Saturday Night Fever!

Royal Caribbean Internationals, Liberty of the Seas is to host the West End show Saturday Night Fever.


The show will make it's debut in April 2011 as part of the ship's 'revitalisation'.

See Liberty of the Seas cruise itineraries here.

Luxury cruise in the Far East offer

 We are pleased to announce some amazing offers on Oceania Cruises luxury ship Nautica’s 16 night cruise from Hong Kong to Bangkok, departing 30th January 2011.
Visiting some of Asia’s most exotic and exciting destinations this cruise offers guests the chance to explore and immerse themselves with several overnight stays, and the opportunity to take an overland tour to the famed temple at Angkor Wat.

The full itinerary is:

Hong Kong, China • Taipei (Keelung), Taiwan • Kaohsiung, Taiwan • Manila, Philippines • Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia • Muara, Brunei • Nha Trang, Vietnam • Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) • Vietnam (overnight) • Sihanoukville, Cambodia • Bangkok, Thailand (overnight)

Prices shown are cruise only but please call us for flight/transfer packages.

Ancient Jewels (Nautica)

30th Jan 2011
16 nights
Hong Kong – Bangkok

Grade Std Fare* Offer Fare Save

Penthouse (PH) £6,499 £2,500 62%

Veranda (A/B) £4,874 £2,000 59%

Outside (C/D) £3,249 £1,500 54%

Inside (F/G) £2,499 £1,250 50%

* Std Fare based on highest in range (F, C1, A1, PH1)

Prices per person, cruise only based on two sharing

Single Supplement - 100%

3rd/4th Guest Rates - 50%

New Oceania ship!

Oceania Cruises, has finished initial sea trials of its new cruise ship 'Marina'.

The 1,250 passenger, 65,000 ton vessel completed 3 days in the Mediterranean ahead of its first sailing in January, a 13 day trans-Atlantic cruise from Barcelona to Miami.

Crystal Cruises announcement

Luxury cruise operator Crystal Cruises has announced its award for the 17th consecutive year as the world's best large-ship cruise line.
The award, as voted for by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler, comes after 20 years of sailing the world's seas for Crystal and after receiving the award praise was given to the staff on board for fulfilling everyones wishes and to their clients for putting their trust in them.

P&O Cruises Cruise Dine Promotion

P&O Cruises has launched a Cruise & Dine Promotion which will run until 30th November 2010.




Famous for its quality dining, P&O works with three iconic British Chefs, all who have retaurants on board and who regularly sail to both oversee their food quality and to meet passengers and answer any questions they may have.

Gary Rhodes has Oriana Rhodes and Arcadian Rhodes-fine dining restaurants on Oriana & Arcadia.

Marco Pierre White has the Mediterranean restaurant and al fresco terrace. The White Room on Ventura as well as the authentic French brasseries that are Cafe Bordeaux on Aurora and Cafe Jardin on Oceana.

Atul Kochhar, the Michelin starred Indian chef has Sindhu on Azura, P&O Cruises newest ship.

This P&O Cruises promotion is open to passengers who book one of the following 2011 cruises on which the chefs will be travelling. All will be in with a chance to win a voucher to the value of £150 to dine at selected restaurants across the UK, including Rhodes 24, The Yew Tree and Benares.

Gary Rhodes dates:

•Oriana cruise X106-May 3rd Western Mediterranean

•Oriana cruise X115-Sep 4th Iberia

•Arcadia cruise J102-Mar 29th Western Mediterranean

•Arcadia cruise J106-Jul 21st Spitsbergen & Fjords

Marco Pierre dates:

•Ventura cruise N107-Mar 27th Western Mediterranean

•Ventura cruise N123-Sep 3rd Western Mediterranean

•Aurora cruise R107-Jun 20th Central Mediterranean

•Oceana cruise E119-Jul 23rd Western Mediterranean

•Oceana cruise E130-Nov 9th Canary Islands

Atul Kochhar dates:

•Azura cruise A111-May 12th Central Mediterranean

•Azura cruise A115-Jul 3rd Baltic

•Azura cruise A121-Sep 18th Iberia

•Azura cruise A125-Nov 11th Caribbean

P&O Cruises proudly presents

GoCruise proudly presents the following "Early Booking Spectacular" deals on P&O 2011 departures for the month of September.....

