'On The Waterfront' Cruise Club

Haslemere Travel’s Cruise Department offers personal advice from award winning travel specialists based on many years of cruising experience that makes your choice of holiday much easier; advice that means that you will never have to compromise on spur of the moment decisions, without knowing whether the offer you are about to take up or the choice that you are about to make represents good value or is fully dependable.

With more than 50 ships now over 100,000 tons, and 21 of the new ships due to be built in the next 3 years due to be large resort style vessels, only 3 will be in the small ship category; even more care should be taken to choose the most suitable ship or boat for you. Some of these whoppers offer fantastic facilities and really hit the WOW button, particularly for families and kids.

2012 is destined to be the best year to see the Northern Lights; and one of the more popular options is by small expedition style cruises or the 'working' ships such as those in the Hurtigruten fleet

ALL INCLUSIVE CRUISES can mean just that!
Transport, food, drinks, shore excursions, port taxes and gratuities can all be included in your price, with no extras other than personal expenditure such as laundry, gifts and gambling, unless you are addicted to Krug or Bollinger champagne, which may not be included.

Many River and Ocean Cruises are now offering all inclusive prices, which makes it much easier to budget for your holiday and feel comfortable that you are travelling within your means.

CHOICE OF SHIP OR BOAT?
What is most important is to choose the right ship as well as the right destination, with particular emphasis on the right part of the world and time of year for climate, the right size of ship for personal comfort and the right on board entertainment and facilities for personal lifestyle. This may also then decide whether an ocean going ship or a river boat is the right choice, with such a diverse selection of ports of call, such interesting historical sights to visit and on board activities to enjoy.

On board cultural and sporting activites can be a huge attraction. Many ships now have art workshops, bridge, golf, computer tutorials, fitness and wellness sessions, creative learning, language learning, music, fashion, and children’s programmes.Crystal Cruise ships feature a particularly strong on-board programme.

Your choice may also be dictated by the on board guest lecturers such as Lord Douglas Hurd and AN Wilson on the Minerva, Colonel Blashford-Snell on Braemar, Robin Hanbury-Tennyson on Silver Whisper or Jean-Michael Cousteau on Paul Gauguin.

FOOD AND WINE are very important factors to many travellers; Gourmet food choices include Marco Pierre White and Gary Rhodes influence on P&O’s ships, Nobu Matsuhisa on Crystal, and Anton Mosimann on Silversea, TV Wine expert Ollie Smith offers wine pairings and tastings on P&O and River Cruise Company Uniworld is Zagat rated and works with local farmers’ markets along the rivers to create fresh meals.

Whatever your tastes or palate our experienced cruise consultants will help you to make the right choice.

RIVER CRUISING is the fastest growing sector in the cruise market, with Europe offering such an attractive choice of journeys on such scenic waterways such as Rhone, Rhine, Danube, Mosel, Douro and Seine.

The more popular rivers of Western Europe can lead you on to lesser known and equally beautiful countries in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea; farther afield the Yangtse, Mekong, Amazon and Nile lead you into an exotic world of adventure and mystery.

Sleek modern river boats offer comfortable cabins, gourmet cuisine, high quality on board entertainment and footpath activities, whilst meandering through lovely countryside at a leisurely pace, visiting fairy tale castles and romantic medieval cities en route.

A River Cruise is an excellant and stress-free way of seeing countries that have so much to offer - as you move from one location to another without un-packing - you only un-pack once and settle into your floating boutique hotel.

OCEAN
The world consists of 71% water, and contains 5 oceans, including Atlantic, Pacific, India, Arctic and Southern; all of these oceans can be visited on one of the many cruise ships that now circle the globe.

The first Around the World cruise was in 1922 aboard Cunard’s Laconia, and this winter there are 20 World cruises, with 6 of them sailing from and returning to Southampton for periods ranging from 98 to 114 days.

Covering over 32,000 miles mostly chasing the sun in a Westerly direction, many cruise passengers choose to join these cruise ships for shorter segments, if they cannot afford the time or the cost of the full journey, which range from £11,699 on the Queen Mary’s 108 day voyage.

Almost every area of the world is visited by one of the thousands of Ocean going cruise ships, and these range from smaller exploration and adventure ships to larger floating hotels that all offer extensive facilities for couples, singles and families; the larger the ship the less personal the service, but in every case you are guaranteed great value for money, a wide variety of entertainment, modern cabin facilities, high standards of service and excellent cuisine.

UK DEPARTURES
There is no need to fly anywhere for your cruising experience this year, with many ships sailing from UK ports and many attractive itineraries staying within British waters.

The Northern Lights have been visible this January in Northumbria, and with some of the most beautiful coastline around the British Isles and opportunities to visit such a variety of historical sites and small fishing villages, the magic of the Scottish Islands of the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Hebrides, the classic capital cities such as Dublin, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London offer a spectacular and diverse range of destinations, that emulates or even surpasses any comparable itinerary around the world.

If you have never really taken the chance to visit your own country, and are currently unwilling or unable to travel far from home, why not consider a holiday sailing from one of the many UK ports and visiting some of the beautiful islands around our coast.

If you are searching for warmer shores, but do not wish to fly then there are many cruises departing from the UK that will take you to a variety of tropical destinations, for example the Canaries, the Baltic and the Western Mediterranean.

EXPEDITION
Orion Expedition Cruises has developed unique voyages, since it’s launch in early 2004, to encourage guests to become part of the region they are discovering; this is expedition cruising at its finest.

ORION 1 is purpose built and designed to access the most inaccessible destinations, combines the best and the latest in design and technology with 5 star comfort and casual elegance, featuring itineraries to the Kimberley, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Antarctica.

ORION 11 was launched in 2011 to explore a path less travelled in South East Asia, including Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and Borneo.

With maximum passenger capacity of 106 on Orion 1 and 100 on Orion 11, both ships have been designed with the latest technology, with stabilisers and double skinned ice-strengthened hulls, and are equipped with 10 passenger zodiacs, so passenger safety is assured, as is the quality of their shore expeditions and their expert leaders.

FAMILY CRUISES
Many of the larger cruise ships offer great opportunities for family holidays at affordable prices, with a wide range of sporting and leisure facilities that will keep even the most active holidaymaker occupied.

RCI’s Independence of the Seas offers unprecendented facilities for children and young adults of all
ages with their Royal Tots, Aquanauts, Explorers, Voyagers, Teens clubs and babysitting services.

An exciting range of daytime activities from Surfing on the Flowrider, H2O zone waterpark, Ice rink,
climbing wall, boxing ring, mini-golf and Adventure Ocean caters for even the most hyperactive passenger.

As you can see there is a cruising adventure to suit all tastes and budgets and for further information on how Haslemere Travel can assist you further, please call Terry on 01428 658 777.