Enjoy A Red Sea Winter With MSC

Escape to warmer climes this winter, and embark on a seven-night cruise to the Red Sea with MSC Cruises from just £689 per person – including return flights. On board MSC Armonia, guests will be able to explore the rich history and culture of this ancient region. Be it cultural enlightenment, relaxation or adventure, all shore excursions are tailored to encourage guests to discover this beautiful region at their own pace and according to their taste.

From November 10 to March 16, the ship has a full schedule of 19 cruises, departing every Sunday from Sharm El Sheikh, with scheduled stops in Sokhna and Safaga (Egypt), Aqaba (Jordan) and Eilat (Israel).

Itinerary highlights include tours of the Dead Sea incorporating a clay bath; visits to Bedouin settlements; trips to southern Jordan’s timeless and stunning Wadi Rum valley (above) and drive and fly-tours through the wildly beautiful landscape of the Negev desert.

MSC Armonia features 777 beautifully appointed cabins. Its luxurious facilities include four restaurants - offering excellent Mediterranean and international cuisine - several bars and lounges, the incredible MSC Aurea Spa, a mini-golf course, numerous boutiques, casino, theatre, nightclub and children’s club.

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line, the UK's cruise-agent specialists.

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Check Out Voyages Of Discovery In 2013

Discovery-led cruise line Voyages of Discovery has launched new ‘Saver Fares’ with savings of up to £250 per person on selected itineraries. Theyare ideal for customers looking for a great deal and are available on nine cruises within the Summer and Winter 2013-14 programmes. Saver Fares are limited in availability so guests are encouraged to book early to secure the best fare.

Current Saver Fare itineraries include:

• The 10-day Heritage of the British Isles cruise from £949 per person (based on two sharing an inside cabin), which works out at less than £95 per person per day. The voyage departs from Portsmouth on June 2 and calls at Holyhead, Belfast, Oban and Port of Tyne.
• The 18-day Indian, Arabian and African Contrasts cruise from £1,149 per person (based on two sharing an inside cabin), or less than £64 per person, per day. Departing from Mumbai (overnight) on March 21, it calls at Porbandar, Muscat (overnight) and Safaga (overnight).
• The 14-day Springtime European Voyager cruise from £849 per person (again, based on two sharing an inside cabin), or less than £61 per person, per day. Departing from Civitavecchia (Rome), it calls at San Remo (Italy), Valencia (Spain), Cartagena (Spain) and Leixoes (Portugal). Price is based on a 21 April 2014 UK departure.

Offers are also available on the following itineraries: Celtic Treasures, Mediterranean Medley, Adriatic, Aegean and Corinth Canal, In the Footsteps of St Paul, Windows on the Ancient World and East to Myanmar and the Orient.

Saver Fares include return flights from the UK on fly-cruises, all relevant overseas transfers, meals and entertainment and the Guest Speaker programme on board the ship. 

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's adventure-cruise specialists.

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Explore The East With Swan Hellenic

Swan Hellenic have a wonderful 15-day Middle East cruise option this November on their boutique ship Minerva.

Highlights include ancient Egyptian temples on the banks of the River Nile and French colonial architecture in Djibouti. Guests can delve into the maze of souks in Muscat (Oman) - a treasure trove of silver and gold, coffee pots, frankincense and textiles - and, from the port town of Khasab (Oman), visit traditional Bedouin villages before travelling onto the diverse city of Dubai and the historic Bastakiya district.

The Passage to Oman voyage starts from £1,705 per person (based on two people sharing an inside cabin). The cruise departs on November 21 from Safaga (Egypt, overnight) and calls at Djibouti, Salalah (Oman), Muscat (overnight), Khasab and Dubai (overnight).

Price of cruise includes return flights from the UK, transfers, a tailor-made programme of shore excursions, talks by eminent Guest Speakers, meals and entertainment on board, all gratuities and all relevant cruise taxes/fees. 

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line, the UK's luxury cruising specialists.

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Asia Cruising From Just £59 Per Day

The bargain fare offers continue to come in thick and fast this month. Here's another, that offers a grand Asia voyage from just £59 per person, per day:

Join Voyages of Discovery’s MV Discovery for a 17-day 'Tales of India and Arabia' cruise from £999 per person (based on two people sharing an inside cabin). Discover the fusion of religion and culture in Mumbai, visit the birthplace of Ghandhi ‘The Father of the Nation’ in Porbandar and follow the Frankincense Trail.

