Lynne Cruises

I have to ask myself…..after talking to a number of clients recently about the standards on board Cunard, whether these latest sales are affecting the quality and service that passengers are receiving? We all like a bargain, but at what price?

I was always under the impression that Cunard was one of the great British cruise lines, very stiff upper lipped, glamorous and expensive, which coupled with the White star service provided by fully trained staff this was only to be expected for the amount of money it cost to cruise on these ships.

Since Cunard have been lowering their cabin prices it would appear that according to some of my clients that the service has also been reduced and the quality of food in the buffet restaurants has a lot to be desired as the food is very bland and very samey with the same food choices appearing every day? Other concerns raised include the horrendous charges made for a bottle of wine on board. There was also a comment that the staff didn’t really appear to be very attentive, which is unusual for Cunard as they do have a strong customer service policy for the staff on board which is rated by the customer.

Could this be down to the fact that they are lowering their prices and standards are slipping or could it just have been this ship on that particular cruise?

I have to say I have never had a wrong word said about the service and food offered in the Princess and Queens grill, so is it a case of the poor relative suffering when it comes to discounted cabin prices?

It makes me think that lower prices are not always the best way to go especially if you service is compromised. Cruises can be cheap and cheerful but you don’t really expect that to be the case with Cunard.

Have you cruised with Cunard and had any problems or do you rate the cruise line and services offered? I would be interested to hear your comments.

I don’t know about you, but after that Bank holiday I need a holiday!

I got a phone call on Sunday asking if I would take Alfie for the day on Monday, due to a family bereavement on my son-in-laws side of the family. I love having my grandson, so no problem. I thought it would be better if we had him overnight Sunday as we are going away at the end of the month to Newborough and it would be the ideal time to trial him being away from Mum and Dad for the first time, So everything sorted we were off to collect the little man.

Susan had already warned me that he was not sleeping and he had her up at all hours of the night, so there was something to look forward to! I have to say he was as good as gold and slept right through with no problem. It just goes to show that kids do play up their parents!

Sunday evening we went to Townley Park and spend two hours playing in the forest and feeding the ducks. Alfie loves to throw the ball for Bryn, so ever one was happy. We had a great time and are now looking forward to our holiday at the end of the month.

My mobile phone was due an upgrade this weekend, so I decided that as I am a control freak I would go for something that can keep me in touch 24/7, give me access to my blog and allow me to read and watch TV whilst sat on a beach.

So here it is…….I have upgraded to the Galaxy Note, an amazing piece of kit that is literally a laptop and phone in one! it does everything apart from brewing up, which is shame, but hey i’m sure technology will soon fix that!

So now I truly am mobile and here for you even when i’m not!

I was checking the news when I came across this piece which made me laugh, so I thought I would share it with you all.

A rat called Robson has won the lead role in a new exhibition at a London tourist attraction.

Robson saw off fierce competition to star in Rat Walk – a new feature about the role rats played in the Black Death, at the London Dungeon. He was one of six rats auditioning to co-star with the Dungeon’s Rat Catcher in the exhibition, due to open in time for the Whitsun holiday. All six had acting pedigree, with ancestors including Jasper who appeared in Sweeney Todd, Ludo who scuttled around on the set of Hot Fuzz and Nancy who starred in BBC1′s Sherlock. But there could be only one winner and the judges unanimously crowned Robson the top rat.

  ”Performing is at the heart of what we do and we hold regular auditions to find the best actors for the horrible character roles we have here at the London Dungeon,”

 ”But auditioning for rats is definitely a first. We do already have a family of rodents living here, but they are not performers.”explained general manager Ben Sweet.

I always feel really sorry for my single passengers when the price and availability are scarce. It’s almost as though they are discriminated against for being single! Which isn’t always a bad thing, and how are people supposed to mingle and meet if cruise lines don’t have that many cabins?

Well… I am happy to report that at last  P&O are adding 18 single cabins to Ventura during a dry dock refit in March 2013. They now have three ships catering for the single passengers; there are 18 cabins on board the Azura, 2 on the Oriana and there will be 18 on the Ventura. Not a great number considering the size of these ships!

Following on Voyages of Discovery have also added 8 single cabins to the Aegean Odyssey. All there cabins will be outside cabins on the bridge deck. The cruise line will also be offering low single supplements on a 13 day cruise from Venice on 23 June 2012 and a 14 night cruise from Istanbul on 25^th August 2012 including two nights in Istanbul and Athens.

