Cruise Personaliser....what on earth is it?

If you have booked a cruise recently with your Specialist Cruise Consultant at cruise.co.uk be it one of many you have done or even your first, you may have been told about something called your cruise personaliser at the end of the booking...have you ever wondered what exactly this is?

I just want to explain it a little further as a lot of passengers, particularly first time cruisers who are new to the whole process, can be completely unaware of it and what you can do on it. Your cruise personaliser really is a great tool for you to be using once you have completed your booking.

What do you use it for?
After you have been given your cruise line booking reference from your agent you can log onto your cruise personaliser within about 48 hours. You can then access it by taking the following steps:
1. go to http://www.cruise.co.uk/
2. click on the "make a payment" box at the top
3. go to "online check in" and click on the cruise line that you are traveling on (they are in individual boxes)
4. this then directs you to the log in page of your cruise personaliser you must use your CRUISE LINE ref on here and NOT your cruise.co.uk reference

Once you are in you can use it to check flight details if you have booked a fly cruise (but not normally until about 6 months before departure) you can pre book shore excursions, drinks packages, order luggage labels, and most importantly fill in all your personal immigration information i.e passport details, emergency contact and insurance. Most cruise lines now require you to complete this information before you travel so that they can issue your e-tickets. Cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean and Celebrity actually allow you to "check in" online to speed things up at the port! Fantastic!

So to try and avoid calling into your agent for any questions you may have....just stop and think....is it something I can find on my cruise personaliser? You may well be surprised!

My River Cruise on the Seine

The past couple of weeks I have been a very busy bee with River Cruises and Ocean Cruises (a mini cruise on the Independence of the Seas) so I have not been able to spend the time to write a review of my Amazing River Cruise Experience withAvalon Waterways - see my previous blog Mosey on up the Seine

In a nut shell my River Cruise was one of the loveliest experiences I have ever had...and that is hand on heart I am not just saying this!

It started off with a journey on down to St Pancras station to join the Eurostar (this was a first for me) it all went very smoothly and we were met by a Avalon representative who lead the way. The Eurostar took about 2 and half hours which seems crazy to me that in the time it would take me to get to Newcastle from where I live I could get to Paris from London!

Once we arrived at the Gare du Nord station in Paris we were instantly met by another Avalon rep who guided us to the private transfer we had. This took us to a 4* hotel in Paris where we had a room with refreshments whilst we waited for the transfer but to take us to the Ship. All flawless so far...

Upon arrival at the ship we were greeted by the Cruise Director who welcomed us onboard. Check in on a River Cruise is a lot simpler and quicker than an Ocean Cruise. You literally just walk the plank to the ship and go through the doors and to the reception desk and they give you your room key!

I won’t bore you too much with all the finer details but I would like to say that the ship was very modern, the cabins were very spacious, and overall a very high standard. My colleague and I were very lucky and had a cabin with a Juliette style balcony and from our balcony where we were docked on the Seine we had a lovely view of the Eifel tower!!

My favourite part of the River Cruise though I have to say were the shore excursions that you get included, they really do keep you busy! On our first day we got to spend the day in Paris so the morning was an organised coach tour (very glad I did this as Paris is huge and you get to see so much on this tour) then the afternoon was our own so we decided to go off and explore! We braved the Metro and headed to the Arch De Triumph and walked down the Champs Elysees all the way down to the Louvre....a LOT of walking! But it was a lovely day so well worth it.

The second excursion was to visit Vincent Van Gough's house and grave we he is laid to rest next to his brother Theo. We got to see the Church of ascension that he painted and go into the bedroom where he dies after committing suicide, bit spooky!

The 3rd and my favourite was a visit to Claude Monet's house in Giverney to see his famous water garden where he painted his hundreds of water lily paintings and of course the most infamous painting with the Japanese Bridge...unfortunately it wasn't the season for the water lily's but nevertheless it was still amazing to see it.

The food was some of the best I have ever had on any ship I have been on and I think this is because they are only catering for about 120 people on a River Cruise ship so you get a very intimate service and of a much higher standard. With Avalon, you always have a panoramic view in the restaurant and the scenery whilst you are eating dinner is stunning. We saw lots of beautiful houses as we were sailing one evening...

To summarise, if anybody has been or is toying with the idea of a River Cruise then all I can say is do it and do it as soon as you can. You really won’t be disappointed. If you like the glitz and glam and entertainment of the big ships then a River Cruise is probably not for you, but if you are a bit of a culture vulture and like the laid back way of life onboard then you will absolutely love it!

Avalon are classed as 5* and they do not fail to deliver on this....

It's almost Independence Day....

No, not American Independence day but the day I go down to Southampton for a 3nt mini cruise on board the Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas!



Myself and a few colleagues will be embarking on a bit of a hen cruise for our friend who is getting married in June, well you can't be a Specialist Cruise Consultant and not have a cruise for your hen do can you??! We booked this last August so it has been a long time coming and we are all most excited to say the least!

