24 hour travel fantasy

The other weekend when we were having great weather, well nothing but rain, my wife and I were reading one of the weekend papers and saw an article were a celebrity discussed their 24 hour Travel fantasy, with no travel restrictions.

So for about an hour we discussed ours, they were different, so I thought I'd share mine.


So I'd start my day by waking up on Cunard's Queen Victoria, for breakfast on the balcony (starboard side) while the ship winds its way into Venice, so you get a perfect view of St Marks Square first thing in the morning.

Then onto Anthony's Key Resort, Honduras. This is a great place for a Dolphin encounter, for me it does not look like the Dolphins are in captivity, although they are. Once you have swam with the Dolphins, then off to the beach for a rest!

Time for lunch, so off to Central Park New York for hot dog frrom one of the many stalls and sit and watch the softball games.

In the afternoon, off to San Francisco to ride the tram from Union Square to Fishermans Wharf. Irrespective of the views when you reach the top of the hill, I find the sound of the bell and rattle of the trams so soothing.

Pre-dinner drinks, off to St Kitts the bar in the middle of the cruise port does an excellent Rum Punch, the 'Drunken Monkey' will keep me going for a little while.

Time for an evening meal, back to Europe and Caffe Ciampini close to the Spanish Steps in Rome. It is all about the view and the feel of the city, nice food and a lovely glass of Red.

Nearly finished, just need to see the sun set and for me there is only 1 place for this. On the South side of the Grand Canyon on the  Rim Trail close to Grand Canyon Village. To quote our American cousins, awesome.

It has been a long day, not practical but to me a perfect day. No doubt as I visit other places this dream will change, but hey isnt that part of getting new experiences.

Let me know your dream day, and call me if you want me to add these into your next cruise.

Do they listen?

What am I talking about you ask?

Well all the cruise lines get a variety of feedback from guests; the questionnaire's they ask us to fill in before we leave, a variety of 'focus groups', letters direct to them - usually complaints and feed back from various review websites like, on www.cruise.co.uk.

But, with all that feedback do they really listen and make things happen, well Norwegian Cruise Line say that they have in the design of their next new ship the Norwegian Breakaway. So why not read on.


Recently our NCL Account Manager gave us a briefing on the Breakaway, part of which indicated that they had taken on board things people said about their ships and facilities and what people like from other cruise lines, and that they brought that thinking into the design of the Breakaway.

If you have read my blog from the beginning you may recall that I went on the Norwegian Epic in the Caribbean in November 2010. And I wrote a blog about the Balcony cabins, they have unusual features, with a separate shower and toilet and a sink in the cabins, read here. Now in an sector where hygiene is paramount, it is an unusual feature.

I was not the only person to mention this, at the time it was in all the forums and blogs about the ship.

So they listened, the new ship will have the traditional style bathrooms, hurrah! I have found a picture on the NCL website of the mock up of the balcony stateroom, looks a little more refined, less over the top colours.

There is a return of ocean view cabins, perhaps for the budget conscious and based on feedback there will be some larger stateroom that will take 5 people, so as to cater for the many families with 3 children. Some excellent features here.

The ships home port will be New York, so she will be themed based on the big apple but we will get the chance to see her as there will be a transatlantic sailing from Southampton as she heads to her new home.

There are some other new features, and I thought I'd add NCL's video of thge ship to highlight these.




So it seems like they have listened to the words of their customers, but as I always say its down to actually sailing on her to see if everything works out. So we have just got to wait until next April to see whether the marketing is right, hope I get the chance to visit when she calls into Southampton?

Cruising the Amazon, on a River boat?

As you will gather from reading my articles there is usually a theme, something that interests me, places I have been too or somewhere or something that I would like to do; I think that this falls into the latter.

If like me you have satellite TV, there are hundreds of channels, there may be 10 that you watch regularly,  most you take limited interest in and then there are those that you don't even look at. Well, last week when flicking down through the Travel channels I fond a programme on the M/V Aria, so I thought I'd watch.

I have sold cruises to the Amazon, but they are usually ones that head from the Caribbean and into the Atlantic before heading up the Brazilian Amazon to Manaus, so this is something much different.

So what was it that appealed to me?

Firstly the ship, the facilities look awesome and not what you would expect in the backwaters of Peru. Look at the view from the cabin below and the sun deck.

Then, the location, scenery and wildlife you will see on your journey. There are 2 distinct seasons in this part of the Amazon, High Water and Low Water and both have their own distinct characteristics, although rain may well be a common feature when ever you go.

The ship, and its sister m/v Aqua, do variety of 3, 4 and 7 night cruises through out the year. Now its a long way to go just to do this, so you could add it on as part of that 'Bucket List' trip you wanted to do. Perhaps you could go and see Machu Picchu? I wrote an article about that some time ago, why not have a look here.

So if you want that Tailor Made cruise holiday, give me a call and perhaps we can add this into your trip. This one isn't in the brochure yet, but it could be if you like it enough.

Paul Gauguin Cruises - New Ship

Well you know me by now, I like my bit of luxury every now and then and recently found this little bit of information about Paul Gauguin Cruises. If you recall I have written about them before because they do some speciality Photography themed cruises, follow this link.

So news of a second ship interested me, so read on...

On December 29, 2012, the m/v Tere Moana sets out on her maiden voyage under the Paul Gauguin Cruises banner, following a multi-faceted renovation that brings her up to Paul Gauguin's high standards for luxury and comfort.

The Moana specialises in European, Caribbean, and Latin American destinations, with an emphasis on delivering unique itineraries that larger ships cannot offer and exploring hidden ports throughout these regions. Spacious staterooms, an onboard watersports marina, a choice of two open-seating venues, and extensive spa are among her luxurious attributes. There is simply no better way to experience Europe, the Caribbean, or Latin America than aboard this sleek and sophisticated, intimate ship.

Staterooms from 161 sq. ft. to 298 sq. ft. (including balcony), including 8 staterooms with private balconies. Shown: Balcony stateroom 

 L'Etoile, elegant main dining room, serving dinner only

La Veranda, offering indoor/outdoor dining for breakfast and lunch and gourmet, reservation-only dining in the evening

 Le Salon, featuring live entertainment

   The Sun Deck, with plenty of seating to enjoy the sea breezes


Now the Moana will take only 90 guests and looking at the pictures looks more like a luxury Yacht than a cruise ship, but hey why not!

The existing ship, Paul Gauguin does spend its time and in the Pacific and around Tahiti, so there are limited chances to experience this line, but with this new ship being in the Med next year what an opportunity.

Just waiting for someone to tell me that the 'Fam Trip' is on! Well, I can and usually do dream!