Cruise News & Cruise Blog

Fred Olsen Braemar 2013 Tenerife Fly Cruises

Phil — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:22:07 +0000

Fred Olsen Braemar 2013 Tenerife Fly Cruises

Fred Olsen has announced that the Braemar will now be repositioned to the Canary Island of Tenerife for 2013 and will run a series of tenerife fly cruises from UK airports.

This follows the news from P&O Cruises that Azura's maiden 2013 world cruise has been cancelled and Azura is to be repositioned to the Caribbean for January & February 2013.

You can advance register for Azura's 2013 Caribbean Fly Cruises by clicking here.

Here's the itineraries and Fred Olsen published fares for Braemar's 2013 Tenerife fly cruises.

A Voyage to the Tropics & Africa
13th January 2013 – 11 nights
Fly from Gatwick/Manchester
Braemar — M1302FC
Overnight stay in Santa Cruz (Tenerife),
2 ...

Disney Magic 2013 Mediterranean Disney Cruises

Phil — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:21:30 +0000

Disney Magic 2013 Mediterranean Disney Cruises

Phil: Great news to hear that Disney Cruise Line will be back in the Mediterranean in 2013 with their cruise ship Disney Magic. Disney offers fantastic cruise holidays not just for families but for couples and also Grand Parents.

Disney Magic will be sailing from Barcelona with a selection of itineraries and cruise durations. Everything from 4 to 12 nights.

The new 2013 schedule for Disney Magic is:

4 night Disney Magic cruises
Dates: 09 July 2013 & 06 August 2013

Itinerary: Barcelona - Villefranche - at sea - Palma de Mallorca - Barcelona

7 night Disney Magic cruises

Date: 01,08 June 2013 - 10, 17, ...

Great Rail Journeys - Luxury Holidays by Train!

Phil — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:35:44 +0000

New from The Travel Village... Great Rail Journeys!

Leading the way in luxury rail holidays to the UK, Europe & Worldwide for over 30 years.

Founded over 30 years ago, Great Rail Journeys are specialists in luxury escorted holidays by train, they are the UK's largest rail based holiday company offering over 230 train holidays to over 40 countries! They have a great selection of rail tours visiting places including, Scotland, Yorkshire, Venice, USA, Vietnam, India and many more!

P&O Cruises Azura 2013 World Cruise Cancelled

Phil — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:28:28 +0000

P&O Cruises Azura 2013 World Cruise Cancelled

P&O Cruises cancels Azura's 2013 World Cruise and replaces this with a series of Caribbean Fly Cruises.

Azura January 2013 Caribbean Fly Cruises and February 2013 Caribbean Fly Cruises will be on sale Early to Mid February.

The itineraries are yet to be released but The Cruise Village is now taking advanced registrations.

Call the Cruise Village Team now on 01253 341014.

This is a cruise blog entry by Phil

Carnival Breeze cabins / staterooms being assembled

Phil — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:18:15 +0000

Carnival Breeze cabins / staterooms being assembled

Carnival Breeze is the newest Carnival Cruise Ship and the great news is, she is going to be in the Mediterranean for summer 2012. So if you are looking for a fun cruise holiday in 2012 - call my team at The Cruise Village FREE 0800 810 8481 or click here to visit our webage.

Last year we had the Carnival Magic and I think that the Carnival Breeze will be even better with some lessons learned about European passengers and improvements in the dining areas around Lido Deck which were not that bad, but just needed tweaking a little.

Here's a quick video which shows you how the Carnival Breeze staterooms are ...

Cruise Village to open in Willemstad Curacao in 2012

Phil — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:38:31 +0000

Cruise Village to open in Willemstad Curacao in 2012

Phil's comment: This is fantastic news for the Island of Curacao and I am a little flattered....a "Cruise Village" is being built in Willemstad and hopefully this will be the first of many across the world. As cruising becomes more popular globally, it is a great concept from the island and we will be watching this with great interest.

