On to Pastures New

My name is Ruby from Cruise.co.uk and this is just a quick note to introduce myself.

Diana, who may have helped you book (or look) for a cruise before, has left the company to build up her fishing lake business in France & my Manager has asked me to look after all her passengers. To re-assure you, I have been in the travel industry for over 14 years with the last 3 ½ years specialising in cruise here at Cruise.co.uk. I also pride myself on how well I look after my clients, so I can confidently say you will be in safe hands! 

Please contact me for any reason either via email rubyp@cruise.co.uk or 0800 408 6122– I would be delighted to help.

To find out a bit more about me and see comments from many of my satisfied customers under the “Rate My Service” section, please visit my personal blog www.rubycruises.co.uk (or just click on the my business card below)

I look forward to speaking to you soon.

Kind regards,

Ruby

Ruby Perkins

Direct Line: 0800 408 6122

Olympic Fever

Great that we have the Olympics  in the UK and amidst all the doom and gloom for a few weeks
it seems that everyone is in a joyous mood.

Nearly every customer I call has it on in the background and it is a topic of conversation for everyone, friends and family all have something to say.

Great that you can watch highlights so after a days work you can sit and unwind and find out what has been going on all day. Makes a lovely change to switch on the news and for once instead of all the stories being bad their focus has changed to bring the medal hopefuls and the fabulous achievements of these athletes to the fore.

I can imagine that on board the ships cruising wherever in the world that the Olympics are being
watched by thousands of people and how fab would it be to be sat on deck on some of the ships with the outside screens sipping a nice cool drink in the sunshine with fabulous scenery all around you. Beats my lounge any day of the week.

Lets hope that the up beat mood of the country continues past the Olympics and we wish our GB team a successful few weeks.

Passport office delays

I was reading an article this week advising travellers that for those wanting to appointments there was a 3 week delay in some areas.

As cruise lines insist on having at least 6 months validity left on their passports from the last day of the cruise then it is extremely important that you do not leave this until the last minute. It is easy
when you are booking a cruise a long time in advance to forget to check your expiry dates or just presume you have plenty of time left on it as time flies by so quickly.

The summer is always a busy time for the passport offices anyway and it is always better to renew in the winter when they are quieter and you have more chance of getting your passport back quicker.

Apparently for renewals if you are posting it is taking approximately 3 weeks and up to six weeks for first time applications.

But for those wanting emergency appointments then 2-3 weeks is what you can expect to be told at the moment for any offices in the UK.

For information on how to get your passports and information of the relevant forms then visit
the governments website:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Passports/index.htm

Also remember for a small extra charge you can hand your passport in at the post office where
they will check your application and send them off for you, this can be worth the extra few pounds as delays with your application due to missing information would delay the process even longer.

Coca Cola futuristic machines on Royal Caribbean

I was reading an article on one of our cruise news websites about a tie up between Royal Caribbean and Coca Cola.

Everywhere you look nowadays Coca Cola seem to have a foot hold everywhere and seem to be sponsoring everything. Of course with the Olympics on soon we will be seeing even more of them as I am sure there will be more and more advertisements as the Olympics draws ever closer.

Their clever marketing campaigns over many many years have seen them become a brand name that will never be forgotten so I am sure what they have in mind with Royal Caribbean will certainly benefit both parties.

According to the article, freestyle machines will be installed on the ships now I am not quite sure how exactly this will work but it appears that you will be able to experience many different flavours of this brand and that you will have a cartridge like that of a printer than will dispense the flavour.

 Somehow there will be a Radio Frequency Identification which will allow passengers to use the machine with souvenier cups which they serve themselves and after their voyage this will expire.

It doesnt make clear what charges if any will apply, so whether this will become part of the soda drinks package or something entirely different we can only wait and see.

Some ships will start getting these this year otherwise it will be 2013 before they are all in place.

The Majesty of the seas being the first to try it out.

So anyone out there if you have come across these machines it would be interesting to know, how they work , what they cost and whether there are unique flavours not experienced before and whether it is a good or a bad thing.

Will the QE2 ever be a hotel

Five years ago the QE2 was sold for an estimated 64 million dollars by Cunard,  where is she now and
what of the plans to make her a luxurious hotel.

Well so far nothing has really happened to her she is currently moored in the not so lavish surroundings of Port Rashid.