The price includes return flights from London, transfers and the 17-day voyage departing from Mumbai (overnight) and calling at Porbandar, Muscat (Oman, overnight), Salalah (Oman), Sharm-el-Sheikh (Egypt), Aqaba (Jordan) and the final port of Safaga (Egypt, overnight). Based on a March 19 departure. Price includes all meals, entertainment and gratuities on board and all relevant cruise taxes/fees, plus onboard lectures from a team of renowned Guest Speakers.

For booking details, be sure to check out this link with the UK's luxury cruise specialists, The Cruise Line Ltd.

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On The Frankincense Trail With Voyages of Discovery

Join Voyages of Discovery’s luxury small ship MV Discovery on two new itineraries for 2012 - The Frankincense Trail and Oman to the Holy Land.

Explore the ‘Desert Kingdom’, the Lost City of Ubar and Lawrence of Arabia’s Petra on The Frankincense Trail from just £899 per person, based on a March 23 departure (two people sharing an inside cabin). The price includes return flights from London, transfers and a 13-day voyage departing from Muscat (Oman, overnight) and calling at Salalah (Oman), Sharm-el-Sheikh (Egypt), Aqaba (Jordan) and the final port of Safaga (Egypt, overnight).

Oman to the Holy Land is an extended version of the Frankincense Trail, cruising along to other major historical hotspots such as Israel, Cyprus and Turkey and costs from just £1,399 per person (based on a March 23 departure and two people sharing an inside cabin). The full voyage lasts 25 days and, after 2 overnights in Safaga, continues to Sharm-el-Sheikh (Egypt), Sokhna (Egypt), Ashdod (Israel), Haifa (Israel), Limassol (Cyprus), Fethiye (Turkey), Kusadasi (Turkey) and the final port of Istanbul (overnight).

The price for both cruises includes all meals, entertainment and gratuities on board and all relevant cruise taxes/fees, plus onboard lectures from a team of renowned Guest Speakers.

For booking details, be sure to check this link with the UK's leading cruise agents, The Cruise Line Ltd.

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Amazing Prices With Regent For 2012

For travellers looking for a truly all-inclusive cruise at unbelievable value in the Mediterranean next spring, Christmas may well have arrived early as six-star ultra-luxury Regent Seven Seas Cruises has announced some extraordinary fares on three voyages in 2012.

Sailing on the line’s all-suite, all-balcony vessels Seven Sea Voyager and Mariner, the cruises include free flights and transfers, overnights in ancient cities including Safaga, Haifa and Istanbul, as well as all onboard dining, beverages and gratuities.

And, with the privilege of unlimited shore excursions in every port, these itineraries boast up to 38 free excursions for guests to choose from to further enhance their cruise experience. The fares for a Deluxe Balcony Suite on a 10-night Med cruise now start from just £2,153 per person.

Details of the three voyages are: Seven Seas Voyager, Dubai to Athens (17 nights), departing March 30 and calling at Muscat, Salalah, Luxor (from Safaga), Petra, Sharm El Sheikh, Cairo, Ashdod and Haifa; Seven Seas Mariner, Barcelona to Istanbul and Tarragona to Istanbul, departing April 2 and 30 (10 nights) and calling at Monte Carlo, Florence/Pisa, Rome, Capri/Sorrento, Taormina, Santorini and Ephesus.

For more info and booking details, be sure to check out this link with the UK's luxury cruise specialists, The Cruise Line Ltd.

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Fred Olsen Sign Up Explorer Tim Severin

Explorer, author and historian Tim Severin is the latest illustrious name to join Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ Vistas programme as a special guest speaker. Perhaps best known for his Viking Series of historical novels, Tim’s new association with the cruise line is especially appropriate given the company’s Norwegian heritage.

During a spectacular career, Tim has: retraced the footsteps of Sindbad the Sailor, sailing from Muscat to China; steered a Bronze Age galley to seek the landfalls of Jason and the Argonauts and Ulysses; ridden the routes of the first Crusader knights across Europe to the Holy Land; travelled on horseback with nomads in Mongolia to research Genghis Khan; traced the origins of Moby Dick amongst the aboriginal sea hunters of the Pacific; and sailed a leather boat across the Atlantic from Ireland to Newfoundland, recreating the route taken by Irish monk St. Brendan the Navigator. One of his most recent quests has been to identify the ‘real’ Robinson Crusoe.

This eminent explorer and author will feature on ‘East of Suez: History and Culture,’ a sector of Black Watch’s 2012 World Cruise’. Departing from Southampton on January 11, this 32-night voyage covers the cruise as far as Singapore. Ports of call are Gibraltar, Cueta, Valletta, Port Said, then a transit of the Suez Canal, Sharm el Sheikh and Safaga. Tim will be joining in Safaga and stay aboard for the visits to Salalah (Oman), Mumbai (for an overnight stay), Cochin, Port Blair (Andaman Islands) and Singapore.

