Costa Concordia Documentary on Channel 4

Tonight Channel 4 aired a documentary following the events of Friday 13th January, showing passengers footage and real life accounts from the British passengers on board.


The Costa Concordia has been on the news every day since that dreaded day and of course has
been a talking point to many customers I have been speaking to over the last few weeks.

Most customers I have spoken to although they have been very shocked over the events have not
been put off cruising and all feel that from this terrible tragedy, all ships will now be reviewing
their own proceedures to ensure that something like this never happens again

I found this program extremely informative as well as very moving, from the evidence that was
put forward it does appear that the Captain has to carry the blame for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and also for not acting swiftly.

When all the investigations have been completed I am sure that there will be some new measures put
in place that will ensure that something like this will never happen in the same circumstances.

Soon this will not be in the news and although not forgotten the cruise industry will continue to move
forward, with new exciting cruise ships, more innovative ideas and facilities on board, but with measures
in place to prevent Captains sailing where they should not and with better safety proceedures on board.

Have you seen the Aurora Borealis

The UK has been very lucky over the last few nights that those living in the right areas of
Britain have experience something that I would love to see ..the spectacular Aurora Borealis.

Of course many people book a cruise whether it be to Alaska or Norway to try and get the
best views of Aurora Borealis, but of course there are never any guarantees as the ingrediants have to be just right to set off this spectacular display.

But for those living in the UK over the past few nights, they have been able to witness what normally only a priveledged amount of people can see.

If you are out and about tonight here is a list that has been compiled of places that may offer you the best vantage point to see this one off experience.

Also Lancaster University have an Aurora watch website may be worth a look to see where there have been sightings http://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/



North

Buckstones Car Park
Marsden Moor, Yorkshire

Friar's Crag
Lake District, Cumbria

Midlands

Mam Tor
Peak District, Derbyshire

South

Bignor Car Park
Slindon Estate, West Sussex

Dunkery Beacon
Holnicote Estate, Exmoor

Echo Mount
Knole, Kent

Black Down
Sussex

Northern Ireland

Divis Mountain
Belfast

Wales

Penbryn Beach
Cardigan

Scotland

Galloway Forest Park
Dumfries and Galloway

Sighthill Park
Glasgow

New Lanark Roof Garden
Lanark

Good luck to everyone trying to see this... remember if you dont all is not lost there are cruises
that specialise in offering cruises to try and get a glimpse of the most spectacular light show on Earth.

Friday 13th was it unlucky or lucky for you?

We have all read of the disaster that struck the Costa Concordia that happened on Friday 13th,
but how much do we read into this dreaded day and date and do people really take this seriously.

I had a customer that I quoted on Friday 13th and she refused to book it as she is very superstitious
and nothing I said would make her change her mind.

The following day I called her as arranged and we tried to book her cruise unfortunately,
the cabins that she had wanted had all been sold and she had to pay extra to get the position on the
ship that she needed.

So Friday the 13th would have been far more lucky for her than Saturday 14th.

Some things are just out of our hands whether we are superstitious or not and it doesnt matter
what the date is or time of day, if cabins are booked or prices change there is nothing we can do.

Thankfully my lady saw the funny side of her predicament and said trust me to be superstitious, I only have myself to blame.

If you have any funny stories then I would love to hear them.

Land Ahoy- OOPS Party cruise ends up grounded

I was reading a report today that made me laugh in a popular daily newspaper..

The MSC Poesia, has been on a 3 night cruise off the Bahamas and this cruise was no ordinary
cruise.

The cruise was being held for electronica music fans and featured 20 DJ's and featured big-names including Fatboy Slim and former Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee.

At about 7.00am in the morning passengers had a shock when the ship ran aground, maybe the crew had been partying a bit too hard with all that music going on.

The good news was that the ships was pulled free in the end and all was well again.

With no real explaination of how this happened I am sure there will be plenty of questions asked
of the crew as to why this managed to happen.

It will give the passengers something to remember as well as the music and I am sure that for some
who may have been a little hungover from the party cruise it gave them a short shock and sobered them up very quickly indeed.

Remember many of the cruise lines offer themed short break cruises of course not all on the lines of the one above, from visiting gardens to wine themed short breaks so please give us a call if you fancy
a themed break.

Happy New Year to all

A Happy New Year to all , wishing you all a fabulous 2012.

The start to 2012 has been busy for us here at cruise so amid all the doom and gloom showing on our news
reports I think it shows that people are still prepared to book their holidays and give themselves something to
look forward to.

With offers of free parking and reductions in prices with many of the cruise lines there are deals out there
for clients wanting to ensure that that special holiday is booked and they can count the days and months until they
depart.

There are some cruises that I have checked recently that already have some types of cabin unavailable,
some of these were in the summer months so really if you have something in mind for these months then
I would advise not to wait too long before making a decision to avoid disappointment.

I look forward to speaking to you all in 2012

Heres to a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2012 to all