Call me now for more details on these two cruises if you are a single traveller.

There is still a lot of room for improvement for the single cruise passenger, I just wish the cruise lines would wake up and smell the coffee they are turning business away!

E-mail with your thoughts on this one and let me know what you have experienced.

Here at www.cruise.co.uk we go the extra mile to make sure that our service to our clients is second to none and that we can help take all the stress out of booking a cruise holiday.

Over the weekend I had an interesting conversation with one of my clients that culminated in me looking at a complete cruise solution for him. The client was interested in doing a pre-stay followed by a cruise followed by a post -stay.  He was interested in excursions, parking and insurance, and although he was enjoying trying to put this together himself he had called me to help saying “I don’t think you can do it…but I would really like to do……?” Much to his surprise I was able to say leave it with me I can do it all including your transfers as well! One happy client!

So just to remind you all…..I am here to help you create your perfect cruise holiday and have access to the following elements:

Car parking – a user friendly 24hr meet and greet service.

Transfers – to and from

Excursions – various Ports of call all with private tour guide guaranteed to get you back to the shipon time!

Hotels – Any rating, board and location to fit your budget.

Flights

Insurance – I have now passed my exam so I am able to offer my client’s specialist cruise insurance.

So go on give it a try call me and see if I can make your dream cruise come true.

I was looking through the papers the other day hoping to find something interesting to tell you guy’s, when I came across this piece in the mail and I thought it would be a good one for people looking for somewhere to take the kids during school holidays. Obviously a cruise would be my first suggestion, but if the budget didn’t stretch that far this year this would be a great historical and fun place to visit.

“After five years and a cost of £50million, the first visitors to the newly renovated Cutty Sark stepped aboard the world’s last remaining tea-clipper in Greenwich, South London yesterday.

Lucky members of the press got the chance to explore the rejuvenated 143-year-old vessel, which was almost destroyed by fire in 2007.

Today will see the Queen and Prince Philip officially re-open the Cutty Sark, with the general public getting their first view on April 26. Individual tickets to keen history-buffs have already been on sale for weeks.”

Trustees of the Cutty Sark say they hope the repair work will guarantee the clipper’s survival for at least the next 50 years, and HSBC has agreed to sponsor the Trust to ensure the ship’s future.

Built on the River Clyde at Dumbarton, the Cutty Sark was launched in 1869 to carry tea from China. She was then the most advanced ship in existence, and could carry more than 1.3million pounds of tea in a single voyage – equivalent to 200million cups.

While her creators envisaged the Cutty Sark would have a working life of 30 years, she remained in service until 1922, and was put on display in Greenwich in 1954.

Visitors to the Cutty Sark can now see the largest collection of historic figureheads in the world, which was assembled in the early 20th century by an avid collector of merchant shipping memorabilia and given to the Cutty Sark in 1953.

The unique collection will be displayed in a new exhibition space created in the dry dock beneath the ship’s hull.

Many of the figureheads are over 200 years old, and the famous faces on show include Prime Ministers Gladstone, Disraeli and Pitt the Younger, as well as Florence Nightingale – who sadly lost an arm during her years on the ocean wave.

The Cutty Sark’s own figurehead – the witch, Nannie – has also been restored to her former splendour.

So if you do visit let me know what you think and send me some pictures.

For those of you that read my blog, you will know that I don’t have any children in school now and when I take my holidays I always try to avoid busy periods for obvious reasons. However I do feel sorry for people like my daughter that have a small family and cannot afford to go abroad, as the prices during school holidays always seem to be inflated making it hard for them to get away.

Over the last year or so I have seen a big increase in families choosing to cruise, as compared to bucket and spade holidays they really are great value for money as they include all food, entertainment and so much more. However the government seem determined to make family holidays a thing of the past with their new proposal to increase the existing fines already in place for taking children out of school during term time from £50 to £60 raising to £120 after 28 days, but they have said that Head teachers should continue to be allowed to asses each case on merit, Which doesn’t really help the man in the street that is abiding by the rules, and trying to get away during term time.

I have spoken to quite a lot of people in my 26 years in travel and it has always been the same with regards to the fines, 8 times out of 10 times it will work out cheaper to take the children out of school and pay the fines on top of the holiday price than pay the term time prices! So I don’t see the increase working.

The good news is that travel firms are sticking togeather and urging the government to stagger school holidays so that peak season is not so congested and holidays can be priced accordingly, by staggering school holidays it would also spread the demand.

It will be interesting to see which way this one goes.