Derek Marks Blog - February 2011

Hello everybody and welcome to this month's blog.

Sorry it’s a little bit later than planned, but I wanted to come back to you after the two cruise fairs. Thank you to all of you who came along to Southport and Liverpool. It was a really great opportunity for me to meet so many of you, and hear your many varied experience of cruise holidays. I now understand that people who have been on cruise holidays do tend to go on more and more and more. It's a great opportunity for adventure for so many people and gives you the chance to visit many different countries all on one. I got the sense that people that have worked hard for many years are enjoying the chance to kick back, relax and enjoy not only wonderful destinations – but the company of meeting people just like you.

What I did notice in particular is how fondly you seem to treasure memories of their cruise holidays. I heard many stories of new friendships developing on the ocean wave – and how the cruise holiday works so well for groups of friends, and even single people who want to enjoy being part of something special.

Many people make lifeline friends on their cruise holidays, and often meet up and go on a variety of future cruises together. Of course, that isn’t for everyone – and I met couples who also liked the fact that they could simply escape from everyday life at home and just have the time of their lives at a reasonable price. Price of cruises are very important to people – with times being tighter, people are really spending the time to make sure that they are getting value for money. I hope that in some small way that our programmes really do bring to life the genuinely fantastic opportunities that the Liverpool Cruise Club offers. For instance, this month – we bring a variety of cruise offers from P&O, Fred Olsen and MSC Cruises. You can see that we are dealing with all of the biggest names, but negotiating for the TV and for YOU the very best prices we can. Don’t forget, if you have seen offers elsewhere that it will always be worth checking out what we can offer for you – whether it’s your first cruise, or your 31st (which I know it certainly could be).

For our future programmes, I also want to bear in mind a few of the things I learn from talking to people at the cruise fairs. Some people like to know before they go on a cruise holiday and things like how many passengers the ship holds, and whether it’s more of a family or adults only cruise. I’m also aware that many people hear from friends and family about just how great a cruise holiday is, but want to take a taster to find out if it is for them. Well, don’t forget that there are always options for you.

For those of you who don't know, I'm taking my first cruise holiday with Fred Olsen on 11th June from Dover on the Braemar, which I'm looking forward to incredibly and comes highly recommended by you. In fact the more I hear your stories, the more excited I become. A big thank you to those who have been sending us e-mails and messages – we’re responding personally to all of you. In the meantime, if you have any questions or queries – you can always call the club on 0800 655 6449 or e-mail me, derek@liverpoolcruiseclub.co.uk Until we speak again in March, I wish you very well.

Derek Marks

Presenter - Liverpool Cruise Club

derek@liverpoolcruiseclub.co.uk

Derek Marks Blog - January 2011

Hello all – and I trust you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year celebrations. I spent a lot of my time in December talking to family and friends about how excited I am about going on my first ever cruise holiday in 2011.

Of course, once you start talking about cruise holidays with people you know – the stories start to flow. I tend to sit back, listen and absorb everyone’s different experiences. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that every one of the stories were positive. I have some lovely neighbours who are about to set sail to India for their umpteenth cruise holiday. They have said to me that the attraction for them is that they have the opportunity to gather various members of the family and all have a great time together. This hadn’t really occurred to me before, but the more I listened – the more I learnt. They said that it was a great opportunity to spend valuable and memorable times with the family and enjoy the onboard experience – as well as have their own individual holiday as they chose on the various excursions and experiences at the array of different ports.

As I’ve mentioned on the programmes, my parents went with family and ended up with a greater cruising experience as they could all make not only long-lasting holiday memories, but have that connection to the family as well. I think it’s an excellent opportunity.

I’m already starting to think now with the new year of doing a little bit of research on all the destinations along the way of our Norwegian fjords cruise in June (for details of the cruise – just look back at www.liverpoolcruiseclub.com/tv ).

Well, it turns out that another member of my family has been to the Norwegian fjords, so I’m picking up tips on the ‘must see’ places to go. Again, the joy of this particular cruise (and a number of cruises available) is that there’s no flying involved either. This is great if you have a fear of flying, or you just don’t fancy the upheaval of it all.

