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THE LUXURY CRUISE COMPANY CRUISE BLOG
This blog is an informal arena for luxury cruise comment, news in the luxury cruise industry and general chat about the wonderful world of luxury cruising. My name is Scott, and I am General Manager at The Luxury Cruise Company
Scott Anderson, Manager
A BIT ABOUT ME
My name is Scott, General Manager at The Luxury Cruise Company based in Hove, Sussex, UK. We are a luxury cruise travel agency specialising in bespoke luxury cruise packages on the world's best yachts, liners and cruise ships. A fantastic team of cruise experts, who take care of all the needs and bookings for our VIPs, assists me.
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Here I am onboard the brand new luxury cruise ship for Oceania Cruises - the MS Riviera. I am onboard for a short cruise, followed by the naming ceremony, which will take place in Barcelona on May 11, 2012. Oceania Cruises new ship Riviera
I arrived at Gatwick in the early hours of a very wet and rather chilly morning for a horribly early Easyjet flight at 0725 hours to Tenerife. I was on my way to board a short cruise on the luxury Silversea Expedition ship - the "Silver Explorer". I was excited to have this rare opportunity to sail on a ship which claims to be "The Worlds Most Luxurious Expedition Ship." Opportunities of this kind dont arrise often as this vessel often books out many months if not years in advance particularly for the Polar voyages for which it is so renowned
Travel writer Robin Mead gets a few cruising complaints off his chest...
Cruise writer Robin Mead finds that fellow passengers say the funniest things...
If you spot your cruise ship captain on deck, or meet him at the "Welcome" cocktail party, forgive him if you make a quick quip and his smile seems a little forced. "There is always someone who asks
Travel writer and author Dr Robin Mead begins a new "Talking Point" column of Cruising news and views and an occasional Friday feature. He starts with a very strange story from Barbados.
Cruising to Barbados? Then you might like to spare a moment to investigate an island mystery.
The Titanic is probably the most famous ship in the world, declared "unsinkable" prior to her maiden voyage, and billed as the largest ship in the world for its time. She sailed 10th April 1912, 100 years ago today. Here are 100 Titanic facts and figures...
We have received this from one of our guests on board Azamara Quest about the fire that broke out in the engine room. It seems that Azamara Club Cruises have handled this very well indeed, all credit to the crew and captain.
The ms Mozart, originally sailing under the Peter Deilmann umbrella, has recently be refitted and refurbished and is now available again to the UK market sailing with Dertour, offering Danube river cruises. The ms Mozart is the widest ship on the river Danube, and cannot cruise on any other river as she was specifically designed for this river.
The celebration started with a drinks reception in the main hall of the Amsterdam cruise terminal. The area had been deck out with drapes, crystal chandeliers and white tables. For nibbles there were plates of local cheeses and then waiters served hot snacks
Today I am in Amsterdam for the christening ceremony of the new Viking Longships. Viking River Cruises has flown in four godmothers to perform the christening, and the godmother of the Viking Odin is Joanna Lumley. I have already caught a glimpse of her when she arrived this morning, and she looked fabulous - absolutely fabulous! See our Facebook page for a photo.
Planning a luxury cruise vacation with family, friends or your romantic partner? You better be prepared! You’ll need to pack all the essentials to make the most out of your cruise experience
The Passenger Shipping Association have released their latest figures from their findings on the 2011 UK cruise passenger stats - and it makes positive reading indeed.
So the winners have been announced for the UK Cruise Critics 2012 Readers Choice Awards. Some surprising results indeed. Lets take a look.
Top 15 Ways to Lose Weight on a Cruise
One of the many pleasures when taking a cruise is of course the food and dining experiences. You can eat 24 hours a day, starting with breakfast, followed by morning snacks, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and ending with late night snacks! Plus many ships nowadays have a 24-hour buffet area or other bars/cafes serving bites to eat.
