Archive for the ‘Cruises’ Category
For those who travel without children and enjoy a holiday abroad where the weather is warm and there is plenty to see or do when the schools have gone back then a Mediterranean cruise should fit the bill for you perfectly. The best part of a Mediterranean cruise is the different and diverse countries you get to visit along the way which offer a rich culture that you can experience and enjoy, from a stroll along La Ramblas in Barcelona, or enjoy Rome’s grand Trevi Fountain all in one trip.
If you take a Eastern Mediterranean cruise then you can take in the sights and sounds of Greece and the Greek islands, Turkey, Croatia, Cyprus, Malta and possibly Egypt as you make way with your journey, you can take in a mix of sights such as mosques and minarets in Istanbul, or rest up in a sleepy Greek fishing port such as Kusadasi. If you opt for a Western Mediterranean cruise then you get to take in the delights of Spain, France, Italy and North Africa, such as the beautiful island Capri, or glitzy resorts like Monte Carlo, Nice, St Tropez, Villefranche and Portofino.
With a Mediterranean cruise holiday there are many great cruise deals available which are either, a fly and cruise holiday or a cruise from a UK port.
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When you think of a cruise holiday many people tend to picture a sedate older passenger relaxing on deck or partaking in some gentle afternoon croquet as they travel around the Mediterranean or the Caribbean, however that’s not all cruise liners have to offer. You can experience places that you may never have thought about, experience thrills you have never tried before and also enjoy some of the world’s most amazing natural beauty.
A great cruise holiday for the avid traveller is a Far East Cruise, here you can travel to the Orient, which is steeped in tradition, customs and superstition, you can enjoy a mix of high flying faced paced urban life in the fast-growing cities of the “Tiger” economy such as Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Manila and Kuala Lumpur and fast-emerging countries like Vietnam. As well as the slow agricultural way of life in the many picturesque rural villages continues unchanged as it has done for centuries.
For those who like to enjoy the history their destinations have to offer a cruise holiday to the Falkland Islands will be just what you need, although best known for the eponymous war that took place in 1982, the island also offers plenty of nature and geological treasures as well as military history. The Falklands also make a great destination to visit by sea because you can easily explore many of the smaller isles such as Barren Island, Beaver Island, Bleaker Island, Carcass Island, George Island, Keppel Island, Pebble Island, Sealion Island, Speedwell Island, Weddell Island and the Jason Islands.
So if you fancy experiencing changing your views on what cruises offer then look for cruise deals to some far flung fun destinations.
So far this year we have had one of the wettest summers on record and although we have had muggy temperatures we haven’t seen as much sun as we may have wanted to, and as we head in to autumn and winter our chances are pretty slim. There are many holiday deals around at the moment for some last minute get a ways, however you can also get some good off-peak deals for a winter sun holiday to give you a much needed boost over the winter months.
Popular winter sun destinations include:
Buzios, Brazil which offers eight hours of daily sunshine
Bali & Indonesia which offers ten hours of daily sunshine
Goa, India which offers eight hours of daily sunshine
Reduit Bay, St Lucia which offers eight and half hours sunshine
Clearwater, Florida which offers eight hours of sunshine
The Caribbean is always a popular winter sun destination here you also get a good eight hours of sunshine a day with high temperatures of around 85.0°F or 30°C and a great way to experience the idyllic combination of sun-drenched beaches, endless swathes of blue cloudless sky and sparkling waters is by taking a cruise holiday. Not only can you spend time relaxing on board a fantastic cruise liner but also relax on private beaches or enjoy jeep safaris through tropical rainforests, swimming with stingrays or horse riding. On a cruise holiday your every need is taken care of and you won’t have to worry about a thing other than making sure you get enough rest, relaxation and most importantly sunshine.
If you book now you will find that there are many great cruise offers available so you can get your fix of winter sun, and prices are very reasonable especially when you think about how much you get to see and do, much more than a holiday in just one Caribbean resort.
If you fancy drifting off to exotic far away shores with bright turquoise skies and sun drenched beaches without any effort this summer then a cruise holiday may be just what you need. There are some fantastic last minute cruise deals available now, which will see you enjoying the summer in style without spending a small fortune.
You can find brilliant cruise deals to exotic destinations such as the Caribbean, Dubai and Egypt or enjoy somewhere a bit closer to home such as the Mediterranean or the British Isles, or you could look to travel in 5 & 6* luxury at rock bottom prices onboard liners such as The Cunard Lines Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Victoria or enjoy the hustle and bustle on board the humongous Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas.
