On board the World

Stepping aboard The World today was a rare experience for Biba and I... rare because this is a ship that has so many places to go, and to stay for a while, that she passes through just once every 3 years. And doubly rare because stepping aboard was more like entering the grand home of a friend than boarding a cruise ship.
Accommodation on The World is not in cabins, nor in staterooms but in apartments - a studio at least; a 1, 2 or 3-bedroom home with kitchen if you choose. Every apartment has a private, full-width balcony, marble bathroom with tub, gorgeous accessories like Frette linen; all fares are fully-inclusive, and the cost compares favourably with a luxury holiday at the best land locations. And space... with a maximum of 200 guests (served by 265 crew) and weighing in at 43,500 tons there is simply no comparison with mainstream cruise ships.

The lobby( Pictured) - decked today in Christmas finery, including tree - is home to one of 5 grand pianos, the preferred form of entertainment aboard. Guests will be treated to fine music and enrichment lectures, rather than Broadway-style shows. Golf and Bridge are well catered for, the gym is popular and professional coaching is available to take your game, or personal training, further. You can dine and drink in any of 4 restaurants - on local produce whenever that is of exceptional quality - and you may shop in a well-stocked deli for ingredients and entertain "at home". A chef is available and the cleaning up will be done by service staff. Throughout the ship there is a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, the only formality being a requirement in two of the four restaurants for gentlemen to wear a jacket at the evening meal.
The impression throughout our visit was that denizens of The World set very high standards and prefer the quiet enjoyment of the environment they have created.

Travel by Design is a concept that makes use of The World's long stays in port. Guests can check in anywhere in the world, enjoy the cruising life for a minimum of 6 nights aboard - during which the ship becomes their floating luxury hotel wherever she is moored. This brings cruising back to being real travel, offering a fuller experience than can be gained in a day visit.
And because she is designed as a home-away-from-home for her owners, returning to The World each night can be a little like coming home.
This World is somewhere special.
On board: choice of 6 dining venues, or dine in-suite; 2 pools; full size tennis court; golf simulator and open air driving range; Banyan Tree spa
How much? Mosman Cruise Centre Stay & Cruise packages start from US$655 per person per day (13th Feb 2010, 11 nights, Bali to Singapore)."

What's The World (fmly the World of ResidenSea) like - watch this blog

Tomorrow I'm doing a tour of the 'World of Residensea' which is in Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal over Christmas - so I'll be back before then to post some photos. This will be my first time on board this ship and I am really looking forward to it.
Though we have a website and a blog! one of the things I enjoy most about being a cruise consultant is meeting clients - and talking about ships. I personally enjoy discussing my holiday plans with others in the industry, asking questions and getting answers directly rather than trawling around a website trying to find the answers I want. I am always pleased when I am able to find a cruise to suit a client when it appears from searches they have done that there is nothing to fit their needs. We are a rare breed amongst travel agents - we research everywhere to find the right fit, not only with those known in travel jargon as 'preferreds'!
So watch this space for my trip around 'The World'!!

(Which is one ship that will not fit under the Sydney Harbour Bridge - along with the 42 others mentioned in a report in today's Sydney Morning Herald that are being built, without consideration of the height of our iconic Bridge - over-used word iconic but it seems to fit here!).
Hmph! Well Hmph! at those who plan International Cruise Terminals anyway... What are they thinking of, building a terminal at White Bay just because the land is currently a wasteland, when many existing and new cruise ships simply won't be able to dock there? It seems 'they' are looking around the harbour east of the bridge as well - but since most of the obvious spots seem to belong to the Navy it is likely to be a difficult task. That's my rant for the day!)

P.S. If you are interested in ship-watching over summer in Sydney visit the Sydney Ports Schedule website.

Not flying today

Having personally been caught in a British Airways strike in the UK a couple of years ago, I understand the frustration both as a passenger and a travel agent when these things happen - and at Christmas. Currently British Airways is suffering from industrial action which is likely to go on well into the New Year, inconveniencing passengers and creating uncertainty at a time of year when we are all telling each other to be happy!!
In addition Melbourne's Virgin passengers were warned to expect extensive delays yesterday when a damaged cable affected their check-in system. When we've planned a trip and anticipated it for some time we just want to get there - and if we are at the end of our trip we just want to get home... so these delays, which are out of our control, can make us very unhappy.
As a travel agent I advise my clients to research the situation on the day of travel before heading to the airport. Check with the airline, with the airport flight departures information service - check everything you can to avoid spending excess time or making a fruitless trip when flights are delayed or cancelled. My guess is that other OneWorld airlines will do their best to help British Airways through this, and that BA will do their utmost to fly their scheduled services to avoid disrupting so many people's Christmas plans. (And of course being a member of an airline lounge club really counts when there are delays!) I wish everyone travelling by air smooth connections throughout this period.

3 cruise ships and a dull day

Just come back from a photo trip to catch the Sun Princess, Diamond Princess and the Pacific Jewel in Sydney Harbour - or Sun Princess as it was leaving. But today Sydney turned on a grey, humid type drizzle and it really wasn't worth it. So I've dropped in a picture of the deck of Sun Princess taken last time I was onboard.
28 ships in 28 days was the headline in the Sydney Morning Herald today - yes folks this is the beginning of a really busy time on Sydney Harbour as cruise ships come and go bringing thousands of tourists to our beautiful harbour. Most ships will dock at the International Cruise Terminal or Darling Harbour, but a few will be forced to use White Bay. This is a bit of hole - it has no facilities for cruise passengers and they are crowded onto buses and taken to Central Station - not much of a way to discover Sydney. When the ships don't fit under the bridge they must moor in the harbour which is a better experience as passengers are taken by boat into Sydney.
Given that our Government doesn't seem to understand the importance of providing decent, central facilities for cruise passengers I am not holding my breath on a solution to this problem.

