See the Pandas on our Ying & Yangtze Tour

12 baby Giant Pandas have been putting on their first appearance recently at the Chengdu Research Centre in China.
For those of you who, who would love the chance to visit this fabulous research centre and see first hand these magnificent creatures and the wonderful work that this centre does to protect this species that is under threat then boy do we have a spectucular tour for you.

On the 9th September 2012 or the 9th March 2013, we have two incredible tours on offer, fly to Shanghai after exploring the delights of Shanghai you then travel to Wuhan to join your 4 night cruise at Yichang, cruising along the Yangtse you finish the cruise in Chongqing, where you then make your way to Chengdu for an overnight stay. The following morning after spending time at the Chengdu Research Centre seeing the Giant Pandas you then fly to Xian for a 2 night stay to see the magnificent Terracotta Warriors.Finally you fly to Beijing for 3 nights to experience the wonders of the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square and the Summer Palace before returning home from a spectacular adventure.

What a wonderful tour this is

Sea Dream Captain really has passengers interests at heart

I was reading an article in a French newspaper about Sea Dream in fact it made a 3/4 page spread.

On a recent cruise that was due to make a stop at La Rochelle captain Johan Dyrnes decided that he would scrap this visit and instead travel to Royan instead.

Now the reason why he decided to do this was that he felt that the shuttle trip which takes passengers to the old harbour and town area would have just been too long for his well healed guests.

All passengers welcomed this change and enjoyed their day exploring the beach and town area of the capital of the Cote de beaute and of course form here passengers could visit Cognac and sample the hennessy brandy.

As for Royan they had a welcome boost to their town and gave them chance to showcase themselves as a potential cruise destination for other cruises.

Now Seadream whose slogan is yachting not cruising I think must really have their passengers interests at heart, as the Royan Mayor had to arrange all the security/immigration facilities required at 48 hours notice so arranging these things would not have been easy for the Captain .

But how would you feel if you were in the same situation would you welcome the change or would you be angry that you were not visiting where you thought.

I dont think I would mind at all...

Tropical Storms still causing problems

With the wind battering the UK over the past few days and the problems with the US coast line the week before last I think that we are all hoping that the weather will sort itself out and everything can return to normal.

However tropical storm Maria is still disrupting some cruise lines and they are having to make decisions to change ports for the safety of their passengers.

Reports today are saying that 

Norwegian Gem is now sailing a Bahamas and Florida itinerary, instead of its originally planned Bermuda voyage. The ship will call on Port Canaveral Tuesday, private island Great Stirrup Cay on Wednesday and Nassau on Thursday. 

Carnival have altered itineraries for a handful of ships:

The Destiny, which left Miami on Saturday for a five-night sailing, will switch the order of its calls on Ochos Rios and Grand Cayman The ship will call on the latter on Monday and the former on Tuesday, the opposite of what was originally scheduled. 

Royal Caribbean also has ships in the area, but according to the Companies Web site, only one itinerary has been altered: 

Oasis of the Seas will now call on St Thomas on Tuesday, St Maarten on Wednesday and Nassau on Friday.

I know that it can be very disappointing if you have set your heart on visiting a certain place at a certain time but I am sure that we would all rather be safe than at risk, so I am behind the cruise lines all the way when they have to make these changes and I would hope that travellers would feel the same.

Voyager Of The Seas to spend 2012 in the Far East

Royal Caribbean's Voyager of The Seas will be spending 2012 in a new home, cruising around the Far East.

I have been looking through the itineraries and I think this is fabulous news for travellers who are looking for something a little different but who love to travel with royal Caribbean.

The Voyager will start her travels to her new home in April when she offers a transatlantic cruise from New Orleans to Barcelona. She will then travel from Barcelona to Dubai and then from Dubai to Singapore.

She is then going to offer 3 cruises or 4/5 night durations sailing from Singapore visiting Malaysia and Phuket, ideal for anyone looking for a short cruise to add on to a stay in Singapore.

Then in mid June the Voyager will sail to  Shanghai where  she will offer 4 night cruises visiting Japan and Korea, before she heads off to Australia for the winter when she will offer  cruises around Australia and New Zealand.

These new itineraries are great news for cruise passengers looking to add stop overs so they can explore the delights of Singapore, China and Australia as we can tailor make some very exciting itineraries for you. Not forgetting of course that the transatlantic repositioning sectors of this cruise offer extremely good value for money if you fancy doing something completely different.