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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Adventure Cruising blog

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Norwegian Add 'Flash Sale' To 'Sunshine Saturday'

Do you remember our message last week that this is 'Wave Season' and to be ready for all manner of special sales, deals and one-off opportunities? Well, Norwegian Cruise Line have lined up a double helping of 'Sale! Sale! Sale!' events for this weekend.

First off, they have dubbed tomorrow (Saturday, January 12) as 'Sunshine Saturday,' as it has been predicted this will be the busiest holiday booking day of the year, with millions of customers expected to visit stores and websites. 

Then, on top of this bumper day, Norwegian has added a ‘48 Hour Flash Sale’ for the whole weekend, with travel agents able to offer customers $100 on-board spend per stateroom on Norwegian Epic's Western Mediterranean summer cruises.
 

Valid on Epic’s popular Med itineraries throughout the summer season, from May to October, the ‘Flash Sale’ extends to all stateroom categories, from the solo traveller Studios to The Haven luxury accommodation.

Itineraries included in the ’48 Hour Flash Sale’ for Norwegian Epic include:

Seven-night Barcelona fly-cruise, departing various dates from May 11 to October 19, sailing from Barcelona and visiting Naples, Civitavecchia (for Rome), Livorno (for Florence/Pisa), Cannes and Palma before returning to  Barcelona for the flight back to the UK. Inside stateroom priced from £873pp departing Sep 28, from London Heathrow.

Seven-night Civitavecchia fly-cruise, departing between May 14 and October 15, visiting Livorno, Cannes, Palma, Barcelona and Naples before returning to Civitavecchia (for Rome and the flight back to the UK). Inside stateroom priced from £944pp departing Sep 24, from London Heathrow.

More info: call 0845 201 8900 or visit www.ncl.co.uk.

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Titan Expands No-Fly Cruise Tours

Titan Travel has expanded its no-fly cruising to Norway’s Fjords, Cape Verde Islands, the Iberian Peninsula, the Black Sea and France’s River Seine and Oise.  

Each tour begins and ends with the unique Titan VIP Home Departure Service ensuring passengers arrive at their destination relaxed and ready to enjoy the tour. In the UK, guests are driven directly to the hotel in which their holiday starts, bringing the holiday feeling right to their front door.   

Examples include the Taste of the Cape Verde Islands cruise, which takes in breathtaking landscapes from West Africa to the Southern Mediterranean, including Casablanca, Lanzarote, Madeira, Dakar in Senegal and the Cape Verde Islands. It’s a chance to experience colourful African markets, fascinating islands and a diverse range of cultures by sea. This 22-day no-fly cruise starts from £1,995 per person.  

Alternatively, the 29-day Voyage to the Black Sea sets sail in early Autumn for some of the Mediterranean’s classic treasures, including Gibraltar, Palma, Malta, Crete, Athens, Istanbul and then on through the Bosphorus to Varna in Bulgaria, Odessa, Sevastapol and Yalta – the Pearl of the Crimea. This 29 day no-fly cruise starts from £2,995 per person.  

Leaving Dover in early September, the 8-day Fjordland Splendour explores Norway’s fjords and the chance to cruise along deep-water inlets of mirror-glass water, looking up at high-waterfalls, colourful villages and mountain peaks all from the comfort of cruise ship the Black Watch. Eight-day itineraries start from £995 per person. 

For more information, look up www.titantravel.co.uk and for more on ex-UK cruising, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK’s leading cruise-agent specialists.

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Swan Hellenic's Grand Med Voyage

Join Swan Hellenic’s MV Minerva for a 29-day 'Grand Mediterranean and Adriatic' cruise from just £3,382 per person in August (based on two people sharing an inside cabin) – that’s little more than £100 per person per day.

This epic voyage explores the genuine highlights of the Mediterranean in the height of summer whilst visiting more than 20 different ports of call, including La Coruna, Valletta and Kotor, all with the benefit an ex-UK departure and the benefit of packing and unpacking only once!

The cruise sets sail from Portsmouth on August 1 and calls at St Peter Port (Guernsey), La Coruna (Spain), Oporto (Portugal), Cadiz (Spain), Malaga (Spain), Cartagena (Spain), Palma (Majorca), Cagliari (Italy), Trapani (Italy), Valletta (Malta, overnight), Dubrovnik (Croatia, overnight), Korcula (Croatia), Split (Croatia), Trieste (Italy), Venice (Italy), Pula (Croatia), Kotor (Croatia, overnight), Sarande (Albania), Itea (Greece) and Piraeus (Greece, overnight).

The price includes a tailor-made programme of shore excursions, talks by eminent guest speakers, meals and entertainment on board, all gratuities and all relevant cruise taxes.
 

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

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Cape Verde Part Six

World of Cruising blogger-in-chief Steve Newman continues his latest trip, an adventurous cruise to the Cape Verde Islands with Noble Caledonia...

An interesting start to the day as the captain had to reverse the ship onto the small jetty here at Tarrrafal on the island of St Nicolau (above).

Then I walked around the port to the market, watching the locals bartering and buying fish on the pier as the boats came in, followed by a tiny cargo boat that must have been a Tardis inside judging by the amount of cargo that came off of it!