How likely is a port upgrade?

An SMH news item on an Access Economics report on the cruise industry reveals that the cruise sector was the standout performer in the tourism market - good news for those of us who love to cruise, and who sell cruises. However it also included comments from Carnival Australia, Australia's largest cruise shipping company, about the need for governments to commit to port upgrades. With the constant changes in the NSW government it is likely that this is very low on their list of priorities despite the fact that Sydney is an important destination. We recently posted a story on our website about the 'Oasis of the Seas', the largest cruise liner afloat which needed a special port in the Caribbean to be built to accommodate her. There is no way she could fit into the current port facilities - and it seems that by 2020 only 15 per cent of cruise liners will be able to dock west of the harbour!
It will be sad if the many Sydneysiders who would like to cruise out of our harbour - and the many more visitors who would want to cruise into these waters are prevented by a lack of government planning and foresight. It will be even sadder if NSW misses out of the tourism dollars that go with cruise passengers.

Seabourn Odyssey - take a peek

I love trawling round Youtube and today I found this great video of the new Seabourn Odyssey which is cruising into the Pacific early next year (2010). Quite the best way to check out a ship if you can't go on a ship visit.

Odyssey leaves Fort Lauderdale Florida on January 5 and sails to Cartagena Colombia, then through the Panama Canal and into the Pacific Ocean and Costa Rica and Guatemala. She will visit Acapulco and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico before heading north to Los Angeles. Hawaii is the next ports of call, then Christmas Island on February 2. Passengers will enjoy the delights of Tahiti and the Cook Islands and reach Lyttleton in New Zealand on Feb 17. Melbourne is her first Australian port on 22 February and Sydney on the 24th.
Odyssey joins her sister ships Legend, Pride and Spirit - all 5-star vessels suitable for sophisticated couples mostly over-50. If you are looking for gourmet food and European-style service then this could be it.
Thanks to travel writer Fran Golden for this peek!

The new look Regent Seven Seas Mariner

After cruising on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner last year I was looking forward to once again boarding this beautiful ship this morning. I invited a group of clients to join us and although the day was grey it didn't dampen our anticipation.
We sipped on champagne and nibbled hors d'oeuvres as part of our visit and thoroughly enjoyed visiting the new restaurant known as Prime 7 which has replaced the Asian restaurant, and the cabins that have been refurbished. (You may remember that I wrote a couple of months ago about passengers on this line asking for showers instead of showers over baths and quite a few of the cabins have not been modified.)
Regent Seven Seas and Mosman Cruise Centre have some great offers to passengers in 2010.
All sailings will be offered as two for 1 and include unlimited shore excursions. You will also be able to pre-book alternative dining before you sail. And one of the things I love about this cruise line is the no extra charge for wine, beer and the mini bar.
This is the first of my ship's visits and I'll write about as many as possible so you can get a first hand impression.
I'll also take my camera!
Special offer to clients: If you are a client of the Mosman Cruise Centre or Travel Choice and you would like to join me on a ship visit let me know by email (martin@travelchoice.com.au) or phone 9968 1600.

Dancing across the Atlantic

If you have a passion being able to indulge it and enjoy a cruise at the same time is a treat. Crystal Cruises have just announced their Big Band Celebration Cruise for 2010 and as well as a Big Band playing dance music every night there will be extra dance hosts. Dancing is known to be one of the best things you can do to keep active physically and mentally as you age and I for one love it! Evidence that it is not only fun but important to one's health is a bonus. Check out this story on TangoAustralia if you would like to know more.
Crystal Serenity has just left Lisbon on her 2009 Ballroom Dancing Cruise, however next year's cruise which will follow the same route from Lisbon in Portugal to Miami in Florida, with a couple of port calls in the Azores is now available. So contact me for more information if like me you love to dance! Email martin@travelchoice.com.au

Last minute cruising

There are still a few pre-Christmas cabins left for those who decide at the last minute they would like to take a cruise and avoid the silly season. Yesterday we were able to book a couple on a the cruise of their choice - before Christmas - and we are getting emails everyday about specials and last-minute deals.
So if you fancy escaping the pre-Christmas rush - or need to re-charge your batteries before the relatives arrive and the festive season really gets underway - contact us today - travel@travelchoice.com.au

Aussie dollar giving best value for cruising

The Aussie dollar just keeps going up and this is fantastic news for those who are planning to travel overseas or cruise in the next few months. Many cruises are priced in the US dollar or the British pound. Now is a great time to get really good value for your money and the best value comes when you book an all-inclusive cruise - which means you really getting everything in American dollars.
When you are checking on the internet for good cruise deals you do need to know that booking on the internet is a totally different kettle of fish - as pointed out by Cruise Weekly this week. In an interview with another leading cruise agent they note that consumers need to be wary of booking cruises on US sites as the shipping lines reserve the right to deny boarding at check-in if they find that travellers are not US residents who booked with a US agent at the the US market rate. I'd also like to remind you that we can match most rates that you see online and on top of doing all the booking for you, we ensure that you have all the paperwork you need and that you have a trouble-free trip.
If the high Aussie dollar is tempting you to take a cruise - go for it! And if the rain and cold is getting you down because we still haven't made it to Summer here in Sydney - what better way to give yourself something to look forward to!