Here's the press release.

The development of a ‘Cruise Village’ and a second Mega Pier at Willemstad will start next year, the Minister of Economic Development Abdul Nasser El Hakim (MFK) announced yesterday. A large audience, consisting of ministers, parliamentarians, tourists and the local press attended the ...

Cruise News Viking River Cruises to start Ocean Cruise

Phil — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:11:42 +0000

Viking River Cruises to enter the Ocean Cruise market.... What??!! They plan to place their ships in the Mediterranean....What..!!! Shipbuilder STX France today announced it had received an order to build two 888-passenger luxury ships for a new affiliate of Viking River Cruises to be called Viking Ocean Cruises.

Cruise News Strictly Goes Cruising with P&O Cruises

Phil — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:09:13 +0000

Strictly goes to sea with P&O Cruises As the famous Strictly glitter ball turned for the last time this series on Saturday, fans can join the stars of the show next summer on two P&O Cruises holidays. This is great news for our P&O Cruises dance fans…here’s the press release.

P&O Cruises Oriana back in Southampton after re-fit

Phil — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:34:46 +0000

P&O Cruises Oriana is back in Southampton Phil’s comment: After her long awaited refurbishment, P&O Cruises Oriana has been welcomed back to Southampton. P&O Cruises Oriana is back after a month-long dry dock refurbishment which has transformed the ship exclusively for adults. The re-fit saw the addition of 27 new cabins and the introduction of, what I believe to be a great innovation, the Ocean Grill restaurant by Marco Pierre White. This is already proving to be very popular amongst guests on P&O Cruises Adonia.

Rescued at Sea by luxury Cruise Line Crystal Cruises

Phil — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 08:45:10 +0000

Another rescue at sea by our cruise line partners, this time Crystal Cruises. Phil: "I do like good cruise news stories and thankfully our cruise line partners regularly provide some great news, this is no exception."

Cruise News Royal Caribbean lowers drinking age on its ships

Phil — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:17:14 +0000

Cruise News Royal Caribbean lowers drinking age on its ships

Phil: This was something that raised my eyebrows when I read it. But on reflection it does appear to be a decision that makes sense when you consider Royal Caribbean is a huge International brand and almost half if not more of its sales come from outside North America.

With many countries laws allowing young persons to drink below the age of 21years, and considering Royal Caribbean cruise ships home ports in the UK and across several other European and Worldwide countries - it was only a matter of time before this was addressed.

The 21 years rule will continue to apply to all cruises sailing out of North ...

Carnival Cruise News Tipping on Carnival cruise ships to increase

Phil — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:57:42 +0000

Carnival Cruise News Tipping on Carnival cruise ships to increase

Phil: Always a contentious and emotive subject this one, but Carnival Cruises has taken the decision to increase the gratuities payable to its crew from the 1st December 2011. I know our Facebook Page has been receiving feedback.

Here's the press release.

After careful consideration, our gratuity guidelines will be increasing from $10.00 per person per day to $11.50 per person per day with voyages departing December 1^st 2011 and onward. Guests who have pre-paid their gratuities will not be affected by this change.

While decisions like these are never easy, increases to gratuity guidelines are common with all cruise lines. In our case, we have not ...

MSC Yacht Club Offers 2012 MSC Cruises at the Cruise Village

Phil — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:36:19 +0100

MSC Yacht Club Offers 2012 MSC Cruises at the Cruise Village

MSC Yacht Club

Phil's comment: Probably the most undersold cruise product yet probably one of the best! If you want that little extra detail that makes your stay so much more special....or if you are the kind of person that stays in 5 star hotels such as Radisson, Hilton, Mal Maison in chic areas of town....or stays in luxury / contemporary hotels in European cities such as Paris, London, Rome or Barcelona...then I believe you will love MSC Cruises MSC Yacht Club. This is a little know gem of a cruise holiday.

If you are now interested...please call my team at the Cruise Village and tell them ...

