Swap chunky knits and overcoats for swimsuits and sunscreen with Celebrity Cruises

Relax on sandy beaches, marvel at island waterfalls or even get a head start on some Christmas shopping in the tax-free retail haven of St. Thomas with Celebrity Cruises. Join Celebrity Equinox on a 12-night Caribbean fly/cruise from £1,545 per person (based on two people sharing an interior stateroom). 

Price includes return flights from London Heathrow, transfers, one night pre-cruise hotel accommodation and a 10-night cruise departing from Fort Lauderdale and calling at Charlotte Amalie, Basseterre, Bridgetown, Roseau and Philipsburg (St. Maarten) before returning to Fort Lauderdale for the flight home; meals and entertainment onboard the ship and all relevant cruise taxes/fees. Price based on 20 November UK departure. 

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Oceania Cruises audio tour of its onboard art collections

Oceania Cruises has produced a new Art Collection Audio Tour for guests on board  Marina and Riviera. Available from tomorrow 1 November,the complimentary tour provides stories and descriptions behind many of the 2000+ original artworks. 

The audio devices for the Oceania Cruises’ Art Collection Audio Tour are available to guests as a complimentary amenity and include recorded insights on more than 25 signature pieces of art on each ship. The pieces of art included in the tour have a placard with a number and an audio device symbol and guests can simply enter the number into the player keypad to hear the story behind the piece.   

The Oceania Cruises Art Collection book is available on Amazon.co.uk and at OceaniaBookCollection.com. Guests can visit the purser’s desk for an audio device upon boarding Marina and Riviera.

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Aurora Expeditions launch 2015-2016 brochure

Aurora Expeditions have launched their 2015-2016 Expedition Guide. For the first time ever, the guide encompasses expeditions across all seven continents featuring 21 itineraries, 18 destinations and over 80 individual departures, and is jammed packed with a range of new bonus inclusions.

The expanded program includes a new 15-day 'African Cruise Safari' to some of the most concentrated wildlife regions of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. The expedition highlights include a four-day cruise on the Chobe River on board luxury riverboat Zambezi Queen, with game viewing from special excursion crafts, as well as nights in traditional safari lodges and game drives through Chobe and Hwange National Parks. 

In Scotland passengers will receive a 12-month National Trust membership and an onboard genealogist will assist passengers in tracing their Scottish ancestry. Free artist workshops along the Kimberley coast will allow budding artists to create their own Kimberley masterpiece.

Other inclusions include complimentary kayaking, stand up paddle boarding and polar snorkelling in Alaska and free camping in Antarctica. 

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How Princess Cruises made themselves the consummate hosts

DAY THREE of our guest blog from CruiseMiss Danielle Fear, from her recent Canary Islands cruise from Southampton, aboard Emerald Princess (above)

One thing I noticed on Emerald Princess was how fast the crew managed to get passengers off the ship in port. Rather than sit at a stationary computer, the security staff had portable scanners that were clearly pin-point accurate as not once did I see them having to call a passenger back.

A huge queue that wrapped itself around the atrium several times was dispersed within mere minutes. It was a breath of fresh air given the size of the vessel and the number of passengers  on board.

Boarding again after a day ashore was not quite as fast, which is to be expected because of security checks, but at least getting off in the first place was far from a stressful experience. I was very impressed.

My time with Princess Cruises was certainly something special and I would recommend you give one of the Princesses a try for your next cruise – they were indeed the consummate host.

My cabin steward on Emerald Princess was the best I have ever had on any cruise ship in more than 20 sailings. Nothing was too much trouble for him and several times he really did go above and beyond, and without me or my travelling companion having to utter a word. Now that is what you call good service.

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Virgin Holiday Cruises winter late deals from £699

10 night Canary Island & Morocco Cruise on Norwegian Spirit from £699pp

Virgin Holidays Cruises offers 10 nights on Norwegian Spirit from Barcelona, Casablanca, Funchal, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Arrecife and Granada (Málaga). Prices are per person based on two adults travelling and sharing an inside cabin on a full-board basis and includes flights from London Gatwick and resort transfers. Offer is subject to availability and includes all applicable taxes and fuel surcharges which are subject to change. Based on departures 15 Jan 2015.

Seven night Orlando Stay and Bahamas Cruise on Carnival Sensation from £799pp

Virgin Holidays Cruises offers three nights at Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando on a room only basis, before joining Carnival Sensation for four nights from Port Canaveral, calling at Freeport and Nassau. Price is per person based on two adults travelling and sharing an inside cabin on a full-board basis and includes Virgin Atlantic flights from London Gatwick. Offer is subject to availability and includes all applicable taxes and fuel surcharges which are subject to change. Based on departure date 27 November.

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Late offers from Thomson Cruises

Western Mediterranean – Under £450

ThomsonCruises offers a seven night Spanish Sensations cruise on Thomson Dream from £434 per person (saving £690 per couple).This cruise departs from Malaga and visits Barcelona, Toulon, Palma (above), Valencia and Cartagena. Based on two adults sharing a deck 6 or 7 inside cabin on a full-board basis, this cruise departs 13 November from Gatwick and Luton airports. Price includes return flights, transfers, port taxes, tips and service charges. 

Canary Islands & Morocco – Under £600

Thomson Cruises offers a seven night Canarian Flavours cruise on Thomson Majesty from £554 per person (saving £730 per couple).This cruise departs from Santa Cruz, and visits Las Palmas, Valle Gran Rey, Funchal, Arrecife, and Puerto del Rosario. Based on two adults sharing a deck 3 or 4 inside plus cabin on a full-board basis, this cruise departs 14 November  from Gatwick airport. Price includes return flights, transfers, port taxes, tips and service charges. 

