The school summer holidays may only just have begun but if you are a cruise fan, now is the time to start thinking about Christmas.
The cruise companies are already tempting passengers with a range of special deals – whether you prefer a blast of December sunshine in the Caribbean or have time for a longer voyage.
The family-focused Ventura sails from Barbados for 14 nights on December 21. Father Christmas will abseil down the funnel on December 25. The fare is from £2,779 per person, including flights from Birmingham, Manchester or Gatwick, with P&O (0843 3740111, www.pocruises.co.uk).
If you love theme parks, start your holiday with three nights at a hotel in Orlando, Florida, before joining Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas for an eight-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale. Departure is on December 21 and the fly-stay-cruise package costs from £1,929pp with Virgin Holidays (0844 5734398, www.virginholidayscruises.co.uk).
You could also be sea-kayaking and snorkelling from a beach in Roatan, Honduras, on Christmas Day, or viewing the reef in a semi-submarine. Those are just two of 55 free excursions available on a ten-night cruise aboard Seven Seas Navigator (02380 682280, www.rssc.com), sailing from Miami on December 18. The ship sails to Key West and the Caribbean coasts of Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. The all-inclusive price, from £3,809pp, covers flights and open bars.
Further afield, an adults-only Mysteries Of The Indian Ocean cruise with Swan Hellenic (0844 8220679, www.swanhellenic.com), sailing from Sri Lanka to Singapore, will spend Christmas Day at sea between the Andaman Islands and Rangoon. The 16-night cruise, leaving on December 19, costs from £2,010pp including flights and excursions.
Why not spend Christmas heading round Cape Horn from the Atlantic to the Pacific? A 17-night cruise on Oceania's Marina sails from Rio de Janeiro on December 10, heading down the coast of Argentina and up the coast of Chile with Christmas Day at sea. The cost is from £2,792pp including flights (0845 5051920, www.oceaniacruises.com).
You can even get in on the act if you like a walk at Christmas, with a no-fly, two-week Ramblers 'cruise and walk' holiday aboard Fred Olsen's Balmoral. It leaves on a round trip to the Canary Islands from Southampton on December 22. After three days at sea with a traditional Christmas on board, your first guided walk is on Madeira and there are hikes on La Palma, Tenerife and Gran Canaria, and in Lisbon and Oporto. The cost is from £1,849pp (01707 386767, www.cruiseandwalk.co.uk).
For a bit more glitz, head to the Med on Divina, MSC's newest ship, launched this year. The 11-night cruise, a round trip from Genoa, calls at Barcelona, Casablanca, Madeira and Tenerife. On Christmas morning you'll wake up in Malaga. The cost is from £849pp including flights (0844 561 1955,
Looking for the latest FABCruise offers on a wide range of cruise holidays let FABTHINGS2do help you.
Showing posts with label The Balmoral. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Balmoral. Show all posts
Monday, 30 July 2012
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Titanic replica to be built in China
An Australian billionaireClive Palmer, who already owns a luxury holiday resort and is reportedly Australia’s fifth-richest person, expects the vessel – named Titanic II – to make its maiden voyage in 2016, sailing from Britain to New York.
“It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic, but will have state-of-the-art 21st-century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems,” said Mr Palmer. He described the project as “a tribute to the spirit of the men and women who worked on the original Titanic.”
More than 1,500 people died when the original Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912. This year’s 100th anniversary has seen dozens of events to remember those who perished, including the opening of a new visitor centre in Belfast and the sailing of a memorial cruise on Fred Olsen’s Balmoral.
Mr Palmer said he has commissioned the state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to build the replica, as well as three other luxury cruise ships.
He added that he is working with a team of historical researchers to ensure the ship’s design is as close as possible to the original. has announced plans to build a replica of the RMS Titanic, 100 years after the original ship sank.
The diesel-powered vessel will have four funnels, although they will be purely decorative. There will be 840 cabins, nine decks and it will measure 270 metres long and 53 metres high.
“Titanic II will be the ultimate in comfort and luxury with on-board gymnasiums and swimming pools, libraries, high-class restaurants and luxury cabins,” added Mr Palmer.
