Christmas Party 2009

The company Xmas party took place on the Balmoral for 2 nights. 

Ship: small enough that we could all find each other and big enough to do lots

Cabin: Obstructed outside - did not spend much time in the cabin but was clean, lots of draw space, and oddly enough I quite like the built in "hi-fi" system

Entertainment - quite a lot considering only a short cruisepub quizz  - did not win but still enjoyable; main lounge a Scottish singer who was good and then a fantastic comedian who was rather risky in his jokes but absolutely hilarious. There was a live band most of the time in the lounge.  Nightclub was very busy and good fun.

Food - we ate in the main dining room on both nights and was fine, the Christmas dinner on the second night was particularly good.

We all had a good time, cruising is ideal for a Xmas party - everything is organised for you - when to eat, entertainment, accomodation and no need to worry about taxi's or getting into bars late in the evening.  

Everyone enjoyed themselves which is the main reason .....

Just looking into booking next years xmas party - either Black Watch or P&O Cruises. 

Teamwork like never before

Each year we close the office for a couple of days and go on a short cruise for our Christmas party.  Its a great way to say thanks to the staff for all the hard work, have some good food, dancing and experience a cruise as well. 

This year was no exception as we set off for Dover to join Fred. Olsens Balmoral. We set off at 9am from Redditch and by 1pm it was looking rather bleak that we would make it there on time.  The M27 was closed and lorries were stacked along it as the Channel Tunnel was closed. We diverted down the A2 in the hope that we may get there - but as we got closer all the traffic came to stand still.

We had a coach full of staff and they were determined to make it to the ship and have a Xmas party. So all got out and walked the 3 miles to the port.  All the lorry drivers encouraged the troops on as they pulled their luggage down the A2 and gave them way.  A few vechicles further along another Cruise Specialist were also heading to the ship for their party and they decided to join the walk.  At 5pm everyone made it to the ship. And the ship left at 6pm

A virtual cruise holiday ?

Princess Cruises have just announced that they are inviting people to become an honorary Godparent of their newly named ship Ocean Princess ( formerly Tahitian Princess ) in their first ever Virtual christening !!  The ceremony will happen online at www.princess.co./oceanvirtualchristening and everyone who signs up will trigger a $1 donation to the New England Aquarium which is a Global leader in marine exploration.
Sounds like a funky idea to me but are we moving into a much less personal age ? What next a Virtual Cruise?  At least it will save all the packing and unpacking.  Why not click on the link and sign up or let me know your thoughts. What else could we do in a virtual way?

Hairspray onboard Royal Caribbean Oasis

Yes, they did perform it onboard and I watched it twice.

We went to see the opening performance - all was going well and we were getting into the songs and then the sound went - the girl who played Tracey and the mother did very well to get over this quiet patch and the sound was resumed a few minutes later.

The next night they had definately found their feet - more confident and had a real buzz about them.

Mary and I go to watch many productions when we are home and it was great to watch one onboard.  It made a real difference to the usual singing/cabaret style that is performed on ships.

Certainly a good move that Royal Caribbean have made and even better that it was for free - it would have cost me at least £60 per ticket each time (and the second time I went on my own)

National Curry Week

Last week was National Curry week and having lived in the West Midlands - the heart of a good curry - it was only appropriate that I comment on this superb week.

This popular dish has been created in many ways onboard ships:

Royal Caribbean have a part of the Windjammer (their casual buffet) called Jade Garden - it serves Indian and chinese food - I had a chicken tikka last time I was onboard.  I had several days of eating steak, duck so thought that this would be a welcome change.  I did expect it to be chcicken stirred in some pre-made sauce (a bit like how I cook it) - but I was pleasantly suprised - it was marinated really well - need I say more - I did go back for seconds and even splashed out on a bottle of wine to accompany the meal.

On the latest Royal Caribbean ship Oasis of the Seas - they have an Asian resturant - it looked nice but did not get the chance to taste any of the food.  It did not look like it would serve a traditional curry and the world "Asian" is quite a broad word.

