What currency do I use?

Recently, I have had a number of calls asking about the options for currency whilst on their cruise, so I thought I would try to do a brief note to give some advice.

All ships are cash free, so any purchases on board including drinks will be added to your on board account which you will have to settle by credit card at the end of your cruise. So you won't have to take cash for specific use on ship.

But don't forget, P and O and Fred Olsen use pounds sterling on board, Royal, Celebrity, Cunard and Princess Cruises use dollars - getting more expensive now as the dollar falls and MSC and Costa are Euro based.

Most receptions have a modest amount of currency available for the ports of call, but beware if they charge to your credit card you will probably get charged the cash advance fee by your credit card company.

Alternatively, in most ports of call you can get cash from the many cash dispensers and banks in the area.

So which currency is the one you need most, well the Med is in the main Euro, on a Caribbean cruise you will find when on shore the US Dollar is accepted in most of your places of call and if like me you are off to The North Cape soon, time to buy in some Norwegian Kroner.  What is the exchange rate?

My advice then is to take a little bit of cash for your drinks and snacks when ashore, then make sure you have enough limit available on your credit card for everything else, especially now with falling exchange rates making dollar and Euro purchases more expensive!














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If you think about it the worry of currency is probably greater when you are on a Caribbean cruise, in a different place on a daily basis and each with their own currency. Of course an exception might be on the Oasis of the Seas which only stops once or twice on a weeks cruise!



























Well, I am told that in the majority of places in Caribbean US $ are widely acceptable, just make sure you are not given local currency in your change.









I did find this on the Questions and Answers section of http://www.cruise.co.uk/cruise-answers/question-19424/ website.

Adapted cabins

Earlier this week I was speaking to a passenger who has just come back from a cruise, having had to use a wheelchair on board ship.

As we all know most of the cruise lines have a limited number of adapted cabins, with larger doors for access, more cabin space and wet rooms instead of bathrooms. However, these are limited and in the main are only release to people who are confined to their wheelchair for all of the time.

The pictures are of a adapted cabin on P&O Azura, showing the wet room.

So what happens if you need to use a wheelchair for only limited periods.

Well most of the cruise lines allow you to take a collapsable wheelchair or scooter on board, although you may have to complete a questionairre prior to the sailing and certainly need to advise your cruise consultant so that we can advise the specific cruise line as appropriate.

Fred Olsen Cruises do limit the number of wheelchairs on board for safety reasons, with 4 on Braemar, 6 on Black Watch and Boudicca and 9 on Balmoral, however subject to other quota they will store additional wheelcahirs/scooters for use off ship.

With the limited number of adapted cabins available on all the ships they are not on general sale and the crusie lines have their own rules in terms of who they can be sold to. So, give me a call and I will check up on availability for your prefered sailing.

Single travellers, is there a supplement?

As a Cruise specialist we try always to get the best price for everyone that call about a cruise, but the dreaded single supplement is one of the circumstances when the price will be the number one reason why the single passenger will choose not to cruise.


The cruise lines have typically charged up to double the fare for a person wanting to travel alone in a cabin, although this does vary from cruise to cruise and line to line. Fortunately, there is some good news for solo travellers thinking about taking a cruise in the near future.

In addition to those single cabins available on Fred Olsen ships, P&O Azura has 18 single cabins with a Pullman berth in 12 outside cabins and six inside cabins. Having seen these they are a little larger than I anticipated.

In addition, Norwegian Cruise Line launches Epic in June and this ship will feature a number of single cabins. There will be 128 studio staterooms within a separate complex accessed by keycard. The studio complex will also include a private two-storey lounge called The Living Room.

The staterooms will be off a private interior corridor down the middle of the ship on two decks. Spanning both decks, and located mid-ship, the Living Room will be where studio guests can enjoy morning coffees and evening cocktails.

Each of the 100sq ft studio staterooms will include a full-size bed, flatscreen-TV, storage spaces and colour-changing mood lighting. Since many of the studio staterooms are connecting, they allow friends to travel together while giving each their own private space.