Royal Caribbean's Doug Santoni strives for continuous improvement

Phil — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:58:45 +0100

Royal Caribbean's Doug Santoni strives for continuous improvement

Phil: This is a great story I picked up and having had the privilage of meeting Doug Santoni, there is no doubt Royal Caribbean International's future planning is in safe hands.

Doug Santoni is senior vice president of strategic planning and continuous improvement at Royal Caribbean International.

You may not know this, but Doug and his team are alreadymaking plans for between 5 and 10 years ahead to ensure Royal Caribbean is always ahead of the game.

Doug started his new position back in August 2010 as part of Royal Caribbean's aim to better realize its strategic goals. For example: “A few years ago, the company made the strategic decision to grow outside ...

Cruise News Huge Potential in Arabian Gulf & Indian Ocean Cruise Holidays

Phil — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:43:34 +0100

Cruise News Huge Potential in Arabian Gulf & Indian Ocean Cruise Holidays

Cruise news from the recent and inaugural Seatrade event in Dubai

Phil's comment: Winter sun holidays are a must if you live in the UK and there is probably no better place than the Middle East and Indian Ocean to explore the many different cultures with pretty much guaranteed sunshine. There is also a huge number of scheduled flights into both Dubai & Abu Dhabi with opportunities to network on to Australasia & The Far East.

It is easy to see why there is so much potential for cruising in this region and I am pleased to read that the inaugural Seatrade event in Dubai to discuss ...

Viking River Cruises renames Russian River Cruises Ships

Phil — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:27:27 +0100

Viking River Cruises renames Russian River Cruises Ships

Cruise News from Viking River Cruises.

Phil's comment: I picked this up from a press release from our friends at Viking River Cruises and I think it is an interesting story. It was titled - What's in a name?

Basically it tells you why Viking made the changes to its Russian program and I am sure the upgrades will benefit all future Viking passengers and certainly our Cruise Village river cruisers..!!

Here's the details.

It's out with the old and in with the new in Russia – Viking's fleet of Russian ships has enjoyed a spectacular refurbishment and, with it, a change of names.

Where better to look for inspiration ...

Oceania Cruises Insignia Feedback from Cruise Village passengers

Phil — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:15:34 +0100

Oceania Cruises Insignia Feedback from Cruise Village passengers

Cruise News from our clients from luxury cruise line Oceania Cruises ship Insignia.

Cruised: October 2012

Phil's comment: It is always good to get honest feedback from Cruise Village clients and this is no exception. I hope you find in useful when researching your Oceania cruise.

We stayed Pre-cruise in Venice at the Duodo Palace Hotel which is central, just 5mins from St Marks Square, a great location and after the cruise we stayed in Istanbul at the Aramada Hotel.

What was really great was sitting on our balcony with the Blue Mosque behind us and the bosphrous mountains in front!

Istanbul..!! You need trainers to walk about as all the pavements seem to be cobbled! It ...

Cruise News Cunard Weddings at Sea start on 2012 cruises

Phil — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:21:34 +0100

Cruise News Cunard Weddings at Sea start on 2012 cruises

Weddings on cruise ships or should it be weddings on liners, which in truth is technically correct but for the majority of people let's stick to weddings on Cunard cruise ships.

Phil's comment: Calling all Brides & Grooms.... This is exciting news, and something that I wasn't expecting so quick . But it appears there is no holding back Cunard as they make a firm commitment to the "weddings at sea" market. I broke the news to our clients on the Cruise Village Facebook site and it is clear that there are many advantages of making cruise holidays both your holiday, wedding and honeymoon. Cost is the ...

Cruise Feedback from Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas

Phil — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:56:36 +0100

Cruise Feedback from Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas

Cruise News from our clients from Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas.

Cruised: October 2012

Phil's comment: It is always good to get honest feedback from Cruise Village clients and this is no exception. I hope you find in useful when researching your cruise.