Shop owners from the surrounding villages came down to collect their orders in their battered 4 x 4 trucks.

The mountain scenery on the island is very impressive and we drove through some spectacular landscapes to get to the capital Ribiera Brave. 

This place is just like Ciutadella and old Palma with very narrow streets and Victorian style lanterns. 

Later on, we watched some traditional dances called Mazurka. I’m not a great one for this but the music and the dancing was really very good and had my feet tapping!

For more information about Noble Caledonia’s Cape Verde cruise or other voyages, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK’s luxury and adventure-cruise specialists.

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Short Breaks With Star Clippers

Not enough time for a full week’s holiday? Tall ship specialist Star Clippers has launched a series of short-break holidays for 2012, with a chance to experience life on board an elegant clipper ship and explore some of Europe’s most beautiful and romantic ports, as well as themed 'extras'.


Mediterranean Treasures, April 23, 2012
Experience the joys of daily yoga and meditation on this well-being themed voyage from Malaga to Rome on the 227-passenger Royal Clipper. Experienced yoga teacher Christel Vollmer, back on board by popular demand, will offer daily classes on the warm teak decks, while as usual, guests can follow a healthy or vegetarian diet if they wish. The ship sails from Malaga to Palma, Mallorca and Mahon in Menorca and the voyage includes two days at sea for maximum relaxation in the spring sunshine. From £999 per person including full board on the ship, all yoga classes, flights and transfers.

Sail from Southampton, May 5, 2012
Join the head-turning Star Flyer on her maiden call to Southampton for a five-night sailing to Hamburg, via Amsterdam, with two days at sea. The ship, with its four masts and graceful lines, is bound to attract a lot of attention in two such important seafaring cities. This package includes five nights’ car parking in Southampton; five nights’ full board on the ship, flight from Hamburg to London and transfer back to Southampton, from £1,045 per person.

A Taste of Italy, departing June 4, 2012
Make the most of Britain’s extra bank holiday for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and take to the seas on Royal Clipper on this four-night sailing from Civitavecchia, the port for Rome. The five-night break includes one night in the heart of Rome at the four-star Marcella Royal Hotel, with a welcome bottle of wine and a tour of the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. The following day, Royal Clipper sails to Bonifacio in Corsica; Sardinia’s ultra-glamorous Costa Smeralda; pretty Portoferraio in Elba; and back to Civitavecchia. From £1,275 per person, including B&B accommodation in Rome, full board on the ship, flights and transfers.

Venetian Romance, departing July 27, 2012
Enjoy an evening in Venice after the crowds have departed, staying the night before your cruise at the four-star superior Liassidi Palace Hotel, within walking distance of the Rialto Bridge and St Mark’s Square. The holiday includes entrance to the Doge’s Palace and a bottle of wine on arrival. Then, sail in style along the spectacular Giudecca Canal on the magnificent, four-masted Star Clipper, heading out across the lagoon and into the Adriatic, for a four-night adventure exploring some of Croatia’s most fashionable anchorages: Mali Losinj, Hvar and Rovinj. From £1,195 per person, including B&B accommodation in Venice, full board on the ship, flights and transfers.

For more information and booking offers, use this link to visit luxury cruise specialists, The Cruise Line Ltd.

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Cabin Upgrades from Star Clippers

To celebrate National Cruise Week, which runs from September 18-25, tall-ship sailing specialist Star Clippers is offering free cabin upgrades for all bookings made during that period.

Book any Star Clippers voyage to the Mediterranean, the Caribbean or Central America during National Cruise Week, or one of the longer ocean crossings, and the cabin paid for will be upgraded by one category (terms and conditions apply).

For example, pay for a Category 3 cabin on Commodore Deck and stay in a Category 2 cabin, which has more space and superior fittings and is located on Clipper Deck. On one of Royal Clipper’s seven-night Caribbean cruises this winter, this represents a saving of £110 per person. Better still, this cabin upgrade offer, if taken up during National Cruise Week, can be combined with existing early booking offers. These include 10% off any cruise in the 2011/2012 programme and a spectacular 20% discount on selected sailings for 2011 and 2012, as follows:

On Royal Clipper, the five-masted flagship of the fleet, special offers include departures in October and April and certain sailings out of Barbados in December and January.

Special offers on the four-masted, 170-passenger Star Clipper are valid for Mediterranean cruises in April, early May and October, as well as four Caribbean sailings from St Maarten in December 2011. Take advantage of a Mediterranean mini-cruise; a five-night short break from Athens to Malta (departing October 8), which calls at Monemvasia and Pilos in Greece and historic Siracusa in Sicily.

The 20% saving on cruises operated by sister ship Star Flyer, meanwhile, applies to six Mediterranean cruises and five sailings out of Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica in 2011 and 2010. These fantastic Central American voyages call at the laid-back beach resort of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, as well as the national parks, scattered islands and sheltered bays of Costa Rica’s rich, rainforested coastline, with superb opportunities for diving, snorkelling and hiking.

For more details, visit www.starclippers.co.uk or contact the specialist cruise agents of The Cruise Line Ltd.

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