The more I learn, the more I discover that on-board a cruise ship you are not constrained by weight limits either. I like the idea of this, as with this being a first cruise – I want to make sure that I’m not caught out about what to wear as I become accustomed to my first cruise. So, that’s now not a worry at all. I can pack suitable clothes for the formal occasions, and take a wide variety of other clothes for all of that shopping, sightseeing and exploring that we’ll be doing as the Braemer makes its’ way from Dover via Amsterdam out to the fjords of Norway.

I’d love to hear from you if you’ve had the opportunity to take a similar cruise already. What should I definitely be planning for this trip? Why not e-mail me, its derek@liverpoolcruiseclub.co.uk well, as we start a brand new year – can I wish you all the best as you start to think about the holiday that you’ll be taking this year.

Talk to you next month, oh – and of course daily on sky 659 with John. All the best, Derek

Derek Marks

Presenter - Liverpool Cruise Club
derek@liverpoolcruiseclub.co.uk

Allure of the Seas by Nick Belger

WOW, a great opportunity arose for me to be one of the first to experience RCCL newest arrival the Allure of the Seas, part of the Oasis Class, the biggest cruise ship afloat.

We arrived a few days earlier in Miami, to enjoy North and South Beach, as well as Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road Mall, as well as enjoying a trip to an Alligator park and a much anticipated Airboat over the everglades.

We then transferred to the terminal at Port Everglades, ½ an hour by taxi, at first we thought check in would be chaos with the huge numbers involved, but having pre checked in on line, we already have our set sail pass with us, and on stepping out of the taxi we were immediately greeted and once we handed over our pass, our luggage was labelled and taken from us to be delivered to our stateroom. The space in the terminal and the number of personnel available throughout the check in process made it very smooth, and the people we encountered could not have been friendlier.

Less than ½ hour later we were onboard, straight onto deck 5 to be taken aback by the Royal promenade, in all her glory, with all the bars, shops, eateries you could wish for on one deck! My daughter’s favourite had already been spotted the Cupcake Cupboard, and this is the first deck!

We then made it to our stateroom, an outside superior balcony on deck 12, an adequately proportioned accommodation that would suffice our needs. With 2 beds, or made to a double, ample storage, a docking station/player for your Ipod/phone/pad, along with a lounge area and a comfortable glass fronted balcony, storage space a telephone and a TV that we could pre book shows, and excursions on.

We then decided to explore the ship and plan the next few days, up to the top first decks 16 & 17 and to the Viking Lounge, which provides a scenic view with relaxed and peaceful surroundings, ideal for pre dinner drinks or your night cap.

Down one to the Zip line, which terrified me, but obviously not for lots of people, don’t forget to use this you really need your trainers with you, fortunately I forgot mine so I had an excuse! No excuse though for the flowrider, so long as you are prepared for that fall, there is no experience like it, riding that crest of a wave for seconds!!

There are then two restaurants, the Windjammer, offering a fabulous buffet service for all meals, or the Izumi, an Asian restaurant of distinction. The rest of the deck is filled with sunbathing space and bars.

Down again to the main pool areas, a big and fully occupied childs pool and plenty of areas to soak up the sun and get wet, or heat yourself up in one of the many whirlpool. Get to the front of the ship, and there is the Samba Grill, an authentic Brazilian steakhouse. Also here is the adult only solarium a peaceful and warm spot.

Deck 14 has the Youth Zone, which has an array of different aged entertainment, and suits all ages up to teens!
Deck 12 – 7 are the main decks for staterooms, deck 9 however has Dazzles, set on two storeys, 9 and 8 decks, the lower deck leads out onto Central Park, a very soothing area with some great alternative restaurants and Cafés, including Vintages, a popular wine bar & Tapas . Here you can join the Rising tide bar and take down to the Royal Promenade on Deck 5!

Before getting to deck 5, there is the boardwalk fitness centre on 6, on Boardwalk you have the Carousel, Ice cream Parlour, more fun places to eat such as Johnny Rocketts and Rita Cantina, at the end of the Boardwalk, you can watch the intrepid people on the two Rock climbing walls available, as well of evening there being shows in the Aquatheatre, were you will amazed by the water shows on offer, whether that is with lights, water, acrobats or Olympic divers, magnificent!