The first Silversea guests landed on Elephant Island yesterday. For me it was the first time in 10 years of coming to Antarctica. The Silver Explorer guests managed to come ashore in the exact same place where Sir Ernest Shackleton stepped ashore nearly 100 years ago and left his men for just over 4 months
Another day and after the late evening of dancing and drinking onboard Amalegro, I decided to have a little lie in. Breakfast starts at 6.30 for early risers, but continues until 9.30am (full breakfast) or 10.30 (pastries, drinks etc). I decided to give it a miss as we were having an early lunch that day (11.30am). In the lounge area there’s plenty of biscuit’s and pastries with hot & cold drinks, which are re-stocked throughout the day (late night snacks from 10.30pm). You would never go hungry, even if you did miss a meal!
After a good nights sleep, I awoke to no noise or rocking! River cruising really is smooth sailing. I went down to breakfast, which is taken in the restaurant and what a breakfast it was. A full selection of hot and cold buffet style delights and the chef
Well... First day to join the Amawaterways river cruise ship and the fog in London kept us in London for a little longer than we hoped. However, once on our way, the wind helped push us there and we arrived earlier than expected. On arrival into Munich our guide and driver was there to greet us and directed us to our (have to say) luxury coach.
What are your favourite ports of call to sail into? I asked some of the team here at The Luxury Cruise Company to come up with their current Top Ten cruise ports of call - do you agree? What are your favourites and why?
Travelling with a special diet can sometimes be a challenge but not on a cruise. Meals are tailor made to your own requirements, whatever your allergy or intolerance, and on some cruises it is possible to get Kosher and Halal meals.
Do you follow your favourite cruise line on twitter? It is a great way of keeping up-to-date on the latest cruise news and behind-the-scenes information and other tidbits that you might not get to hear about otherwise! You can also tweet them direct too
Today Royal Clipper arrived in the French island of Martinique. It was grey and overcast as we looked out over the industrial dock where Royal Clipper was situated. Most guests seem to have taken a tour and to be very honest, in hindsight
We again enjoyed breakfast in our cabin and I then went to the lecture about the story of the musical My Fair Lady. The lecturer was very well informed and had some very amusing stories to accompany his slides and films. I was pleased to see a large number of guests at this presentation.
A light breakfast of fruit and muesli was enjoyed in our room and as it was so lovely and sunny we then went up to the outdoor pool and actually swam and enjoyed the very warm jacuzzi. Had to quickly wrap up once we were out of the water but it seemed really incredible to be mid atlantic, middle of November and enjoying such warm sunny weather at the back of Queen Mary 2.
WOW - what a brilliant day today has been. Firstly the weather has been stunning, virtually not a cloud in the sky - secondly Royal Clipper is in Iles Des Saintes
I woke up really early (5am!) and looked out my porthole and saw the sun rising over Nevis - so as I was awake I quickly showered and headed up to the open decks of Royal Clipper. It was wonderful to be outside, with the warm Caribbean breezes, local birds flying in the ships slipstream
When owner and president Mikael Krafft founded Star Clippers Cruises in 1990, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of reviving the golden age of tall ships for new generations of travellers and adventurers to enjoy.
As we only had one night in New York moving our clocks back five hours and now changing them forward an hour every night is really affecting me. So we had a lazy start this morning and had breakfast delivered to our stateroom. It arrived at exactly the time requested and everything ordered was very fresh and hot - how do they do it?
Last night was the first of five nights that our clocks were moved forward one hour to allow us to arrive back into the UK at the correct time. A bit of a struggle as this seemed to make a late night even later but does avoid the dreaded ’jet lag’ by the time we arrive back in Southampton.
Woke early after a disturbed sleep. Mattress was rather lumpy so I asked the stateroom attendant if she could do something about it, which I am pleased to say she did and I slept very well for the rest of the voyage.
We flew with BA to Barbados, as we had 1 night pre-cruise before we embarked, and our first night in the Caribbean was spent at The Colony Club
We started our holiday with an overnight stay in New York. As usual one night wasn’t really long enough but we had visited this wonderful city many times before so we just had time to visit the Memorial at Ground Zero and do some shopping, before it was time to make our way to Brooklyn to board the Queen Mary 2.