Initially the owners had hoped to transform the ship into a lavishly-appointed 1000-room hotel, but now they say it will feature just 300 rooms, and will retain many of its original features.

Rather than moving it to the more tourist-friendly Palm Jumeirah, the ship will also remain in Port Rashid, where it is hoped it will help transform the area into a tourist attraction. A new maritime museum will soon open nearby, and plans for an expanded cruise ship terminal have also been announced.

So many people have a fondness for the QE2 and transforming her into something she is not I dont think would have encouraged people to stay on her but keeping her as she is and the character of the ship is what everyone remembers her by and would want to possibly revisit her to evoke memories of previous cruises.

One day I am sure they will complete what they set out to do and maybe with an expanded cruise
terminal people could tie in a stay on the QE2 before embarking on a cruise that would indeed be special.

Looking at the pictures of where she is docked now though I think some major improvements may be needed to encourage people there it does look quite drab and industrial.

Have you got fond memories of the QE2 as so many of my clients have what do you think would
you stay on her as a hotel ?

Happy Anniversary P&O

Well after all the promotions and mass bookings it is here P&O are celebrating their 175 years in but a few hours time from now.

In celebration of this exciting anniversary, all seven ships of the P&O Cruises fleet will be together in their home port of Southampton on the same day, 3rd July 2012.

For the first time in the history of the company and the ships will be at seven different points in the port of Southampton together.

HRH The Princess Royal will be on hand to celebrate this historic event and I am sure there will be a huge turnout of well wishers wanting to enjoy the festivities and witness the ships together and sailing out one by one whilst a marching band plays. The ships will sail past in a procession from Southampton Water out into the Solent, accompanied by a display by the famous RAF Red Arrows aerobatic team. Out in the open water the ships will meet again, saluting one another before they sail onwards to their various exciting destinations.

It seems so long ago when these event was first launched back in April 2011 and I can remember
all the customers who were desperate to get booked on a cruise departing on this historic day.

We need good weather to make the day even better and I hope that all my customers have a fabulous
time whether they be sailing or just visiting Southampton to take part in the days events.

Happy Anniversary P&O and have a great day.

Gardening made fun make friends and get hints and tips from the experts

As many of you may or may not know cruise.co.uk/Victoria travel have been organising gardening tours for many many years.

I myself watched my father labour in the garden planting his veg and tending to his flowers since I was little but never really tried myself.

Over the last 12 months myself and my man have been trying to grow our own veg and try to be a little self sufficient and have had great success as you can see from the pictures above we now have a fabulous veg plot. We are still making mistakes but of course thats life and we have experienced a few failures here and there.

Now for those of you who enjoy their gardening whether it be flowers or vegetables what better way to spend your time having a relaxing cruise mixing with fellow gardeners and getting some all important hints and tips from expert gardeners on board who will share their experiences with you as well.

We still have some trips for this year and also an exciting new one for next year on sale flying to the Canary Islands.

      Balmoral – 28 August 2012 – Fjords – Gardeners’ World’s 21^st Birthday Cruise

  Balmoral – 3 November 2012 – Canaries & Madeira – 20^th Anniversary Garden Cruise for cruise.co.uk

Braemar – 7 September 2012 – Western Med Garden Cruise –

New 2013 promotion in Gardeners’ World Magazine – out now!

 Braemar – fly/cruise – Canaries & Madeira (Sun, Souks & Gardens) – 24 January 2013

 Includes:

·         Hosts – Will Giles & Matthew Biggs

·         FREE garden tour in Tenerife

·         FREE car parking at airport –

·         Exclusive on board Gardeners’ Programme

So why not join other like minded people on one of these delightful trips.

E- Ticket Blues

Last week I posted about excursion documents and how unfair it seems for cruisers who do not have the internet or printers...

This week I have received telephone calls from a number of clients struggling with printing out their
e-tickets..or finding information out about their cruise

Thank goodness we can print them out for them and send them else I think some customers would go out of their minds.

The problems are not just when clients do not have the facility to print themselves sometimes for whatever reasons the sites just dont seem to want to work when they should and frustrated customers
find that they cannot get the document to open at all,

Unfortunately technology can be too clever for its own good and customers who are OK using the internet get stuck when they are not sure that they have to allow pop ups or some computers seem
to protect them so well that they cannot fathom out what they are doing wrong...