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Treat yourself with up to £200 per person on-board credit by booking with Hurtigruten this weekend.

Booking a 12 day Classic Round Voyage from Bergen, up to Kirkenes and back to Bergen this weekend will mean Hurtigruten’s guests will receive £200 to spend.  This can be spent on a range of shorter voyages such as the Classic Voyage North, Classic Voyage South and Arctic Highlights itinerary for an on-board credit of £100. The offer is valid on voyages departing before the end of December.

The  credit can be spent on drinks, goods in the on-board shop or excursions such as Husky Sledging excursion (£129pp),  a midnight concert at the Arctic Cathedral (£51pp) or exploring the city of Tromso (£58pp).

There will be an extra bonus for those booking a Classic Round Voyage, as they will also qualify for Hurtigruten’s ‘Northern Lights Promise’. If the lights do not make an appearance during the voyage, the company will give guests a choice of a free 7 day Classic Voyage North, or 6 day Classic Voyage South in an inside twin cabin (full board basis), departing between 1 October 2015 and 31 March 2016. Flights are not included.

The Classic Round Voyage starts from £999 per person in an inside cabin on full board basis (based on two sharing), departing on a wide choice of dates. Flight and transfer packages start from £330 per person. The offer is valid on new bookings made from 31 October to 2 November 2014 and is subject to availability.

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Spend Christmas cruising in the Marquesa Islands

Marquesas Island adventure cruiser, the Aranui 3, has announced its special Christmas cruise featuring three very different French Polynesian archipelagos – Marquesas, Tuamotu and Society  – culminating with a Christmas Day treat on Bora Bora.

Guest speakers will include the highly regarded French Polynesian expert from the French Marine Protected Areas Agency, Sophie-Dorothée Duron. Departing from Papeete, Tahiti on 13 December, guests on board the mixed passenger/cargo vessel will be treated to a 14-day tour of the Marquesas Islands, on an  itinerary that has been created to climax with a memorable Christmas Day on Bora Bora.  The vessel has 86 fully air-conditioned cabins as well as the capacity to carry more than 2,000 tons of freight.

Prices for the voyage, 13-26 December 2014, start at £3,306 per person sharing a standard twin-bedded outside cabin, including all meals with wine, all land-based sightseeing excursions and taxes.

Flights to/from Papeete, Tahiti are not included in these prices.  Air Tahiti Nui fly to Papeete with fares from around £1,560 per person return from London.

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Sting brings his Broadway hit musical The Last Ship to the stage on Queen Mary 2

Englishmen in New York: Sting on board QM2 with Capt Kevin Oprey

Superstar Sting took his new musical to Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2 this week. Two days after The Last Ship premiered on Broadway, he performed a selection of numbers on the stage of the ship’s Royal Court Theatre.

In April next year the show will be performed at the Sage in Gateshead to benefit the venue’s 10^th birthday appeal. Sting will be joined by a selection of the north-east’s finest traditional musicians, including Northumbrian pipe player Kathryn Tickell, and the Wilson Family from Billingham.

Sting wrote The Last Ship around his memories of growing up in the shadow of a shipyard on the Tyne. He said: "Cunard is one of the most famous names in shipping and a lot of very notable ships were built on Tyneside – Mauretania and Carpathia, to name but two.  There’s a great lineage. 

"I was born and raised in Wallsend in the shadow of the Swan Hunter shipyard.  My earliest memories are of ships being built and launched into the river.  You couldn’t escape Swan Hunter – there was a coal mine at one end of town and Swan Hunter at the other, so these ships loomed over our houses.

"With The Last Ship, I thought I would try and honour the community that I came from.  Because everyone around me worked in the Swan Hunter shipyard.  My grandfather worked in the shipyard.  All his brothers worked in the shipyard.  My family has had things to do with the sea for many years.” 

He added: “Cunard are backing the concert that we are doing with the Sage in Gateshead.  It’s a benefit for the Sage.  It’s only right and fitting to take this story back in some form to the people who inspired it, so I’m really happy to do that.” 

The Last Ship opened to rave reviews. One critic described it as “a wonderful, ebullient surprise full of heart and soul that lights up the New York theatre season like fresh fireworks.”

Sting’s QM2 show, in front of a specially-invited audience, also included old favourites such as Message In A Bottle, and – appropriately enough – An Englishman in New York.

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Pizzas the size of a small country and the best steaks ever - all together on board Emerald Princess

Steak selection in the Crown Grill on Emerald Princess

Day Two of our guest blog by CruiseMiss Danielle Fear. Today she turns her attention to the food on board Emerald Princess

Food is a big deal with Princess Cruises, that was evident within just a few minutes of stepping aboard and wandering through the buffet, and I visited the Pizzeria several times during the cruise. The Pepperoni was by far my favourite and the slices were HUGE, but I did make the mistake on day one of asking for a “Margarita pizza” and wondered why the chef looked at me oddly, I then leaned over the counter and realised that an entire pizza was in fact the size of a small country – his reaction was truly warranted! 

I can also highly recommend the Crown Grill and Sabatini’s, both of which incur an additional charge of $25 per person, but they are worth every single cent! 

The Crown Grill was superb and the choice of meat and seafood was second to none – the lobster looked delicious, although in the end I opted for a 12-ounce New York strip steak. It was cooked perfectly and was incredibly juicy; the vegetables to accompany it were also very good (I could have easily eaten more of the creamed spinach) and dessert was a filling affair. 

Sabatini’s offers a wonderful selection of Italian dishes and during my visit I tried calamari for the first time and I finally got my lobster, which was cooked three ways. I have to say that although both restaurants were very good indeed, Crown Grill was my favourite and I wish now that I had visited more than once.

TOMORROW: Coming and going the Princess way.

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