Holidays are nearly over

Hope you've all had a fabulous Christmas I certainly have, its been great spending Christmas in Marbella with all my family, it's the only real time we get all together, only a few more days left then packing to come home....looking forward to hearing from you all in the New year when I'm back at Cruise.co.uk
Yesterday we all headed to Malaga for a spot of retail therapy and on the way back we stopped at Malaga Port, I had wanted to visit the Port as Royal Caribbean have one of it's ship "Adventure of the Seas" starting many cruises there for 2011

 The port of Málaga is a passenger port with a regular line to Melilla.  Malaga provides not only sun, beaches and a soft climate, but its joy, gastronomy and a rich cultural hence is an ideal location for a cruise and also a starting point for a great journey to other parts of the world.
Many companies have chosen Malaga as one of the favorite destinations for starting a cruise. The ships generally are routing along the Mediterranean Sea, Balearic Islands, the African coast and as well the Italian or French coasts and due to the landscape and the climate convert the cruise into a dream trip.
During the year 2011, the ‘Adventure of the Seas’, and ‘MSC Poesia’ are carrying out many cruises starting there, check them out at www.cruise.co.uk

The vessel “Adventure of the Seas”  May - October 2011
Leaving  Malaga : Valencia : Rome (Civitavecchia) : Florence/Pisa(Livorno) : Ajaccio, Corsica : Malaga

I thought you might be as well interested to know that the companies of Royal Caribbean and the Spanish railway RENFE have agreed in creating a service denominated "Puerto de Atocha" (Port of Atocha), transporting cruise ships customers from Madrid to Malaga in the high speed train AVE. The cruise ship company will be directly in charge for the transaction of customer tickets who have acquired a cruise which begins and concludes in Malaga. The idea behind is that the client arriving in Madrid-Atocha will be "embarking in the capital", getting delivered his luggage directly to his cabin on the ship.The access road to the Malaga cruise terminal is currently a link road joining the Malaga ring roads denominated "Nuevo Acceso al Puerto de Málaga por Ronda Intermedia-San Andrés".
How to get to Malaga port
The international Malaga airport is only 15 minutes away from the port and has a direct access via the motorway. Both the Malaga railway station Maria Zambrano and the main Malaga bus station are situated 1,5 kilometres from the port.



Bye for now, get checking those Malaga cruises at www.cruise.co.uk  

Pippa

Christmas time is coming

Hey its nearly Christmas holiday time just 2 more working days for me to go, then weather permitting flying away to hopefully a sunny Marbella to spend Christmas and New year with my family.
So looking forward to getting away now after three nightmare travel days, SNOW is lovely but when you need to get to work and back its been a NIGHTMARE!!!!

I will be back on the 4th January 2011, very refreshed ready to get next years cruises booked for you all....

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRIMBO AND BE IN TOUCH WITH YOU ALL IN 2011!

Adios for now

Pippa

Help me with my summer vacation decision!

Well if you’re like me it's that time of year when I'm thinking about planning next year’s holiday, and this year it’s got to be a cruise!  Now I need a little help here friends, as there’s so much choice for next year and the Western Med keeps popping up in my mind! It really is a beautiful part of the world. Do you agree?! SO, so far I think Royal Caribbean seems to be my favourite as their itineraries go to such interesting places and the ships are packed with fun facilities.

Adventure of the Seas really captures my eye as its sailing out of Malaga in June which is close to where my parents live. For those that don't know I was brought up in Spain so the country is close to my heart. And what a beautiful place to relax before I take my luxury cruise!  

Now my dilemma is, is that the Liberty of the seas also catches my eye! This is sailing in June from Barcelona and I absolutely love the itinerary- look at this! Valencia, Rome, Florence, Ajaccio, and Malaga my entire favourite places. Reminds me of my many childhood memories of eating gorgeous Mediterranean food and swimming in the pool with my siblings having fun. A gorgeous way of life. So what better way to relive it all on a cruise?

So I would really love some advice on which one you liked or disliked. Feel free to leave your comments below as I day dream about the good old Mediterranean life!

My Christmas Cruise on P & O Aurora

I have just recently returned from our 2 night Christmas cruise to Bruges on the Aurora, its a lovely traditional ship that was built in 2000 and is very well equipped. The focal point of the ship is the five deck high atruim leading to a variety of facilities. Children are well provided for with fully supervised childrens and teens clubs offering disco parties, competitons, games arcade, computers and outdoor pool games.

