Check Out The Big Cunard Sale

Cunard Line has a wonderful offer to start the new year, with a value-for-money approach to their usual high-quality style and a 10% off booking incentive that runs until February 29.

The iconic line, who promise to over-deliver in their attention to detail, quality and attainable price-point, are featuring the ‘Your Cunard Sale’ for all voyages currently on sale in 2012 and 2013, if booked by the end of next month. Highlights include:

· Queen Mary 2's grand seven-night transatlantic crossings between Southampton and New York, which start at just £799 per person, including a flight in the opposite direction (M233, 15-22 Dec 2012).

·  Queen Victoria's varied 2012 itineraries, including a 3-day voyage from just £399 per person (V211, 5-8 May 2012), and a 7-night fjords sailing from only £749 per person (V228, 13-20 Dec 2012).

· Queen Elizabeth, in her maiden season of Mediterranean fly-voyages, offers nine-night sailings from £1,099 per person (Q216, 28 Aug-6 Sep 2012); 14-night Caribbean voyages are also available from just £1,649 per person, plus complimentary spending money of $100 per person (Q302, 6-20 Jan 2013)

· The most spectacular value for money in the Big Sale period is offered on Cunard’s two World Voyages, which sail round-trip from Southampton in 2013. Queen Mary 2’s eastward 106-night full world voyage begins at just £10,699 per person, while for those booking the liner’s prestigious Grill accommodation, savings can amount to more than £12,000 per person. Complimentary spending money of $350-$1,600 per person completes the offer.       

Queen Victoria’s westward 105-night circumnavigation starts at £10,899 per person, plus $350 complimentary spending money. Sectors of the World Voyage are also available, such as the 18-night sailing from Dubai to Southampton (8-26 April 2013) featuring Aqaba for Petra, Sharm el Sheikh, Sokhna for Cairo, the Suez Canal, Rome and Lisbon, with prices including the outward flight from just £2,399 per person and $75 complimentary spending money.

For booking details, be sure to check out this link with the UK's luxury cruise specialists, The Cruise Line Ltd.

Cunard Celebrates Royal Wedding In Style

In view of Cunard's long association with the British Royal family, it is fitting that the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton should be celebrated with enthusiasm and aplomb on all three of the company's ships.

Flagship Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria - the first two named by Prince William's grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, and the latter by his stepmother, the Duchess of Cornwall - will all be at sea on the day so it is anticipated there will be heavy demand for the live big-screen showing of the wedding itself in the ships' Royal Court Theatres. And each passenger will receive an invitation to the 'wedding', delivered the night before!

In the afternoon, after the screening, a Royal afternoon tea will be served in the appropriately decorated Queens Room on each ship; this will feature a special edition menu and a commemorative blend from tea specialists, Twinings. Champagne will be available with tea.

Dinner in the evening will boast an eight-page commemorative menu offering a celebratory four-course meal devised by Cunard's renowned Chef Zimmerman. As guests enter each dining room, they will see at the door a traditional multi-tiered wedding cake decorated with cream and white icing, and featuring the flower emblems of the four parts of the United Kingdom - the English rose, the Scottish thistle, the Welsh daffodil and the shamrock of Northern Ireland.

Each guest will be given a complimentary glass of champagne, together with a piece of wedding cake - and dinner in each restaurant will be 'interrupted' by a visit from the Captain, who will propose a toast to the bride and groom.

And, as is customary at British weddings, at the conclusion of dinner each guest will be able to take away with them a piece of wedding cake in an individual commemorative box. And, again as is customary with British weddings, the celebrations will conclude with dancing at a Royal Ball to be held in each of the ships’ Queens Rooms – the largest dance floors at sea.

In fact, being at sea with Cunard on April 29 will be just like being invited to Westminster Abbey - with only the bride and groom missing!

For more info on Cunard cruises, visit www.cunard.co.uk.

Cunard's Royal Flush

Here's a fun little press release from Cunard this week: The three most famous ships among UK adults, according to a new survey, were all named by The Queen.

The YouGov survey, which included a random sample of 2,065 adults and weighted to represent the population as a whole, showed the most recognised ship in unprompted responses from the general public is Cunard's former flagship Queen Elizabeth 2, closely followed by the company's current flagship Queen Mary 2, and the newly-launched Queen Elizabeth.

The survey also targeted those who had cruised in the last five years and the top three most recalled ships again comprise Cunard's total current fleet! In first place is Queen Mary 2, followed by Queen Victoria - named by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall in 2007 - and then Queen Elizabeth. Other findings in the survey, which was commissioned by Carnival UK and conducted last November, also show Cunard deliver against the key attributes which are important to cruisers in such areas as food quality, service standards, trustworthiness and standard of accommodation.

For information about Cunard Cruises, visit www.cunard.co.uk or contact luxury cruise agents The Cruise Line Ltd.

Cunard's Grand New Programme

With three ships now in the fleet, Cunard Line has announced its widest ever range of voyages for 2012, with 84 voyages visiting 129 ports and 48 countries around the world. The launch is supported by a comprehensive range of Early Booking incentives including, for the first time, an additional 10% saving on all voyages booked before May 31.

Cunard Line will celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and Her Majesty’s long association with Cunard, with a unique Three Queens Event in Southampton on June 5, 2012, the Bank Holiday Jubilee Celebration.

Queen Elizabeth will spend the first half of the summer sailing out of Southampton before setting off on her inaugural Mediterranean Fly-Voyage season from Venice, Civitavecchia (Rome) and Athens on a series of 12-night voyages. In early 2013 she will embark on a new Pacific Islands voyage, offering a 91-night sailiing from Southampton or a 36-night voyage from Los Angeles.

