How would you like to visit the Panda Breeding centre in Chengdu China

As you may have seen, we at cruise.co.uk have introduced a large number of tailor made tours, which include some fantastic tours to China.

One of my clients was asking whether or not it was possible to go and visit the Panda breeding centre in Chengdu, China.

After investigation I managed to find that it is easy to get there from Beijing and it is only an hour and half flight from Beijing to Chengdu.... so for anyone who fancies visiting this as a side trip before a cruise from Beijing then yes it is possible.

There are excursions from Chengdu that take you to the sanctuary so you can see first hand the Pandas in a natural environment and witness for yourself these magnificent creatures that are now in threat of extinction.

For anyone who fancies seeing these magnificent creatures and would like to take a cruise from Beijing then please give me a call.

How long does it take to fly to ......?

Many customers call us regarding their flights whether they are travelling from London to New York or Gatwick to Barbados and with the best will in the world none of us have ever been everywhere to be able to say off the cuff... it takes ? hours.

I have found this neat little website that checks the flying times for you and can be a great tool if you want to plan a journey and are worried about how many hours it will take you or even if you have already booked and just want to check.

Some examples are:
London to New York 6 hours 30 minutes approx.
London to Miami 10 hours 30 minutes approx
London to Hong Kong 12 hours approx.


Have a look at the link below and see what you think...
http://www.flight-durations.com/popular_searches.php

Titanic artefacts on display at the O2 Arena in special Titanic Exhibition

For those of you who have a fasincation with the great Titanic or just an interest in maritime history this exhibition could be one for you.
Titanic the artefact exhibition is presented by RMS Titanic the restoration company.
Ninety-eight years after the world’s largest ship sank objects salvaged from   the debris will take pride of place in rooms recreated from the Titanic.

Visitors to the exhibition at the O2 will be able to walk through the rooms to  gain a unique insight into the grandeur of the tragic ship.
On arrival visitors will receive a replica boarding pass for the Titanic   before being taken through a chronological history of the ship.
The exhibition will include recreations of third class cabins, the cargo hold   and boiler room, the iceberg, and 14 never seen before artefacts.
This historic exhibition is running until the 1st May so plenty of time for all to experience what cruising used to be and witness some of the fabulous artefacts that have been found first hand.

Air Passenger Duty rises how will this affect us

Air passenger duty is set to rise from Monday 1st November.

What do we think and how does this affect us...... well of course for those who do not fly and just take a traditional cruise then they will notice no difference and of course all they have to worry about is the cruise lines increasing any fuel supplements as time moves forward.

However alot of customers prefer to take a fly cruise and of course flights will be affected with some airlines possibly absorbing the costs and others who will pass on these costs to customers.

Many clients like to book their own flights and of course they may see the added costs straight away when booking their flights.

The airlines are not happy and the worry is that these extra costs may affect those on the tightest budgets where any extra rises could quite easily push the cost of their holiday just beyond reach, and there are many people who have felt the pinch of the last few years and may have just got themselves back into employment after being made redundant and are finding that a holiday that was just affordable is being pushed out of budget.

We also need tourists to travel to our Country to help our own tourist industry so these rises affect those people too who are liable to pay the charges .

This will be the third increase in 3 years and it does seem unfair, we all know that the goverment need to try and raise money, but should this have been a very small increase so as to not to have a huge impact on those who may have foresaken a holiday over the last couple of years because of the climate here.... what do you think ?

Fred Olsen and the single traveller

This week I had some lovely comments from a lady who insists that she will only travel with Fred Olsen.

After travelling for many years with her late husband, obviously it was traumatic choosing the right cruise as it is very difficult for widow/widowers to find the courage to try and holiday on their own.

My client had chosen Fred Olsen and was so impressed with the holiday that now she will choose no other.
The main things that helped her get over her initial worries were that she had requested to sit with other single people in the dining room, this request had been granted and she found herself sharing the experiences of others who were in the same position as herself.
Because the ships do not carry thousands of passengers this made it more intimate and easier to meet the same people around the ship, and she felt that the crew were fantastic and very understanding of a single travellers needs.

I have many people who love to travel with Fred Olsen for the same reasons I have listed above and of course they are one of the few cruise lines to offer single rooms too.
Recently I booked a lady on a twin share again this is something you do not normally find with other cruise lines nowadays. This lady didnt want to pay extra for a cabin on her own, so was prepared to share with someone she hadnt met before. Of course this could be risky if you do not have alot in common, but also could be so rewarding if you do as you could find a travelling companion for future holidays and save yourself paying extra for single cabins or paying sometimes double the price for a cabin for sole occupancy.

I love to hear stories from my clients that prove that the cruise lines do get it right most of the time. I do feel for single travellers as it can be so difficult ,and to travel for the first time on your own must be very traumatic.

We have a great selection of garden cruises and of course if you have a keen interest in gardening this could be another great way as a single person to get together with other like-minded people.

Be careful low cost airlines and industrial strikes in France

Hi Everyone,

I have returned safely from my vacance in France unfortunately didnt catch many fish but we did manage to catch a rather nasty dose of the flu instead... Not from anyone French but from someone on holiday from Accrington , we met his virus before we met him.

Whilst we were away we were unfortunate enough to be coming back on the day that the French decided to go on strike so therefore our flight was cancelled.

Lucky for us, we had access to the internet and by chance checked our emails to find to our horror one entitled URGENT FLIGHT CANCELLATION.

Thankfully we were able to transfer our reservation Free Of Charge with Ryanair BUT had to come home a day early much to our dismay.

However I would like to offer a few words of warning to anyone travelling with low cost carriers where they have to do online check-in and have the print out.   We were fortunate that we were able to print out ours but there were many passengers moaning at the airport because they hadnt got their piece of paper and were being charged 30Euros each.

I would suggest that when booking low cost carrier flights.... always re-check your flights even if you have to use an internet cafe and IF you have to change your reservation always make sure that you find some way of printing out your e-ticket otherwise you can be faced with a hefty bill.

Bonjour from France

Hi everyone I am currently away in France trying to catch a big fish or maybe a few big fish. Weather has been very warm over 70 degrees some days which is unbelievable for this time of year, normally its winter woollies and log burner on every night. I will be back in the office on Wednesday 13th October so I will report back as to whether or not I managed to achieve what I was hoping to.