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

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.

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.

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Things you wouldn't expect on a yacht

By Laura Tait There are some things you would expect to find on a yacht. A cabin, a galley (kitchen), somewhere to sit, some navigation equipment. That sort of thing. And then there are things that you’d be pretty impressed to find in a billionaire’s mansion, let alone a boat. Like this lot... A basketball court You’d think a floating court would cause all kinds of problems for any sport, yet basketball appears to be a popular pastime for rich men with big boats. In addition to his two helicopters, seven boats, two submarines, cinema and audio recording studio, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has a basketball court on his 414 foot mega-yacht, Octopus. American film producer David Geffen’s The Rising Sun has one too, which handily doubles up as helicopter pad if it’s needed. A concert hall Little is known about what is inside the Al Said - the yacht owned by the Sultan Qaboos of Oman – in fact, no one outside of the sultan's court has ever been inside it. But one thing that has been confirmed is that aside from the fact it has six decks (with most of the deck space covered because of the hot middle-eastern weather) it also has a concert hall with the capacity to host a 50-piece symphony orchestra. An aquarium If you’re a fan of the water and all it entails – and you probably are if you’re on a yacht – then there’s hours of fun to be had aboard Roman Abramovich’s The Eclipse, which is believed to be the world’s priciest yacht at a rumoured cost of £665 million to the Chelsea Football Club owner. As well as a swimming pool (and a dance floor that turns into another swimming pool), the boat has a submarine and an aquarium. So no need to pack your scuba gear next time he invites you on it. A Grand Prix track Set to take over the title as the world’s most expensive yacht from The Eclipse (costing an estimated £700m to build), The Streets of Monaco is modelled on a section of Monte Carlo, featuring smaller versions of the state’s landmarks including the Hotel de Paris and Monte Carlo Casino and, of course, the famous racetrack. Instead of ‘decks’, the 510-foot boat will have buildings and instead of a swimming platform it will have a beach. A beach The aforementioned Monaco model won’t be the first boat with its own beach however. Despite the fact that by design a yacht should be able to quite easily get you to a coastline, the idea that you can take the coastline with you was used by Saudi Arabian businessman Nasser Al-Rashid, and his spectacular vessel The Lady Moura which has a beach that slides out of one side of the boat. The miniature resort incorporates sand, deck chairs and palm trees. A helicopter It seems that until Chitty Chitty Bang Bang becomes a reality and someone invents a vehicle that has the ability to travel both through wind and water, the solution is to keep your flying machine on your boat, and a chopper is increasingly considered a must-have accessory for yachters. All of the previous yachts we’ve mentioned have one – or at least a landing pad should they want to hire one. Paul Allen’s Octopus actually has TWO of its own. But then who doesn’t need a spare helicopter on their yacht? A massive sculpture of Diane Von Furstenberg’s head A bit leftfield compared to the other features, but makes more sense when you know the yacht is owned by the fashion designer’s husband, Barry Dillon. The media mogul bought the Eos in 2007 for him and his wife, and other features include a glass staircase. While we can’t be one hundred per cent sure, we’re prepared to lay money on the fact that it’s the ONLY yacht in the world that has an enormous Von Furstenberg head in it.

ways to protect your holiday booking

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Events like the Tunisian riots and freak flooding across parts of Australia, Brazil and Sri Lanka bring home how important it is to have holiday protection if things go wrong. And aside from climatic conditions, it could be an airline going bust or holiday company collapse that scuppers your trip. So what can you do to protect yourself and your cash?

1. Don’t cancel

Seems the obvious thing to do if you hear of disturbances or bad weather at your destination; but take the decision to cancel yourself, and you’ll be out of pocket. Wait for your airline or holiday company to ‘cancel’ your trip so you can get a refund or alternative holiday.

2. Look for ATOL bonding

Book a package holiday (including flights) and your cash is protected under the ‘ATOL’ scheme, run by the Civil Aviation Authority. This way you’ll be flown home if your airline or travel operator goes bust and get a refund if this happens before you leave. Check a company’s ATOL license here.

3. Book with an ABTA member

Booking through a tour operator or travel agent? Check they belong to ABTA - The Travel Association. Over 90 per cent of agents and operators are members, which means your money is protected if things go wrong and they’ll investigate any complaints on your behalf.

4. Take out travel insurance

Forced to cancel a trip because you get sick or have an accident? This is when your travel insurance kicks in. But only providing you cancel on the advice of your GP - rather than a self diagnosis; so get something in writing as proof for your insurer.

5. Pay by credit card

This can bump up your bill by around 3 per cent but gives you extra protection under the Consumer Credit Act. If what you’re buying costs £100 or more you can ask your credit card company to stump up if the supplier goes bust. This option proved a lifeline for passengers booked with Swansea based ‘Diamond Coaches’ which recently went into administration; as the company wasn’t ABTA registered.

6. Pay by debit card

There’s no legal protection with this; unlike paying by credit card; but if you use a ‘visa debit’ card you can claim for losses under its ‘chargeback’ scheme. There’s no minimum spend and you’ve up to 120 days to make a claim through your bank.

7. Scheduled airline failure cover

Pays out if the ‘scheduled’ airline you’re booked with goes bust; although in some cases you may already be covered if you’ve booked a package deal. Cover can be an ‘add on’ on travel insurance; although around 20 per cent of insurers include this as standard paying out up to £1,500 per person.

8. Independent traveller insurance

If you’ve organised flights and accommodation yourself you may have no comeback in the event of airline strikes. But ‘independent traveller’ insurance pays out in this case; and covers any additional costs you incur like booking another flight. Companies like M&S Money offer this as standard with annual policies. Compare travel insurance providers here.

9. Read the small print

Tempted to say you’ve read those ‘terms and conditions’ when you haven’t? Don’t - as this is where you’ll find stuff like the fact your airline can increase fares due to higher fuel bills; or that your flight times can be changed which is vital to know if you’ve got connecting flights.

10. Take your contacts

Take all contact numbers with you along with copies of booking forms. And make sure you’ve got ‘calling from abroad’ numbers to avoid the more costly ‘0870’ numbers that will cost a fortune from your mobile.