Prices start from £2,379 per person, based on two adults sharing an outside, twin cabin, Grade ‘D’. The cost includes return flights from Singapore to London and transfers, accommodation and all meals and entertainment on board, as well as port and airport taxes. There is no extra charge for taking part in Vistas activities.

For more info and booking details, be sure to check out this link with the UK's luxury cruise specialists, The Cruise Line Ltd.

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Costa Starts Cruising The Red Sea

Here's an interesting press release from Costa Cruises this week, with news of new destinations:

Two Costa ships to depart weekly from Sharm El Sheikh in a first for the cruise industry

Costa Marina and Costa Allegra have new departures from Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, visiting Cairo, the Negev Desert (Israel) and Petra (Jordan) for the first time in an exclusive winter 2010/2011 itinerary.

Costa Cruises is offering new one-week cruises in the Red Sea departing from Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, for the entire 2010/2011 winter season. The Red Sea, along with the Far East, the Arab Emirates and the Indian Ocean, will become yet another destination where Costa offers a regular cruise service.

Costa Marina (25,600 gross tonnage and a capacity of 1,000 guests) and Allegra (28,400 gross tonnage and a capacity of 1,000 guests) will depart from November 25, 2010, to February 17, 2011 and November 29, 2010, to March 21, 2011, respectively. The unique itineraries include Egypt, Israel and Jordan, and call at Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), Eilat (Israel), Aqaba (Jordan), Luxor-Safaga (Egypt) and Cairo-Sokhna (Egypt).

Both ships will call weekly in Sharm el Sheikh, making a total of 38 calls and transporting a total of 60,000 passengers over the winter months.

The itineraries of Marina and Allegra combine both relaxation and culture from one shore of the Red Sea to the other. Passengers on the Red Sea voyages can expect to experience incredibly beautiful sea vistas and cultural and archaeological treasures.

From Eilat, guests can take Costa excursions to a natural oasis in the Negev Desert , the fortress of Masada or the incredible landscapes of the Dead Sea . At Aqaba, guests can visit the pink city of Petra, carved into the mountains. In Safaga there is the option to enjoy excursions to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, visit the tombs of the Pharaohs, observe the natural wonders of Hurghada and visit the crystalline waters of the island of Mahamya. From Sokhna, excursions visit the grand pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.

With spectacular architecture, Costa Marina and Allegra are ideal for Red Sea cruises, as the beautiful panoramic circular glass wall of the stern allows for breathtaking sea views. Onboard, guests can enjoy a myriad of facilities including restaurants, bars, wellness and fitness centres, treatment rooms and saunas, swimming pools, outdoor jogging tracks, theatres, casinos, discotheques, shopping centres and internet access points.

For more information or to book, go to www.costacruises.co.uk or call 0845 351 0552, or try the specialist cruise travel agents of The Cruise Line Ltd on 0800 008 7766.

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From the Nile to Damascus

By guest blogger Steve Newman

The Middle East has long been a magnet for those who wish to combine cruising with the study of ancient civilisations. Take this tradition with a combined land-and-cruise journey and you really have the chance to get under the skin of these places and their cultures, both past and present.

In March next year, discerning travellers have the chance to take a six-night cruise in the Red Sea combined with land elements to visit some of the most impressive ancient ruins on Earth for an amazing 17-day journey.

Organised in typical exemplary style by Noble Caledonia, the trip starts with three nights in Cairo with trips to the Pyramids and other famous historical sites before you board the MS Island Sky for the cruise from Suez to Aqaba. The ship underwent a complete refurbishment in May and I can thoroughly recommend her as a superb vessel for this type of cruise having sailed on her myself recently.

Calling in at Safaga, a journey through the desert brings you to Luxor for a two-day excursion that also includes the Valley of the Kings. Amazingly, the best is yet to come as, after disembarking at Aqaba, the wonder of the orange and red sands of the desert of Wadi Rum are visited in Jordan, followed by a two-night stay at Petra (above) the "Rose red city, older than time."

Floating in the Dead Sea at its marvellous resort that drips luxury and exclusiveness, walking through Amman and sitting in wonder on the steps of the theatres in the ancient Roman city of Jerash are all followed by the fascination of the Mosques and Orthodox churches of Damascus.

How's that for true Middle Eastern magnificence?

For more information, look up http://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/

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