On Board With Alison

I have just returned from a week in Italy meeting over three hundred clients in Lake Garda before travelling on to Venice. We stayed in the small resort of Gardone Riviera on the western shore of Lake Garda in three beautiful hotels all directly located on the lake shore. Gardone…

Last year, I travelled out to Italy to meet a group of around 160 clients who disembarked in Genoa from a cruise and escort them to Lake Garda and then on to Venice. This package proved to be one of our most popular. This Tuesday, I will be flying out…

My daughter, who is a very frequent flyer, taking around 8 flights a month with her job, flew to Spain on Friday morning for a long weekend. She arrived at Gatwick early and, as her ticket had been booked including a 23kgs hold baggage allowance, she checked in her small…

Next time we moan about the weather here in the UK, we must spare a thought for those caught in extreme conditions such as the inhabitants of the beautiful Caribbean islands devastated by Hurricane Irma. A bit of rain spoiling a planned barbecue, wind blowing your umbrella inside out or…

For many years now, cruising has been a popular choice of travel for anyone using a wheelchair or mobility scooter. Most ships have some partially or fully adapted cabins and lifts and wide doorways to every public deck. The only issue with this type of cabin is that they sell…

In March last year, I booked my holiday for November this year. At the time, booking 20 months in advance seemed quite strange and hard to get excited about. On the plus side, the cost of my cruise increased by over £700 per person over the following months and it…

Last night I watched an episode of the TV show "Room 101". For those not familiar with it, the name was taken from the torture room in George Orwells' "Nineteen Eighty-Four" which was supposed to contain the worst thing in the world. Apparantly,  Mr Orwell took the name from a…

This morning a two night cruise on Celebrity Silhouette went on sale for 28th April next year. This will be the first time Silhouette has sailed from Southampton so a great opportunity to see the ship without the hassle of flying. At a lead-in fare from just £299pp including all…

I have just spent a lovely three nights in the New Forest with friends. Granted, we had fantastic weather which always helps, but I feel that we packed a lot into our trip and it definitely felt like a holiday.   This was my third short break this year having…

Last week I attended the launch party of Columbus in Tilbury. She is Cruise and Maritime's latest member of the now 5 strong fleet and what a great new addition she is. In my last blog, I wrote about the history of this lovely vessel originally launched in 1988. As…