin, St Petersburg (two days), Helsinki, Amsterdam and four sea days.
Fred Olsen new surcharge
Fred. Olsen has announced a new fuel supplement on cruises from summer onwards featured in its new 2009/2010 first edition brochure. This charge will be £4.00 per person per night for the first two passengers in a cabin.
888 Ladies Bingo are offering one player the chance to sail round the Caribbean in November! To win the cruise you have to collect as many points as you can between July 1st and August 30th.
Transatlantic tips
06/Jul/2008
If you fancy a transatlantic cruise, there is something you could do to offset the cost! Lots of people are taking advantage of the unlimited baggage allowance to transport things for other people –of course you need to be absolutely sure that what you’re transporting is safe and legal.
RCI Legend sailing in Asia Pacific
RCI has announced a year-round deployment of Legend of the Seas in the Asia-Pacific region from November 2009. Legend’s itineraries will include Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Yokohama in Japan and Busan in South Korea
Guarantee cabins and upgrades
A lot of people don’t understand what a guarantee cabin is, or why it can be worth booking them. It’s very simple - you're guaranteed a certain category of cabin but not a specific room and if that means all the cabins in that category get booked by other people before the cruise, you get an automatic upgrade!
Cruise luggage allowances
05/Jul/2008
One reason so many frequent cruisers prefer to sail from a UK port is the unlimited luggage allowance! If you fly-cruise, you can find your 14 or 16 day holiday a real strain with the limited baggage allowed by airlines.
P&O cruises drinks price confusion
P&O may be reconsidering their drinks price policy – basically some cruises have drinks included in the overall price.
Cruise Car parking in Harwich
After the debacle of Southampton’s cruise parking slowdown last week, and the ongoing delays that can be expected due to building works on the West Quay which will cause lane closures
Avoiding seasickness
04/Jul/2008
The first trick is to keep some food on your stomach all the time (never difficult on a cruise ship) as any seasickness is exacerbated by digestive acids sloshing around an empty stomach.
Eurodam launch
Cruise ship Eurodam was given a right royal send-off when she was officially named by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. The magnum of bubbly was right on target, crashing into the ship’s name on the hull.
Stop Press, July Southampton parking problems
For the next couple of weeks there will be long tailbacks on one of the busiest routes into Southampton. Queues on Tuesday were an hour long on the inward bound West Quay Road as one lane will be closed due to construction work.
Packing and dressing for your cruise
03/Jul/2008
If you are looking at the flight baggage allowance and wondering how on earth you are going to pack enough clothing for a two week cruise with formal nights, be sure to read reviews of the many cruises on offer.
Picking the right Honeymoon Cruise Package
Your wedding is a big day, but your honeymoon is a big fortnight! Picking the right cruise for the two of you gets your marriage off on the right foot so before you select a cruise you need to talk to your partner and decide together where you want to go and what you want to do during this most special holiday
What a cruise offers you
Don’t miss these five brilliant opportunities on your cruise: 1. Theme Parties – okay they can be a little corny, but the ship personnel always get behind these parties in big way by getting people to dance or organising competitions – not only is it fun, you get to meet loads of other passengers in a short space of time.
Hurtigruten holidays cruise-explore
02/Jul/2008
Hurtigruten has a range of holidays from 12 - 17 days that couple Norwegian Coastal Voyages with land and rail elements, giving a great chance to explore Norway.
Plans to save fuel on cruise ships
Just as Carnival Corporation took delivery of its biggest ship, the various lines that come under its umbrella have also come up with 140 different ways of saving fuel.
Carnival Splendor delivered
Carnival Cruise Lines has finally taken delivery of its largest ever cruise ship: Carnival Splendor. Although she won’t be named officially until 10th July, she begins her life with an inaugural eight-day trip between Genoa and Dover today
Southampton to home-port a HAL ship?
01/Jul/2008
Holland America Line has suggested that as well as Southampton being one of its ports of call, it may want to home-port a ship in the city. During the Eurodam Southampton launch, over a thousand travel agents were guests on the ship.
Cruising with food intolerances
If you have food intolerances or allergies it can be a challenge to relax on holiday, but a cruise can be a great way to deal with the issue for several reasons:
Costa Virgin Islands offer
Costa cruises have some off the beaten track itineraries that can be combined with a relaxing hotel stay to immerse yourself in a new region or culture.
