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Cruise Lines Snub UK For The 2016 Cruise Season

Do you like being able to cruise out of Southampton on all the latest cruise ships? Are you ready for some bad news? Have you actually looked at the cruising schedule for 2016??? We’ve been looking at the cruise schedules for the next year or two and it looks like all the major cruise lines have made a conscious decision to send their biggest, newest or best ships anywhere BUT Southampton. Obviously P&O will still be sailing from the UK, alongside Fred Olsen and Cruise and Maritime – but everyone else? Royal Caribbean have sent their two newest ships away from...

Cruise Line To Offer Free Shore Excursions

In a surprise announcement a well know cruise line has today announced they’ll now be offering free (yes you read that right) shore excursions! Carnival Cruise Lines released a press release in which they explained they’d be expanding their range of shore excursions, adding cultural tours and family-friendly offerings – some of which would now be free! The new packages would include exclusive experiences in which limited numbers of guests would be able to relax at private villas, enjoy safaris, train in small photography groups and even try out cookery classes hosted by experts on local cuisine. Families will be pleased to know they can expect beaches, catamaran rides, treasure hunts and more still. All children under five will enjoy these excursions free of charge, with complimentary beach games, art and crafts, water slides and more in select ports. Carnival’s range of shore excursions is now nearly 1,200 strong, in more than fifty ports and offers a “Best Price Guarantee” on all excursions. This entitles passengers to a 110% refund of the price of excursions (in the form of on-board credit) if they can find a similar excursion for a lower price elsewhere, so guests can book without hesitation. Carnival certainly have a wide range of shore excursions – what excursions would you love to take and what excursion have you taken that has been your favourite? Leave a...

Fifteen Really Cool Towel Animals (And Seven Pretty Awful Ones)

Mention cruising to anyone and then get them to describe what they’re thinking of, we’re willing to bet they’ll go down the lines of big ships, fine dining, unlimited luxury, the romance of the sea or amazing, exotic destinations (and that’s all true enough!) One of our favourite things about cruising however is the cabin stewards who’ll look after you when you’re on-board or to be more precise the ones with a sense of humour… Or to be even more precise the cabin stewards with a sense of humour that like leaving towel animals in our cabin for us to...

Burials At Sea On The Rise

It may seem a slightly morbid topic of conversation, especially as as recently as five years ago burials at sea just didn’t happen but in recent times it’s become a lot more popular. Senior cruise director for Carnival John Heald explains: “really, this is a big trend. Every week I am asked by submissions on my blog… or Facebook page to organize ashes scatterings.” According to Carnival spokesperson Vance Gulliksen, the line now organises over two hundred ashes scattering ceremonies each year. To have the ceremony take place, you must bring the ashes on-board in a fully “leak proof” urn along with a valid Death Certificate. The actual ceremony is then conducted by the ships Guest Services staff, in private, whilst not disrupting other guests on-board. Heald said: “We organize the required paperwork, and a member of the staff helps organize the ceremony. When it’s finished, the family member is given a letter by the captain, signed by him, with the coordinates of the longitude and latitude of the ship’s position where the ashes are scattered.” The ceremony is completely complimentary, and some of those scattered are ex-Carnival guests. “Some of our guests who have been with us for the past 30 or 40 years are passing away and they want to be buried at sea and I think it’s wonderful that we are able to do that,” Heald...

16 Of The Most Bizarre Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do On A Cruise

What do you think of when you think cruising? Luxury? Fine dining? The ocean? A really big ship? If you answered yes to the above then don’t worry, that’s what most people would answer (and in all fairness so would we!) For a small but growing minority however a cruise holiday brings to mind very different images…. Rock concerts, martial arts tournaments, tattoos, crosswords or even cougars (gulp!) Confused? We wouldn’t blame you. You may be wondering what any of those have to do with cruising and the answer would be…. A theme cruise. This type of cruise, centred and themed around a hobby, interest or activity has gotten more and more popular in recent years as cruise lines try to attract a new type of clientele in to trying a cruise. Not heard of these kinds of cruises before? Not sure if they’re for you? Then read on to find out more! Clothes optional To start with the (perhaps) most surprising of the bunch. It might take you back a bit to know that you can choose cruises that embrace your inner exhibitionist but they’re actually really popular. Whether you want to enjoy the freedom to swim in your birthday suit or just wander around the decks as nature intended this might be the cruise for you. We recently wrote about ‘nakationing’ (as it’s known) and if...