Today we arrived in Amsterdam and enjoyed the scenery as we cruised into the city, spotting windmills and lots of farms as we slowly made our way along the river.
This morning we docked at Cologne at 6am, under grey skies. After a filling breakfast we joined the 90-minute walking tour of the city.
Today we were still in Koblenz, and had a full day tour planned. Due to the low water, instead of sailing to Rudesheim, we would be going there by coach. But first we had a short 20 min drive to visit Marksburg Castle, one of the best preserved castles on th Rhine and one we saw yesterday on our Rhine Gorge cruise.
Today we awoke to thick fog – very disappointing seeing as today we were heading along the Rhine Gorge – the highlight of the cruise. However after breakfast the fog had lifted and the sun emerged – shining its warm autumnal glow on the river bank.
Today we had a 2-for-the-price-of-1 day – combining Strasbourg in the morning and Speyer in the afternoon.
This morning we were in Breisach, Germany, and the tour left at 9am to follow the Alsatian Wine Route. This route winds its way from north to south for 170 kms, below the wooded foothills of the Vosges. The tour went on to Colmar, one of the best-preserved towns in the region, and used to have flourishing wine trade.
Our flight was just over an hour from Gatwick to Basel, and after making sure we left the airport on the Swiss side, we were greeted by a Uniworld representative and were soon on the bus for the short 15 minute transfer to the ship.
Shame about the weather. We awoke to cloudy skies and choppy seas, but it was still quite warm, and many people were relaxing on deck, with extra blankets for cover. We decided to take breakfast in our suite, and two waiters
This weeks cruise blog is by Tessa and Lisa, Cruise Consultants from our parent company WEXAS. They enjoyed a short 3-day sampler trip on Seabourn Quest. Seabourn Quest Day 2 - Gythion, Greece
This weeks cruise blog is by Tessa and Lisa, Cruise Consultants from our parent company WEXAS. They enjoyed a short 3-day sampler trip on Seabourn Quest.
We have just finished exhibiting for four-days at The Luxury Travel Fair at Olympia. I have to say that it was not as busy as it has been in previous years - maybe this is a result of the economy or just the media spouting doom and gloom all the time
Sorrento Sunset - The crew of Seven Seas Voyager excelled themselves last month during Regent Seven Seas Cruises ’Jewels of Italy’ voyage when they hosted the popular ’BBQ Under the Stars’ evening.
Day 10 -Arrival in Bali. We arrive at Benoa port in Bali at sunrise and opt to sit & watch the docking from the balcony of Orion II. The early morning light prompts a thought that somehow the best time on a cruise ship is the moment of arrival each port, with the promise of adventure ahead
Day 9 - At sea. I wasn’t really looking forward to the relatively long passage at sea between Makassar and Bali - around 36 hours - but I needn’t have worried. Not only is the sea calm and weather beautiful but there is a varied lecture programme onboard Orion II between meals.
Day 8 - Makassar - Makassar is Indonesia’s 5th city, known for a while as Ujung Pandang, and has been a major trading centre for centuries. Another functional port but like Pare Pare and Balikpapan before it, the police and officials are remarkably friendly.
Day 7 - Tana Toraja
At breakfast we hear that we will indeed be able to attend one of the funerals in the afternoon, which is really exciting.
Day 6 - Tana Toraja
We set off early for the gruelling 5 hour coach journey to Tana Toraja (Tana meaning ’land’, thus, land of the Toraja people). The Toraja inhabit the central highlands of Sulawesi.
Day 5 LampukoWetlands and Rumpa Village
Overnight we cross the Wallace line and wake up with Sulawesi off to starboard. The Wallace Line is a boundary that separates the Eco zones of Asia and Wallace and is named after the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, a contemporary of Darwin
Day 4 - Samboja and Balikpapan
A 5am start for a full-day excursion today. After dropping us off at the mouth of the river, the Orion II continues to Balikpapan where we will re-join her later in the afternoon. The zodiacs take us two miles to shore and then up the Samboja River to visit two major wildlife conservation projects in East Kalimantan.
