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!

10 cruises I'd like to be on

A little touch of wishful thinking from yours truly as Sydney still struggles to cope with wearing woolies and waiting for summer days...
Not in any order...
1. Chilean ice fjords on Scorpios 2
2. Sailing on Star Clipper in the Andaman Sea
3. Round the world on Queen Mary 2
4. Northern Europe and Scandinavia on Europa
5. Cruising the Po River on River Cloud
6. Visiting Antarctica and Mawsons Hut on Orion
7. Sailing the Caribbean on Sea Dream I or Sea Dream II
8. Checking out the Panama Canal on Regent's Voyager
9. Exploring Egypt and the Red Sea on Silversea's Silver Whisper
10.River cruising into Russia on Viking Surkov
That's one of the hazards of being a cruise agent (if you could call it that) there are so many exciting and interesting cruises just waiting to be enjoyed.

Thoughts of warmer climes on a cold Sydney day

Sydney's dwellings are not built for cold - they never have been! and when it's cold and windy you know about it!
When I arrived in Oz as a young English migrant under the Big Brother movement I was amazed at how cold the winters were...especially in the southern highlands where I did a stint on a farm - in winter! But things haven't changed. After a few weeks of lulling residents into putting away the doonas and dry-cleaning the coats - with the spring winds giving my partner AngelinaTango (AT) and many other Sydneysiders hideous hayfever - the weather has returned to a wintry 15 degrees (60F). According to the weather bureau it's here to stay for a week at least!
Along with a few of my clients I am thinking of warmer climes... where can I take a short break and warm my blood, swim off my winter blues and get into the mood for a real Aussie summer (which has something to do with lying around on the beach and swimming in the surf)?
But where to? The South Pacific is experiencing extreme weather... tsunamis, typhoons and terrible floods are not enticing... and how badly these disasters are going to affect tourism to these parts will be seen in the coming months. Meanwhile I'm working on finding AT that warm weather tonic - and it might just be a cruise.
I've added a weather chart at the bottom of the blog... and while I was searching for it I found this video - the weather isn't this bad... and I just love this Fats Waller movie - hope it brightens your day - it did mine!!