Late offers from Amawaterways

SAVE £740pp

3^rd July, Amsterdam to Basel 7 night Rhine cruise, saving £740pp

AmaWaterways have trimmed £740pp off the price of a 7 night cruise along the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel, taking in Cologne, the Rhine Gorge, and the scenic Alsace and Black Forest regions. This spectacular cruise now costs from £1499pp including free flights from London, transfers, breakfast, lunch and dinner on board with free flowing wine, beer & soft drinks with lunch and dinner, daily excursions and tours, free wi-fi, complimentary use of on board bicycles. Or £1199, cruise only. 

SAVE £840pp – on board Berlitz’s `best river cruise ship’

8^th July – Cruise on board `the best river ship in Europe’

AmaWaterways’ luxury river cruiser AmaPrima has been named the best river ship in Europe in the new Berlitz: River Cruising in Europe guide, published this month. A week’s sailing on board AmaPrima from Vilshofen to Budapest can be booked for just £1199 (cruise only), or from £1459 including return London flights and transfers, saving £840pp. The price also includes breakfast, lunch and dinner on board with free flowing wine, beer & soft drinks with lunch and dinner, daily excursions and tours, free wi-fi, complimentary use of on board bicycles. 

SAVE £995pp

9^th July 2014, 7 night Legendary Danube cruise, saving £995pp

Save £995pp off a week long luxury river cruise along the Danube from Nuremberg to Budapest, visiting Linz, Passau, Melk, Vienna and Budapest, watching the world pass by from panoramic windows and taking part in daily complimentary tours and excursions. The price of £1459pp includes flights from London, transfers, breakfast, lunch and dinner on board with free flowing wine, beer & soft drinks with lunch and dinner, daily excursions and tours, free wi-fi, complimentary use of on board bicycles. 

SAVE £1340pp

10^th July, RAIL & SAIL : Paris & Normandy by luxury river cruiser – with £1340pp saving + free Eurostar

AmaWaterways are offering a saving of £1340pp, free Eurostar travel and inclusive excursions to visit the beaches and landmarks associated with the D-Day landings, as part of a luxury 7 night river cruise embarking in Paris on 10^th July 2014. The sailing, which now costs from £1699pp includes free Eurostar travel from London, transfers, breakfast, lunch and dinner on board with free flowing wine, beer & soft drinks with lunch and dinner, daily excursions and tours, free wi-fi, complimentary use of on board bicycles. Regional flights also available. 

SAVE £990pp

15^th July 2014, 7 night Douro cruise saving £990pp – with free flights from London and Birmingham

Luxury river cruise operator AmaWaterways has trimmed the cost of a 7 night cruise along Portugal’s Douro river by £990 per person. Departing in Porto on 15^th July 2014 the cruise now costs from £1479pp (£1599 from Birmingham), including a scenic 7 night voyage down the Douro river, free flights and transfers, breakfast, lunch and dinner on board with free flowing wine, port wine, beer & soft drinks with lunch and dinner, daily excursions and tours, free wi-fi. Cruise only costs from £1199pp. 

SAVE £1250pp

17^th July 2014, Provence river cruise, with optional ghost walk and £1250pp saving

Save £1250pp off a 7 night cruise from Arles to Lyon, departing on 17^th July 2014, including free flights, transfers and daily guided tours and excursions that include the chateaux, towns and vineyards that accompany the constantly changing riverside vista; participate in a ghost walk through the town of Viviers, join a Van Gogh tour in Arles or a wine tasting in Provence. The cruise price of £1849pp includes free flights from London, transfers, breakfast, lunch and dinner on board with free flowing wine, beer & soft drinks with lunch and dinner, daily excursions and tours, free wi-fi, complimentary use of on board bicycles.  Regional flights and Eurostar also available. Cruise only from £1499pp.  

Contact AmaWaterways on 0808 256 8422, www.amawaterways.co.uk

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It's good to be back!!

Well it's good to be back after a stunning two weeks in fabulous Greenland with Hurtigruten. Look out on Monday afternoon for the first of a daily report on the trip. Iceburgs, Inuit, Polar Bears and sledge dogs are all featured. I found it fascinating talking to the Inuit/Greenlandic people about their way of life and how global warming is changing so much  for them. 

Plus the latest edition of World of Cruising magazine dropped through my letterbox whilst I was away!

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ITV documentary set on Princess Cruises ship to air from 11 July

A four-part documentary set on board a Princess Cruises ship will be broadcast weekly on ITV from 11 July. Entitled ‘The Cruise Ship’, the show will air on consecutive Friday evenings at 8pm, in between the Coronation Street double bill.

The documentary features unprecedented behind-the-scenes footage of crew and guests on Royal Princess. The 3,600-guest ship was launched last year by HRH, The Duchess of Cambridge. Among the crew to be featured is Welsh-born cruise director Sam Hawker-Thomas (above).

Filming took place as Royal Princess sailed across the Caribbean, including a call at Princess Cruises’ private Bahamas island. John Thompson, star of Cold Feet and The Fast Show, provides the voiceover.