Day 3 of our Orion Expedition Cruise - Sangatta River
A relatively leisurely day today, with no activities in the morning while we sail on to our afternoon excursion on the Sangatta River.
Day 2 of our Orion Expedition Cruises blog - Pulau Kakaban
Being the first cruise to operate this route in this relatively remote location inevitably brings a few challenges. To quote Captain Frank Allica ’expedition cruising doesn’t run on rails’ and a degree of flexibility is inevitably required when it comes to timetabling.
This weeks Cruise Blog is by our guest blogger Dave Warne. Dave is the Commercial Director for WEXAS, our parent company, and this was his first cruise experience.
Across the Wallace Line aboard Orion II
Zakynthos, also Zante as it is often referred to in English and Italian, is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. It covers an area of 410 km sq, or 158 sq miles, and has been inhabited from the Neolithic age. The most famous landmark of the island is the Navagio beach.
Today’s business session was over by 11am, so I had time to get some sunbathing in and try out the Jacuzzi round the pool deck. All in the name of research of course! Lunch today was again in Waves Grill and today I tried the surf n turf, which is a lobster tail on a fillet mignon served with parmesan dusted fries/chips.
Today we are anchored at Santorini, Greece. Santorini, officially Thera, are islands that are the remains of a volcanic caldera located in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 miles) southeast from the Greek mainland. It is the largest island of a small circular archipelago that bears the same name.
So this morning we had more business sessions, but before that of course I needed a good breakfast! So today was the day to put Oceania Marina to the Eggs Benedict Test. It’s my benchmark breakfast test that I do so love doing! So we all ordered the Eggs Benedict on our table. Once it arrived it looked great, however I have to honestly say that I have had better. Sorry Marina!
We are onboard as part of an international sales symposium at sea. There are about 50 agents and general sales agents from all over the world here on Marina, and this morning we had business sessions in the Horizon Lounge. No time to get off and see Delos – will have to leave that for another time!
We landed at Athens airport after a bit of a bumpy flight and were met by the local Oceania representative, who escorted us to the transfer bus. After what seems a long transfer - it was only about 30 mins, we arrived at a very busy Piraeus harbour.
The first Cruise International magazine awards were held last night at the Soho Hotel, London. Anyone who’s anyone in the cruise industry was there and Nick Hewer from The Apprentice presented the evening.
Cunard Line will ensure that sports fans do not miss out on the Rugby World Cup during cruises over the coming weeks, with matches set to be screened on Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth
Cunard Line will ensure that sports fans do not miss out on the Rugby World Cup during cruises over the coming weeks, with matches set to be screened on Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth
Last night Silversea Cruises MV Silver Cloud was at Tower Bridge in London. I was lucky to be invited onboard for a meeting with Steve Odell, the new Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing for UK, Europe and Asia Pacific. I was part of a small group of the UK’s top agents, and once onboard Silver Cloud we had some welcome
Have you ever taken a holiday as a family group cruise or with members of your club or association? Group cruising is getting more and more popular
So after another delicious breakfast onboard it was back to the TAUCK coaches for our 90 min journey to the Kröller-Müller Museum, which is located in The
Breakfast was taken in the dining room – a buffet spread that was very extensive; cereals, cold meats, cheeses, breads, cakes, pastries,
After a very short flight to Cologne airport from Gatwick we collected our cases and made our way to the airport exit. There was a man holding a large sign with TAUCK written on it
Have you heard of Silversea Cruises? They are an ultra-luxury all-inclusive cruise line that has a fleet of 7 ships - Silver Cloud, Silver Wind, Silver Whisper, Silver Shadow and the new Silver Spirit.
Trieste, Italy
So after our late night last night we didn’t wake up until 10am! Hey that’s what holidays are all about right? By the time we had showered we had missed breakfast so went up to the Mosaic Café for a Cappuccino and
Azamara Quest docked at 7am at the port of Dubrovnik, and we enjoyed breakfast in the main dining room (yup - Eggs Benedict again - so predictable!). There were two other ships in port today
Yesterday the captain mentioned that Azamara Quest would be sailing past the beautiful small islands of ’St George’ and the ’Lady of the Rock’ at about 7am, just before we dock in Kotor.