There is plenty of open deck space for people to sunbathe, i would have loved to have been able to have a swim in the pool and a lie in the sun but at -4 in Bruges i had to give it a miss this time. The ship also has a wrap around promenade deck. The Limelight Theatre provides west end style shows and the Curzon Theatre has musicals and cabaret

The Dining rooms are very impressive with two main dining areas the Eqyptian designed Alexandria aft of the ship and the Moorish designed Medina which is midship, there is also Marco Pierre Whites bistro Cafe Bordeaux and The Orangery for breakfast or lunch.
Our party ate both nights in the Medina Restaurant but unfortunately i was not very impressed with the food and service, after ordering steak rare it arrived extremely well done, the service from the waiters was also slow and it took over 20 minutes for our table to receive our first drinks. Our table also felt we were very rushed by our P & O waiter who removed plates whilst other's at our table were still eating and giving other's their second plate of food. Not good service for a 4 star cruise ship!

Dress Code is casual and comfortable during the day. Evenings range from smart to casual to semi formal. Formal evenings require a suit or dinner jacket for men and cocktail dress for the ladies.. We had one semi formal evening and one formal evening.

I was very lucky to have a balcony deluxe cabin which was very spacious with a nice balcony, decor very nice, bathroom was also to a very high standard with bath, shower and WC and complimentary White Room shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and hand cream. Our Cabin porter Caetano was great he couldn't of been more helpful during our stay.

There are lots of bars to choose from too on the ship, including the Crows Nest which i loved, its a very traditional bar aft of the ship with great views out to sea, drinks are very reasonable with a glass of large white wine costing £2.85, pints were also nicely priced at £2.35 and cocktails between £3.50 and £4.60

All in all i would highly recommend the Aurora for a lovely cruise holiday they just need to iron out a few problems with the dinner service.


Any questions you would like me to answer on my cruise please ask

Carnival Cruise Bermuda

Carnival Cruises offers sixteen cruises to Bermuda in 2011. This is a large increase from 2010. Carnival Cruises are an experience packed with mountains of food, fun-filled activities, lavish entertainment, exciting new places, and fun!

A Carnival cruise is more than just a vacation. It's an attitude. It's a spirit of be-yourself fun that no other cruise line can offer. From the inviting decor to the friendly staff, you'll feel the difference right away. A Carnival Bermuda cruise from New York, Baltimore, Charleston or Norfolk is a great way to escape

Carnival Cruises to Bermuda

7-day cruises from New York to Bermuda on the Carnival Miracle. Docks at King's Wharf in Bermuda.
2011 departures: April 14, 21.

Carnival Cruise Line's "Fun Ships" are floating resorts designed for your pleasure. Experience the outdoor areas, wonderful restaurants, friendly casino, relaxing lounges, invigorating spa, and exciting nightclubs. Come aboard and see for yourself why Carnival Cruises are the fun ships.

An Introduction To Bermuda Cruises

If you are planning a cruise to Bermuda, there are certain important things which you must keep in mind. If you have not been to Bermuda before, bear in mind that it is not a big island. In fact, it doesn't take more than 24 hours to walk across the whole island.

Bermuda is around 120 miles north of the Caribbean Sea. It has a mild climate even during the winter months. Cruises to Bermuda are generally available between April and late October. There are certain cruises which keep on making trips until the end of December. However, they are relatively rare.

Your cruise ship could land in any one of the three ports at Bermuda, though it is most likely that you would stop in the port of Hamilton, as it has two shipping berths. It may happen that you visit more than one port on your Bermuda cruise trip.

The other port is known as St. George port. It is a historical port and attracts large numbers of tourists. Then there is the third port, at King's Wharf. This port has museums, galleries and popular restaurants, which makes it a famous cultural hub. Bermuda cruises often have a large number of tourists who often make return visits to Bermuda. This indicates the island's popularity.

However, as it is a small island, restrictions are in place concerning the maximum number of cruise liners that can land here. Check out the limit before you book a Bermuda cruise. The bookings can be done online or over the telephone. There are many cruise liners to choose from. Your choice of a cruise liner depends on your budget and the kind of vacation you are looking to take. There are luxury liners for those who want to splurge, and cheaper liners for those on a tighter budget