23 December 2019

Ever wondered about a Warner’s Leisure break? Coach loads of retirees looking for a quiet location, lots of food, an afternoon tea dance with tunes from days gone by. Well that’s what I thought it would be anyway! My parents wanted to go to celebrate their 75th birthdays, so we booked a four-day trip to Hayling Island on the south coast near Portsmouth for one of their Turkey and Tinsel weekend

23 December 2019

Meanwhile back on the ship, the rest of the family happily carried on cruising. Here are the tales from the family: All of the family went to The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan and said it is a must see. The history of the logging towns bought to life with real lumberjacks, Axe throwing, Pole climbing, Log running and speed cutting with chainsaws. There are many wonderful excursio

23 December 2019

As we got all the bags packed into two taxis to pick up the BC Ferries Connector coach to head back to Vancouver to the Cruise Terminal, memories of the past few days were discussed and the excitement of what was to come was evident. The expression of wonder on the children’s faces as we approached The Royal Princess, was another memory to cherish. 142,229 Tonnes, 1,083 feet long, 217 feet tall,

21 December 2019

A trip of a lifetime to celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary With family across two continents, not knowing where the party should be, the grey skies of the UK or the sun scorched African plains. I spoke to my sister and she said “just ask mum” so that I did! The decision was Canada and Alaska! Organising Mum and Dad - easy, getting my sister and family from Zambia to Alaska - a little more effo

05 November 2019

Once in Male the seaplane check in desks are right outside the arrivals area. We were met and taken there to check in our luggage and then taken on a 10-minute bus ride to the seaplane terminal. The seaplane experience itself was amazing. It only seats 13 people, is a little cosy and noisy, but the views were absolutely stunning. Niyama Private Island is spread over 2 islands, Play and Chill conn

05 November 2019

You can either fly direct from London, which is a 10-hour flight, alternatively, if you wish to break the journey up you could opt for an indirect flight. We took an indirect flight via Dubai with only a 1 ½ hours layover. You arrive in Male where you either pick up your speedboat or seaplane transfer or a domestic flight. The first destination we stayed at was Anantara Dhigu. After being warmly

03 November 2019

We had an early flight from Heathrow to Vienna on Austrian Airlines, whom I had never flown with before, but was very impressed with. The plane was spacious, and the staff were very friendly. On arrival in Vienna we had a short transfer to the ship, The Amadeus Queen. A few minutes to drop our luggage into our cabins and then we were off into the centre of Vienna for a couple of hours walking tour

30 May 2019

For me, the excitement and anticipation of the new Celebrity Cruises ship ‘Edge’ at the Travel Counsellors annual conference back in November 2018. Despite being launched around the same time, it wasn’t until May that she reached the UK – six months later - and I was one of the lucky ones to get the chance to go on-board to have a look round. It was an early pick up on the Wednesday morning to g

13 April 2019

For my husband's birthday we spent a few days with lovely friends who live in the south east of Sicily, in the hills between Siracusa and Noto. Sicily is a fascinating island, the largest in the Mediterranean, with a mild climate, colourful history and a wealth of visitor attractions. The first couple of days we spent relaxing at their house, enjoying the beautiful scenery and walking the dogs.

06 March 2019

Our first task was to create costumes for my niece and nephew for their show jumping show which took place during our first weekend. The theme was movies. My nephew decided that he wanted to be Maverick from Top Gun and my niece wanted to be one of the pink ladies from Grease. It was a team effort, my sister, my mother in law and my husband set to work to transform a horse into a fighter jet and t

20 February 2019

A few days in Doha, Qatar - Karen Dormady An early start, arriving at Heathrow at 5.30am to catch a flight to Doha for a busy but amazing few days. It was my first flight with Qatar Airways, and I can honestly say that it was the best experience in economy class that I have ever had. I was very lucky to be staying at the Grand Hyatt hotel which is on the shoreline of the West Bay Lagoon dist

03 January 2019

A beautifully calm evening sailing out of Southampton on board Celebrity Silhouette. On our first evening we were treated to a delicious meal in the main restaurant. We then all headed to the Karaoke bar for a fun evening. Our first day was at sea, spent ‘in the classroom’ learning everything there was to know about Celebrity Cruises and what it has to offer. The different classes of ship, amen

02 September 2018

The summer holidays are over and soon everyone will be talking about C……..! Which for me is a great reminder of one of our fantastic trips to Lapland. On this occasion there were 24 of us on our annual group skiing holiday! We had two cosy, adjoining catered chalets in the woods, each with a log fire and a sauna. It wasn’t until we had the meet and greet with our reps, that we realised that the

14 July 2018

After a very comfortable flight in Business Class we arrived in Baltimore, where we were met by our host and taken to our hotel, The Lord Baltimore. This is an historic hotel in the downtown area. The rooms are spacious, with a good-sized bathroom, plenty of storage space and very comfortable beds! After a quick change we headed up to its Sky Bar on the top of the building for a cheeky cocktail an

01 June 2018

After an early flight from Stanstead to Hamburg, where I met one of my colleagues, and then a couple of hours on a coach through the beautiful German countryside, we arrived in Bremerhaven early afternoon, where The Beautiful Norwegian Bliss was waiting for us. Norwegian Cruise Lines had only taken delivery of her at 9.30am that very morning! We stepped on board and the first thing that I notic

23 March 2018

Our friends have progressed from kayak to dingy to a small touring sailing boat and now they are lucky enough to have a 30-foot sailing yacht. Having been out with them for a couple of exciting trips around the north Kent coast and across the Thames to Essex, although the Kent coast is a beautiful area to sail, there was a certain appeal of a flotilla holiday in the Mediterranean around the Greek

15 February 2018

The winter snows may be melting away, but the fond memories of snow-capped mountains are never far from my mind. For many years I have always wondered if I can still fit into my stylish ski wear and every year I manage it, just! Some of the best holidays have been with our close friends whether it has been a small family group with the niece and nephew or to the epic group holidays of 24+. Ther

02 February 2018

How time flies – it only seems a couple of months ago that we were enjoying cruising around the Med. We flew out to beautiful Malta to meet our P&O ship Oceana, where glorious warm sunny weather greeted us. We were soon on board, unpacked and it wasn’t too long before we were enjoying our first drink out on deck admiring the beautiful port of Valletta. My husband was soon reminiscing about his ‘la