A cruise holiday will offer you the escape you need but without all the hustle and bustle of travelling and getting to and from places as that is all taken care of on top of that you will be waited on hand and food by the staff and can enjoy extensive ranges of cuisine. You can pop and see places you wouldn’t have dreamed of seeing before whilst enjoying excursions on shore or you can just while away your day been pampered onboard.
If you want to enjoy the luxury of your own private beach normally reserved for the rich and famous then all you have to do is go on a cruise holiday, yep it’s that simple. You can enjoy the appeal of the Caribbean, sun, sea san and tropical drinks but now instead of visiting crowded destinations you can now enjoy somewhere more excluded.
Many Caribbean islands are inundated with at least six huge cruise liners a day, which can mean up to 10,000 people visiting the same resort at the same time all queuing for taxis, tour buses and beds on the beach. Because of this a few cruise companies and now turning to private islands to provide their guests with some peace and quiet and easy access to the beach.
Many of these islands are self-contained resorts which are either owned or leased by various cruise lines and are operated as an extension of the cruise ship itself and you can just walk right off a ship or jump on a small boat to a clean, quiet beach without been hassled.
If you cruise with Holland America you can enjoy Half Moon Cay, which is their own private Bahamian island which offers luxurious beachside cabanas, equipped with a fridge, an indoor dining room, an outdoor shower and a terrace with sun beds. These can be booked at various prices starting from around £200 a day, this also includes bottled water, soft drinks, fresh fruit and other nibbles and for an extra £80 you can get butler service, which includes a lunch for four brought to the cabana and unlimited beer, wine and house brand liquors.
Other cruise lines also offer this fast growing exclusive offer and Royal Caribbean is not falling behind, since 2007 they have been upgrading their private beach resort Labadee on the north coast of Haiti spending £33 million. Here they have invested in a new cruise ship dock which was completed in 2009 and was used to unload emergency supplies after the devastating earthquake in January, and continues to do so, they also added a 2,600-foot long zip line over the water, an alpine roller coaster, a new aqua park and the addition of a number of new private cabanas.
Other cruise lines offering these private islands also include Disney Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise lines as well as Costa Cruises and P&O, so you can still get great cruise deals with a bit of added extra luxury for your holiday.
When people think about taking a holiday to the Mediterranean they normally just look for a package deal to one of the resorts in Spain, Greece or Turkey, however there is a better way to see what the Med has to off and that is by taking a Mediterranean Cruise. A popular holiday destination is Turkey, so for a change why not take an Aegean cruise.
Here you get to experience all the temples, mosques and beaches it has to offer, starting of your journey of discovery from Marmaris and heading out to Bodrum. On your cruise you will be able to enjoy the beautiful coastline and experience the charming bougainvillea-clad towns it’s the perfect introduction to Turkey. The cruise then stops off at one of Turkey’s biggest hubs, Izmir, here you can visit Ephesus, the Mediterranean’s best-preserved classical city, where one of the seven Ancient Wonders of the World once stood, the Temple of Artemis.
Ephesus, Temple of Hadrian
Picture courtesy of topquark22
After enjoying the best of Turkey your cruise will then take you onto Greece and the small island of Mykonos where you will find quaint sugar-cube houses and whitewashed windmills. Enjoy time wandering around the maze of narrow streets in the capital, Mykonos Town where you can explore the tiny churches, flower-filled piazzas and outdoor cafés. No trip to Greece would be complete without a visit to Athens the superstar of city that packs in more than 3,000 years of history which includes Panathenian Stadium, which hosted the Ancient Greek version of the Olympic Games, and the Parthenon, a breathtaking temple that’s perched high on top of a hill.
Whitewashed windmills in Mykonos Town
Picture courtesy of Alan Miles NYC
After the few first days of exploration you can relax and unwind on the last few days as you slowly come to an end in Crete, here you can take it easy and relax on the beaches of Aghios Nikolaos or enjoy local food in the shops, restaurants. Enjoy a trip to the Palace of Knossos, where the fearsome Minotaur’s said to have lurked, before venturing back to ship for your journey back to Marmaris.
Taking a cruise holiday around this area is a great way to explore without the hassle, it is also a lot cheaper than staying in lots of hotels to see it all, there are some great cruise deals to the Mediterranean to why not book one today for your summer get away!
There are a great number of people who like to holiday in peace and quiet away from noisy youngsters, loud kids entertainment and kids clubs, now more and more places are catering to this market, with some hotels being adults only and now some cruises are exclusive to adults, which is great if you don’t want to see a child while your away.
