Problems with UK immigration

I've given US immigration a hard time in the past as any regular readers of this blog will know. US customs is almost a byword these days for long queues and trouble. However according to recent reports online it's possible I should have been looking a lot closer to home.

Top ten tips for a child free cruise

A lot of people can spend a long time planning their perfect cruise only to have it ruined by gangs of feral children roaming the ship, (I’m exaggerating slightly here).
For teh record I have two young children of my own so I fall firmly into the family friendly cruising category. However I realise that a lot of people want/need/enjoy child free cruising. For that reason I’ve put together this little guide on the best ways to avoid having your well-earned holiday spoilt by someone elses children

Princess annoy regular cruisers?

I had a press release in from Princess cruises yesterday relating to two new mini cruises that will be going on sale soon. You can see the press release below................

Blue Monday

How are you all feeling today? Good? Bad? Happy? Depressed?
Well according to a scientific formula you should all be really depressed today as the Monday on the third week of January is 'officialy' the most depressing day of the year.

Uniworld river cruise brochure 2013

I've just had this new river cruise brochure sent through to me from Uniworld river cruises. I'm sharing it with you all as I only came back from a cruise on the Rhine with Uniworld recently and I had a great time, (you can read my review here). They're one of, (if not the), most luxurious river cruise lines out there on offer at the moment so I really recommend you take a look at their brochure below.

Happy, (river), cruising

Regent Cruise Atlas 2012-2013

Planning a luxury cruise this year? I've just come across this Regent Seven Seas brochure that runs through to December 2013 which may well be of some help to you...........

Happy cruising

The little hotel that could........

I came across this story in the news this morning and it made me smile so I thought I'd share it with you all.
It just goes to show you that you don't have to be a big multi-national chain to provide world class service!

P&Os Signature cocktail

Did you know that P&O has it's own signature cocktail for it's guests to enjoy?
I mention it as someone emailed me the other day as they'd seen I'd just come back from a P&O  cruise and wanted to know if I could remember what was in it. They'd tried it onboard themselves and loved it but couldn't remember what was in it for them to recreate when they got home.

Can I ask a favour please?

I've just been nominated for something called a Shorty award. It's a Social Media award for people working in different industries, (I'm tied for 9th place at the moment in the travel section). If you have a Twitter account could I ask you to vote for me here please - Best Travel in Social Media - The Shorty Awards - Using my Twitter name of @james_cruise_co

Thanks all - I appreciate it!

Dancing on a cruise ship

Anyone who's been following this blog for awhile now will know I've always had a soft spot for funny Internet trends or phenomenons. Preferably the funnier the better.
I saw this video last night, (taken on the Sapphire Princess), and it made me smile so much that I thought I'd share it all with you this morning and cheer you all up ready for the weekend.
Will you be trying it on your next cruise?

Happy cruising

When balconies go bad

A cruise ship holiday has to be the ultimate in luxury; being pampered by attentive staff 24/7; food and drink on demand; being immersed in opulent surroundings constantly and surely the most ultimate expression of that luxury is your own private balcony cabin to relax in? Whilst I’m sure most people would agree with that statement it does make you think - are there any situations where a balcony cabin can be a bad thing?

Here are a few examples I’ve thought of, do you agree with any of them?

P&O - Truth or Urban Legend?

People gossip on cruises; it's what they do. Sitting around a dining table or relaxing in the bar afterwards, people love to gossip.
I'm no exception to this.
I was on a cruise back in October with some fellow travel agents and we all found ourselves around the bar after dinner swapping funny stories about cruises and cruisers. After a couple of anecdotes someone happened to say...........
"and then of course there's always the old one about leaving £10 on your dressing table with P&O".
As you can probably guess none of us had ever heard this story before so I thought I'd share it with you to see if you'd heard of it.

Steak please

How many of you enjoy a steak dinner with all the trimmings?
I know it sounds a bit of a random question but I've done a couple of cruises in recent months and thought I'd let you all know about a trend I've noticed that seems to be creeping through the cruising world, (or so I've noticed after talking to other people).
The food on a cruise is almost always fantastic; indeed it's always been one of the big selling points for a cruise. However in times past if when you've sat down to dinner of an evening in the main restaurant and didn't like the look of the menu you could always ask your waiter to bring you a steak.
Unfortunately those days seem to be passing.