Diamond Princess by Tracy Worthington

Having always wanted to go to Alaska my husband & I decided to get married there. We combined this with a 6 night deluxe tour to Canada including the Canadian Rockies. What an amazing trip!!!

I found the tour was excellent with the friendliness of a tour operator who with this us for the whole tour.

After the 6 days we where taken to the Diamond Princess to join a 7 night cruise from Calgary to Anchorage.

From moment I stepped on board I couldn’t fault anything. The staff where great & looked after us the whole time. I chose anytime dining so I could choose the time I wanted to have my evening meal. I also wanted a table for 2 and because we where on the personal choice dining I got a table for 2 every night.

I found the show’s very entertaining and there was plenty to do during the day and night. The cabin was spacious and having a balcony made it worth while especially whilst you are traveling through Glacier Bay.

I would highly recommend this tour and cruise.

Fred Olsen. The Braemar in the Caribbean by Nick Belger

Spending the early winter months in the Caribbean is an ideal way to prepare you for the depths of the British Winter, and what better way to do it than on the beautiful Braemar, sailing out of Barbados.

We chose to use our own flights rather than Fred Olsen., which allowed us to tailor make our cruise/fly package, even though Fred Olsen. offered charter flights direct from Manchester to Barbados.

The earlier departure allowed us to enjoy Barbados a little more and acclimatise before making our way to our ship, which also stayed overnight in Barbados.

Luckily we had booked ourselves a Balcony Suite on the Braemar, and it was well worth it for the extras you get, first there was the welcome bottle of sparkling wine, as well as the fruit basket, and the flowers. We also had our bathrobes and slippers!

Then we had pre dinner canapés delivered every evening, and the free formal wear press, all included in the price, not only all this but a suite on deck seven, Bridge deck, so perfectly positioned.

In all cabins and suites, you have your own safe and on the TV set you can continually check your on board account, as well as pre ordering your wine each evening, and any excursions you wish to pre book. Whilst most people, understandably, lodge a credit card for their own account, we decided to pay it as we went along, so there was no need to lodge a card, which is great for more ‘controlled’ spending!

The ship itself was surprisingly spacious and we felt, well proportioned and suited us, although some may want the bigger ships that offer more activities on board, but we were quite happy with what was on offer.

Our restaurant of choice was our pre booked Grampain, although there were other choices the main Thistle and the informal buffet style Palms Café, which is were you can find the fabulous afternoon teas and the midnight buffets. We were given the later sitting in the Grampain was the smallest and most intimate of all the restaurants, but again suited us, with the Maitre Dee and our wine and food waiter giving us extra attention we well looked after, and chose this for breakfast and lunch too!!

The ports of call were varying and gave a wide variety of experiences, Trindad, Tobago, Jamaica, Tortola, St Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia, to name but a few, but the highlight in the Caribbean after a full day of exploration is always sailing away from the pier, when the sun is going down, standing on the cascading decks at the stern of the ship, whilst the steel drums are playing, add to that the cocktail of the day in your hand, and you can appreciate how mellow and lucky you feel.

The other great thing is the cost of drinks on board, in £’s too, look out for the cocktail of the day, well worth a try and the choice of wine in excellent as well.

The bars and entertainment and shows gave a varied choice too, from the Observatory Lounge, were because of my suite 7007, I was referred to as Mr Bond all week, which obviously left an impression, and yes I know they call everybody that week in week out, but it does make you feel special, so there for pre dinner drinks, to the Neptune theatre after dinner for a show, before a night cap and start all over at a different Caribbean island tomorrow, I could go on and on!

Fred.Olsen Cruise Lines Balmoral by Richard Cross

I was lucky enough to enjoy five nights on board Fred. Olsen’s Balmoral Cruise ship last year visiting some great ports of call in France, Ireland and the Channel Islands.

Balmoral is Fred.Olsen’s largest vessel afloat, it carries around 1300 passengers and her name comes from the Scottish home of the Royal Family. Although the ship maybe smaller, when compared to other cruise lines, it is still big enough to offer all the facilities and entertainment that other cruise ships offer. This also means that the ship is able to get closer into ports of call then other larger ships.

There are a variety of cabins and suite accommodation on board, I can highly recommend the Balcony Cabins on Bridge Deck. The balconies have superb sea views and watching the sun set on the horizon from the comfort of your own balcony is a relaxing end to a perfect day on the ocean.