Then there is deck 5 and 4, the main dining room starts here, the Adagio covers three floors in total, and on the promenade itself, shops bars and snack bars galore, from Champagne Bar to the Bow & stern, the smokers paradise Boleros, make yoru own pizza at Sorrento’s, have a coffee at Starbucks finally at the front is the Amber Theatre

Continue down ad deck 4 is entertainment place, with again the amber Theatre and your chance to see many shows, including the West End and Broadway hit Chicago, there is the Jazz bar, Blaze the late night club, the Comedy Live show, and the Casino.

And then why not see the Ice show on 3, what a show, which to our surprise included a face my daughter recognised from dancing on ice, Stuart Widdall, the whole show was inspiring.

The whole experience left us enthused, and wishing we had longer, we tried to do so much in such a short space of time, it really does have something for everyone, and nothing is left to chance, the check in, staterooms, food, entertainment, staff, and last but not least the ship itself, how do they do that WOW.

Queen Mary 2 by Richard Cross

I recently experienced 2 nights on board Queen Mary 2 with four colleagues and seven friends sampling the delights that this magnificent ocean liner had to offer.

We left Southampton from the Queen Elizabeth 2 Terminal and set sail for Cherbourg in France. We enjoyed a cocktail party on board before going to the main Britannia Restaurant for our evening meal, which was truly fantastic and can be cooked to your individual tastes and needs, we also enjoyed a bottle of house red wine which complimented the meal. After our evening meal we retired to the Royal Court Theatre to enjoy the comedian and impressionist who kept us laughing throughout the night. We moved on to sample the delights of the ballroom dancing in the Queens Room before partying into the small hours in G32 nightclub. After all the dancing we returned to the Kings Court to enjoy midnight snacks before bed.

On day 2, we decided to enjoy a traditional cruise breakfast in bed which was delivered by a friendly and helpful waitress direct to our room, the breakfast has plenty of choice and was freshly cooked to order. Breakfast was also available in all of the main restaurants on board.

We enjoyed a leisurely morning on board and took a tour of the ship from top to bottom. Whilst on the top deck we took part in some of the leisure activities including a 2 hour game of tennis and also shuffle board.

There was an array of food selection at lunchtime including hot, cold, carvery, burgers and home made ice cream! We filled up before taking a further walk around the ship to take in the panoramic scenery around Cherbourg.

In the afternoon we visited the on board facilities including the Spar, Gym, Table Tennis, Shops, Casino, Library, Internet Room, Art Gallery and even played some Monopoly on board in the games room! In the evening we again sampled the entertainment on board and partied into the small hours in G32!!

The staterooms were clean, spacious and to a high standard. We had opted for a balcony on this occasion which gave excellent views across the ocean. The facilities in the stateroom were top class, Cunard had provided a complimentary bottle of Champagne for consumption in the stateroom and the bathroom was again clean and full of shower gels/creams which were complimentary for all to use.

The staff on board were helpful, pleasant and couldn’t do enough to go out of their way and assist with any queries or questions. The cabin stewardess was also friendly and took time to talk to us each day asking what we had been up to and if we had a good time.

Disembarkation was quick and easy in Southampton at the new Ocean Terminal.

We are certainly all looking forward to our next trip on board this ocean liner.!

Derek Marks Blog - 3rd November 2010

Derek Marks Blog - 3rd November 2010

Hi Everyone, I thought as I'm off on my first cruise in June 2011 that it might be a good idea to write a blog in the run-up to the cruise, to share my experiences - and hopefully to hear from you along the way too.

You may know by now that it was a complete surprise to find out that I'll be taking to Fred Olsen's Braemar on June 11th 2011 for an eight night Norweigan Fjords Cruise. When I found out back in September, a number of questions came to my mind straight away.

