Helen’s Home-port

More cruises lines are removing Turkey from there itinerary’s………..

I have booked a 9 nice night Eastern Mediteranean sailing from Civitavecchia with Royal Caribbean sailing on board Jewel of the Seas in September and have just received my notification that Royal Caribbean are no longer sailing to Kusadassi, Turkey.
I wasn’t surprised as they are one of the last to continue sailing to Turkey.
We were originally going to Kusadassi and have been changed to visit Rhodes instead which I’m actually pleased about as I love Rhodes old town and it’s been a few years since I was last there and this was on a land holiday so sailing into Rhodes will be a new experience.
Royal Caribbean , Princess and Uniworld have all recently removed Turkey from there itinerary’s, the reason being ‘ civil unrest’.
It was inevitable in this climate that they made this move and they have followed on from P&O, Cunard , Holland America, Celebrity and Azamara who have all removed Turkey from there itineraries.
Do you think the cruise lines are right to make these changes?
At least I know where my changed port is now sailing to , depending on your itinerary Royal Caribbean are changing Turkish ports to Kotor in Montenegro, Chania in Crete or Rhodes and Mykonos in Greece.

Japan is the hotest destination for 2018.
What do do invisage when you think of Japan?
Is it….
Mount Fuji
Bullet trains
Cherry Blossom
Sumo Wrestlers
Sky scrapers
War memorials
All these are offered plus many more.
Many visitors are amazed at the diversity of Japan .
The relativey small Asian country boasts a rich and facinating history that dates back thousands of years.
Japan is an island nation is the Pacific Ocean with busy cities, Imperial Palaces, shrines and temples, Horoshima the atomic bomb memorial and even skiing in Hokkaido.
They are proud of the traditional Japan and embrace the future with the hustle and bustle of the cities such as Tokyo.
Top tourist attractions are:
Tokyo’s most famous landmark is the Imperial Palace with its beautiful 17th century parks surrounded by walls and moats which is still lived in by the Imperial family but areas are open to the public to enjoy.
Mount Fuji is a well recognised landmark and is the countries highest peak towering 3776 metres and can be seen from Tokyo 100 km away. Part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
Hiroshima Peace National Park is the memorial to the atomic bombing of Hiroshaima in August 1945.
Kyoto is one of Japans most visited cities – it is oneof the few cities in the country to be spared the devistation of WW2 and still has its old streets and architecture , be sure to visit the Kyoto Imperial Palace, Nijo Castle and the Golden Pavillion.

We all have our favourites , is yours sailing past the Opera House in Sydney, sailing through the Panama Canal or like me sailing out of Venice past St Marks Square.
I managed to tick off sailing out of Venice from my bucketlist last year on my honeymoon when we sailed on board Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas in May.
We sailed out early evening so settled ourselves on the top sun deck wth cocktails as romantic music played around us we sailed past St Marks Square and the Bridge of Sighs, it was truly spectacuar and a memory I will never forget.
I would recomend that you get as high as you can then you can see the sights from both sides.
It was a beautiful romantic start to our honeymoon.
On the same sailing we had also been told that the sail into Kotor , Montenegro was also special, Wow how right they were.
The sail in through the Gulf of Kotor takes over an hour and you see the most beauiful scenery that you would only see from sea side and not experience if you visited Kotor on a land holiday. It was truly magical.
We were lucky to sail in at lunchtime and out early evening so saw it during daylight and then sailed out as the sun was setting.
The Gulf of Kotor is sometimes called the southernmost fjord in Europe and is likened to sailing through the Gerainger Fjord , to give you an idea of its beauty. It is actually a submerged river canyon.
I would certainly book another cruise with Kotor on its itinerary just to see this again.

Booking a holiday or cruise is a minefield these days, who do you trust and who do you hand over your hard earnt money to?
A lot of us work all year to look forward to our main holiday and spend alot of time researching where and when we want to go .
Are you as picky with who you actually book with?
Now is the time of year that we all start thinking about sitting in the sun and sipping those cocktails as we sail out of ports. as at home it’s cold , wet and even snowy in some parts .

Happy New Year to you all.
I hope 2017 brings health and happiness .
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year.
I spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day with my family and with 20 of us it was a busy affair. We even had our santa come to visit .

Wow 2016 has flown by , It’s December again and Christmas is just days away.
2016 has been a great year for me in my personal life and my business life and I’m hoping that 2017 will be as much fun.
The big change for me this year was that I got to marry my best friend Stuart , on 3rd March I proudly became Mrs Helen Henderson and gained two great step children.
We and are children celebrated and came together as a family unit, I wish I could do the day all over again .
Our wedding was about the 6 of us and Connor my son gave me away , Sam Stu’s son was best man and our two daughters Ellie and Heather were bridesmaids.
Stu in scotish tradition wore his kilt to welcome me to the clan and I walked down the aisle to bagpipes playing.
We then had a child free week in the Lake District before our honeyoon cruise around the Greek Isles in May .
Since the wedding we have settled very nicely into married life and have proudly now seen 3 of our children off to unis , Heather the final student goes in September 17.
Aswell as my cruise around the Greek Isles I had a girly week in Gran Canaria with Ellie and then was lucky enugh to sail on the amazing Regent Seven Seas Explorer from Monte Carlo to Rome in October.
My passport is firmly away for the next few months as I decide where to go in 2017.
I’d like to wish all my clients a Lovely Christmas and Merry New Year and I look forward to being here in 2017 to help plan your dream trips and share the experience with you .
I finish work on 21st December and will be back in the office at 9am on 3rd January.
We will be spending Christmas together as a family then Stu myself and Jacko our dog are escaping to the Lake District for New Year.

Not everyone loves the large ships with ice skating rinks , promenades, flo riders and Mechainical bar staff  with over 5000 passengers.

Black Friday has come and gone….did you get yourself a bargain?

Over the last few years we have seen anarchy in the aisles as people have tried to get the latest TV or other white goods  in the Black Friday deals.

It’s that time of year ……The C word is about , we’ve just got past Halloween and Bonfire Night and then WAM BAM Christmas is upon us.
The flights on on between the supermarkets and stores for whose got the best Christmas advert….so far I’ve seen John Lewis Buster the Boxer, they are making us laugh this year rather than giving us a tear jerker ….who betther than the family dog to make us all go ahhhhhhhh….. my dog jacko does this everyday in our house.

We all love crusing for many different reasons but one of the big parts of cruising is the dining experience, 5* dining every evening and the option to dine in speciality restaurants for an additional fee usually.
I was spolit whilst I was on board regent Seven Seas Explorer as the speciality dining was included in the cost .
For the short time on board I tries as many of the dining options that I could.
On embarkation we ate by the pool in La Veranda, this is where breakfast is also served.
The food was very varied from a quick salad to ordering a burger or steak to be delivered to your table just how you like it .
The first evening we ate in prime 7 which I have to admit was my favourite restaurant .
All the restaurants seemed to follow the same concept that you chose from the meat section and then added to your experience with side orders to make the dish specifically how you’d like it .