When "Fully Obstructed" actually means a room with a view...

On Fred Olsen's Balmoral this December, I was lucky enough to be allocated an ocean view cabin on the Lido Deck (deck 8). I was in cabin 8043 - it was a great position on the ship that offered easy access to all the onboard facilities. It had a lifeboat outside the window - but so what?! Did it mean we didn't get any light in the cabin? No... Did it mean I couldn't see the sea? No... Was it a nice cabin? Yes...

Black Tie Fun with Cruise.co.uk

Even Cruise specialists seem to scrub up well. Here's a picture of all of us staged on the main stairwell of the Balmoral on our Christmas Party-Cruise.

Cruise.co.uk Christmas Cruise

What happens when a cruise agent organises a Christmas celebration for its staff aboard a ship sailing from the UK? Everything goes swimmingly and nothing goes wrong, right? Wrong...

Are you a Terrorist?!

When travelling to the United States, you've always had to declare to their immigration people that you're not involved in any terrorist activities, you're not an international drug trafficker and you're basically a normal, well adjusted human being - or they wouldn't let you in.

Well, ever since 9/11, security got even tighter - so it's nice to know that now, when you're travelling to the USA, the days of filling out a green piece of paper on a plane for entry into the US (the I-94, commonly known as the Visa Waiver form) have ended.

Shiver Me Timbers!

Everybody's talking about Pirates... But how much of a threat do they really pose to today's cruiser and what sort of safeguards are in place from the cruise-lines themselves?

Tales of the Unexpected

It might sound a little morbid, but what happens when a passenger dies at sea? It's unexpected, there's nowhere to bury the body on-board so the corpse is either off-loaded at the next port and repatriated back to their home country, or they're stored in the ship's morgue for the duration of the cruise.

Do Mermaids Really Exist?

 

Popular belief has it that the legend of mermaids comes from the Manatee. A mermaid (from the Middle English mere in the obsolete sense 'sea' (as in maritime, the Latin mare, "sea") + maid(en)) is a legendary aquatic creature with the head and torso of human female and the tail of a fish

Seven Godmothers Sail the Seven Seas

Royal Caribbean International officially named its newest cruise ship, Oasis of the Seas, on December the 6th 2009. As has been tradition for centuries, she was christened with a Godmother to look after her... or more specifically, SEVEN Godmothers! Gloria Estefan, Daisy Fuentes, Shawn Johnson, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Michelle Kwan, Jane Seymour and Dara Torres all took their places in history at the launch of this magnificent and revolutionary new ship.

My, That's a Big'un!

Oasis of the Seas - officially the largest passenger ship in the world
- but does it really feel that big onboard?

We had a healthy quota of senior management who were priveleged enough to get out to and get onboard the OotS for its pre-launch trade-partners introduction.

I've spoken to them to get their feedback - and it's all incredibly positive!

Cabin Fever

What happens when a ship gets a contagious virus onboard?!

Fancy a date?

On some cruises, you cross the international dateline. Depending on which way you're travelling when you do this, you either gain or lose a day. If you've ever wondered why, this is my Physics-Degree-educated (a long time ago!) attempt at explaining this, and the concept of time-zones to you!:

Was the smoking ban a good thing?

As an ex-smoker, I know what it's like to want a cigarette. I also know what it's like to not want a cigarette and I know which I prefer.

What do I really do?

Cruise Sales is not as easy or as straight forward as many people might think.

I don't do this:

The Cruise Prayer

Heavenly Father, look down on us your humble, obedient cruising servants, who are doomed to cruise this earth, taking photographs, mailing postcards, buying souvenirs, eating ourselves silly and walking around muggy Caribbean islands in drip-dry underwear.

Synch or Swim?

A musician who joined an orchestra on a cruise ship was having difficulty keeping time with the rest of the band. Finally, the captain said, "Either you learn to keep time or I'll throw you overboard. . . . It's up to you, sync or swim."

What's your best cruising joke? Here are a few I heard along the way...

Stranger things have happened at sea...

Couple arrested for not paying tips!

Gratuities are always a controversial subject, but at least you don't get arrested for not paying them on a cruise! Read this!

