How big can they really get?

Several customers of mine have just come back from the Oasis of the Seas, and yes I was very jealous, as I can’t wait to get out and see this ship for myself. For those of you don’t know she’s enormous, the biggest cruise ship currently at sea. Speaking to one woman she told me she couldn’t believe how big it was and couldn’t imagine anything bigger.

Which got me thinking;
How big can they go?
Is there anything that limits their size?
Are there plans for anything bigger?
And most importantly do people want bigger? (Yes, yes, yes from me, I love huge cruise ships).

A Change to the Mexican Riviera Line-Up

Carnival Cruise Lines recently announced that they will place a third ship in the southern California market for the winter of 2011-2012 season. Carnival Spirit will be sailing from the Port of Los Angeles, the first time in eight years the Carnival brand has based a ship there.
During the winter period the line will also sail two 15-day round trips from Southern California to Hawaii, another first for the line.
As Carnival was announcing their expansion in the Mexican Riviera market, Norwegian Cruise Line was announcing the end of their program from Los Angeles in the spring of 2011.
So for anyone looking for a winter trip to Hawaii, they need to be looking to research Celebrity ships. Or you can just book direct with me and I'll do all the leg work for you.

Happy Cruising

Dubrovnik in a day..................

O.K., so I’m continuing my series of blogs about un-missable tourist destinations on the different ports of call we at cruise.co.uk send you all too. Again, bear in mind this is aimed at people who have never visited these ports before and it’s all based on my personal opinions and my favourite sites anyway. If you feel I’ve missed something important out or disagree please make a comment below to help other cruisers make up their minds.

July

Couldn’t get away this month? Did you just miss out on that last minute deal? God forbid, has another volcano erupted and your cruise was cancelled? Airline staff striking again? Well not to worry, there’s still plenty of weird and whacky things happening this month to keep you entertained in dear old Blighty that will see you through to your next cruise.

Independence of the Seas..............

I was recently given the opportunity to visit Independence of the Seas on a turn around day down in Southampton. If I ignore Oasis of the Seas, this was the ship I have most wanted to see in the flesh, not having had a chance to sail on her yet.

I wasn't disappointed.
The ship is amazing.
Absolutely huge.
I know that a large ship isn't for everyone but for families, or someone like me who gets bored easy it was unbelievable.
I could go on and on here about the Royal Promenade, the numbers of bars, restaurants or nightclubs available. The entertainments and activates offered onboard, but I've tried writing this blog a couple of times now and it always ends up feeling a little hollow. You can get a brochure and fine out about the gross tonnage of the ship or the exact amount of bathrooms it has, instead what I have decided to do is upload all the pictures and let you try and see exactly what kept me amazed.
This wont be easy.
To start with words or pictures will never do this lady proud. You really do need to be there. See it in 360 degrees, experience it for yourself. Plus I had lost my camera so had to borrow a friends so some of these pictures could be politely described as awful.
My best advice really would be to book yourself on board; you will have a great time!
By the way, try and ignore the date stamp on the pictures saying 2007, I forgot to set the date and time before I started snapping, (again sorry about the new camera).
So here goes...........................

Vodka martini please, stirred not shaken

One off the big questions I get asked by first time cruisers is, “how do I make sure I don’t stand out? I don’t want people to know it’s my first cruise!” No one likes to seem like a novice at something, especially thousands of miles from home. My advice is almost always the same. Don’t worry, just be honest about it being your first cruise 99% of people will be really nice and bend over backwards to make sure you enjoy your first sailing. But it did get me thinking the other day about silly novice mistakes; whilst I was watching a James Bond movie when it got to the typical casino scene and he ordered his martini, ‘shaken, not stirred’. This always, always bugs me.

Cruise Line Logos

Recently I and Cruise.co.uk brought you all a quiz entitled Ports of Call challenging you all to name the destinations pictured. As it proved so popular the theme is continued here with cruise line logos.