Time For Some Winter Sunshine

Winter is finally here! If you want the proof my ears were so cold when I walked the dog this morning, and I forgot my hat, there was ice on the fields too.

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So a little bit of warm weather would be lovely before Christmas which is fast approaching. These last few weeks before the festive season begins always produce some brilliant cruise bargains as a lot of people don’t want to holiday so close to Christmas. The nearer you can get your return date to around 23rd December the better the price should be.

Looking through the late deals on our website today I found this little gem which I think is a really good deal, 25th November sailing from Southampton for 14 nights on P&O Oceana. The cruise visits Madeira, where she stays for 2 days, La Palma, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Seville and Lisbon before arriving back into Southampton on 9th December.

Oceana is a lovely ship, one of the older ladies of the fleet but nothing wrong with that! She carries around 2000 passengers so is relatively small by todays standards. I did a New Year cruise on her in 2013 and loved her, she is friendly, warm and welcoming. The food was really good and the staff excellent too.

One of my favourite places on this itinerary is the island of Madeira. It is actually four islands making up a region of Portugal situated off the West African Coast. It has a lovely warm climate, dramatic mountains and cliffs and is famous, amongst other things, for Madeira wine. The capital, Funchal ,has great botanical gardens and a fabulous firework display on New Years Eve.

I went to Madeira a few years ago on a cruise with Fred Olsen`s Braemar. One of the best bits for me was travelling up to the top to Monte on a scary cable car ride then descending on the famous toboggans. The two seat wicker sledges have wooden runners, and are steered by two men dressed in white cotton clothes and straw hats, using their  boots as brakes. Its high speed down very narrow streets but loads of fun. Something not to be missed on your visit to the island.

Oceana can take you to Madeira and with prices starting at £ 999pp for an inside cabin what is there to wait for ?