'Research shows that 35 million adults take solo vacations but only five per cent opt for cruises,' said Courtney Recht, public relations manager for Norwegian Cruise Line.

All the single cabins that are available can be booked without paying a single supplement, but don't think that they will be the same price as the price for each single passenger in a double occupancy cabin. Additionally, there are a limited number on each of the ships, with the exception of the Epic so availability is limited.

The single traveller may now be able to get a cabin at a reasonable price, but might have to book early to get the cabin they want or take pot luck and take the only sailings that are available!

Obstructed view should I or shouldn't I?

One of the things about cruising on which there is a difference of opinion is to take a Restricted (or Obstructed) View or not.

So what is an obstructed view then? Obstructions could be; a stairway, life boats, etc. It may be fully obstructed or partially, depending on what is there, and how close you are to them, it simply means that there is something outside the window which restricts some or all of the view.

I am asked, how much is my view obstructed, now this is down to personal perception 2 different people may have a different view of that how much, so here are some pictures of various restricted view cabins to give you some examples.

So would you? Must ask how much time will you spend in the cabin on the cruise anyway and you then have to weigh this against the cost, as the restricted views tend to be priced lower. I found this comment on a travel discussion forum, it is from the states but still says it all:-

‘There is so much to do on a cruise, and so much 'off' ship time, I can't see it being a major problem either way.... since the price is good! You will most assuredly walk the decks all around the ship and get plenty of 'view', I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.... in my opinion!!!!! *: ) Enjoy you vacation, this is just one of those little things that in the grand scheme of life, should tell you... being away from home to let loose and have fun, IS what is important here. And, if money is a concern, which it is to most, let that be your driving force to accept the room or not, and be happy about the rest. It's no biggy!’

So why not give it a go, I think I would.

'Solsticized'.... what is this?

Celebrity cruises have just started on a near $200m investment to 'Solsticized' the 4 ships in their Millenium class of ship.

Following a15-day drydock and revitalisation period, Celebrity Constellation now boasts some of the most popular venues found on the line’s widely-heralded Solstice Class ships. This includes Tuscan Grille steakhouse; the vibrant creperie, Bistro on Five; a “cool” new ice-topped Martini Bar; the inviting Café al Bacio and Gelateria; Cellarmasters wine bar, complete with the state-of-the-art wine serving systems known as “Enomatics,” allowing guests to select and serve wines by the glass, at the touch of a button.

In addition the suites are more sumptuous and staterooms have been restyled with new carpeting, flat-screen TVs, upholstery and bedding; and new colour schemes, carpeting and upholstery reflective of the Solstice Class’ stylish.

To quote Celebrity’s President & CEO Dan Hanrahan “Our newly-Solsticized Celebrity Constellation is a significant outgrowth of our ‘Designed for you’ brand platform, built around our longtime commitment to identifying and designing what our guests want. By adding Solstice Class features that we know our guests love to our already award-winning Millennium Class ships – with the impeccable service our spectacular crew delivers across the entire fleet – we’re confident we have a winning combination, expressly designed for discerning cruisers.”

Now this is a massive investment, with the other ships being refurbished in 2011, Celebrity Infinity and Celebrity Summit, and Celebrity Millennium in 2012.

Now the ships are getting on in terms of age, about 10 years old and having been berthed next to the Millenium in the Caribbean recently, she was looking a little shabby and what we could see of the cabins they looked a little dated.

Perhaps this is something that all the cruise lines are going to have to do to the 'older' ships, to keep things modern and fresh in this very competitive market for the more discerning traveller!

Crystal Cruises in Venice for the Redentore Festival

I like a bit of culture, but also love Venice and I was asked recently by a client if I could find a cruise to bring in the culture of Venice and a bit of a bang.

The Redentore is a popular festival that combines the sacred and profane, as Venice celebrations often do, and is celebrated on the 3rd Saturday of July.

Redentore is the celebration most loved by Venetians, to remind them of the end of the plague in 1577, one of the most disastrous plagues in Venetian history. That plague is believed to be brought in the city by flea-infested mice carried back from the Orient by Venetian trading ships.




