Carribean Islands Part 1 ..... St Kitts

Just a short series of articles about ports of call on most of the many Caribbean cruises including P&O and  Princess. Starting with StKitts

St Kitts has volcanic peaks with lush green forests and endless sugar cane fields. The charming capital, Basseterre features many historic buildings some of which have been lovingly restored.

Here one of the 'must sees' is Brimstone Hill Fortress, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Foundation  and one of the most impressive fortresses in the Caribbean.

How about following this link, then look for Azura!

Future Cruise Rewards, but is there a drawback?

So you are on your cruise and the idea of another is growing, should you go the Future Cruises desk and book your next cruise, or buy a future cruise reward or credit?

We've all been there, the enthusiasm of the moment gets to you and you decided buy, but is it the best deal? Each one of the cruise lines has different ways of dealing with these future cruise purchases, whether it be to book the cruise or purchase a future cruise reward, so lets talk about a few.

The picture to the left, is a copy of part of the pack of information left in my cabin when I was on the Norwegian Epic last November.

With NCL you pay a deposit for any future cruise and get either $100 on board credit or have it set against your deposit - so $250 only costs you $150!

As an added bonus they are even transferable to anyone over 21 at no cost.

With Cunard, you can book the cruise on board and then you usually some added benefits like extra on board spend. I know of a customer who booked for a Queen Victoria 12 night cruise on board and they received $600 each on board spend!

But is there a draw back. Well, I spoke to customer who had purchased a Celebrity Passage Account - paid a deposit and would get a set amount of on board credit when they decided on the cruise they wanted. All well and good, till they decided and then tried to book the cruise using the Passage Account at the prices I could offer.

The drawback is they are not combineable with any other offer, so the cruise which had a £100 per person discount and on board spend from me went up in price and lost the current offered on board spend, to gain what they had paid for via the Passage account. And on top when the passage account is transferred to the Travel agent they only have 30 days to make the booking.

To me it seems like too many hoops to gain not many benefits.

So the moral of the story is when you decide what you are going to do make sure you know all the relevant facts so you aren't left holding something you cannot use!

Celebrity modernising their fleet

In May 2010 I wrote about the refit of Celebrity Constellation, and the fact that she was to be 'Solsticized', so this year both Infinity and Summit will get similar refurbishments.

Both these ships entered service in 2001, and in this market where there are many newer and more modern ships to satisfy the discerning guests Celebrity are spending about $200 million bringing these ships into the 21st Century.

So what's going to happen:-

Before

Well the follow are going to be added:

• Café al Bacio

• Bistro on 5

• Martini ICE Bar

• Cellar Masters

• iLounge

 After

The kids club is moving to take some of the space of where the Observation Lounge was, so that new staterooms can be built.

An artists impression of the kids club

As for the new cabins these will include:-

• 43 New Staterooms Deck 11

• 17 New Staterooms Deck 3

• 8 New Verandas on Celebrity Suite

• Create 107 AcquaClass Staterooms together with the Blu Dining Room just for AcquaClass guests

• New shower system, glass shower doors, Spa amenities

Now most people know that I have still to go on a Celebrity ship, having missed the launches of Eclipse and Equinox, with all thse improvements I am still more determined to get on board somehow, but it is now giving me more opportunities to try Celebrity Cruises!

Guaranteed Cabin... Is it like a game of Poker?

Not sure recently how many times I have had the conversation with customers about a guaranteed cabin, but thought that this would be good to share.

So lets start, what is a guaranteed cabin, well it means you will get at least a cabin of the category you book on but we do not know exactly which cabin it will be. Each cruise line has different descriptions, but if you book a guaranteed inside you will get at least an inside, a guaranteed suite means you will get a suite.

Simples!

But is it like a game of poker and can you improve the odds?
How many D8 inside cabins are there on Cunard ships, how many A7 cabins are there on QE and QV or how many BF cabins are there on some princess ships? Well, the answer is not many and they are generally sold on a guarantee basis; don't know why, probably so the lead price advertised by the cruise line is low.

So choosing one of these or other guaranteed cabins may increase your odds of getting an upgrade, you might get a Royal Flush! or you might just have to stick. If you want to win it you have got to be in it!

Bit of anecdotal evidence, booked one of my regular customers last Sunday, I will call him Mr W. onto Queen Victoria. Mr W does book late and look for the good cabin at the right price and we had a long discussion about what to do, he took a guaranteed Balcony cabin (A6).

I have just had the upgrade notice and he has got an A1 balcony in an excellent midships position, what a result!

I have seen others, and not just from Cunard or Princess.

This approach is really no good if you want a specific cabin, want to be on Port or midships etc but if you have no preference then is it worth your gamble?

Memories Part 2

Recently I wrote a blog about my first cruise,  Memories....... my very first Cruise.

Since writing and researching this blog and speaking to a number of my customers from Liverpool, this has stirred my memories of visiting relatives in Liverpool in the 60's and remembering how busy I recall the docks to be. 


There are only a limited number of sailings from the Cruise Terminal now, even though they were redeveloped in 2007, see this BBC link for news of the opening. In 2011 there will be a number of Fred Olsen departures from the cruise terminal.

Everyone seems to remember 'The Dockers Umbrella' (said with a strong Liverpool accent), which was an overhead railway which serviced the docks area, I have manged to find a picture taken in the heyday of Liverpool Port.

Now I'm told that as a baby I travelled on the railway, you are talking of 1960, but my research indicates that it was dismantled in the mid to late 50's. So can anyone out there add any more information or do you have a photograph of an old port?