On Board With Alison

Cruise.co.uk have just returned from another brilliant and now legendary Christmas Conference, this time on a 3 night cruise to Belgium on Fred Olsen's Balmoral. [caption id="attachment_1179" align="aligncenter" width="470"] Model of Balmoral in the main atrium[/caption] This was my third cruise on board Balmoral  and I'm very happy to report…

  Way back in 1990, I stood for hours on a very hot day in the old Wembley Stadium to see Madonna on her Blond Ambition tour. We got close to the front and had a brilliant time. Last night I was very fortunate to relive the experience in a…

      Who wouldn't want to grab a bit of pre-Christmas winter sunshine? If you hurry, you could also have this at the amazing price of ????? Yes, it's true, we have no idea of the price! For the first time ever at cruise.co.uk, we have teamed up with…

It's 5th November , Guy Fawkes Night and, as I write this, I can hear fireworks going off in every direction, despite the usual British deluge of rain this evening. My thoughts have drifted off to sunnier climates and to Sydney, Australia, one of my favourite places. How did I…

I spend a lot of time during a working day talking about ships, cabins, dining times, gratuities etc and not that long discussing destinations. For many years, I was employed as a long-haul specialist for a well known high street travel agency and used my extensive knowledge of the resorts…

News this week says that the lovely Phyllis Logan, who plays housekeeper Mrs Hughes (or is it Mrs Carson now?) in the wonderful Downton Abbey, has her eye on hosting a Downton themed cruise as a way of reuniting fans and cast members. I for one will really miss my Sunday night…

Having worked in the travel industry for more years than will admit to (purely vanity as I don't want to give my age away), you think you have seen or heard every customer comment you could. Something I read today in an article about the increasingly concerning refugee crisis in…

Back in the early 1960s, a Scottish folk singer called Josh MacRae wrote and performed the song "Messing About on the River". The opening lyrics are as follows; "When the weather is fine you know it's the time For messin' about on the river If you take my advice there's…

With all the excitement of the long anticipated launches this year of P&O's Britannia and Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas now a distant memory, thoughts are turning to next year's newcomers, amongst which is Royal Caribbean's latest baby Harmony of the Seas. Just as you thought they could not…

"I'm givin' her all she's got, captain!" is a well-known catchphrase, for those of mature enough years to remember, from the original Star Trek series. USS Enterprise Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott was often giving all he could to get the iconic spacecraft away from the numerous dangers of hostile…