Today Azamara Quest is docked in Split, Croatia. Split is the largest and most important city of Croatia’s Split-Dalmatia County and the country’s second largest city. It is a Mediterranean
This morning we decided to have breakfast in the Discoveries Restaurant and ordered my favourite - Eggs Benedict. Did Azamara Quest pass the EB test?
I have never arrived the day before embarking a cruise ship, I have never been luckily enough to afford the time, however on this trip and due to some rather costly flights, necessity won out and so we arrived in Venice yesterday. After jumping on the
I am looking forward to taking my annual holiday - on Azamara Quest! I sampled this delightful cruise line last year
On Saturday the 16th July, an amazing SIX cruise ships will be docking at Southampton for the day. This is only the second time in
I don’t know about you, but part of my enjoyment (well actually a BIG part of my enjoyment) is the amazing cuisine onboard today’s luxury cruise ships. The thing is, I always find it so hard to resist the tempting food
Today we decided to take the opportunity to explore the Amalfi Coast. One of our party was a very enthusiastic aficionado of this part of Italy and encouraged a number of us to join her on an expedition.
This morning three of the ship’s officers attended our meeting giving us the opportunity to question them about the behind the scenes operation of running a cruise ship
I was woken this morning by a lot of rocking and rolling in the stateroom as we sailed beside the coast of Sicily. The sea was
I had another lovely breakfast on the balcony before joining my colleagues for a three-hour business meeting to discuss our impressions of the wonderful Azamara Journey.
I was woken far too early this morning by the in room alarm clock at 6.30. This had also happened yesterday morning and
I woke early after a very comfortable night’s sleep and took the opportunity to fully appreciate my stateroom onboard Azamara Journey.
Early but quick check in at the BA desk at Gatwick North Terminal as British Airways day staff start at 5am and all check in desks were open...
Last night whilst we were enjoying some pre-dinner drinks, the captain made a surprise announcement. He said that there was a cruise ship approaching for a special meeting
This morning we were woken by our pre-set wake up call on the interactive TV, a nice soft tone rather than a shrill alarm. After showering it was off to The Restaurant
The Seabourn Quest was docked in Monte Carlo and as we arrived from the airport, her white hull was gleaming in the bright Mediterranean sunshine
Come and join us on Facebook on our brand new page! Simply like our new page and win some wine..
Jilly Goolden is set to host a wine tasting cruise onboard AmaWaterways. I can’t think of a better host to join this luxury river cruise
I have just returned from a 4-night sampler cruise on Aegean Odyssey - read the cruise review here - Aegean Odyssey Cruise Review.
I will be experiencing a fairly new cruise line on Sunday 22nd - Voyages to Antiquity. This new cruise line has been in operation for one year, and they offer...
We had a wonderful event on Sunday 15th May at Pennyhill Park in Surrey. It was well attended by our VIP’s and visitor numbers were...
The 5th annual UK cruise convention got off to a great start with the first day dedicated to ACE Ambassadors - these are ACE members who have achieved over 600 points by training, ship visits and through cruise educational visits. The events for today took place onboard Fred. Olsens cruise ship Balmoral.
A very Good Morning on a beautiful day here aboard Queen Elizabeth.
Well today is our final day at sea and it is also the Royal Wedding! Here on Queen Elizabeth, the only thing that is missing from the celebrations is the...
Today we were in the port of Vigo in Spain.
We embarked the local pilot at 0815 and were allowed ashore from 0900
To finish off yesterday, I ended up having a Coke in McDonald’s in Funchal before buying a couple of souvenirs before heading back to the ship. I also did end up at the...
Today I am in the beautiful port of Funchal in Madeira. We arrived at 0830 this morning and will depart shortly after 1030pm this evening for Vigo, Spain a distance of approximately 800 nautical miles
Good Afternoon!
Firstly to finish off last night at the show...