• Up to £700 per suite onboard spending money

(based on 14 night Caribbean sailing in suite accommodation)

• Free parking/coach on Ex Southampton sailings

(based on sailings of 4 nights or more)

• Cruise Ahead - 5% discount if paid in full

(on selected departures)

Go to our P&O page

At one time (and not too long ago )taking a cruise was something only the wealthy could consider as the cost was just too much for a working class family to ever afford one.


Nowadays however the cruise sector of the travel industry is growing like never before because, put simply, cruising can be cheap and cruising can be expensive. There is a cruise ship out there that will suit almost every individual’s needs whether it be on price or on facilities and quality.

The majority of those who take a cruise will cruise again and again and again. Why? Well, a cruise holiday is the ultimate kind of holiday when it comes to relieving stress, enjoying great food and entertainment and visiting a different country or island every day. There are also many other factors such as luxury amenities and great weather to name but two.

Now, if i can go back to the first paragraph. Price!

Prices for a cruise can vary enormously; in fact they can vary by as much as 75%! Why? You may ask.

Well cruise prices, like most goods we buy, have one controlling factor, numbers sold. Consider this. A modern cruise ship can cost about £500 million to build and usually most, if not all, of this will be financed and will probably incur interest charges. Therefore it is important that the cruise line makes profit on each cruise as otherwise there’s no more cruise company.

So when a brochure is launched there are normally some great early bird offers for those looking to secure their cruise holiday early. These ‘early birders’ will get the best choice of cabin. Once the early bird booking date has passed then, depending on numbers sold, the price will change. Could be up or down but one thing is for sure, the choice of cabin will not be so great.
As the cruise departure date approaches if the cruise has sold really well and is in profit then the prices will generally be high but if there is still lots of cabin space then the prices will come down and most remaining cabins will often be sold on what is called a ‘guarantee’ basis. This means that you can get a discounted cruise at probably up to 75% off the original brochure price and the guarantee is that if, for example, you book an ocean view cabin grade ‘F’ this is the minimum grade that you will get. You won’t get an inside and you won’t get a balcony but you might get a free upgrade to an ocean view on a better deck or one that is superior to the one you booked. This can be seen as a benefit but you cannot discuss cabin number or grade as this is the chance you take when booking a cabin on a guarantee basis..

Let’s face it, it’s no different to shopping on the high street. You might buy an outfit and it costs you £150 and you’re happy with your purchase. A few weeks later it’s in the end of season sale for £40, almost 75% off the price you paid for it but that’s how it is.

So the top and bottom is, if you are particular in what grade of cabin you want and you want the best choice,  book early. If however you’re not too fussy about what and where the cabin is and you are working to a budget go to our website at http://www.cruisemaestro.co.uk/ and look at some of the cruise deals available and whilst you’re there click on register to receive our regular email offers and download our quarterly cruisin magazine.

New Cunard Trans-Atlantic offer

A stunning offer on the amazing Queen Mary II is available to book now.
Including flights from London (only) to New York the price of an inside cabin starts from just £799 each.
So if you want 7 nights of indulgence and entertainment onboard one of the world's most famous brand's ships as you sail trans-Atlantic....what are you waiting for?

Click here for full details!

Fantastic late summer sunshine cruise

Take a look at ths stunning exclusive cruise offer on Fred Olsen' ship Braemar to Spain and Portugal.

Mon 18 Late PM depart  Dover

Tue 19 Leisure at sea

Wed 20 Leisure at sea

Thu 21 Lisbon, Portugal

Fri 22  Portimao, Portugal

Sat 23 Leixoes, Portugal

Sun  24 La Coruna, Spain

Mon 25 Leisure at sea

Tue 26 Dover

All from £549 per day plus you get £50 on board credit to spend on board (per cabin) plus free parking at Dover or return coach. Click here for full details.

Fantastic Nile cruise offer

Book a 7 night 4 star River Nile cruise and stay free for 7 more nights in Luxor on bed and breakfast.
Flights depart either Gatwick or Manchester on 23rd August.

Full board on the ship plus 10 free excursions are also included in this amazing deal!

Spend seven glorious days cruising the Nile from Luxor to Aswan aboard the four-star Viking Princess visiting some of the most spectacular ancient sites in Egypt followed by seven days relaxing on the banks of the Nile in Luxor at the wonderful five-star Sofitel Karnak

Take a look at the fabulous new 2011/12 deals from P&O. All have great savings and many have free onboard credit.


Follow these links to:

P&O Adonia  P&O Aurora  P&O Arcadia  P&O Azura  P&O Ventura  P&O Oceana  P&O Oriana
 
and see for yourself!