There are a number of restaurants on board, the main being the Ballindalloch restaurant which I dined every evening. Whilst on board, a member of our group had a birthday celebration and the staffs on board were excellent, all waiters sang round the table during our meal. The food on board is superb, there was a wide variety of choice and speciality requests were catered for. We also sampled the other restaurants on board Spey, Avon (both on Highlight Deck 10) and Palms Café (on Lounge Deck 7). Palms Café served an excellent buffet style selection every evening after the review shows, an alternative from the main restaurants. Breakfast was served in all restaurants, we ate in the Spey & Avon restaurants which provided excellent sea views. The Morning Light pub was a new addition to the ship in 2008, we took part in the daily quiz on the days we were at sea (although never won!). A fresh and light pub, named after a earlier ship from the Fred. Olsen fleet.

In the daytime, there were lots of activities to do on board. There was an Internet Room to keep in touch with emails and news from back home, plus a card room and a well stocked Library. In the Lido Lounge we also joined in the fun of the Daily Bingo, with a prize of £500 on offer…(I was very close to winning!!!) On deck there were two pools and a number of smaller Jacuzzis. Plenty of seating on deck was also available, sitting on deck in the blazing sunshine, topping up the tan, whilst we were in the middle of the ocean was fantastic…I didn’t want to come home! The gym and fitness centres were also available and provided good sea views whilst getting fit!

The nightlife on board excellent, after our evening meal, we would go to the Neptune Lounge and take in a review show or enjoy a musical. One of the nights was a themed night whilst another night we enjoyed a magical illusion show! The staff in the Balmoral Theatre Company were great and all spoke to us after the show. After the show, we would either go to Palms Café for our midnight snack or slope off to the Observatory Lounge for the Disco into the small hours of the night!!

It was sad to get off Balmoral, as I would of gladly stayed on board for another two weeks to sample to delights this fantastic vessel has to offer.

NCL Epic by Joe

I recently enjoyed a 2 night taster cruise on the brand new Norwegian Epic. This is the largest ship I have been on so far, and I was impressed with the huge amount of choice available on board. NCL operate a “Freestyle” Cruise without set dining times, so you can sample several different dining options.

There are 22 different choices for dining on board, from the very simple to the really grand. An absolute must is one of the dinner shows. The Spiegel Tent where your waiters are the performers is great fun, and why not take part in the Murder Mystery lunch there? Or visit the Manhattan Room where Elvis, Tina Turner and Madonna serenade you while you dine.

Out of the 22 restaurants, more than half are included in the fare, and some have a cover charge which I felt was worth the extra. The Mediterranean style “La Cucina” restaurant which overlooks the front of the ship was wonderful. I think my favourite, though, was Shanghai’s Chinese Restaurant. I had a delicious meal there as the sun was setting. Very romantic!

There’s so much to do on board, you’ll be hard pushed to fit everything in! Make sure you pack your costume to try the water slides, or to just relax by one of the pools. There’s a great adults only, open air bar at the rear of the ship, and a fun nightclub with beds by the dancefloor! I was impressed by the amount of open space on board. I thought such a large ship would feel crowded, but there was plenty of open deck to relax on and I never felt hemmed in at all. I did have a look at the gym and was blown away by the facilities in there (I didn’t use it though!).

The spa is amazing, and one of the saunas has picture windows. You can de-tox in the spa, or re-tox in one of the many bars! The Ice Bar is a first at sea. Do make sure you get to see the Blue Man Group in the theatre, but don’t sit too close to the front of the stage!

Night owls are spoiled for choice too. I really enjoyed “Fat Cats” Jazz and Blues bar, a smaller, live music venue. There’s comedy shows to enjoy, and a huge casino if you fancy a flutter.

There’s a massive choice of different accommodation on board, ranging from the Studios which are exclusively for single travellers, and have their own private lounge, right up to the Suites. I really liked the Spa Suites with the Jacuzzi in them! I think it’s worth treating yourself to an upgrade.

There’s plenty for families to do, and the kids’ and teens’ clubs will keep them occupied all day. There are 6 bowling lanes on board, and there’s an Aqua Park for the children, as well as the daredevil slides for the big children! There are rock climbing walls, and bungee trampolines.

Overall, plenty to keep everyone occupied all day.

