7 nights not enough??

So we all love cruise holidays but is 7 nights enough? Is 14 nights too long?

Not for me, I love cruising but always feel that 7 nights is just not long enough, by the time you have found your way around the ship and settled in to ‘cruise life’ it’s time to disembark and leave the ship. I have only ever done a 7 night cruise and will be doing again this year (but through no fault of my own) as travelling with my family as you know. Next time I am determined to do a longer cruise.

Well now you can sail for 7, 8, 9 or 12 nights with various cruise lines. I am going to concentrate on Carnival cruises for this piece.

Carnival cruise lines are opening up to the UK market by introducing their ships in Europe and even sailing from Dover in the UK. Perfect for those of you who do not like to fly.

The Carnival Sunshine sails in April 2013 for the first time. This ship is proving to be a big hit with families this summer, I have booked a few families on this ship in last couple of weeks. I was even tempted to book it myself for my family trip but they are adamant to only go for 7 nights. I haven’t booked yet so you never know I may talk them round yet (fingers crossed).

3006 passengers
1150 crew
102,853 tonnes

Carnival Sunshine is offering 12 night sailings from Venice to ‘The Grand Mediterranean’ which returns into Barcelona. The full itinerary:-

Sunday – Venice (overnight) a perfect opportunity to visit Venice during the day & the evening.
Monday – Venice
Tuesday – Dubrovnik, Croatia
Wednesday – ‘Fun Day’ at sea
Thursday – Messina, Sicily, Italy
Friday – Naples, Italy
Saturday – Rome, Italy
Sunday – Florence/Pisa, Italy
Monday – Monaco, Monte Carlo
Tuesday – Marseilles, France
Wednesday – ‘Fun Day’ at sea
Thursday – Palma, Majorca
Friday – Barcelona

Departures available for this sailing are:-

5 May 2013
16 June 2013
28 July 2013 – perfect for school holidays!
08 September 2013
20 October 2013

Prices start at £582 per person for cruise only based on 5th May 2013. Flights can be added from £299 per person. This works out at less than £75 per person per night for a 12 night cruise including flights from London Heathrow.

Flights from 10 UK airports are available, including London Heathrow & Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Aberdeen, Belfast, Cardiff, Bristol, Edinburgh & Glasgow. Prices vary depending which airport you fly from.

The cost for a family of 4 on the 28th July sailing with flights from London Heathrow is £4,200 for an inside cabin including $100 on board spending money. As always prices are subject to change. Cabin upgrades available to outside or balcony.
Carnival Sunshine can also offer cabins which sleep up to 5 people for those larger families.

Formely know as the Carnival Destiny, she will re-vamped with all of the following on offer and have a new name ‘Carnival Sunshine’.

• Guy’s Burger  Joint, afree-of-charge  poolside venue developed in partnership with Food Network personality Guy  Fieriserving hand-crafted burgers and fresh-cut  fries.
• BlueIguana  Cantina, a complimentary poolside Mexican  eatery serving fresh-made burritos and tacos.
• Fahrenheit  555, a  steakhouse.
• Cucina del  Capitano (“The  Captain’s Kitchen”), serving  Italian favorites served family-style. The venue gets its name from the fact  that some menu items were sourced from Carnival captains’ family  recipes.
• A new Asian  restaurant inspired by the line’s popular  Mongolian wok casual eateries.
• A casual  poolside eatery, the Lido Marketplace,  offering favorites from around the world, including paninis, pizza, and a deli  counter.
• A new casual  dining option,“The Comfort Kitchen,” located within the Lido Marketplace and  offering American-style comfort-food entrees and side dishes.
• A newly  designed coffee bar.
• The RedFrog  Pub,  serving beer, rum drinks, and island-inspired pub fare in a  British-West-Indies-meets-Key-West ambiance.
• RedFrog Rum  Bar,  a poolside adaptation of the RedFrog Pub, offering rum-based frozen drinks and  beers and a fun Caribbean vibe.
• BlueIguana  Tequila Bar, a fun outdoor watering hole  offering a laid-back Mexican atmosphere and tequila-based frozen drinks and  beers.
• EA SPORTS  Bar,  showing live sporting events and offering EA SPORTS video games on a 16-screen  video wall.
• Alchemy  Bar,  a vintage-themed cocktail pharmacy where mixologists “prescribe” various  concoctions and mix up custom drinks for guests.
• The Library  Bar, a cozy  venue offering full bar service.
• The Havana Bar, a  tropical-inspired nightspot featuring cocktails, live Latin music, dancing, and  panoramic ocean views from floor-to-ceiling windows.
• The Sunshine  Bar, an  elegant lounge with “sun-splashed interiors,” located at the lobby level of the  ship’s atrium and offering cocktails, dancing, and live music.
• A new cigar  bar, with  plush decor, fine cigars, and a variety of brandies, cognacs, and  liqueurs.
• Carnival’s  first three-deck-high Serenity adults-only retreat,  offering plush chaise lounges and chairs, a whirlpool, a cascading waterfall,  teak-planked decks, a pool, and a complimentary dining area with fresh-made  salads.
• SportSquare open-air recreation  complex, offering a ropes course, mini-golf course, lighted half-court  for basketball and volleyball, jogging track, Ping-Pong, pool and foosball  tables, and a bar with a large flat-screen TV
• WaterWorks  splash park, with  a “Twister” water  slide, a Splash Zone kids water play area, a new “thrill slide,” and other water  activities.
• Carnival’s  Seaside Theatre, a poolside  270-square-foot LED movie screen that will show nightly “Dive In Movies,” along  with concerts, sporting events, and other programming.
• Piano Bar 88, a piano bar  that adds theme nights to the usual sing-along format.
• Punchliner  Comedy Club Presented by George Lopez, featuring comedians evaluated  and vetted by the room’s namesake TV personality, who’s Carnival’s new “curator  of comedy.”
• Cherry On  Top, an  over-the-top candy shop.

