Gail's Cruising Tales

Perfect Padstow......... I am one very lucky Lady. Last Christmas my Daughter's bought myself and my Husband a gift card to be used towards a stay at one of Rick Stein's hotels in Padstow, Cornwall and last week we flew down from Manchester to enjoy our stay. Can you believe that…

Was she AzAmazing? It's that time of year again when cruise ships call into Liverpool and we are lucky enough to visit and have a look around whilst the ship is in port. Last week it was the turn of Azamara Quest to grace the River Mersey and the port…

Suits you Sir! Or should that be Suites you Sir! Who would not want to stay in a luxurious suite? Have your every need attended to by your very own Concierge? Enjoy a spa bath on your wrap around balcony? Does that sound like Heaven or Hell to you? You…

Where in the world do you want to go? Relax for 5 minutes, take a load off and let your mind wander. Where do you most want to visit? and what will you do when you get there? The World is definitely getting smaller. It wasn't too long ago that…

What are your thoughts on tipping? Do you feel under pressure to pay your gratuities? Have you had problems getting your tips removed from your account? Tipping someone for receiving good service is part of a cruise holiday. I don't think the majority of us mind rewarding staff for a…

Are you like one of the many people I speak to who say that for their next cruise they want something different. They are bored with Barcelona, reluctant about Rome, fed up with Florence - you get my drift? I have some great news for these cruisers, something very different…

Who serves up the best food these days? As anyone who is a regular customer  with us knows, we take our customer service seriously and we always like to try and contact our customers when they get back for their cruise, just to get a little bit of feedback on how…

Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Well I did for the very first time this Bank Holiday weekend. Yes, I know it does not sound as glamorous as St Tropez or the Caribbean but what a lovely area  it is. This was a very last minute thing as our original…

Is it Thomson or TUI? - Does It Matter? One of the leading brand names in travel will begin to disappear over the next 18 months, the Thomson name will become TUI. Does it really matter I wonder? We used to have the JMC brand but that became Thomas Cook,…

Didn't they do well? I know that's not Ant & Dec's catchphrase, but, I think it is very apt for their Saturday Night Takeaway television programme that was broadcast live from Barcelona on Saturday night. To be honest I was sceptical about the whole thing. A live show from a…