About Me

I'm passionate about all things travel, and have been a VIP travel agent for 14 years, and a cruise specialist for 3 years now.  Before that, I worked as a holiday rep for 5 years in Spain, and as a retail manager on various cruise ships all across the world…

Posted on Dec 30, 2021
Cadiz by Cruise Ship

Cadiz is frequently-visited by cruise ships, and I recently had a chance to visit the port, as I was staying for a week in the city of Jerez, just 45 mins train ride away.   Whilst Cadiz is a pretty place, with an imposing cathedral, and many quaint, pedestrianised streets to…

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Posted on Dec 13, 2021
To Tip, or not to Tip….

The one topic of discussion that never ceases to amaze me, is.....tipping.....so why? Because so many people have such different views on the topic; some people believe in tipping, but only face-to-face, some people are happy to let the cruise line allocate the tips as they see fit, and some…

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Posted on Nov 30, 2021
Salamanca – The perfect excursion from your Duoro river cruise….

A couple of months ago, I had a 3-night stay in Salamanca, one of Spain's most historic cities.  I did the trip as an aside from Madrid, taking just 2 hours by train, but many people can visit this amazing place from a Duoro river cruise, as the turnaround point…

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Posted on Oct 21, 2019
Drinks Packages on Ships – The Lowdown

This issue is one of the most frequently-discussed during the cruise booking process, and is, confusingly, one of those factors in a constant state of flux, but here's the current state of play.... If you want drinks automatically included, and you can afford them, most of the 'Luxury' cruise brands,…

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Posted on Oct 7, 2019
So why use a Specialist Cruise Agency such as Cruise.co.uk? And why book with me in particular?!

Every week I have customers coming to me who (incorrectly) assumed that they were getting the best prices by going direct to the cruise line.  I carefully explain that by coming to a specialist cruise agency, we not only have access to better prices, but also usually offer a more…

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Posted on Sep 23, 2019
So what cabin location do I go for?

Hi Folks, So, following on from my monologue regarding cabin types 2 weeks ago, I thought I would comment on location, location, location! Having been part of the crew, I've been taught to never be fussy about location (having lived on deck 0, and all the way forward, near the…

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Posted on Sep 9, 2019
So what cabin type do I go for?

This is usually one of the big questions pondered particularly by first-time cruisers.  Of course many moons ago, only the more wealthy passengers could afford a cabin with a balcony, but over the course of the last 20 years, balcony cabins have become much more plentiful on the newer ships,…

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Posted on Aug 26, 2019
Riga – A little-known gem of the Baltic….

I'm off to Riga..... Where? Riga.... Where? Latvia.... Where? You get the idea....this was my first-ever trip to the old Soviet Union, and a good chance to see what one of the lesser-known Baltic capital cities is all about.  I spent 2 days there, and had plenty to see, so…

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Posted on Aug 12, 2019
What’s the best job on a cruise ship?

Hmmm...this is a difficult one....it's easy to say the Captain, but with that goes a lot of responsibility, as is the case of course with all senior ship management, including Staff Captain, Chief Engineer and Hotel Director.  I enjoyed a great life onboard as one of the 'department heads', combining…

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Posted on Jul 29, 2019
How did I end up being a Cruise Specialist Agent?

Most of my blogs are about places I've visited, so I thought I would give everyone a brief history of myself, so that you all know who you're dealing with when you book your cruise with me! In 1994 I graduated from Essex University with a 2.1 in Politics, but…

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