Cruise Deals

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Updates on exceptional value-for-money cruise deals and last-minute offers

£1 million for the most luxurious world cruise? I could save £940,000

Top marks to the cruise agents who garnered acres of free publicity today with reports of a £1 million cruise deal - a four-month trip costing £8,000 per day. The 124-night cruise to 28 countries is on board Silver Whisper, a 28,000-ton ship once chartered by Vladimir Putin to accommodate guests at the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg. The ship, operated by Silversea, carries 382 passengers and 302 crew. For their money, one couple - the quoted price, unlike most cruise fares, is for two people - would travel in one of the ship's two Royal Suites, each of which [...]

By | 2017-06-15T15:59:53+00:00 24 February 2012|Cruise Deals, Cruise News|0 Comments

It’s official: The best way to find a cruise is by looking in The Mirror

The mystery shopper who was searching for a Mediterranean cruise in this week's issue of TTG chose the right place to start. Posing as a first-time cruiser with a budget of £2,000 the customer phoned Cruise Thomas Cook on the basis of "a bright and colourful advert in the Sunday Mirror." Two High Street travel agents and an online agency were also consulted for the exercise, but it was the Sunday Mirror ad that delivered the goods, with a score of 78 out of 100. Sunpex Travel in Kent disappointed by ignoring the request for a cruise sailing from the [...]

By | 2017-06-15T15:59:53+00:00 24 February 2012|Cruise Deals|0 Comments

Book it, pack it, float off . . .

Comedian Peter Kay got it right when it came to organising holidays abroad. "Booked it, packed it, ****ed off," was the line, and never mind that he was talking about Teletext rather than the Internet - that was a few years ago. Now there is growing evidence that online bookings are growing in importance for cruise lines, according to research carried out by deal-checker website Travelzoo. Although the cruise sector is traditionally led by travel agent bookings, the findings show that 38 per cent of consumers now book their cruise holidays exclusively online, an increase of 20 per cent on [...]

By | 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 4 January 2012|Cruise Deals, Cruise News|0 Comments

Just the time to party at sea

It's not too late to organise a Christmas party at sea, snap up some last-minute shopping, and pick up duty-free gin or vodka for less than £10 a litre. Cruise ship Marco Polo leaves the London Cruise Terminal at Tilbury on December 8 for a three-night voyage to Amsterdam and Antwerp with fares - which include all meals and entertainment on board - starting at £179 per person (two sharing) for an inner cabin and £249 for a sea view. On December 11 the ship takes a two-night cruise to Antwerp. Fares from £119 and £169. www.cruiseandmaritime.com 0845 833 9798 [...]

By | 2017-06-15T15:59:58+00:00 3 December 2011|Cruise Deals|0 Comments

Bargain fever spreads to cruises

It was Black Friday in America yesterday - the day after Thanksgiving when some of the best deals of the year are available in stores and travel agents across the country. Looks like the bargain fever is spreading across the Atlantic, with cruise companies keen to distract customers from the Christmas shopping and get them planning for next year's holiday. Virgin Cruises have announced a weekend sale with 10 per cent off new bookings for balcony cabins and suites on a host of cruises next year. For example, book by Monday to grab a 10-night Emirates cruise-and-stay holiday departing next [...]

By | 2011-11-26T01:06:00+00:00 26 November 2011|Cruise Deals|0 Comments

Cruising the Frozen Planet

TV's Frozen Planet is encouraging viewers to get off their sofas, put on their coats, and head for the snowy wastelands. Sheer distance, higher costs and tightening legislation all combine to make it difficult to travel south to Antarctica, but the Arctic is closer, convenient, and affordable. Responding to the Attenborough effect, Polar specialists Hurtigruten will be sending two ships to Spitsbergen next summer - its oldest and newest vessels. Between June and August MS Nordstjernen (above) will travel the west coast of the island for a total of 21 five and six day itineraries. The ship, built in 1956, [...]

By | 2017-06-15T15:59:58+00:00 22 November 2011|Cruise Deals, Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Book now for first crossing to New York aboard Norwegian Breakaway

As Norwegian Epic heads back across the Atlantic at the end of its debut European season, Norwegian Cruise Line is taking the first bookings for a Transatlantic voyage from Britain to the United States on the company's next new ship, Breakaway (above). Epic, which can carry a maximum of 5,400 passengers, left Barcelona on Sunday for a 13-night crossing with only two ports of call - Ponta Delgado in the Azores and St Thomas in the Virgin Isles - before arriving in Miami on November 5. Norwegian Breakaway, which is in the early stages of construction at the Meyer-Werft shipyard [...]

By | 2017-06-15T15:59:59+00:00 24 October 2011|Cruise Deals, Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Tell them Captain Greybeard sent you and claim a 10% cruise discount

Still time to take advantage of my 10 per cent discount deal with Virgin Holidays Cruises and save money on your next holiday at sea. It couldn't be simpler - choose your cruise from Virgin's website or glossy brochure and then mention my name when making your booking, in order to claim the saving. There are dozens of different ships and hundreds of possible cruises - Virgin offer deals with everyone from Azamara to Windstar, Thomson to Carnival and Costa to Fred. Olsen. If you're still not sure where to go, here are some suggestions: There are last-minute vacancies throughout [...]

By | 2017-06-15T16:00:00+00:00 30 September 2011|Cruise Deals, Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Mention my name to Virgin and save 10% from the cost of your cruise

Great news if you're planning to book a cruise: mention my name and you can get a 10 per cent discount from Virgin Holidays Cruises. So a seven-night cruise next year on board Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas, including a two-night bed and breakfast stay in Barcelona, can be yours for as little as £791 instead of the brochure price of £879. AND you get $100 on-board credit per cabin. A seven-night cruise on the exciting new Norwegian Epic, plus two nights B&B in Barcelona, is £800 instead of the advertised fare of £889 - and you get $300 [...]

By | 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 24 September 2011|Cruise Deals|0 Comments

Our survey said . . . uh-oh

There must be a better way to generate interest in National Cruise Week than an opinion poll which claims that the Mojito is the favourite cocktail among cruise passengers - based on the fact it garnered a paltry eight per cent of the votes. Or that New York has supplanted Venice as the most popular destination, and Johnny Depp and Jennifer Aniston remain our favoured fantasy travelling companions - according to the survey carried out by YouGov on behalf of the Passenger Shipping Association. Mind you, if you believe Shearings Holidays, who commissioned their own poll, comedian Peter Kay is [...]

By | 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 20 September 2011|Cruise Deals, Cruise News|0 Comments