Also on P&O cruises new ship Azura - they even have a whole resturant dedicated to Asian fusion and an Indian chef.  Again I am expecting curry to be on the menu but "fusion" makes me think twice - will it be a curry placed nicely on a plate or have a twist to it. I wonder who could cook a better curry Anil (the new Celebrity Indian chef) or Marcho Piere-White (the other Celebrity chef onboard Azura)

You can find a good curry onboard all cruise lines now and it is a welcome distraction from the fine dining amongst a 12 night cruise.

All this talk of food has made me hungry - I wonder what is on the menu tonight?

My first impressions of the largest ship in the world

We finally got here after our 9 hour flight and have spent the last 24hrs looking at the ship and have not even finished looking around.  The ship is actually quite small really.  Each area "neighbourhoods" are well designed that they are not too big or over-bearing - they have small enough areas where you can get more privacy, or be in the open area and people watch, a whole variety of restuarants and bars that line the Broadwalk and Central Park -it is not "American Tacky" at all - very well designed.

On normal ships everyone congregates towards the end of the ships but here they come to the middle "heart" of this ship.


Cabins
Still the same - only 3 drawers, and sockets are under the desk
Loft suites - this is a great concept but I prefer the one level. 


Interesting?
There is a Scottish piper that plays each night and have been told that he is permanent on the ship - did not quite get the connection myself but it is very emotive.


~You would run out of time before you run out of things to do on this ship


First impressions
Very very clever


Best bit on the ship  - so far
feels spacious and is wide - even today when it has been raining all day everyone is inside and feels absolutely fine.


Worst thing on the ship
no kettle in the cabin but I did notice that suites have them


Still looking forward to...
They have Hairspray showing tonight  - got tickets for it - and they were FREE!
Tide bar, Zipwire (if the weather is nice!)

World's No.1 Cruise Agent Award

Cruise.co.uk is proud to announce that, not only have we won Best Cruise Agent in Europe for two consecutive years (08 & 09), but also the coveted 'World's Leading Cruise Travel Agent for 2009!'.

At a glittering awards ceremony in Mayfair, London, I was handed the coveted trophy by Miss World, Ksenia Sukhinova in what was a pinnacle moment in Cruise.co.uk/Victoria Travel's 25th anniversary year.



The prestigious awards, described by the Wall Street Journal as the 'Oscars' of the global travel and tourism industry, revealed who are the 'best of the best' in the world.

Cruise.co.uk were amongst big travel industry giants - Virgin Atlantic Airways, Visa, TUI Travel and Silversea Cruises - who also triumphed on the night.

Off to sea the Oasis

Need to pack this weekend as we are off to see Oasis of the Seas for a few days in Fort Lauderdale. After all these years I am really unsure of what to expect and what to do, where to start first - I actually really feel overwhelmed.

3 things that I am looking forward to:

1. Sitting in the central park area - nice glass of wine - obviously for research purposes
2. I was looking forward to seeing Hairspray but they are not showing it on this cruise which is a shame but it will good to see shows in the theatre and the Aqua Theatre.
3. Loft apartments - will it really feel like "loft living" or will it just like the normal pre-fab cabins that are on all ships

3 things that I am not looking forward to:

1. I wonder who got to test the zip wire first - did they have one of those dummies that they use when they test cars - I think I will give it a miss
2. Going around the carousel if the sea is rough
3. Getting lost - I think by now I know my around any ship old or new - but this one is well out of my comfort zone.

Will keep you posted if I did get tempted to go on the zipwire.

P&O cruises sails to Alaska

Never really thought of going to Alaska from Southampton. It is definately a must place to visit and you never understand the noise, smell and sight until you go to Alaska on a ship.

You have all the exotic desintations that you can sail to from Southampton as part of a world cruise which is great if you do not like flying (even though it takes some time) and the same with Alaska - its going to take a long time to get there.

