Going Solo

There are a growing number of people out there who travel alone, but what can they get from a cruise?

There are a couple of key points that most single travellers ask when they speak to me, What is the Single Supplement and What is there for me to do? I would add to that, can I get a single cabin?

So read on and find out what I can do.

What is the Single Supplement?

The honest answer here is it varies from cruise sailing to sailing and line to line, and can be anything from 100% to no supplement at all. The only sure way to find out is call and ask about the sailing you are interested in.

What is there for me to do?

Every cruise line puts on events and entertainment during the day for all passengers to go to if they wish, and I have found that most people on a cruise are polite and friendly so single passengers will not feel left out.

Some have special event just for single passengers, and perhaps a more special warmer welcome from the cruise lines team when you board. You may even find a number of dance hosts on board so you will have someone to dance with, like on Cunard or Fred Olsen.

Can I get a single cabin?

Well all ships are built to maximise space, so there are very few single cabins on most ships although there are some exceptions.

Fred Olsen have singles available on all there ships, both inside and outside cabins. NCL have 'The Studios' an number of single cabins in a designated private area on The Epic, and when the new ship The Breakaway is launched next year there will again be a small number.

 A single cabin on P&O Azura

P&O have a small number of single cabins on Azura, and next year after her refit in late March Ventura will have had theses added. In addition last year Oriana had a small number of single cabins added when she had a refit.

So does all this help? I hope so, the easiest answer is to give me a call with the cruise you are interested in and let me have a look.

100 years on...... will wecontinue to remember?

It is now 100 years since the loss of the Titanic, and over the last few weeks there have been a number of 'events' to commemorate the loss, various TV programs and a re-release of the film in 3D

But what else has there been?

At the moment, Fred Olsen's Balmoral is doing a special voyage to be at the point where Titanic sank at the same hour.

But what about Titanic's birthplace? Over my lifetime Belfast has been synonymous with 'Troubles' and as such not a place that would come up high on the list for a tourist attraction, well just opened to coincide with this anniversary is Titanic Belfast.

Something like this to me is a better way to commemorate the anniversary, it will benefit the community and future generations far more then a TV drama!

But why is it, with the exception of perhaps Pearl Harbor, that the Titanic is remembered so much?

Dover. A quintessential english port?

So, thought I'd do another of my Port reviews, but with a different twist. In the UK we are all well aware of the major Ports of departure, so I thought I'd talk about Dover, is it the quintessential English port?

Ships departing from Dover include ones from Fred Olsen, Oceania, Holland America, Crystal Cruises, Seabourn and Princess Cruises at various times during 2012, so there is plenty of choice. But do we just travel down and see the car park then get on ship?

Those of you who have read my blog from the beginning will remember the problems with our Christmas Cruise in 2009, bad snow and a long walk to the ship through snow drifts and dodging cars! Nice picture though, but Dover is not like that really, read on.

Lets start quickly with the car parking, as there is more to see than this. you can park either in the cruise port or use 1 of the out of town parks, either of which you are best to book in advance. Yes I can help if needed.

So what is there to do in Dover, well of course you can see 'The White Cliffs of Dover', a National Trust survey highlighted this as the most popular stretch of coastline in the UK.

Then there is the historic Dover Castle, which sits proudly atop the White Cliffs of Dover and overlooking the port.

The site of Dover Castle has been of vital importance since the Iron Age with the first castle at Dover most likely an Anglo-Saxon fortress until the arrival of William the Conqueror when its existing fortifications were improved.

Of course, you can motor down through the Kent countryside; known as the Garden of England for its rich farming and hop making heritage. Kent stretches from Dover's White Cliffs Country to medieval Canterbury in the east, elegant, Tunbridge Wells to the west and the historic Medway towns to the north.

So perhaps it is worth setting off a little earlier and getting off the drag of the M20 motorway to see some of the countryside or the town before heading to the cruise port.

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?

Is the price of my Cruise fixed?

