All The Latest News About Cruising

Independence of the Seas sails from Southampton in 2008

Royal Caribbean International caused a stir when it introduced its latest, the World's largest, and the most innovative cruise ship 'Freedom of the Seas' at Southampton last year. This May saw the inaugural sailing of its sister ship 'Liberty of the Seas'. The third ship in this Freedom class, has now been named as 'Independence of the Seas', and will make its debut in May 2008. These ships are described as " a sea-going city" by the people who build them in Finland. RCI based its 'Legend of the Seas' at Southampton last summer offering the opportunity for its British customes to cruise from Southampton without having to go to an Airport to start their cruise holiday. For an amazing value at less than £100 per night for a cruise holiday on this stunning, large, 4 star leisure resort, with its ice shows and its Royal Promanade with coffee shop and English pub. Contact us for availability and prices for all other grades of cabins before they are snapped up.

New Latin American Cruise in January 2008 Featuring Rio de Janeiro at Carnival Time

Due to exceptional demand for long duration and exotic cruise destinations Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines have launched a new 72 night cruise on Boudicca departing 18th January 2008 which will sail from Southampton, around South America and back to Southampton. This is a superb opportunity to cruise to Latin America without flying.

This spectacular itinerary features 25 exciting ports of call on Boudicca's amazing journey around the continent of South America including Rio de Janeiro at carnival time. Passengers will visit 6 countries on the continent, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Equador. Plus Portugal, Madeira, Canary & Cape Verde islands, Falklands, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Turks & Caicos, Bermuda and the Azores. Boudicca also spends a full day transiting the Panama Canal as she passes through Central America.

Fred. Olsen's 'The ArtsClub' Cruises

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is offering the opportunity to cruise amongst friends and like-minded people, where you can indulge in a special interest close to your heart. The Arts Club topics that are still continuing (The Archers themed cruises have already left for this year) include Music, Dance, Antiques, Arts & Crafts, Gardening, Wine, Bridge, Civilisations, Comedy, Current Affairs, Familiy History, Maritime History, Painting, Pottery, Photography and Wildlife.

Most Fred. Olsen cruises sail from and return to an UK port. So, you could go abroad on a cruise holiday without spending hours at an Airport, and avoid all the associated inconvenience that goes with flying these days. Did you also know that cruising is a more environmentally friendly way of traveling when compared with flying? Bonus! That way, you’d be helping to preserve the countryside whilst relaxing at sea!!

Selected Fred. Olsen cruises also offer the opportunity to take up a Flagship Golf Package for those passengers with a valid golf handicap. The Flagship Golf package includes 4 rounds of golf at top courses at 4 different ports of call, a welcome party, up to 5 tuition sessions with PGA golf professional, free practice sessions, opportunities for informal and social get-togethers, and end of cruise prize giving.

For bookings, and enquiries email contact@travelgatewayltd.com, or telephone: 020 8241 3203.

Which Cruise?

Cruise veterans usually know which cruise lines, and even which particular ships will meet their own particular requirements most accurately. They know what to expect, and they enjoy every minute of their cruise experience. However, on the other hand, DIY cruise virgins can run the risk of ending up in a cruise ship where they might feel uncomfortable in their surroundings; consequently they end up blaming the cruise line. There is anecdotal evidence of a young couple on a honeymoon cruise holiday in a small ship where the average age was that of their grandparents! This couple complained and demanded a full refund. Actually, someone commented afterwards that the young honeymoon couple could have turned the situation to their advantage, stayed in their cabin, and had a whale of a time…Once waterbeds were sexy must-haves, of course on a cruise ship the whole ship is a waterbed! “But I don’t want to be on a waterbed” I hear you say…Actually, most cruise ships are now fitted with stabilisers to minimise the feeling of movement, and very large ships are very steady indeed. The itinerary is likely to affect how much movement you might experience also. The Caribbean and the Mediterranean tend to be calm, whereas Atlantic crossings and the Bay of Biscay may possibly ‘rock the boat’ a little!

In fact, there are so many factors to consider when choosing a cruise. The price, the length of cruise, the level of luxury, formality, informality, passenger profile, service levels, feeling of spaciousness, facilities on board, activities on board, food quality and choice, size of the ship, destinations, ports of call, how long at port, whether flying is involved… The list goes on. Of course, overriding all these are the actual cruise line brands and what they stand for in terms of expertise and their unique selling propositions. Not so simple, eh?

Once you have decided on which cruise lines, which cruise ship and which itinerary, there are other considerations such as which type of cabin (or, “stateroom”, as some cruise lines tend to call them), where exactly on the ship – the cabin position will affect your view (or whether you will have a view) as well as the amount of movement you are likely to feel. Did you know that some cabins may have baths, whereas others may only have a shower, this might be an important consideration when choosing your cabin, or even cruise liner!

If you want more information on any of these items then please contact us by telephone on 020 8241 3203, or by email at contact@travelgatewayltd.com