calling at:- Puntarenas, Panama Canal, Puerto Limon, Puerto Cortez (Honduras), St.Thomas (Guatemala), Belize and Progreso (Mexico)

Captain: Richard Hobbs. Ship’s gross tonnage : 30,277. Max. Pax : 702

This was our second cruise on Minerva II (following our cruise to Madagascar, etc. in 2004). Again we had cabin 602 – a very comfortable suite with a large balcony overlooking the prow of the ship.

Minerva II

calling at:- Lanzarote, Agadir, Casablanca, Malaga, Valencia, Barcelona, Marseilles, Monte Carlo, Portofino and Livorno
Captain : Knut Hanssen from Norway. Ship’s gross tonnage : 42,363. Max. pax : 700

This was our first cruise on the Voyager, sister ship of the Mariner on which we’d cruised from Alaska to Vancouver in 2004. The two ships are very similar, having exactly the same tonnage and number of passengers but the Voyager is very slightly newer and has very slightly larger cabins (known in this 6-star class of ship as suites).

RSSC Voyager

We took a rare opportunity to sample the delights of a Seadream Yacht for an overnight visit whilst she was moored on the Thames by Tower Bridge. Usually found in the chic harbours of the Caribbean or the Mediterranean these beautiful vessels provide a most agreeable holiday experience, creating the feel of being a guest on a private yacht. At just over a 100 guests at full capacity, pampering comes in all forms supplied from a crew of around 95.

Sea Dream I

Cabin

Library & internet stations

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines – Braemar
30th August 2010 – 6th September
Escorted by Sarah Vince – Travelux

We were approached in 2009 to co-ordinate a group on the M1021 cruise to the Norwegian Fjords. Following an earlier group mini cruise from Dover the members were keen to travel again with the added assistance of a Travelux Escort.

Over the following months the size of the group increased to nearly 50 and was also supplemented by Travelux clients who had chosen this cruise and were subsequently invited to join the group for dining, tours and transfers where available.

12 August 2010

Joining at Dover is so easy. Minimum amount of fuss and then the ship takes the strain!

Sailing overnight to Bergen gives you a good opportunity to get to know the ship. The Braemar is not large, but has lots of different areas for entertainment with many of them being on 1 deck. It is quite modern for Fred Olsen, some quite contemporary art, I especially liked the Aboriginal area in the Braemar Room.

Silversea have always stood for quality, they introduced all suite vessels to the market and have maintained an enviable reputation for creating an understated ambience and relaxed tasteful lifestyle.

It was with great interest therefore that we approached our visited to their newest vessel the Silver Spirit. This vessel is larger than previous vessels at 540 guests and 36,000 tons.

First impressions were that she maintains the quiet tasteful feel of earlier Silversea vessels, but with some contemporary touches. See pictures in our photo library.

Premium cruising, that band of quality ships rated above the mainstream vessels, but just short of the ultra luxury, are gaining a great deal of popularity with our clients looking for quality at reasonable prices.

The Eurodam falls into this category and further more makes several cruises in 2011 from/to Dover, our local port.

It was on a recent visit to Dover to coincide with the 2011 brochure launch we re-acquainted ourselves with the Eurodam. At 86.000+ tons, and holding over 2000 passengers she is a large vessel, but well broken up into interesting, varied and some times intimate areas.

Named in Dover on 4th June 2010 by Twiggy prior to her maiden voyage from Greenwich where we visited her. There are photographs of this beautiful ship in our photo library.

Slightly larger than the earlier yacht fleet at over 30,000 tons the Sojourn is our personal size preference, large enough to be very well facilitated with a variety of public rooms, but yet small enough to be intimate.

We loved the décor. We also loved the square area that replaces the traditional reception counters, internet rooms and shore excursion desks with a relaxed all purpose open plan lounge-cum-business and relaxing area. Brilliant innovation which will undoubtedly be copied. This ship is a winner.

Hapag Lloyd have roots back to 1889 and are often attributed to being creators of the first cruise.

Smaller luxurious expedition ships are the mainstay of today’s fleet. The itineraries are adventurous, varied, worldwide and exciting. These include: Arctic/North West passage, Antarctica, Indian Ocean, South Seas, Amazon, Far East , South America, Australia and Europe.

There are now a whole range of these expedition adventures created for the international market with full English speaking programmes throughout.