The Love Boat

Did you know that a cruise can be an excellent way to arrange a hen or a stag do? Just think, nobody can get lost in a big city because you're all on the ship overnight, you get to have a proper holiday with access to pools, bars, acrade-style and evening entertainment without having to traipse around a city all to find things of interest. And to top it off, your hotel delivers you to different cities every day for a little bit of culture.

Are you POSH?

Port Out Starboard Home or P.O.S.H for short is a derivation of the recommended side of the ship upon which to travel if sailing to and from America. The Port side is the left side and typically is moored "to port" when the ship is in dock. It offers the best views when pulling into the harbour in New York.

Similarly, with the ship facing the other way, the right hand side or "Starboard" side of the ship affords the better vistas on the way back to the UK. If you had thought this out, you were obviously a regular cruiser and therefore had some money. These were the POSH elite.

Pushing the boat out - is cruising an extravagance, or value for money?

The popularity of cruising is growing rapidly. More and more people are seeing what has historically been seen as the sole privilege of the rich and famous as a cheap and affordable way to holiday.

It's also popular with those who can't fly because it offers them the chance to see foreign lands without medical or psychological trauma.

Gyropool - the future of cruising?

I love pool. I play snooker in the Birmingham league and have played for many many pool teams, reaching County standard with Cumbria several years ago. I like the idea of playing pool at sea but wouldn't want the bals rolling around all over the table in rough seas. Well, at a rather hefty cost, Royal Caribbean have come up with an answer to this dilemma - gyroscopic pool tables!

Carry On Cruising!

An area awaiting mishap and adventure...

Ship Happens

This year's Christmas Party at Cruise.co.uk will be held aboard a ship. I won't say which one or which sail date just yet - just in case anyone decides to book onboard with us for a laugh...
What I will say is we'll be spending two nights at sea and a day in Amsterdam.

At least this time, I'll keep myself out of mischief by sleeping on a ship. Last time I went to the 'dam, I took this image of the historic train station from the roof of the 6-story Victoria Hotel. I like to think it's blurred because it was really windy (which it was).

Surf's Up!

As a budding surfer (not great at it, but I enjoy it!), the idea of a "surf simulator" - AKA the Flowrider on board Royal Caribbean Freedom Class ships is a real draw to me.


I wondered whether it was as easy as the marketing videos suggest so went hunting on YouTube. Here are some of my findings:

Ships, Trips and Cruising Tips

Here I intend to lay down my own experience of cruise ships and to hopefully help other people in their choices moving forward. My experience is currently rather limited but I have things on the horizon to help put meat on the bones of this blog...

Independence of The Seas - not so small after all

A trip to see the biggest passenger vessel afloat at time of visiting demonstrated to me an impressively large and even more impressively well kept and maintained ship.
The Independence of the Seas - as modelled here by my colleagues Faz and Diana:

Can you really get that "big casino feel" at sea?

As a man that likes the occasional flutter on the roulette wheel, I'm wondering if the monoped-bandit laden casinos of modern cruise life can really live up to the experience of a land-based casino...












Be warned though, according to Landon, no particular gaming authority regulates the odds on cruise ship casinos in international waters. "Cruise casinos are kind of like the baby pool of gambling. It's where beginners go to lose their money," Landon says. "There is only one rule in the casino: You lose."

Golf - it's better in England

Smashing Pumpkins

My own experience of fruit-carving stretches only to the realms of the odd pumpkin (see below) but with fruit-carving educationals available onboard Royal Caribbean ships, there are some true masters of this art at sea:


My own comparatively pitiful attempts:

Florida - a haven for wildlife

With so many cruises departing out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, I thought a few images from my own trips to Florida wouldn't go amiss:

Egret

Why can't you cruise the Northern Lights?

The Aurora Borealis is one of the world's most incredible natural wonders. It attracts voyeurs from all over the world to the northern hemisphere every year. The trouble is, it can only really be seen at certain times of year and you can't go and see this incredible phenomenon on a ship... Or can you?
Well... technically you can.

Cruising for a bruising

Royal Caribbean gyms now come fully equipped with a boxing ring for people with too much energy, too much testosterone or a penchant for black eyes to indulge their wilder side at sea. I think this is a fantastic idea and would like to see it spread across the cruising world.