All these things lead to so much frustration and people start asking if there is anyone they can book with who still send traditional tickets out. Unfortunely there are not many of these left...

I dont think that any of the cruise lines would revert back to traditional methods now , so we all have
to grin and bear it and do the best we can.

At least we are hear to help all our frustrated customers when they get into trouble on the world wide web.

Would you prefer to go back to traditional tickets let me know your thoughts...

Excursion Details if you dont have the internet!

I have clients who have just booked a P&O cruise, but on a special discounted price.

They want to access excursion information but neither of them have a computer at home and do not have family living nearby to print or show them the details. As they have booked a deal P&O will not be sending anything through the post.

Now as a company we of course have printed out the details and posted them to our clients to assist them, but I do feel sorry for customers when they feel helpless when they do not have the internet.

I do understand that in this day and age there are alot of people who have printers and internet at home, but there are still many elderly people who for them they feel it is not something they want to start to learn.

It can be stressful to clients when they worry about their tickets and on line check in especially
when for so many years they were used to receiving everything through the post.

I do wish that the cruise lines would still send excursion booklets regardless of the deal, as the
customers will be booking these and putting extra revenue in the cruise lines pockets so you wouldnt think that the few extra pennies to send them would make alot of difference, I am sure it costs more in
time and money for clients who call them worried or asking questions.

I know things will never be the same as they used to be but maybe a little help would be better than none at all.

What is your opinion on this ?

I just dont believe it £399 for a cruise

Hi I am sorry I just couldnt believe the price of this cruise..so had to tell you about it


I was checking general availability for a gentleman this evening and out popped this deal.

P&O Oriana travelling on the 9th June for 7 nights.

Southampton, England

09JUN12

SAT

Embark

PIER: Queen Elizabeth II Terminal CHECK IN STARTS AT 1200P

At Sea

10JUN12

SUN

Bergen, Norway

11JUN12

MON

Full Day

Geiranger, Norway

12JUN12

TUE

Full Day

TENDER REQUIRED

Olden

13JUN12

WED

Full Day

Stavanger

14JUN12

THU

Full Day

At Sea

15JUN12

FRI

Southampton, England

16JUN12

SAT

Disembark

PIER: Queen Elizabeth II Terminal

 All of this for £399 per person for an inside cabin based on 2 sharing...

There have been so many deals around recently for anyone who didnt think they could afford

a cruise holiday this year then certainly this year has been the year for bargains.

Surfing on board at what cost !!!

With so many people relying on the internet nowadays, there are many customers/cruisers who want to check their emails and keep in touch with the family when they are away and of course send pictures to their loved ones and friends just to rub it in how wonderful their holiday is !!.

But with most hotels/shopping centres and restaurants offering free wifi connection it seems to me that the cruise lines are making the most out of their internet charges.

I was reading a newspaper article recently that was looking into the charges that each cruise line charged and to be honest it is quite a hefty sum.

It appears that it will cost you anything from 41p per minute when you are away depending of course
on who you are cruising with.

So you need to be very nimble fingered to get those emails typed and sent as quick as possible otherwise it may be cheaper just to use a phone and call your friends and family when you in port.

According to the survey I read here is an outline of who was charging what..

Celebrity 41p per minute
P&O 50p per minute plus £2.50 to send a single email.
Cunard 47p per minute
NCL 75p per minute

Of course the cruise lines packages of minutes but it still works out a fair sum.

Fred Olsen apparently are one of the cheapest on a pay as you go tarif of 20p per minute.

So cruisers beware check out the costs before you go on a surfing spree on your cruise holiday as we all know you can easily get hooked reading something on the internet and before you know it you have been on there 30mins or even longer.

Cruise Ship Entertainment re-cycled

I have been talking to a customer today who made some very interesting comments regarding cruise ship entertainment.

He had recently returned from a cruise and was disappointed not with the entertainment itself but with the fact that he had already seen the shows when he had cruised with the same company before.

Now what annoyed him was that if it had been during the same year and on the same ship then he could have understood that the entertainers are contracted for these perfomances all through the year and there may be no way of getting around this... BUT this was the same shows that he had seen a few years ago on the same ship.

Now with so many people who take a shine to a particular cruise ship who may want  to travel on her again the following year then I think that the cruise lines should ensure that they offer some variety to their passengers otherwise they start to feel a little hard done by or that standards are dropping and the cruise lines do not want to pay for new shows.