P&O Cruises never really seem keen on fly cruises and only operate these during the winter months to the Caribbeans

- its the same with med cruises - you loose a couple of days going around the Bay of Biscayne - you can fly to Barcelona in a couple of hours.

It baffles me - can there really be that many people that do not like flying when there are so many airlines, new airports and routes introduced in the last few years.

All the American cruise lines are out in Barcelona/Venice - Royal Caribbean, NCL, Princess Cruises etc but wouldn't it be nice to have P&O cruises leaving from Barcelona?

Azura - this weekend

P&O have sent an email saying that should look in the national papers to see the latest on Azura - I wonder what that could be?

A free Azura cruise for everyone?
Godmother of Azura - some people have started the discussion in the forum
She is going to arrive early so have pre-inaugral?

When I find out will let your know...

You will have heard by now that it was the famous ballet performer Darcy who will be the new godmother.  She performed at Covent Garden for many years - very graceful and elegant - hopefully just like the ship!

Farewell to Black Prince

It seems a long time ago since 1987 when I sailed on the newly refurbished Black Prince which was then the flagship ( and the only ship !! ) of the Fred Olsen Fleet. Since then Victora Travel/cruise.co.uk have chartered the ship more than 20 times and booked in the region of 20,000 passengers on her cruises all over the world and I have personally enjoyed sailing on her many times.

Times have certainly changed in the cruise business and with all the new and biigger ships the Prince could no longer compete with what today's passengers are looking for and this October she had her last cruise to the Canaries. Many loyal passengers and crew members who were on that very first cruise were on the ship to celebrate her farewell voyage from the UK and she is now bound for South America where she will continue to operate. Thanks to Black Prince for so many memories.

25th Anniversary Celebration

On Saturday 7 November 2009, Victoria Travel & www.cruise.co.uk celebrated a very special milestone, the 25th Anniversary of the company. And to mark this occasion a surprise party was organised at the Westmead Hotel, Hopwood for chairman Andrew Gardner and his wife Mary. Over 140 people joined in the celebrations including current staff, past staff, travel partners and cruising friends. The evening was enjoyed by all with good company, food, drinks and musical entertainment!

The company was founded by Andrew Gardner in 1984 and first opened its doors in the August in a small shop premises in Barnt Green, with only Andrew and two other employees. The company was named after Andrew’s daughter Victoria and the aim was to become a successful travel agent selling all kinds of holidays.

The very first booking they did was a cruise on QE2, which came as a surprise, but jolted Andrew into action to research and explore the possibilities of cruising. He decided to go to London and visit all the cruise lines, literally knocking on their doors offering his business. He succeeded and the company started selling cruises.

In 1988 the company expanded and moved to new larger premises on the high street in Barnt Green, now with 8 employees, including Andrew’s wife Mary looking after the accounts and a college leaver looking after bookings.

By 1990 the company was the appointed travel agent for 69 different newspapers and magazines. By 1992 the company had grown such that they started to charter the ships with Fred. Olsen Cruise Line and then went on to become Cunard’s top agent in the UK.

By the end of the 1990’s, as more people started cruising and more travel agents were selling cruises, the company started more direct advertising and tour operating and in 2000 launched their cruise.co.uk website, not really knowing what effect this would have on the company.

Today Victoria Travel/www.cruise.co.uk is the largest online travel agent with 75 staff, having won the award for The Best European Travel Agent in 2008 and then again in 2009. They have also been at the forefront of innovation with their cruise community site at www.cruise.co.uk which has over 110,000 registered users and the market loves their double discounts!
And to now and on Sunday 8 November, Chairman Andrew Gardner and Managing Director Seamus Conlon were invited to the World Travel Awards, where at a glittering awards ceremony in Mayfair, London, the chairman , Andrew was handed the coveted trophy 'World's Leading Cruise Travel Agent for 2009 in what was a pinnacle moment in Cruise.co.uk/Victoria Travel's 25th anniversary year.