Over the last week or so we have seen a change in the way that Fred Olsen are to charge for fuel supplements on their Cruise 2011 and beyond programmes, and that has generated a number of people asking whether the price we agree is fixed.

So here we go.


Over the last few months there has been a significant rise in the cost of Crude Oil, which is a key purchase for all Cruise lines. Although I am sure that they have contracts in place for their supply so they can fix this overhead cost recent price increases will be impacting on their anticipated cost of fuel and depressing their profit margin.

Hence we have seen first the addition of Fuel Supplements again, and now Fred Olsen's change to a % based system, in line with the EU Package Directive and ABTA guidelines for levying fuel surcharges.

So is that the end of the story, and once you and me have paid for our cruise, including the appropriate supplement are the Cruise lines going to come cap in hand for more money?

Well, when you book you 'are subject to the terms and conditions of the cruise line', as you can see it a phrase I know well, but hidden in those words are conditions that allow the cruise lines to come back for more money in the form of a fuel surcharge in certain conditions.

Not seen it happen just yet, but I bet it is not long before we start getting advices that costs have increased in this way and contacting customers for the additional payment.

As we are not paid commission on the fuel surcharge this goes direct to the cruise line, so as a travel agent in the middle we could have some fraught conversations when this starts.

There is some good news though, if the price of crude falls then Fred Olsen at least will refund the supplement to the passenger:-

“In the event that the price of Brent cruise oil falls back to £45 ($71) per barrel or below, averaged across the month prior to the date of departure, the fuel cost supplement will be refunded back to the passenger in the form of an on board spending credit.”

On Friday, Brent crude was trading at about $97 per barrel, so there does not look like any refunds in the immediate future!

Memories....my very first cruise

If you notice I have recently changed my blog and added a couple new features, which ships I have been on and where have I been in the world.

While I was thinking of these, in the deep and distant past I remembered my first cruise way back in 1970! You may say I am not that old, thank you but I am and was 10 when I remember the family, parents, 2 brothers, Auntie and cousin set off on an epic mini- cruise to Norway.

I had never been abroad and there were 7 of us in a cabin, not a suite I would add! In the depths of November to sail from Newcastle to Stavanger, Bergen, Stavanger and back to Newcastle.

My research lead me to the TS Leda, helped by asking my father, not really a cruise ship in those days operated by Bergen Line. My memories are of a large cruise ship, but the passage of time and my young age when we went meant that this was not the case. She was in today's terms a small ferry/cruise/cargo ship although if you follow this link, you can see that in later years she was converted into a cruise ship.

Now I do remember that the weather was bad ans seasickness was abound in our family group. Perhaps the seas were not as bad as I recall, just such a small ship operating in one of the roughest seas in the world!

Now one of the interesting things about Bergen Line was that they operated jointly with Fred Olsen the Black Watch for nearly 20 years; she was the Jupiter in the summer under the Bergen Line banner and Black Watch in winter for Fred Olsen operating in the main to the Canaries.

It did take me a long time to cruise again, but not just because of the weather, but I have to say that I now love it!

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.

Major Refurbishment for Black Watch .. or some good news from Fred Olsen

Fred Olsen's Black Watch has completed her recent dry dock in December 2009 and returns to service following some major refurbishment work.

The work included a major refurbishment of the ship’s public areas, including a new casual dining area, which has been created in the space where the Braemar Lounge and Garden Café were situated.

The transformed area is now the Braemar Garden, a casual dining area with seating for 120 persons, and replaces the Garden Café which seated 80 persons. One section of this newly created dining area is screened off, creating a 40 seat room that can be used for private dining. This new area has been completely refitted with new soft furnishings, a new bar, and buffet.

Other areas of the ship have also received new soft furnishings, including the Neptune Lounge, Pipers Bar, Glentanar Restaurant and the Observatory Lounge. In addition, many cabin bathrooms have been refitted.

On the technical side, the Black Watch cruise liner has also had her last three open lifeboats replaced by two covered boats.

This means that some previously restricted views from cabins will now be unobstructed views.