If part of your cruising experience is to enjoy the entertainment offered on board then you will of course
notice if the same old things are being re-cycled year after year. Personally I think that old customers should be considered as past guests do form a base for cruise lines business year on year and the more you look after them the more they will recommend you to others which is the same with most business;s.

So cruise lines please think of them otherwise they will move to pastures new.

If anyone has had a similar experience with their on board entertainment then I would love to hear from you.

Would you cruise on Titanic 2

I have just been reading that an Australian billionaire has commissioned a shipyard in China to build an exact replica of the Titanic.

Now this would be fabulous as we have all fallen in love with the pictures we have all seen recently of the fabulous decor and staterooms in the original ill fated ship.

Apparently this ship will be finished in 2016 and her maiden voyage will be from England to North America.

I think this would be a huge success as so many of us would love the opportunity to sail on something as beautiful of course as long as she doesnt sink....

With todays technology on board I am sure that she would not meet the same fate as the original


Mr Palmer said the rebuild was a tribute to the spirit of the men and women who worked on the original Titanic, which sank after hitting an iceberg on April 15, 1912 and cost the lives of 1,514 passengers and crew.

The businessman said design work in conjunction with a historical research team had commenced on the new Titanic, which will have 840 rooms and nine decks.
The Chinese navy has been invited to escort Titanic II on its maiden voyage to New York.
Mr Palmer said the ship's funnels, which with modern propulsion would be purely decorative, and would be used to house a restaurant, a theatre and an "internet room".

Introducing a new member of my family coming soon

I generally write about something cruise related but this time I wanted to share something different
with you all.

In about 4/5 weeks I have a new addition coming to my household.

As you can see by the picture above I have an adorable little kittie coming to join us.. she doesnt
have a name yet we are still trying to think of one that suits and have been through the list as you
do trying to find just the right one to fit...

So the Kittie with no name yet is only one week old on my picture and I will be paying her
regular visits before I can finally introduce her to her new residence.

Sorry this blog isnt cruise related but I am so happy I just had to share my little kittie with you all.

I am a firm believer in giving animals a good home and have had many rescue cats over the years but this little bundle is from a friend who needs to find homes for their kitties.
This one will be the first tiny one I have ever had so I am sure I will have my hands full..
wish me luck !!!

Football Fans Royal Caribbean to air all the Euro 2012 matches

I can imagine that there may be a few arguments in households where the wife wants a cruise and hubby is worried he cannot watch his football.

Well good news ladies your men have no excuses now.

I have just been reading a report that Royal Caribbean Cruises have secured the rights to show all 31 games
being played between the 8th June and the 1st July.

The ships that will be showing matches are Adventure of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, Splendour of the Seas and Vision of the Seas. So too are Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Constellation, Celebrity Equinox, Celebrity Silhouette and Celebrity Solstice.

So if you are a football fanatic and cannot bear to miss any matches then one thing is for sure
if you are thinking of booking or you have already booked you need stress no more...

The games will be screened in the ship’s on-board bars and on televisions in passengers’ cabins.


Unfortunately Celebrity Cruises will only show the quarter finals, semi finals and the final on those five cruise ships which are due to visit the region.
The Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Constellation, Celebrity Equinox, Celebrity Silhouette and Celebrity Solstice.

But of course when you are in port if there is a match being played I am sure you can always
slip into one of the numerous bars that will be showing the matches all over Europe.

Titanic - Do we really need so much TV coverage

I may be having a grumble about this but it seems whichever channel you turn on recently there
is a program advertised about the Titanic.

I myself find the story fascinating and love to hear the accounts and see the memorabilia on offer
but I am sure that the TV channels could maybe not be offering so many documentaries as they
are all saying the same and showing the same.

On discovery channel on Sunday night there must of been at least 4 hours of viewing about the Titanic, so add that to every other channel showing something about the Titanic this week and there cant
be enough viewers to go around all these different programs.

I did record the program where James Cameron went underwater to see the wreckage as I thought
this would be something a little different and a change from all the other programs on offer, however I now have to find the time to fit in watching it....

Of course the news channels are all following the voyage on the Balmoral retracing the exact voyage
that the cruise ship took and for those on board I am sure that this is a voyage of a lifetime.

Unfortunately today we learned that due to the ill health of one of the passengers they have had to make a slight detour so lets hope the passenger is OK and that they can still reach their destination at the same time now.