I was picked to go up on stage with the dancers!
It was hilarious and I loved every second of it.
A Very Happy Easter to all!
After last nights Easter Egg hunt around the ship, which took us about an hour and a half walking around the ship, I won!
Good Afternoon and Happy St George’s Day to our English Guests! This morning I went on a private tour of the...
Well I can tell that I have been enjoying the cruise so far... I didn’t wake up till 8am and I was supposed to be up at 6.30 to watch us sail under...
A new update from our junior cruise blogger Ben onboard Queen Elizabeth
Silversea are renaming one of their ships - but what other names can there be for their vessels?
Our Junior cruise blogger has updated us today on last nights evening onboard Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth.
Ben Montgomery, our junior cruise blogger, today embarked Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth.
Join us as we share in his stories and observations on his cruise to the Canary Islands and back.
Well today has been rather busy...
Friend of The Luxury Cruise Company - Ben Montgomery - will be embarking on the latest luxury cruise liner from Cunard, Queen Elizabeth, on 19th April, and he is going to be...
After last years very successful luxury cruise fair - we have decided to repeat it again for this year. We had such good feedback from our VIP’s saying how enjoyable and informative it was we just had to do it again!
Crystal Cruises have just announced that they will now be offering an all-inclusive cruise product starting in 2012. This is fantastic news and comes on the back of their..
Latest figures from the PSA show that some 1.62 million cruises were taken in 2010 by Brits - that’s amazing and still the highest in the world next to our American cousins. But what is the most popular destination do you think?
The Winner of Cruise Photographer of the Year 2010 has been announced...
Today we arrived in the office and our Internet connection was down. This is usually rectified by a quick re-boot of the router and all is well - however today this didn’t remedy it and after a call to the IT team, it seems the problem was a lot more serious than that...
Great news this week - the Foreign Office here in the UK has amended its travel advice for Egypt - "We no longer advise against all but essential travel to Cairo (all four governorates, including Giza), Alexandria, and Suez. There are no restrictions in this travel advice on travel to Egypt."
When you book a cruise are you looking at how may ports of call you can squeeze into your cruise - or do you prefer the days at sea? Many experienced cruisers like to choose a cruise that has many sea days, like repositioning ...
Recent ship launches have created a surge of interest in the cruise market. Disney Dream was launched a few weeks ago, featuring the worlds first water coaster at sea, and the ship has won rave reviews from passengers and critics alike
For all our VIP’s travelling with us to Egypt - read full information here
We received this ’Caribbean cruise cost comparison’ sent to us from our friends at Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
This demonstrates the added value that the all-inclusive luxury cruise lines can offer. When you add up all the "hidden extras" that you end up paying for on most other non all-inclusive lines, it can end up costing you more.
We often get asked where are the next hot cruise destinations, well judging from our VIP’s recent enquiries and bookings, the Eastern Mediterranean, Egypt and the Nile, Black Sea, and Scandinavia are all the top destinations for 2011.
Congratulations to our winner of the November round of Cruise Photographer of the Year. The image with the most votes can be viewed here - >November Cruise Photo Winner. This great image received
The Gold list 2011 of Cruise Lines, as voted for my the readers of Condé Nast Traveler
Some of our readers and followers will have heard of the term "Wave Season" being mentioned around the Internet and on blogs. But just what is it? Well in the trade the Wave season is what cruise lines call the peak booking months of January and February. These have always been traditionally the time when
In a webcast broadcast yesterday Celebrity Cruises CEO Dan Hanrahan announced some new innovations and developments for its next two ships in the Solstice class - Celebrity Silhouette and Celebrity Reflection.
October winner and November Top Ten finalists
It was another great month of photos that were submitted to our photo competition for Cruise Photographer of the Year. We had some super entries and the theme for November was Cruise Destinations
Cruise International, the new cruise magazine, has produced a 2011 cruise planner which is available in WH Smith, Waitrose and other good newsagents. The magazine has been going for a few years now and they have recently...