Celebrity Eclipse by Joe

As part of the Cruise Convention in Southampton, I visited the Celebrity Eclipse. Of all the ships I visited during the convention, this was the ship that had the “wow” factor. We entered on deck two and were then directed to the Atrium to go to the top deck. The ride up through the height of the ship in a glass lift was certainly memorable.

On the open deck, I enjoyed a walk on the real grass lawn. You’re really encouraged to kick off your shoes and feel the grass under your feet. You can have a picnic, or play games on the lawn. The glass blowing show is just by the lawn too.

As the ship is so large, there’s a huge choice of bars and restaurants. There’s a bar with an ice top where your drink never warms up, and you can write your order in the ice. There’s also a large spa and fitness centre to burn off all those calories you add with the fabulous cuisine.
I felt that the service on board was excellent. The staff just seemed to know when you wanted something. The waiter in the restaurant never stopped smiling, and the wine waiter was very prompt and efficient. The lunch we had on board was delicious and beautifully presented. I think someone had told them all my favourite dishes!

There are several speciality restaurants on board, and I particularly liked the Tuscan Grill and the Qsine fusion restaurant. How do you like the thought of using a Rubik’s cube to choose your dessert? There are some really quirky design ideas on board, and the ship has a top quality feel. I was particularly impressed with the friendliness of the staff on board, and I can’t wait to get back on for a longer time.

P&O's Brand New Azura by John Cooper

I felt rather privileged being one of the first people to set foot aboard P&O’s brand new super liner Azura, as you would expect with P&O although the ship was brand new, it has a sense of style and warmth, with classic decoration that made it feel fresh yet contemporary.

After having a quick look around the state room, I had been given a balcony room, which I must say was fantastic, and well worth the extra, as it really does give you some open space all to yourself! The Stateroom itself was really well fitted out, complete with flat screen TV, with quite a few TV Channels. There was even tea & Coffee making facilities, which is great when you have just got back in from somewhere.

Next we popped off for a quick lunch. WOW the buffet at the Verona restaurant was unbelievable, and after a long drive to Southampton from Liverpool, it certainly filled a gap! We had lunch outside overlooking one of the pools, and in the sunshine it was almost as if you had been swept away to some Caribbean island, rather than sitting dockside in Southampton!

Next we had a wander round to see what this stunning ship had to offer, and there was so much! The Oasis Spa has to be seen to be believed, and the gym was so well equipped, I almost had a go myself. Well Almost! After the thought of all that hard work, next we sat and enjoyed a cool drink at the Breakers bar, watching people swimming in the pools below, I can’t believe how lucky we have been with the weather!

After getting ready for dinner, we wandered through the main atrium, with it’s impressive sweeping stair case and glass lifts with a band playing away, and people dancing, we stopped and took it all in for a while before browsing the shops, and there where some really unusual presents to buy!

As we strolled through the Library, passed the internet area, we wandered to the Glass House, a wine bar that has wines selected by the TV Wine expert Olly Smith, who was there ‘holding court’ advising everyone about the different wines, it was truly inspiring, and hopefully when you cruise on the Azura, he’ll be on one of your sailings.

Food, as I have already said is a grand affair on the Azura, and for evening meal we ate at the ‘Meridian restaurant’ I have to say the ambiance was really relaxed, yet the service was unobtrusive, yet efficient, and the food… well what can I say, everyone on our table deliberately chose different starters, and we where not disappointed! Everyone we spoke to had nothing but praise for the ship, as we laughed and enjoyed the tails of fellow cruisers we soon realised we would need to get our act together if we where going to be in time to see the show in the theatre.

The Theatre itself, is bigger than most theatres you will ever have been to, and the quality of the acts where to match, when we where on there was like a mixture of all your favourite west end musicals, and it brought the house down. When we finished there we wandered into the casino, and had a little flutter (well, you have to don’t you!) before moving on to the Malabar, where there was a tribute group on, and everyone was up dancing! We spoke to some people there who had just eaten at Atul Kochhar’s Indian Restaurant, and they where raving about how good it was. (Note to self: Try there next time!)

Eventually it was time to go back to our stateroom, where the bed had been folded back, and as we wandered on to the balcony, the world felt a better place. Pity we where only there for one night, as she sailed on her maiden voyage the following day.

After a rather good breakfast in the Verona Restaurant, it was time to take our bags and head back ashore, leaving this gleaming fairy tail of a ship behind. I was only there for a night, but the memories will last a long time… imagine having a couple of weeks on board!

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