The cruise itself is actually a Zumba themed cruise, although I have heard the Zumba classes will be taking place pretty early in the am so I am not sure we will all be up to make it! :)

I have been on a ship visit on the Indy (as we like to call her in the office for short) but never sailed. I have been on one of her sister ships though, the Navigator, so I pretty much know what to expect from her. I am looking forward to seeing one of their amazing Ice Shows and pigging out in Johnny Rockets the famous 1950's style American Diner...



I might even give the Flo Rider a try if the weather is nice enough....



Whatever we decide to do, you really can't go wrong with the Independence of the Seas, she is a fun ship with oodles to do on board so i'm sure a fab time will be had by all....watch this space!

It's all go go go for 2013!

I am well and truly settled back into office life now after a lovely week off on my River Cruise with Avalon Waterways (details of this to follow)

It's all busy busy with the launch of the 2013/2014 sailings for P&O and Cunard so all this week I am in the office from 7.45am ready for when the cruises go on sale at 8am - dedication I know! I have been at Cruise.co.uk for 4 launches now and every single one has been more sucessful than the other, with us securing the best cabins at the cheapest launch prices and so far this year has been no exception. We still have the rest of the week to go so you still have time to get in touch if you are thinking of booking for next year!

Once the dust has settled this week with the launch I will be writing a full blog on my wonderful (and it really was a wonderful experience) River Cruise from Paris....watch this space for lots of fab pictures of some famous sights.....

Red Sea Magic for MSC in 2013

MSC Cruises have announced they will be introducing the Red Sea (Egypt) to their repertoire of Itineraries for next year.

They are offering customers a magical world of crystal clear waters and golden sands as they unveil the Red Sea as a new 2012/2013 destination.

This is great news for the world of cruising as very few cruise lines offer this beautiful place, Thomson being the main one.

On the 2nd November the Armonia will depart Venice for an 8night "repositioning" cruise where she will arrive at her new home port of Sharm-El Sheikh. On this journey she will be sailing the Mediterranean Sea where you get to transit the Suez Canal through to the stunning waters of the Red Sea. She will also stop off in Ancona, Heraklion and Marmaris. I really interesting and historical itinerary.

From then on she will be doing a total of 21 8night cruises doing the following itinerary:

Sharm- El- Sheikh, Safaga, Egypt; Elat, Isreal; Aqaba,Jordan and Sokhna Egypt.

The Red Sea is perfect for people who like to indulge in water sports activities as the Sea is infamous for its snorkelling with its abundance of tropical aquatic life.

You can float around in the therapeutic waters of the Dead Sea.

Or visit the Historical sights such as the Bedouin settlements or even tour the ancient mines that that belonged to the great Pharaohs of Egypt.....there really is something for everyone on this kind of Itinerary!

The Circus is in Town!

It was a very busy day today in the cruise.co.uk offices with the launch of the Cunard/P&O 4 day
Double Upgrade Sale, where you pay for an inside and get upgraded to a balcony!

It was so successful the last time they decided to give people another chance to make the most of it. So, after a very busy day for me helping people get booked in their balcony cabins I decided to unwind by going to no other than..... The Circus....!

I took my 10yr old neice, two 4yr old nephews and a 6yr old nephew along to the Big Top to see lots of amazing acts which thoroughly entertain us. The children absolutely loved it (that includes me of course!)

Uncle Sam's American Circus rolled into town on Wednesday so we decided to treat them all to see the clowns. Not your average Friday night but fun none the less!

If you like the idea of the Circus then you can experience it onboard the NCL Epic where they have a Circus themed dinning experience called Cirque Dreams and Dinner. Here you can enjoy the fantastic show whilst you dine on some exquisit food...check out this amazing video clip...

What do you think of the idea of this dining experience, would it be for you....?

Mosey on up the Seine...

In aproximately 2 weeks time I will be boarding an Avalon ship in Paris - yes thats PARIS! To take a 4night River cruise up the Seine...




I am very excited about this as I have always wanted to experience a River Cruise, having been on many ocean cruise ships, to see what the difference is like. River Cruising is exploding onto the cruise scene now and fast becoming a preferred way to cruise. Particularly for those who have done the Med itineraries to death and are looking for something that little bit different. With a river cruise you get to sail along some of the most famous Rivers in Europe taking in every last drop of medieval scenery and pulling up right in the hearty of each City and Town.

On my trip I will be visiting Conflans where I can visit the town where Vincent Van Gogh lived or Napoleon and Josephine's Chateau de Malmaison. Vernon where I can go and see Claude Monet's house and stunning gardens. Then Finally finishing my little trip in Rouen where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in the market place.







I have never been to Paris so to say I am excited about this would be an understatement. My trip starts on the 10th April so I will be writing a full blog on my return of my adventures.