Just a quick update - we have had some really great photos loaded to our flickr page for the theme of Cruise Destinations. Take a look here at our photo competition flickr page
Well we are just over half way thru the month and we have had some great entries for last months photo competition. Get voting on your favourite photo
A recent CNN article puts cruising down - they have not tried luxury cruising obviously yet...
It was great to see so many cruisers attend the Luxury Travel Fair this year. We really enjoyed chatting to you all - and there is a growing interest in the luxury cruise market too which is great.
We have our winner for the September round of the Cruise Photographer of the Year competition. The image with the most votes and comments was titled...
Would you like free tickets to the Luxury Travel Fair held at Olympia from 4th to 7th November?
I have posted a new video - a montage of images taken on my recent 4-day trip on Azamara Quest - one of two sister ships from Azamara Club Cruises.
Azamara Cruises re-branded itself in April 2010 as an upmarket boutique cruise line called Azamara Club Cruises. Their new CEO, cruise veteran Larry Pimentel, took over the company and before he took the job he
The Top 10 cruise ships in the world - as rated by Berlitz - do you agree?
It was a glorious sunny day on 11th October at Southampton as the specially invited guests made their way to the seating area, set up in front of Cunards new Queen Elizabeth. Whilst we took our seats it was great to spot our famous
Its been an exciting few days at the White Star office - Janet has been down to see Cunard’s new Queen Elizabeth cruise ship over the weekend, and today I have been invited to the naming ceremony
As the toxic sludge from the aluminium processing plant makes its way into the Danube, we have been advised that the luxury river cruise operators have not yet had to cancel or alter any cruises.
Come and visit us at the Birmingham CRUISE show - held at the NEC on 16th and 17th October. We will be on stand on C 16 along with Sonesta Nile Cruises - stop by and say hello.
We will be at the CRUISE show on 16th and 17th October at Birmingham NEC and the Luxury Travel Show at Olympia in London from 4th to 7th November. More.....
The first month of our Cruise Photographer of the Year has got off to a flying start and we have some really great entries for the September round. There are some excellent photographers out there taking some really imaginative cruise photos and the standard has been set high for the rest of the competition.
Silversea has revamped its website! Gone is the all white rather minimal look and it has been replaced with flashy animations and dreamy images of seascapes and ships, taken by photographer Dana Neibert
The Luxury Cruise Company are please to announce the launch of their brand new photo competition - where you can win $200 onboard credit vouchers, cases of wine and an amazing cruise on Cunard’s new Queen Elizabeth ship
National Cruise Week launched on Sunday 19 September and with range of cruise deals and special offers, and The Luxury Cruise Company is joining thousands of travel agencies the length and breadth of Britain to push the boat out
When you only have one day in...Barcelona
Barcelona is a great port city and very popular for Mediterranean cruises starting or ending there, as well as a port-of-call for longer voyages. But what to do, where to go and what should you see when you only have one day in Barcelona?
Joining your cruise from one of the popular UK ports is getting more and more popular - in 2009 over 594,000 Brits embarked a cruise ship sailing from a UKport - and this fact is backed up by more cruise lines positioning ships out of the UK - and by building new ships too for the UK market.
We escorted 14 of our The Luxury Cruise Company VIP’s around the beautiful Celebrity Eclipse on a recent ship visit we arranged for them.
Our very own James Innes Williams has recently taken a trip with European Waterways on their luxury hotel barge La Belle Epoque - read his review.
If you are new to cruise or confused by all the different cruise lines and cruise ships, then read our Top 10 Frequently Ask Cruise Questions and hopefully we can help you.
Just back from the UK’s 4th ACE Cruise Convention at Southampton. Four days of ship visits, networking and conferencing, chaired by that stalwart of British travel - Judith Chalmers (who was so charming and lovely!).
On Friday 4th June, The Yachts of Seabourn invited me to embark the new Seabourn Sojourn for her official naming celebration. Once onboard there was plenty of time to explore this beautiful yacht like ship, a sister ship to Seabourn Odyssey.