"We had a lovely time and a weeks cruise holiday wasn't long enough, but the weather was lovely around Spain. We had a suite this time which was fantastic, in fact it spoiled us because we had a balcony on Voyager last year."

"Our first thought of Grandeur was that it may not be as good as Voyager as it is not as big, ...

Celebrity Cruises Constellation Food & Wine Cruises September 2012

Phil — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:42:18 +0100

Celebrity Cruises Constellation Food & Wine Cruises September 2012

Cruise News Celebrity Cruises has just announced a series of cruises which will be themed as "Food & Wine" cruises from Southampton in 2012.

This short series of Celebrity Constellation cruises starting on the 7th September 2012 will see six more 12 night Food & Wine cruises departing from Southampton on the 19th September, 1, 13 & 25 October and 6 & 18 November 2012.

Phil's comment: For those who are not aware of Celebrity Cruises, this is a premium cruise line from the same stable as Royal Caribbean and the smaller luxury line Azamara cruises. Celebrity Cruises can be best described as "Modern Luxury" and I have cruised ...

MSC Yacht Club on MSC Cruises MSC Splendida

Phil — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:39:20 +0100

MSC Yacht Club on MSC Cruises MSC Splendida

Cruise Review of MSC Yacht Club onboard MSC Cruises MSC Splendida

Note: The images taken are copyright to the Cruise Village™ and cannot be used without permission. Click here for all my MSC Splendida photo's.

I have to say that when I was invited by MSC Cruises to experience their "Fantasia" class ship MS Splendida, it was an offer I was not going to refuse. So much has been said and written on various cruise websites which range from dreadful to amazing - and now it was time for me to find out for myself.

I must point out that although MSC Cruises accommodated me in one of their Yacht ...

MSC Cruises MSC Divina is floated out

Phil — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:35:11 +0100

MSC Cruises MSC Divina is floated out

I have just posted the new video of MSC Cruises MSC Divina being floated out.

MSC Cruises new cruise ships all feature the luxurious MSC Yacht Club suites and the team at the Cruise Village will be pleased to tell you all about the opportunity to sail on a large cruise ship with ...

Carnival Cruises Carnival Breeze 2012 from Barcelona

Phil — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:55:40 +0100

Carnival Cruises Carnival Breeze 2012 from Barcelona

Following on from the success of Carnival Magic cruises in the Mediterranean this ...

Cunard Queen Mary 2 Cruise Ship Visit at Ocean Cruise Terminal

Phil — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:39:43 +0100

Cunard Queen Mary 2 Cruise Ship Visit at Ocean Cruise Terminal

Cruise ships come in many shapes & sizes but ...

National Cruise Week at the Cruise Village

Phil — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:41:21 +0100

National Cruise Week at the Cruise Village

Cruise News for National Cruise Week with extra benefits being offered by all ...

National Cruise Week 2011 Cruise News

Phil — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:01:48 +0100

National Cruise Week 2011 Cruise News

It's National Cruise Week at the Cruise Village from the 18th - 25th September 2011.

All ...

Atul Kochhar onboard P&O Cruises in 2012

Phil — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:28:12 +0100

Atul Kochhar onboard P&O Cruises in 2012

When is Atul Kochhar onboard P&O Cruises ships in 2012

Don't forget these ...

Olly Smith onboard P&O Cruises in 2012

Phil — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:24:01 +0100

Olly Smith onboard P&O Cruises in 2012

When is Olly Smith onboard P&O Cruises ships in 2012

Don't forget these ...

Marco Pierre White onboard P&O Cruises in 2012

Phil — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:11:00 +0100

Marco Pierre White onboard P&O Cruises in 2012

When is Marco Pierre White onboard P&O Cruises ships in 2012

Don't ...

Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Eclipse 29th September 2012 from Southampton

Phil — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:09:43 +0100

Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Eclipse 29th September 2012 from Southampton

Celebrity Cruises is a real passion of the Cruise Village and this ...