Abta Convention – Dubrovnik

After my week on Celebrity Infinity, I was home for 5 days before jetting off to Dubrovnik, Croatia to attend the Abta Travel Convention with my colleague Angie Roche.

I travelled up to Angie’s house on the Friday afternoon as we were flying from Manchester and she lives about 40 minutes from the airport. We had an early start as had to be at the airport by 4.50am, we flew out on Monarch flight which was great – we even had extra leg room seats which is always a bonus, didn’t think much of the slop breakfast they served us though!  The meal on the return was a chicken dinner which was actually quite tasty. Makes a refreshing change to be honest.

 

We stayed at the Valamar Lacroma Hotel in Lapad, this is situated approx 20 mins from the old town of Dubrovnik. It is a 4* hotel and in a great location. The hotel was beautiful and the staff extremely helpful on reception.  Our rooms were ready upon check-in so we got settled in & unpacked.  We headed off to look around the hotel and have some lunch as were pretty hungry by this point after our early start.

We travelled courtesy of Fred Olsen cruise lines who take around 20 agents each year to attend the conference. We didn’t know anyone from the Fred Olsen team or any of the other agents so didn’t know who we were looking for.  Luckily we were meeting them for welcome drinks that evening but till then we had some free time.  After lunch we headed off to Lapad which is the main resort near the hotel to have a look round.  it is a beautiful place, not too big with just enough bars & restaurants without being too busy.  The bus stops right outside the hotel and takes 5 minutes into Lapad & only costs about 80p each way.  You can buy a day ticket for the buses from reception so if you like to travel on local transport this is the best option as works out cheaper.

At 8pm we headed down to the bar to look for the rest of our group, we soon  met up with some of them that had arrived that day, some were arriving that evening or in the morning.  We introduced ourselves and got chatting.  It was a lovely evening and appeared to be a nice group of people. We had dinner then went to bed as we were tired after the long day.

The next morning we met some of the others and had breakfast, which was wonderful, so much choice. We were meeting in reception at 11.30 to go down to the port to view Royal Caribbean’s Splendour of the Seas which is one of the smaller of their ships.  She is in the same class as Brilliance of the Seas which I was lucky enough to stay overnight back in May. I was excited as love seeing a ship for the first time.

 

After breakfast we went up to the outdoor seating area and had a cold drink in the sun for an hour before our meeting time, we actually watched Splendour of the Seas approaching Dubrovnik. It was approx 23 degrees so was quite warm for the time of year.

Whilst sitting having a drink we noticed lots of little birds around, they looked like swallows, they fly around and swoop quite low, one almost hit me in the face it came that close.  One of the girls Julie took a photo of the ship approaching but managed to capture one of these birds in the picture, it looks likes it has been skewered – see for yourself!  This caused a few giggles I can tell you.

We met the rest of the group at 11.30am to take the coach to the port which was only 10 minutes away.  You can actually walk into Lapad from the port which takes approx 20 minutes, but would need transport to visit the old town which is approx 40 minutes away.

We had just under 2 hours to look around the ship so was a bit of a whirlwind tour but we got to see most of the ship.  I actually loved this ship, I usually like the bigger ships but this was just right. She had been refurbished in line with the other ships so we got to see the new features e.g the big screen on pool deck, the creche & baby facilities, new dining venues and much more.

Here are a few pictures of the ship:-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn’t get to see any cabins as it was mid way through an itinerary and was full which is a shame as I love to check out the cabins but I was happy to see the ship.

 

After the ship tour we headed to a local restaurant near the hotel to have lunch hosted by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines.  The restaurant was called ‘Komin’ – it was lovely, the food was great and the staff were fantastic, they have a local man playing the guitar & singing whilst you eat, it was a lovely afternoon.  It was one of the guys birthday that day so they even played ‘Happy Birthday’ and we all sang to him, it was quite emotional as he wasn’t expecting it especially when they brought him a small cake with a candle.

The hosts from Fred Olsen were very helpful and looked after us very well always checking we were ok and if we needed anything, all in all it was a great group and we had a really great few days.

That evening was the Welcome Party as all delegates had arrived by Sunday evening so they had organised a part at ‘The Dubrovnik Palace’ hotel which is 5 minutes by coach from our hotel & some of the delegates were staying here.  It is a 5* hotel and very beautiful if you like your luxury hotels.

It was a great night and I met quite a few people from the travel industry I already knew and made some new friends and aquaintances. They put a band on & lots of food so a great night networking was had by all. We headed back to the hotel where they had allocated a separate bar for the Abta delegates so we had a drink here and a little dance before heading off to bed as we were up early for conference in the morning.

We attended the conference sessions from 10am till 4pm – various topics were covered so you could choose which ones were relevant for you and go in as you pleased, we stayed for all of them the 1st day.  It was very interesting and mostly about the world wide web for business as everything revolves around the internet now.

That evening we were heading over to The Radisson Blu’ hotel for a evening of food, wine & local Croatian entertainment (if that’s what you can call it) – it was like Meatloaf  in drag with a sore throat – it was fun to watch though!

The Radisson Blu is a 5*  luxury hotel. Quite a way out of town though so would maybe need a car if staying here or use the local buses/taxis.  The hotel is stunning, the most beautiful gardens, grounds & pool area I’ve seen (apart from on a cruise ship but i am biased).

It was quite an eventful evening as someone managed to spill a glass of red wine all over me & I had on a black & white dress!  So the only thing to do was use white wine to remove it – I’d heard this tip before but hadn’t ever tried it, so Julie literally through a glass of white wine over me – the shock when she did it, it was hilarious but I must say it did the trick an and not a trace of red wine on my dress, I was just a bit wet but soon dried off with the driers in the ladies – I must admit it was the highlight of the night and was talked about for the most of the next day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed back to our hotel and had a few drinks in the bar as it was our last night so myself & Angie enjoyed the company of new friends:- Julie, Paula, Nick, Steve, Wendy, Christine & Ken. We didn’t stay up too late as conference all day then had to fly home.

We had a group photo taken with the rest of the agents who went with Fred Olsen, not everyone is on the picture as was taken quickly on the break with as many of us as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall we had a great few days in Dubrovnik, it is such a lovely place and a definite place to visit on your next cruise.  I think it should be a port where you can embark your cruise so you can spend a few days here pre-cruise, I did mention this to some of the cruise lines there so watch this space.

Here are a few photos taken over the 4 days:-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Give me a call on 0800 408 6108 or email me at [email protected] to book your next cruise or if you want any info on Dubrovnik.