Luxury Cunard cruise-£599

I've just discovered a fantastic cruise deal from Cunard on their ship Queen Victoria.

Its called Mediterranean Moments-Queen Victoria Voyage V023

The cruise departs Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) on 24th November for 7 nights calling at
Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Cartagena and Gibraltar before ending in Southampton on 1st December.
Scheduled flights are from London Heathrow

That's the good bit....now the 'great' bit! The price for this 5 star luxury cruise is as follows:

Inside stateroom: £599pp-Outside stateroom: £649pp-Balcony stateroom: £699pp

You'll have to be really quick on this one so if you want to call me and book it....!

Related articles by Zemanta

• The best cruises from UK ports (telegraph.co.uk)

• Cruise around the British Isles (telegraph.co.uk)

River cruising is about to get a much greater representation from the PSA (Passenger Shipping Association).


Bill Gibbons, who is a director there said that river cruising has, up until now, been seen as the ‘sleeping partner’ at the PSA as there were insufficient members who represented river cruising. However he went on to add “We have had four new members join the PSA from the river cruising sector in just the last nine months.”

River cruise operators Viking Cruises and Swan Hellenic have been members for some time and, with membership of the sector now growing continuously, there will be more promoting and much more awareness of river cruising within the travel industry in the coming years.

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• AmaWaterways Announces Special Wine-Themed Cruise this Fall (prweb.com)
• Now for something completely different - A river cruise in the South of France next May (regnordman.com)

River cruises-Is 'cheap' value for money?

River cruises are becoming so popular that many river cruise ships are full for sailings in 2011.
There are of course many river cruise operators throughout the world but only a few operate cruise ships that most of us British would say at the end of a cruise "we really had a fantastic cruise" and/or " the ship was superb".

Take a Nile cruise for example. Little do people who book a Nile river cruise at, let's say £450, know that their ship will be moored up overnight and....yes you've guessed it....so are another 50 or 60 ships and they're all side by side, with their engines running to keep the air-conditoning operating. Not too bad if you're on the middle or upper deck but if you've booked the cheapest cabin on the bottom beck the chances are that you will be breathing in fumes all night!! Take a look here and you will find quality ships that will give you a fabulous holiday.

Then you have river cruises in Europe. Lots of cruise ships of very different standards. Some 3 star, some 4 star and some 5 star. True, 5 star is not cheap but then 5 star never usually is. What most people don't realise though is that, more often than not, it is false economy to book the cheapest (yes i realise that we all have a budget and that we can't all afford to spend £1500-£2000+ each for a weeks river cruise) but if you want a quality river cruise you should look no further than AMA Waterways.

They are an American company who operate a number of superb vessels throughout Europe and the Far East and they are second to none. They include so many extras with the price such as unlimited quality wines with your dinner, a daily excursion programme, bicycles to use whilst moored near a town, infotainment system in every stateroom and the list goes on.

Take a look at AMA Waterways by visiting our website Cruise Maestro and if you would like some more information just contact us.

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• Woman killed in fall off gangplank of cruise ship (calgaryherald.com)

AMA Waterways' prestigious award

AMA Waterways river cruise ship ms Amalyra has won the prestigious award of "Best New River Cruise Ship" at the 2010 Western Agents' Votes of Excellence (WAVE) awards ceremony held recently.

Amalyra is sister ship to Amadolce, Amadante, and Amacello and joined the fleet of AMA Waterways in 2009. All carry just 148 guests and, amongst many other benefits, offer the free use of bicycles for exploration when moored plus their special infotainment system in every stateroom. This includes computer with internet access, English speaking TV channels, movie selection and lots of programmes dedicated to music.

20 night Oriental river cruise & stay

Vietnam Mekong River cruise & Eastern & Oriental Express

Free Transfer to departure point(within a limited radius) or free car parking.
Return flights from London (regional connections available-please ask)
3 nights aboard Oriental Express
8 nights accommodation
7 nights cruising on MS Amalotus
Sightseeing & transfers as per itinerary

Visit Singapore, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh and others

Mekong River Cruises by AMAWATERWAYS

This is a fantastic and unique experience that combines a 7 night cruise along the incredible Mekong River , 3 nights on board the Eastern & Oriental Express and 8 nights visiting world famous cities such as Bangkok and Singapore. For more information and full itinerary click here.

28 night Caribbean cruise from £61 a night full board!