A lot of people I believe have an outdated view on a cruise holiday. People do make certain assumptions - and to be honest, I had one or two pre-conceptions in my mind before finding out more. John Cooper and myself were lucky enough to go and visit the Boudicca while it was in at the Port of Newcastle. I must admit, my heart jumped when we drove in towards the Quay and saw the ship. Walking on board, I was taken by the sheer amount of space that there is on the ship. You somehow think that things will feel quite claustrophobic. Well, I have to tell you - it's far from it. From the Boudicca, I saw plenty of different spaces on board. Whether you just want to relax in one of the lounges, enjoy the variety of dining spaces or take up the opportunity of enjoying entertainment on tap - you'll always have a sense of space. Without having sailed as yet, I have to say that both times I've been on board that I have completely forgotten that it was even a vessel on water. Remember, in the UK in the last year - around 1.6 million people took a cruise holiday, and the number is on the increase. To be honest, I'm not surprised. All of those different destinations that you can enjoy - everything taken care of and you only have to unpack once.

The thing that I can't impress upon you enough is the feeling of belonging on board with Fred Olsen. The staff are attentive and plentiful. My parents have taken two cruises with Fred Olsen before, and had told me that they were very impressed by the level of service. I have now seen for myself why. I had to say that every member of staff that I saw (and remember, most of them had no idea who I was) was willing to help with a smile. From the crew in the cabins, to the check-in and security staff - everyone had time for you, and you are treated individually and made to feel special. Looking into Fred Olsens' history as a company I see that they have been sailing for around 150 years. It shows when you look at the attention to detail in what they have to offer, and the dedication of the team. After speaking and interviewing some of the key figures on board Boudicca, it was clear that a number of the team have been with Fred Olsen for a good, long time. That tells you something about them as an employer.

The more I learn, the more I want to know. It's nearly Christmas and I'm looking forward so much to my first cruise experience coming up in June 2011. Listen, if you are a potential first-timer to cruise holidays - what would you want to know. Are there any unanswered questions that you have? Why not drop me an e-mail and I'll find the answer for you derek@liverpoolcruiseclub.co.uk

Don't forget that we have an incredible discount for you on the cruise that I'll be taking. It sets sail on the 11th June 2011 from Dover and is an eight night cruise taking in Amsterdam and the Norweigan Fjords. We'll also be having an exclusive Liverpool Cruise Club Cocktail Party on board for this sailing - so call the team on 0800 655 6449 to get this amazing discount.

I'll talk to you soon

Derek Presenter - Liverpool Cruise Club

derek@liverpoolcruiseclub.co.uk

Ocean Countess by Nicola

Me and my colleagues Chanelle and Becky were lucky enough to be invited aboard Ocean Countess for a full tour and lunch.

Previously owned by Cunard as the Cunard Countess, it is now part of the Cruise & Maritime Voyages fleet.

We were given an extensive tour of the ship, which included the Holyrood Show Lounge, The Tower Piano Bar and Hamptons. There really is something for everyone on board including, a well stocked library, card tables and even an Internet room. If you’re looking to relax on board there is a gallery, gym with sauna and a spa, plus there are hairdressing and beauty facilities to pamper yourselves whilst at sea. Up on deck you will find a heated swimming pool, two whirl pools and a pool side bar.

We were also shown the cabins on various decks, which we found very clean and spacious and had everything you would expect to find in a hotel.

After our tour, we were taken to the Kensington Restaurant for a three course lunch, the food was fantastic with plenty of choice.

The staff onboard were very friendly and accommodating, no matter what you needed, they always helped with a smile, nothing was too much trouble for them.

If you are looking for a relaxing holiday, the Ocean Countess has it all!

Azura by Tracy Worthington

I recently went on the Azura....wow what a ship!!

Upon arrival we were greeted by the staff and directed to the restaurants & public areas whilst we waited for our cabins to be ready.

Shortly afterwards an announcement was made and we went to our cabin. I was amazed at the size of the balcony you could hold a private party on it! The cabin was also spacious with a separate area for clothing and storage.

The entertainment was excellent. There was always something going on of an evening from a show in the theatre to a comedian in the lounge – there was something to suit everyone. The restaurant was great the staff were very friendly and always willing to help.

I would highly recommend this cruise.