Cruise Holiday line P&O Cruises now offer cruises for adults, P&O’s newest addition to its fleet the Adonia is a small intimate ship, it’s the smallest in their fleet and offers a classic cruise experience and designed specifically for adults only. Here you feel like you are on a home away from home with a comfortably familiar feel throughout, you will also be able to explore some of the smaller ports today’s larger ships cannot visit.
P&O’s mid size cruise ship the Arcadia also offer a relaxed pace and stylish surroundings and a hint of extravagance on this adult’s only ship. It features exterior glass-fronted lifts and expansive art collection featuring no less than 3,000 works of art. You can take a leisurely walk up to Sky Deck and in addition to great views you’ll find The Orchid Bar and Orchid Restaurant, a select dining venue which offers immaculately presented Asian fusion dishes.
The Arcadia also has a great spa to relax in which includes a large hydrotherapy pool and a thermal suite complete with fragrant aromatic showers.
If you fancy a breakaway child free then there are some great cruise deals available.
Many people still think cruises are for those who have retired and want to spend their latter year travelling around the world on what could be considered a floating retirement home however it’s this miss understanding that stops people going on a cruise holiday and enjoying what these great ships have to offer. There are plenty of fun filled activities to enjoy on board many of the newer cruise liners not to mention what you can get up to on shore!
Carnivals fleet of ships are known as the Fun Ships for a reason, designed for the young and young at heart these ships off plenty of fun and nonstop parties as soon as you leave shore and with destinations around the Caribbean and next year the Mediterranean too you will be in store for a glamorous break away.
For those who like a bit of intrigue whilst away Whodunit Productions and Royal Caribbean International offer Murder Mystery Tours where a body is found and you and your fellow sleuths have to weed out the red herrings among the clues and unveil the murderer.
If you want excitement and fun for the whole family then take a cruise with Disney, as you would guess there ships are decked out with all things Disney as well as offering Disney shows in the theatre, Disney cartoons on cabin TVs and Mickey and co are also on board to help with the fun!
There is one cruise ship where you won’t be lost for things to do, but you may get lost! And that Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the seas, which is one of the worlds biggest cruise ships. On board there are a whole range of activities for all to enjoy including surf simulators and rock-climbing walls as well as different districts which offer lots of shopping and plenty of eating and drinking!
So really there is no excuse not to book a cruise holiday especially as you can get some great cruise deals!
When thinking of some of the most opulent and luxurious places in the world, one place really stands out and that is Dubai, born from the dust of the desert, Dubai has set itself apart from the United Emirates to become a place for known for its sheer lavishness and also for its huge business structure that once was deemed not possible from this desert state.
With a Dubai cruise holiday you get to experience a wide range of the Middle East from the desert plains of Dubai and Abu Dhabi with their flash hotels and complexes to some of the poorer regions like Fujairah. A Dubai cruise will see you travelling from Dubai to Muscat, Oman, onto Fujairah, United Arab Emirates and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, then to Mina Sulman, Bahrain, before heading back to Dubai and with only one day at sea. The cruise is 7 nights long but on top of that you also get a two night stay in the luxury Atlantis, The Palm, Hotel before you set out.
With so much to see and do on the excursions such as a boat trip up Dubai creek which includes a visit to the Grand Mosque, a boat trip to the artificial Palm Islands, as well as the grand mosque and the old souk in Oman and on board you will barely have time to rest and the luxury is just not restricted to Dubai, on board you will also be cruising in style and thoroughly looked after no matter what size of liner you are on. So to spend over a week in the lap of luxury, why not look for great cruise deals to Dubai.
Atlantis Hotel, Dubai
Picture courtesy of Squeezyboy
When most people think of taking a cruise holiday destinations that normally come up are the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Transatlantic cruises however there is a whole world to explore out the which can be done on a cruise holiday. A destination not often considered is an Arctic cruise here you can circumnavigate the North Pole, take port in Alaska, Canada, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden. These destinations are not often on the top of people’s wish lists of places to visit, but they do offer some of the most amazing natural beauty on earth, and some things you can only experience on a Arctic cruise, with such a wide choice of places to visit you will probably wonder why you had not been before.
Although you won’t be expecting blistering warm temperatures here, holiday makers are advised to prepare for bad weather, during the summer months. However some places you visit will be milder than others, such as Iceland viewed as Greenland’s cosmopolitan counterpart is also milder as well despite being in the south part of the Arctic Circle.
As well as enjoying the scenery you will also be able to see the wildlife this area has including the polar bear, Arctic hares, lemmings, muskox and caribou in addition to wolves and the Arctic fox, some animals most will have only seen on TV.
So if you want to get something more from your holiday have a look for some cruise deals to the Arctic.