Don’t call, I’m busy cruising

Just a really quick one this morning to let everyone know I'm off down to Southampton today to board the P&O ship Aurora for the Cruise.co.uk Christmas party, (it’s a two nighter over to Bruges and back). All going well I should be back in the office Monday afternoon, so if you need me you wont be able to reach me till then. For all you hardened P&O fans I'll try to get a review written early in the week so check back to see all my pictures and see what I thought of her; I've never been on a P&O ship before so it will be interesting to compare it to the Cunard ships I’ve seen.

Happy Cruising  

Full Body Scan – Naughty or Nice?

Just a quick one today; I’m looking to find out what you all think about the new full body scans at airports. Now in all fairness neither I, nor anyone I know have yet to be subjected to a full body scan so I know I’m not really in a position to comment on them fairly, but………

Port of Call Picture Quiz no.5 - The Fjords

Wow, this has to be the hardest picture quiz I've designed yet, mostly because one fjord looks much the same as the next to me. So how well do you know your fjordic ports?
Can you tell one Norwegian town from the next?
Be the first with the right answers.

Good luck......

No thanks Freds, we’re British!

Sad news today I'm afraid. Another paragon of British cruising has decided to follow our American cousins example of compulsory tipping. Now I know I’ve been back and forwards on this subject more times than I can count but it looks like we’re going to gave to give it one more go.
Every time I’m onboard a cruise ship I always end up thinking to myself, “yeah you know what, these guys work really hard, they deserve their tips”. Then after I’ve been home a couple of weeks I start thinking, “why should I? Why don’t the cruise lines just pay their staff a decent wage in the first place?”
Well no matter which side of the fence you’re on another cruise line has jumped on the gratuities bandwagon and taken that decision away from you.
And this time it’s Fred Olsen.

Transatlantic Crossings – All you’ll ever need to know

I’ve been writing about Cunard a lot recently, not surprising really as I’ve just come back from trips aboard the QE and the QM2, but it’s got me thinking about the one cruise that all you cruise fans should do at least once, the transatlantic crossing.
This has to be one of the most historic cruises you can undertake, its origins go right back to the start of cruising and Cunard have been offering them from the get go. With that in mind I’ve put together this little guide on everything you can expect from a transatlantic crossing.

Just a little favour

Just a really quick one today cruise fans. We currentley have a competion running for the most popular cruise consultant and the most popular cruise blog of the year. If you have enjoyed reading my blog over the last year or have booked a cruise through me and enjoyed the service, could I ask you to click the link below and vote for me please.

Thanks in advance - James

Click here to vote

A sneak preview for next year....

Well, it’s been an amazing year with lots of new ship launches to enjoy, from NCL’s Epic right through to Cunard’s QE, there’s been something for everyone and there’s still one more to come, (the Allure of the Seas), towards the end of this year. But today, for your eyes only I’m going to be taking a sneak peak at some of the cruise ship launches coming up for next year.

Serious News? Or a Storm in a Tea Cup?

I love American press releases. I've read this news piece three times now and I'm still not sure if it's really serious or nothing to worry about at all. What do you think?

If World War One had of been a bar fight.........

I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday about remembrance day and remembrance Sunday and World War 1 in particular. It turns out he didn't actually know anything about it past the fact that we beat Germany, in his words, 'sometime before World War 1.
It occured to me that a lot young people may not know the causes behind World War 1 and the details of the war so I've put this helpful guide together that should clear things up for them.

How do you pronounce Caribbean?

I know it seems like a silly point, but do you say Kara-be-an or Car-ib-e-an?
Although the pronunciation most favoured in the UK is Kara-be-an if you’re in the islands the pronunciation the locals use sounds like Kar-ib-e-an.

Gratuities - I think I've changed my mind

Anyone who has read my blogs before will know that I’ve always been pretty against tipping when it’s been made compulsory. It’s not that I’m tight, (honestly), I just begrudge having to pre pay for a service that I haven’t received yet.

It’s also always irritated me that society only deems certain occupations as ‘tip worthy’.
Why should I tip my taxi driver but not my bus driver?
Why tip my waiter in a nice restaurant but not the serving staff of McDonalds?

Should I book a Sheltered balcony?

By now you should all have heard that I have just come back from Cunards QM2, (see my previous blog on the ship here), and I absolutely loved it. One of my biggest surprises of the cruise was the cabin I was in, a B1 sheltered balcony.

The Queen Mary 2 - Two out of three now

I've just got back from my little trip over to Cherbourg aboard the QM2 and I absolutely loved every minute of it! I didn't actually get off the ship when we docked so what follows isn't a review of the cruise but the ship herself.

Magnificent, elegant, stylish and beautiful. Everything you expect when you think of the Cunard brand. There wasn't loads to do during the day compared to say the Independence of the Seas but then, they're aimed at different markets and if you're happy to just chill out, relax in the spas, while away a few hours in the Library and then enjoy a long lunch up in Kings court or at the Golden Lion then this is the cruise ship for you. You truly can just chill out and unwind surrounded by opulence.

Check out some of my pictures below for a quick(ish) tour of the ship.

The QM2 - I can't wait!

Just a quick one today to let everyone know I'm off down to Southampton at the weekend to board the QM2. It's just a short cruise over to Cherbourg so I'll be back by next Wednesday if you need me.
For all you hardened Cunard fans I'll try to get a review written by about Thursday, Friday time next week so check back to see all my pictures and see what I thought of her, (never been on the QM2 before, so I'm quite excited).

Happy Cruising

The Future of Cruising

This is a subject that really does concern us all, but it’s been on my mind more and more with the approaching launch of Allure of the Seas.
Where’s it going to end?
 Are cruise ships going to keep getting bigger and bigger with even more people/mod cons/gadgets crammed into them? Or are people going to turn away from then and hark back to a more traditional age of cruising?

25 hour a day Cruising

Admit it, when you’re aboard your cruise ship it never seems like you have enough time to do everything you want. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.
Or is there?
Proving the old adage true, ‘you learn something new every day’, I found out something about cruising today that I'd never heard before.

Weird Place Names

I was booking some flights yesterday for some clients jetting off to Beijing. It was whilst searching for available airports that I noticed an island called Beef Island. Beef Island! Who thought that name up?
You can just imagine the conversation can’t you:

Oh look that’s a pretty island what shall we call it?
Well it’s got a cow on it shall we call it Beef Island?
Yeah go on, I can’t think of anything better.

November

November, what a horrible month. I don’t know anyone who enjoys spending it in the UK. The Saxons used to call this month Wynd Monath as it was now the cold winds started to blow. If you’ve been sensible you've booked yourselves a nice, warm, Caribbean cruise, but for all of us stuck in dear old Blighty there’s still plenty going on here to keep you entertained. You could……….