Black Watch
W1020
12th November 2010
28 Nights
Relaxing Caribbean
Southampton ~ Tenerife ~ Barbados ~ Grenada ~ St. Lucia ~ St. Kitts ~ Tortola ~ Antigua ~ St. Maarten ~ Azores ~ Southampton
Music & Laughter cruise featuring: The Divas of Motown & The Upbeat Beatles
Inside Twins (H to I)
was £2239 now £1699pp
Outside Twins (D to F)
was £2779 now £1999pp
Superior Outside Twins (A to C)
was £3109 now £2228pp
Suite (DS to JS)
was £4269 now £2995pp

Exclusive offers from Fred Olsen

We have some sensational savings on cruises with Fred Olsen for 2010/2011. Many have on-board credit or transport and free parking options. There are four ships.

BALMORAL

BOUDICCA

BRAEMAR

BLACK WATCH

Many of the cruises are from UK ports so no flying!

Monaco Grand Prix package.

If you like the idea of going to the Monaco Grand Prix next year we are offering a 4 night 5star cruise and grand prix race day package. The package does not include flights but these, with hotels and transfers can be added.

The cruise is on the 5 star Azamara Journey out of Nice on the 26th May calling at the wonderful port of Portofino in Italy and St Tropez in France before arriving into Monte Carlo on race day morning where the ship will be anchored in the harbour until 3am the next morning before departing back to Nice. Board is full board and includes some wines with dinner.

The cost of the package is from only £895 per person and if you consider the cost of staying in a Monaco Hotel and dining out this is an exceptional deal so don't leave it too long or miss out!

Take a look here and Call us on 0115 714 7714 to book your ticket!

Celebrity Cruises is offering three new 12 night cruise itineraries for 2011 that depart from Istanbul on the Bosphorus.

The recently refurbished Celebrity Constellation will depart Istanbul on September 19th, October 1st and October 13th with stops at ports such as Bodrum, Marmaris and Kusadasi in Turkey, and Rhodes, Santorini, Piraeus (for Athens), Mykonos and Chania in Greece/Greek Islands.

There are some early booking deals on all three dates on our website.

Go Cruise have received an award at the recent ACE cruise convention held in Southampton.

The award was given for 'excellence in cruise innovation' which included generating awareness by focussing on new opportunites to sell cruise innovately and to different markets.

There were over 700 delegates in attendance (largest number ever) at what was the fourth such event to be held and, as the number of people taking a cruise increases, so will the cruise convention.

Bring on 2011!

Azamara Club Cruises Sale

Azamara Club Cruises, the small-ship 5 star 'arm' of Celebrity Cruises have some amazing deals on but, alas, they only last until close-of-play 15th July.

They're not 'cheap cheap' (then 5* cruises never are) but, for example the sailing on Azamara Quest (seen here) 16th October for 7 nights in an ocean-view cabin is just £1099 each based on 2 sharing.......

now wait for it!! If you book it by 15th July you will get (yes between you) $1000 to spend on board!! "$1000?" you say. Yes $1000. That equates to about £330 each which, if you take it away from the £1099 means that effectively you have got a 5* cruise on a 5* ship for £769 each...now it's cheap!!! Take a look and call 01623 646484

Celebrity Eclipse late offers

Take a look at these Celebrity Eclipse cruise offers that we have this weekend. We believe the prices to be the lowest available for these dates (24th July , 7th August, 21st August)and if you can run to the Aqua class (savings of up to £927 EACH) do it!
But...be quick as availability is limited and is constantly changing.
I have been on Celebrity Eclipse and the cruise experience is truly wonderful.

Azamara Cruise Club Offers

Azamara Club Cruises is offering $500 credit to spend aboard all remaining 2010 sailings for oceanview grades and above plus free flights on selected sailings. In addition single travellers can cruise for an extra 25% for use of a twin cabin.

These Azamara offers will expire 31st August.

River cruising

Taking a river cruise can be far more enjoyable for many than it actually sounds.

What do yo you think of when someone mentions river cruise? A barge perhaps (not that there's anything wrong with a barge if you know what i mean) or some 'beaten up' old piece of wood thats seen better days? Well i can tell you something that will probably surprise you river cruise 'virgins' out there. Some river cruise ships are absolutely amazing with many offering benefits that an ocean cruise often doesn't such as a relaxing holiday, inclusive of excursions, wine and beer included with your meals, complimentary use of bicycles whilst moored in the centre of a beautiful city and lectures on history and culture.

I shall be adding to this post on a regular basis but in the meantime go to our website at

http://www.cruisemaestro.co.uk/ and click on river cruises and have a look!