One thing that did impress me though was the Belfast Titanic Museum which was shown on some
news channels a short while ago and now more cruise ships are visiting Belfast this is a museum that
I would find fascinating to look around.

A Cruise for Ex-pats living in France

We have many clients who book with us who have now moved abroad and are enjoying
life in France, but of course for them to get a cruise is not always easy as they have to
either drive back to the UK or fly to the UK or fly to a Med Port to catch their cruise.
As many provincial airports in France do not offer services to many destinations all of this can be
a bit of a hassle for them.

For those who just fancy a short cruise then the MSC Opera is calling into La Rochelle during July and August so if you dont want to travel too far and you live mid/north/western France it is not too far to
travel to join the ship there.

Now from la Rochelle the cruise will take you to Southampton/Ijmunden/St Peters Port/La Coruna and then Bilbao before returning back to La Rochelle.
I know this is only a short cruise but ideal if you want a reasonable break away.
Fabulous Prices too as for example for the 8th July inside cabins start at just £549 per person based on 2 sharing.

So for something a little different then why not give me a call,

Celebrity vs P&O for Fjords & Iceland Cruise 2013

I have recently found a few passengers defecting from P&O to try Celebrity.

Many of these passengers like to have balcony cabins and are finding that they can get a much
cheaper deal with Celebrity on cruises from Southampton than they can on P&O which they do find quite
confusing.

I have been looking at the costs for someone to do an Iceland and Fjords cruise for 2013.

Looking at the previews we have had through there a couple with P&O deparing in June and July.

So I compared the prices between the two either travelling on the P&O or the Celebrity Eclipse on the 6th July.

Lead prices on th P&O cruises start from £2279 up to £2564 per person depending on the position of the cabins on the ship.

With Celebrity the very lowest priced balcony would cost you £1909 to £2019 without going up to Concierge level and above.

So I can definately see why they are an attractive option for clients and they even have tea-making in
the cabins so you will not miss out on your early morning cuppa.

So all you clients out there it is always worth exploring the alternatives as you may well get
a bargain.

North East looking to welcome more cruise ships to its port

North shields is not a port that you would think of immediately as one that has cruise ships
docking and departing for cruises.

Over the last few years they have been gradually encourages more ships to use them and I say
good luck to them, it opens up more opportunities for travellers scattered around the North of the
UK to take advantage of cruises without having to make that long trek down to Southampton or
Dover.

In August 2010 they were lucky to have Holland America's Westerdam dock and since then many
cruises with the likes of Fred Olsen featuring a selection of cruises from Newcastle and also Cruise and Maritime who have a small selection of cruises from Newcastle.

I have booked passengers with Fred Olsen who live in the North West who have travelled to Newcastle because for them they would rather have 2 hours 40 minutes in the car than 4-5 hours travelling south.

This year they are expecting 37 ships to dock which is nearly double what they had last year when they had just 20. 17 of these will actually be starting their journey from North East.

Great news for the economy in the North East as well as great news for all of you who would like
to find a cruise that you can embark on closer to home.

Keep up the good work Newcastle and lets hope you can attract more and more cruise ships which will
encourage more passengers and give everyone a boost.

How friendly is a cruise

When speaking to my clients either before they book or when they have returned from their
cruise I am amazed at some of the stories that I hear of people making friends or even finding love on their cruises.

So many times do I hear , we are meeting friends we made on a cruise 3 years ago or one year ago.
Or sometimes my clients tell me that they are visiting friends across the globe who they met on a cruise
x amount of years ago.

Sometimes there are also the stories of blossoming romances or weddings or just great friendships between people that last for years and years.

Now of course when you travel on a package holiday you can still make friends but I do believe that
cruise holidays bring people together from all areas of life and keep them firmly bonded for many many years.

Single people often worry about being alone when they cruise but I do not think they will be
alone for long, there are always people around who take the time and trouble to talk to others.

Now you still have to choose your cruise wisely of course because the larger ships may not be
as intimate so meeting others regularly may not be the same as when you are on a smaller ship so
you should always ask for advice if you are worried.

With many of the cruise lines now on sale or due to go on sale shortly for 2013 now is the time to start
thinking ahead, if you havent cruised before take that step and give it a go and if you are a seasoned cruiser then get together with your friends wherever they may be and start planning for all that all important cruise.