About Me

  I started travelling straight after leaving education, saving up for a year then heading off to New Zealand for the first time. After getting the bug, working in travel seemed to make sense and that's where I started off. I have worked for Carnival UK at their offices in…

Posted on Mar 12, 2019
The Rock and the artisan (bread) roll. Different places to see and picnic in San Francisco.

I was recently discussing San Francisco as a destination with a colleague and also with a client who has just been and given I've been a few times I thought I would tell all I know about this wonderful city. The main thing to remember about San Francisco is that…

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Posted on Feb 25, 2019
Do you really NEED that drinks package?

One of the questions I get asked on a regular basis as a seller of cruises is "is the drinks package included?". Up until now with some cruise-lines, the answer has been easy, as some cruise lines such as P&O & Cunard haven't been offering them at all but are…

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Posted on Feb 12, 2019
How and will “climate change” affect cruising?

I've already written a blog about cruiseline environmental efforts  in my blog Cruise and number 2s, what really happens with cruise waste? but what about environmental circumstances that might effect a cruise itinerary as there are many, some clearly man made, others just earth going through its natural motions. A disclaimer…

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Posted on Jan 28, 2019
Is Tokyo really expensive or just Lost in Translation?

Many of you may have seen the film Lost in Translation, a somewhat arty film but enjoyable nonetheless as the breakout role for one Scarlett Johansson. What the film illustrated viscerally was the difficulty of communication in a city like Tokyo and I must say that it is a drawback…

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Posted on Jan 14, 2019
Is Brexit the end of travel to Europe as we know it?

So as the Brexit discussions grind on and on endlessly and everyone's resistance to the inanity of it all turns in to frustration a lot of pondering of what and ifs has been happening. Needless to say political agendas have become brazenly apparent and many (fairly partisan) threats/predictions have been…

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Posted on Dec 30, 2018
Why is Croatia the “in” cruise destination at the moment?

A few times a week in my job it seems Croatia is the requested destination for anyone wanting to go the med on a cruise. People seem to be a bit sick to death of the usual suspects like Barcelona, Rome (really Civitavecchia for the port....) and Marseille so want…

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Posted on Dec 12, 2018
What can the flight industry learn from the cruise industry and vice versa?

Royal Caribbean have for a while now had their virtual balcony inside cabins which give you a view of the outside of the ship from your inside cabin. It now comes to pass that planes designers have taken on the idea of this for air transport. When you think about…

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Posted on Nov 28, 2018
On or off falls? Times square or New Jersey? Hong Kong island or Kowloon?….. What does hotel location have to do with it?

Day in day out I look at hotels and sometimes make judgement calls as to what it is people want for their pre or post cruise accommodation. My long held view is that the absolute essential for a hotel is the room being clean and tidy, that is rule number…

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Posted on Nov 14, 2018
The pursuit of (cabin) happiness

In my life as a cruise agent, an oft referred to thing are the imperfections of a particular cabin in search of the one that is going to make their holiday perfect. So what are the truths and fictions behind some of these things, well a lot of it is…

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Posted on Oct 31, 2018
Big ship / small ship. Is it really possible to have quality with quantity?

What are the advantages of big ship cruising vs small ship and vice versa? Price is the obvious one, with a few exceptions its almost always cheaper to go with a mass market cruise ship with a lower guest to space ratio. The exception is perhaps also where quality comes…

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