Sunday 28 October 2012

Complimentary Half Board Offer

Dubai, Palm Jumeirah

Offer price: £1239.00 Per Person
7 Nights Half Board
Travel dates: 09/07/2013 - 07/08/2013
Nights Stay: 7
Board Type: Half Board

Offer dates: 09/07/2013 to 07/08/2013

Offer Reference: IOM2858

Save up £1043 per couple

Indian Ocean, Maldives

Offer price: £1149.00 Per Person
7 Nights Bed & Breakfast
Travel dates: 26/11/2012 - 05/12/2012
Nights Stay: 7
Board Type: Bed & Breakfast

Offer dates: 26/11/2012 to 05/12/2012

Offer Reference: KTM3249

Stockholm, the Ice Hotel & The Northern Lights

Sweden

Offer price: £1298.00 Per Person
4 Nights Bed & Breakfast
Travel dates: 28/10/2012 - 01/03/2013
Nights Stay: 4
Board Type: Bed & Breakfast

Offer dates: 28/10/2012 to 01/03/2013

Offer Reference: KKM818

Sunday 29 April 2012

Sandals 2 For 1 sale 2012

KEEP CALM IT'S  SANDALS 2 FOR 1 SALE at Blue Skies Travel!


This amazing offer  brings you up to Half Price* savings on many rooms and suites, including Concierge Service and Butler Service Suites, for selected travel periods between May 2012 and December 2013. So you can book your luxury Caribbean holiday knowing you've got an extraordinary deal from Blue Skies Travel!
SALE STARTS AT 8.30AM ON SUNDAY - DON'T MISS OUT!
Current Offers for United Kingdom
*Prices are per person and include return flights from London. Jamaica prices are based on arrivals into Kingston.

Monday 9 April 2012

Solve The Carry-On Minefield

Carry-on luggage is becoming an issue. One item, two items … what constitutes an item, size, weight… How do you solve this (increasingly) thorny issue?
Simple – always carry a cheap, simple plain white pillowcase and some string. Really! I have seen this in action – during my chauffering days, many moons ago, I took a client to Heathrow. When we arrived at the terminal, he got out and fiddled around in the boot of the car. “Problem?” I asked. “Not with you, with the airline” came the reply. “Carry on restrictions”
The client whipped out an old, clean, white pillowcase and pushed his laptop and (expensive) briefcase into the pillowcase and tied the whole lot up with twine. “Hey, Presto!” he said, “Only one carry-on”
Being flimsy, a pillowcase fits into any size measuring device, does not add to the weight and can be easily re-packed, once past all the checks.
Now, all we needed was a long pole to tie the pillowcase on to!

Thursday 8 March 2012

One in every eight package holidays booked is now a cruise

One in every eight package holidays booked is now a cruise

UK cruise passenger numbers increased 5% and, with sales of Ultra

Luxury cruises rising 8%, total cruise sales spending topped £2.4bn

The average price paid rose less than 1% in 2011

More than four in every 10 cruises were bought for less than £1,000

Four out of every ten passengers were on their first-ever cruise

About 100,000 more UK passengers chose to start their cruise at

a UK port but higher flight costs saw a drop in flycruise numbers

Western Europe, Atlantic Islands, Norway and the Mediterranean

were the big cruise destination winners in 2011

An emerging trend for short cruises from UK ports meant that

nearly half of all cruises booked were of no more than seven nights

A second successive year of double digit growth in overseas and

UK passengers making a cruise visit at UK ports

Eight in ten passengers book cruises through travel agents

Tuesday 6 March 2012

From May this year, the 40,876 ton, 1,462-passenger ship (which NCL fans may remember as the old Norwegian Majesty) will sail exact replicas of Thomson Destiny's summer itineraries: Adriatic Explorer, Pearls of the Aegean, Colourful Coasts and Canarian Flavours.

Exact reasons for the swap have not been given but Thomson Cruises' managing director, Fraser Ellacott, told Cruise Critic: “We've been discussing modernisation of our fleet, and this is the first part of the story. We feel this ship suits our customers both now and in the future.”

Majesty, which is currently laid up in Piraeus, Greece for the winter, is being re-branded with Thomson signage and a lot of the crew from Thomson Destiny are being brought over to the new ship, but there are no immediate plans for refurbishment, Ellacott said.

Thomson Majesty is ten years ‘younger' than Destiny, built in 1992, although while sailing under Louis Cruises, it has scored an average of three stars in Cruise Critic's member reviews, as opposed to Destiny's four. What's bothering customers on our message boards is that passengers already booked on Destiny are being transferred between two ships on which the cabin grades don't match exactly. Member Davecttr's comment is typical of the concern being expressed: “I have a midships inside booked and reserved on Destiny for next winter so will be expecting a call from my travel agent about transferring the booking. If I don't get a cabin to my satisfaction I will not be pleased.”

No compensation is being offered to passengers affected, Ellacott said, as the ship change is a straight swap.

There could even be benefits. Thomson Majesty has more outside cabins than Destiny, as well as an a la carte restaurant, Le Bistro, and a larger spa.

But Thomson Cruises will no doubt be careful about using the word ‘new' when describing its recent acquisition; there were many misunderstandings in 2010 when Thomson Dream joined the fleet and passengers were disappointed not to find a brand new ship.

Tuesday 7 February 2012

FCO warning on Maldives travel

British travellers have been warded against all but essential travel to Malé Island in the Maldives following weeks of demonstrations.

The Foreign & Commonwealth office upgraded its travel advice following the resignation of Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed amid denials that military forces put pressure on him to stand down.

But with tensions rising and fears of a possible coup in the capital of the Indian Ocean destinations, the FCO acted today.

The FCO said: “There are political demonstrations in the capital Malé, which have resulted in violent clashes between government and opposition supporters, and later the police and defence forces.

“The situation remains uncertain. If you are in Malé, or choose to travel to Malé, you should exercise caution, avoid demonstrations and beware of spontaneous gatherings.”

There are currently no reports of social unrest or demonstrations at Malé International Airport, which is on the island of Hulhule, or at the tourist resorts and other islands.

“Our advice against all but essential travel to Malé Island does not include Malé International Airport or travel from the airport to any part of the country other than Malé Island,” the FCO said.

“However, you should exercise caution, keep up to date with developments and check with your tour operator or travel company for further information.”

There is no British diplomatic mission in Maldives. A consular correspondent in Malé can liaise with the British High Commission in Sri Lanka on emergency consular matters, the FCO said.