There  will also be massive changes to existing rooms:

All staterooms  will be fully revamped  and feature a new tropical decor  that’s all bright colors and soothing pastels.

• Main dining  rooms will  be completely renovated.
• Newly designed  kids’ play areas  will cater to kids in three age groups  (2–11, 12–14, and 15–17).
• Cloud 9 Spa will  beredesigned  and offer an elaborate thermal suite, the latest exercise equipment, and a large  menu of treatments.

Carnival Sunshine also offers 9 night & 12 night sailings from Barcelona return on the following itineraries:-

Friday – Barcelona, Spain
Saturday – Marseilles, France
Sunday – Monaco, Monte Carlo
Monday – Florence/Pisa, Italy
Tuesday – Rome, Italy
Wednesday – Naples, Italy
Thursday -Messina, Sicily, Italy
Friday – ‘Fun Day’ At sea
Saturday – Palma, Majorca,Spain
Sunday – Barcelona, Spain

Departures available for this sailing are:-

17 May 2013
28 June 2013
09 August 2013
20 September 2013

The cost for a family of 4 based on 9 August sailing is £3685 with $100 on board spending money for an inside cabin with flights from London Heathrow.

For more great deals on the Carnival Sunshine, click on the following link:-

http://www.cruise.co.uk/search/?date=14

Don’t like to fly then why not sail on Carnival Legend from Dover, UK offering cruises to Norway & Western Europe, Baltic Wonders & St Petersburg or British Isles, Norway & France – these are all 12 night sailings with no flying.

Carnival Legend was named by ‘Dame Judi Dench’ and launched in 2002.
2124 passengers
930 crew
88,500 tonnes
22 knots speed
80% of the cabins have an Ocean view.

Carnival Legend – 12 night Norway & Western Europe is a great itinerary as it takes in the Norweigan Fjords, Hamburg, Brussels, Amsterdam & Paris.

Sunday – Dover
Monday – ‘Fun Day’ At sea
Tuesday – Alesund, Norway
Wednesday – Bergen, Norway
Thursday – Stavanger, Norway
Friday – ‘Fun Day’ At sea
Saturday – Oslo, Norway
Sunday – ‘Fun Day’ At sea
Monday – Hamburg, Germany
Tuesday – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Wednesday – Zeebrugge (Brussels), Belgium
Thursday – Le Harve (Paris), France
Friday – Dover

This sailing only operates on 01 September 2013 for 12 nights, the cost for 2 adults sharing an inside cabin is £945 per person – this works out at £79 per person per night with $100 on board spending money.

Carnival are also offering 9 night sailings on Carnival Sunshine throughout the summer months from April 2013 till October 2013 – lead in prices from £899 based on 26 April 2013 sailing from Barcelona and returning into Venice. Why not add on a couple of nights in Venice after your cruise – call me for more information.

Check out Carnival cruises on this short video, click the following link:-

Carnival Cruise Line

There are some really great prices for these sailings so call me on 0800 408 6108 or email me at [email protected] to make your booking on Carnival Cruise Lines.