Cosmetic surgery, or just a little nip and tuck?

As most people will know the majority of the sales staff at Cruise are girls, and I sit in a part of the office where there are not too many guys, well just me and Faz. So you have to get used to a bit of girl talk, its not a problem really but you do wonder sometimes.

Only last week, the girls started talking about Botox, facelifts and implant surgery! I got a bit confused but think this was what they were talking about..........

Cruise ships are in reality floating hotels, giving you the benefit of quality accommodation that is usually in a different place on a daily basis. There are large numbers of people going through each cruise ship over a period of time and as such they regularly undertake some sort of facelift.

Regular ongoing work is done when in service, on QM2 and also Ventura I saw the crew were regularly painting the railings and varnishing the handrails. (Botox)

Most ships have a period of dry dock in their schedule, for work that cannot be done on the go. Checking the hull, more comprehensive refurbishments to public rooms and cabins. In fact I did write a blog on this subject about Celebrity Cruises 'Solsticizing' the Millennium class of ships.(facelifts)

I also found this video of Radiance of the Sea going into dry dock in the Bahamas, which may be of interest.

Umm....where do I go next?

Fred Olsen and others have actually extended the size of a couple of ships. To be blunt they have cut them in 2 and then had a new section implanted into the gap! (Implant surgery)

I did get a little confused though, when the girls asked if you think that you would be able to see the scar!

Social history lessons on ship ......Cunard Heritage

As you can see from previous posts I have recently got back from 10 days on QM2, and throughout the ship there are various posters and displays about the history of both the ship and Cunard Line as well as displays showing the many 'famous' people who have used Cunard ships over the years.

The mosaic of Sir Samuel Cunard is made up of little images of many of the ships from the Cunard fleet, as you can see from the image across.

There is a long history and many ships have sailed under the Cunard name, but this week when reading the paper I read a story about the loss of life on the Lancastria in 1940 while she was acting as a troop ship.

She must be one of the ships in the mosaic, but not sure where so I thought I'd look for some background. What I did find was this Cunard Heritage site, great background about all the ships and history of the company.

Photography Themed Cruises in Polynesia

I have heard about and booked a number of 'themed cruises', like Garden cruises and Dance cruises for my customers, but I found these Photography Themed cruises on Paul Gauguin Cruises for this August earlier today.

Now, there are a few things that appeal to me about this cruise.

1. It is a bit of Luxury, a specialist ship with a relatively small number of passengers and a high crew to passenger ratio.
2. The location, it must be on most peoples lists as top places to visit.
3. The photography workshops; now you might have seen a few of my photos here or on my facebook page, and I have to say I enjoy taking photo's and love learning to try to get better.

However there are some negatives, getting their from the UK is a nightmare, so its a long way to go for a weeks holiday and addeed to that the prices seen to be fairly expensive!

So being able to get all 3 and on a cruise would to me be bliss; not too sure that the bank manager would approve though!

Settling your onboard account

I have had a number of questions about this recently, and it has come more to the fore as in the last week there has been some press as Cunard have announced a change to the method of payments onboard from the Euro Med 2011 sailings.

So what can or can't be accepted?

Credit/Debit Cards:
Accepted - Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Diners Club. Visa Delta/Debit.

Not accepted - Solo, Maestro, Switch, Visa Electron or any Pre Paid Credit Cards.
                     - Travellers cheques or personal cheques.
Cash:
Guests will need to keep their account in credit at all times

However, are Cunard doing anything different to the other Cruise lines?

Well in reality not, most have the same requirements and not taking personal cheques or travellers cheques is the norm for the industry.

I am struggling to work out why they will not accept pre paid cards and why Fred Olsen charge a 2% surcharge for credit card payments, but I'm sure that there are good reasons for both of these.

So as long as you have a major credit card, a Visa debit or good old cash you will be able to settle your account. But why not try to find a cruise with good on board credit so you spend the cruise lines money first!

Evening Dresses, are the wardrobes big enough?

This is more one for the ladies, its generally easier for us guy - dinner suit black tie, not much to think about. But cocktail dresses, ball gowns and evening dresses, now there is a thing.

So, when you take your evening dress and put it in the wardrobe do you expect to have to dust the floor first?

These pictures show the point, so come cruise lines make it easy for us guys, get the wardrobes bigger so the dress don't end up cleaning the floor!