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:-
There are some really great prices for these sailings so call me on 0800 408 6108 or email me at barbarah@cruise.co.uk to make your booking on Carnival Cruise Lines.