To coincide with this spectacle, guests on board Crystal Cruises’ award-winning Crystal Serenity will be treated to one of Italy’s most popular Venetian traditions. This 12-night Mediterranean/Adriatic voyage, departing from Athens on 7th July, culminates with two shipboard overnights in Venice just in time for the Festival.
That will be really spectacular, call me if you want to know of availability on this cruise.

Every cloud has a silver lining......... a good news story

Over the last few weeks we have had the problems with BA strikes and also the eruptions from Eyjafjallajokull.

Right now the last news is that there are more BA strikes announced and scientists are saying that the eruptions we have seen so far could be dwarfed by anticipated eruptions from Eyjafjallajokull's neighbour Katla.


So what about a good news story?

Well, I just spoke to a customer who was on an Ocean Village cruise which arrived in the Med just as the last eruptions started, so could not get home.

They were put into a nice 5* hotel in Crete and had a further 5 or 6 days to continue their holiday before flying home. No hassle, no pressure just a relaxed time.

So lets hope if the ash clouds again, lets hope that all the cruise lines follow Ocean Villages approach and other have such a relaxed time!

Epic blog 5........An Epic, 'Towering Inferno'

LATEST NEWS

NCL has been confirmed that there was a fire on board on Monday night, which started on deck 4 and was contained by firefighters before any major damage was caused to the ship.

NCL are undertaking an investigation and it has been confirmed that this will not affect the scheduled delivery date!

With the past problems with the engine and now this fire, I hope its all sorted by the time I cruise on her at the end of October!

Joanna Lumley's Nile

The big thing for me when I go away on holiday, is to see something different or unusual. The other week, my wife said to me 'I like the idea of going to the Holy Land for a holiday', and at the same time said 'You going to watch this on telly'.

I am not the sort of chap who would miss the opportunity of watching Joanna Lumley for an hour, so happily sat down to watch her start her journey down the Nile.

Having watched the first programme, I was enthralled both at her actual presentation but also at the history that you can see from the river. I had never wanted to go to the area, but now felt like I needed to follow in her footsteps! (Stop dreaming Stuart)

Well, I have found that there are a couple of options here.

If you want to float down the Nile there are a number of operators who have boats specifically doing 4 or 5 star cruises down the Nile. A typical boat is shown across.

Duration of the cruise will vary, and you may have to add a land stay to your cruise holiday to see all the sights in Cairo.

The alternative, is look at a cruise to the Holy Land on any one of a number of ships in 2011, including Pacific Princess, Queen Victoria or Adonia, there are others but space (and time) does not allow me to add them all.

This way you could get to see all religious places to see in and around Jerusalem, but also add the Pyramids a bit of leisurely sea days and some of the other classic ports in the area.

I have my idea for a 2011 cruise now, hopefully aboard the Pacific Princess, but what about you?

Give me a call and I will look at your options, including a Nile Cruise a Holy Land Cruise or any other cruise you fancy.

Which is the best for computer access, Celebrity Eclipse or P And O Azura?

Having great problems at the moment with my home computer, after 7 years of valient service it has eventual rached the point where it is going to the nearest scrapyard. Unlike the QE2, I don't think anyone will want to save her!

With these problems it made me think back to the time I was on the Ventura and what facilities were available, esepcially as I am starting to think  but that made me think about what to do when on ship.

I found an article recently about Celebrity Cruises' tie in with Apple Computers, and although I did not go on the launch it was interesting to see this tie up working with the Waiters for Qzine, using iPads for the Menu. Apple also have 26 workstations on board in the iLounge.

Compare this to P and O Azura, both ships having being launched in Southampton in the last few weeks.

Although there is a CYB@Centre on Ventura, based on customer feedback there is no facility on Azura, so if you want to stay connected then you will have take your laptop and use one of the Wi Fi hotspots on ship.

However, in both cases the costs of internet use on ship is usually high, and if you have to take your own laptop, why not wait till you get into port and find one of the many free hotspots found in most ports, thats what I'm going to do on my next cruise.