Changes will be made below the waterline, however. It will use welding and not riveting, and will have a more fuel-efficient design and an enlarged rudder for greater manoeuvrability. Construction is due to begin next year.
Looking for the latest FABCruise offers on a wide range of cruise holidays let FABTHINGS2do help you
“It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic, but will have state-of-the-art 21st-century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems,” said Mr Palmer. He described the project as “a tribute to the spirit of the men and women who worked on the original Titanic.”
More than 1,500 people died when the original Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912. This year’s 100th anniversary has seen dozens of events to remember those who perished, including the opening of a new visitor centre in Belfast and the sailing of a memorial cruise on Fred Olsen’s Balmoral.
Mr Palmer said he has commissioned the state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to build the replica, as well as three other luxury cruise ships.
He added that he is working with a team of historical researchers to ensure the ship’s design is as close as possible to the original. has announced plans to build a replica of the RMS Titanic, 100 years after the original ship sank.
The diesel-powered vessel will have four funnels, although they will be purely decorative. There will be 840 cabins, nine decks and it will measure 270 metres long and 53 metres high.
“Titanic II will be the ultimate in comfort and luxury with on-board gymnasiums and swimming pools, libraries, high-class restaurants and luxury cabins,” added Mr Palmer.
Changes will be made below the waterline, however. It will use welding and not riveting, and will have a more fuel-efficient design and an enlarged rudder for greater manoeuvrability. Construction is due to begin next year.
Looking for the latest FABCruise offers on a wide range of cruise holidays let FABTHINGS2do help you
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Cruise to mark 100 Years of RMS Titanic
April 2012 will mark the 100th anniversary of the fateful voyage of RMS Titanic, world’s largest ship that sank into the North Atlantic Ocean after hitting the iceberg on April 15, 1912.
A cruise to tour the same route and auction several unseen artifacts on anniversary of the incident will take place this year.
The tragic incident is still etched in people's memories 100 years after and always will be. After almost a century, Bonhams will sell significant items recovered from the sunken ship in The Marine Sale on April 3, 2012, the British auction house reported.
The exhibition will feature the biggest collection of over 300 artifacts that have been raised from the seabed over the century, Reuters reported.
The artifacts, some of which have never been seen before, will be sold off as a single lot in the auction in April, timed for the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the famed ocean liner, the report said.
A cruise run by Fred Olsen Cruises, whose parent company Harland and Wolf built the Titanic, will tour the same route as that of the Titanic, carrying the same number of passengers to mark the anniversary of the unforgettable tragedy.
The "Balmoral" will carry 1,309 passengers and will cruise exactly the same route as Titanic, leaving Southampton before docking at the Irish port of Cobh, where the Titanic had made its final call on 11 April 1912
The ship will arrive at the same location where it hit the iceberg and a special memorial ceremony will be held at 11:40 p.m and 2:20 a.m on April 15, the day the vessel sank in 1912.
A cruise to tour the same route and auction several unseen artifacts on anniversary of the incident will take place this year.
The tragic incident is still etched in people's memories 100 years after and always will be. After almost a century, Bonhams will sell significant items recovered from the sunken ship in The Marine Sale on April 3, 2012, the British auction house reported.
The exhibition will feature the biggest collection of over 300 artifacts that have been raised from the seabed over the century, Reuters reported.
The artifacts, some of which have never been seen before, will be sold off as a single lot in the auction in April, timed for the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the famed ocean liner, the report said.
A cruise run by Fred Olsen Cruises, whose parent company Harland and Wolf built the Titanic, will tour the same route as that of the Titanic, carrying the same number of passengers to mark the anniversary of the unforgettable tragedy.
The "Balmoral" will carry 1,309 passengers and will cruise exactly the same route as Titanic, leaving Southampton before docking at the Irish port of Cobh, where the Titanic had made its final call on 11 April 1912
The ship will arrive at the same location where it hit the iceberg and a special memorial ceremony will be held at 11:40 p.m and 2:20 a.m on April 15, the day the vessel sank in 1912.
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