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Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ Black Watch to sail from Newcastle again in 2014

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is offering guests some very attractive cruise deals from Newcastle in 2014, from just £67 per person, per night*, as 804-guest Black Watch commences her cruise season from the Port of Tyne on 28^th June 2014. Fred. Olsen is embarking on a series of seven cruises from this convenient North East departure port from June to October 2014, on a variety of worldwide itineraries – from a seven-night ‘Norwegian Fjords’ cruise to a 15-night ‘Canary Islands’ sailing.

www.fredolsencruises.com  0800 0355 242 

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How CMV's latest cruise ship earned her place in history

The cruise ship Azores has an even longer history than Discovery, the vessel it will replace in the Cruise & Maritime Voyages fleet next year. It’s a history that has seen excitement and tragedy in considerable measure.

While Discovery saw service as Island Princess, and was one of the locations for the Love Boat TV series in the 70s, Azores goes back much further.

To 1948, in fact, when she was built in Gothenburg, Sweden, for the Swedish American Line – a passenger and cargo shipping company operating Transatlantic crossings to New York.

After just over eight years of service, the Stockholm gained notoriety for its part in a significant maritime disaster, the 1956 sinking of the Andrea Doria. The two ships collided in thick fog off Nantucket, Massachusetts and the Italian liner, which was carrying 1,134 passengers and 572 crew, sank.

Some 52 people were killed, 51 of them during the initial impact when Stockholm was embedded in Andrea Dorea’s starboard side.  Repairs to Stockholm’s damaged bow were reported to have cost $1 million.

Less than four years later the ship was bought by the East German government, who renamed it Volkerfreundschaft (Friendship of the People) and continued to operate it as an ocean liner until 1985.

Sold to Italian investors in 1989 and towed to Genoa, she was nicknamed the “ship of death” by the Italian press. Nevertheless, the vessel was completely stripped back to its bare hull and rebuilt from the waterline up before being put into service in Cuba.

In 2005 the ship was acquired by Classic International Cruises and renamed Athena (above). On a passage through the Gulf of Aden in 2008, en route to Australia, she was surrounded by 29 pirate boats, who fled when high pressure hoses were turned on them.

CIC hit financial trouble in 2012 and its three ships were arrested. Athena was detained in Marseille for some months. But the vessel was put back in service with the formation of Lisbon-based Portuscale Cruises who are operating the ship this year and will be chartering her to CMV from next January.

AZORES AT A GLANCE:

Gross Tonnage: 16,144

Length: 525 ft

Beam: 69ft

Draft: 25ft

Cruising speed: 16 knots

Passenger Decks: 8

Cabins: Total 277

Ocean view: 228

Inside: 49

De Luxe cabins: 53 (incl 9 balcony suites)

Passenger capacity (double occupancy): 550

Maximum capacity: 600

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CMV charters classic cruise ship Azores to replace Discovery in 2015

Cruise & Maritime Voyages have found a replacement ship to take over from Discovery next year.

The company, which also operates Marco Polo and Astor, is to charter Azores from Portuguese operator Portuscale. The ship’s first cruise in its new colours will leave Bristol’s Avonmouth docks on January 26 – a 30-night voyage to the Caribbean.

During the course of 2015 the ship will also be sailing from London’s Tilbury docks and Hull. The details of itineraries to destinations including the Northern Lights, Mediterranean and a Scottish-themed Edinburgh Festival cruise, will be announced next week.

Azores, which first entered service in 1948, sailed more recently as Athena. The ship was rebuilt in 1994 at a cost of about £100 million.

CMV describe it as “a classic ship with a traditional wraparound wooden promenade deck and a wide range of lounges. There’s a cabaret lounge, casino, and two restaurants.

Azores can carry 550 passengers based on two per cabin, and a maximum of 600; Discovery’s capacity is 710/796.

Chris Coates, Commercial Director of CMV said: “Azores is an excellent, upgraded addition to our cruise fleet and has been affectionately and very well maintained by her Owners.

“We are confident that Azores will prove to be a real winner with our dedicated growing number of loyal customers and will also attract new clients seeking smaller ship alternatives and regional ex-UK no fly cruise options.”

Rui Alegre, Chief Executive Officer of Lisbon-based Portuscale Cruises added: “I am very pleased to have concluded a charter with CMV and look forward to working closely with their team in successfully establishing Azores on to the British market.

“Azores is a beautiful ship and has been operating very well in achieving high levels of customer satisfaction. I am proud that she will be carrying CMV passengers next year and for many years to come.”

Discovery - originally Island Princess and one of the ships used in the filming of the TV series Love Boat - is to be sold by owners Voyages of Discovery, who currently charter the vessel to CMV.

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It’s a ‘floral frenzy’ for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ guests in 2015

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is offering ‘green-fingered’ guests the chance to experience some of the most vibrant, colourful and unique gardens and flower festivals on two exciting cruises in 2015. 880 guest-ship Boudicca will embark on a 14-night ‘Madeira Flower Festival’ cruise, D1508, which departs from Dover on 14^th April 2015, followed by an 11-night ‘Floral Britannia’ cruise, D1509, departing from Dover on 28^th April 2015.

  

For further information on Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, visit the website at www.fredolsencruises.com Book online, call Reservations on 0800 0355 242 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm; Saturday, 9am to 5pm; Sunday, 10am to 4pm), or visit an ABTA travel agent

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