The Luxury Cruise Company are holding their first Summer Luxury Cruise Fair at the prestigious Pennyhill Park Hotel on Sunday 18th July. It will start at 10am and visitors will have the opportunity to meet 19 luxury river and cruise lines.
Silversea cruises Silver Whisper emerged from dry dock recently, with newly refurbished suites and public areas. View the photos here including images of Veranda Suites, Owners Suites, the restaurant, spa and more.
Last week we held our very successful event at Pennyhill Park with Windstar Cruises. Marnie Whipple, International Sales Manager flew over from Seattle to host the evening, and we all enjoyed her presentation and lively question and answer session too
Upon arrival at Changi airport we made out way to passport control and baggage reclaim, and our bags soon appeared. We went through customs and then out into the arrival hall, and there was someone from Tour East holding a sign with my name on for our private tour.
Plans are already under way for two 2010 classical music cruises on board MS Europa following the success of the Stella Maris classical music and singing competition on that ship this autumn.
Crystal Cruises have announced a new dining concept onboard its two ships, Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity called Open Dining by Reservation.
Mention cruising and most people think of the romance of the Caribbean, river cruises in Europe, sailing the Nile or the once in a lifetime experience of a world cruise
Dubai’s department of tourism has unveiled details of a new cruise terminal. The new building will be located in the emirate’s Port Rashid complex, and is due to be inaugurated in February 2010.
Sarina Bratton, founder and managing director of Orion Expedition Cruises invited an audience of the UK’s top cruise specialists to annouce Orion’s plans for 2011 - including the addition of a new ship for the company, and of course The Luxury Cruise Company were there.
Cunard have announced that the sculpture that is to appear onboard the line’s new Queen Elizabeth is to be designed by an amateur artist, rather than a commissioned piece from a professional.
Celebrity Cruises newest cruise ship, Celebrity Equinox, arrived in Southampton yesterday for a 2 week programme of events aimed at the travel industry and public.
I’m back after some time off – North Wales and Snowdonia, which was lovely – great scenery and real nice people too.
The Canyon Ranch Spa onboard Cunard’s magnificent Queen Mary 2 has been nominated for an award by the readers of SpaFinder.
The Luxury Cruise Company MD, Steve Allen, is onboard the new Silversea ship Silver Spirit - read his updates from this brand new luxury cruise ship.
We embarked the MS Nile Premium at 12 noon and were welcomed by the hotel manager with a welcome drink and our keys.
Crystal Cruises has once again been voted the “Worlds Best Large-Ship Cruise Line” – for a record 16th year. The esteemed readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine (U.S. version) have once again awarded Crystal Cruises a top score of 92.7.
Hello - found these great videos on AMA Waterways - 5-star luxury river cruises. Have a quick look and see the service and quality onboard the luxury river cruise lines.
Today we had a day out of the office as we were invited to view one of European Waterways hotel barges – the Magna Carta. Docked handily outside a pub on the Thames at Windsor, we boarded the boat for a tour and presentation.
River cruising is growing in popularity – gone are the days of 3-star old boats plying the Danube, Rhine or Mosselle, staffed by surly crew and serving questionable goulash for every meal!
Crystal Cruises have announced today a re-look at their 2010 prices and have reduced them – see the article here - 2010 pricing
Found this video about the Hot Glass Show on Celebrity Solstice Class of ships - looks fun!
On Saturday I drove down in the lovely sunshine to view Swan Hellenic’s MV Minerva. As I came over the hill there were only two ships in Dover that day – Oceania Cruises Regatta and MV Minerva.
Sunday I was lucky enough to be invited to have a look around the brand new Celebrity Equinox - the latest cruise ship to be launched in Southampton and in fact the only one this year. Sister ship to the Celebrity Solstice, Equinox is an elegant lady and beautifully decorated.
Found out that the world famous liner - QE2 - is to set sail from Dubai and will be berthed at Cape Town for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Celebrating the launch of the new Hapag Lloyd cruise ship, MS Europa. Please see a short video on its ships facilities & style.
On Tuesday we were very lucky to be invited to view Hapag-Lloyds MS Europa when she was anchored off Cowes.
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