Queen Victoria has developed a very loyal following and will spend the summer sailing out of Southampton to the most popular Northern Europe and Mediterranean destinations. A new feature will be overnight stays in Amsterdam, Hamburg, Istanbul, St Petersburg, Madeira and Venice – giving guests more time to experience the destinations.

Queen Mary 2 goes from strength to strength on her unique Transatlantic Voyages and will cross the Atlantic 20 times during 2012. She will also offer voyages to Northern Europe, Canada and New England and a new 16-night Central Mediterranean voyage. The Transatlantic is fast becoming a ‘must do’ choice for regular cruisers.

The programme goes on sale worldwide on April 4. Other highlights include:

Value for Money - This year, Cunard is offering exceptional savings to those booking prior to May 31. For example, Early Booking Savings of up to £900 per couple are available on a typical 12-night voyage. There is also complimentary onboard spending available of between $40 and $1000 per couple on Mediterranean fly-cruises and transatlantic crossings. And complimentary car parking is available to guests booking 2012 Southampton round-trip voyages with durations of five nights or more (excluding round-trip transatlantic crossings and World Voyages).

Overnight Stays – Feedback from passengers has shown that they would like to spend more time in big-hitting destinations, so all three ships will now offer overnight stays that include Amsterdam, Venice, Rome, Hamburg, St Petersburg, Boston, Quebec, Madeira and Barcelona.

Traditional Values – As the pace of life accelerates, the values, traditions and White Star Service experienced with Cunard are gaining more and more recognition, both from loyal Cunarders and with first-timers to the brand. For example, on many cruise lines shorts can often be seen in dining rooms. This would never happen on a Cunard ship. Dancing is going through a renaissance through high-profile television programmes in many countries. With state-of-the-art ball rooms, the biggest dance floors at sea, big bands and dance hosts, Cunard is setting the standards and attracting many passengers who hanker for a taste of tradition and class.

For more information, visit http://www.cunard.co.uk/ or contact the specialist agents of The Cruise Line Ltd.

World of Cruising - Winter edition now out!

The Winter edition of World of Cruising magazine is now out, and is chock-full of great feature, reviews and news on our favourite subject.

The headline story takes us to the Canadian Arctic with Inuit Indian operation Cruise North Expeditions, while we also visit the Falklands, South Africa, the wonderful Danube - and the Trans-Siberia Railroad!

Among our ship features are the new Queen Elizabeth and Le Boreal, the classic Athena and Sea Cloud and the modern cuisine style of Holland America's Noordam, plus a look at wine-themed cruising and Winter fashion. We also have our essential and original (often imitated but never equalled) Cruise Planner - a gazetteer of all the main cruise liens and their ships.

It all adds up to the best read on the wide world of cruising anywhere, with the best writers, the most eye-catching design and the most accurate and up-to-date info. Happy reading!

Oh, and a very Merry Christmas to all Time Spent at Sea readers - you are a growing bunch these days, and we look forward to seeing even more of you in 2011!!

- Simon Veness, Editor

Berlitz Cruising

By guest blogger Steve Newman

When it comes to life on the ocean waves, small is beautiful according to the eagerly awaited 2011 Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships, the world’s most trusted guide (published Oct 4, 2010). Having reviewed 285 cruise ships, the new Berlitz Guide names the top-rated vessels for 2011, with the 10 most highly-rated being officially ‘small’ or ‘boutique’, and explains why they scored as highly as they did.

Europa (above), a ‘Small Ship’ of Hapag Lloyd Cruises, is the only vessel to receive the exclusive 5-star Plus rating, scoring the highest with 1,853 points out of a possible 2,000. Although a ship may be the latest, most stunning vessel in the world in terms of design and décor, if the food, service, staff and hospitality are not so good, the scores and ratings will reflect these. In this way, although Europa is now 11 years old, it looks almost new, thanks to the dedication of its crew and owners.

Within Europa’s wake are:

SeaDream II (1,788 points)
Seabourn Odyssey (1,787)
Seabourn Sojourn (1,787)
SeaDream I (1,786)
Seabourn Legend (1,774)
Silver Spirit (1,772)
Seabourn Spirit (1,770)
Seabourn Pride (1,769)
Silver Whisper (1,753)
Silver Shadow (1,750)

Douglas Ward is the world’s top authority on cruising and cruise ships, with more than 40 years of experience. He continues to spend some 200 days a year aboard cruise ships, inspecting and evaluating their facilities.

Commenting on the ratings system, he says: “There really is no best cruise line in the world or best cruise ship – only those that are right for you. With cruise ships, the goal posts keep changing as the industry evolves and matures. Ship owners, cruise operators, wholesalers and tour packagers keep redefining their product, pricing and marketing strategies in order to fill ships and make a profit.”

The fully revised and updated edition of the Guide, now in its 26th year of publication, also previews the 20 new ships set to debut between 2011 and 2014. Among the newcomers previewed is Queen Elizabeth, with a focus on why Cunard’s new liner, set to launch on October 11, should not be seen as a replacement for the much-loved QE2.

Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2011 (£16.99, 720 pages) will be available from all good bookshops from October 4.

For further information, visit http://www.berlitzpublishing.com/

Like Your Bed? Now You Can Buy It!

We all know Her Majesty The Queen will be naming Cunard's new Queen Elizabeth liner in Southampton on 11th October in another milestone in British maritime history. The Queen was present at age 12 when her mother launched the first Queen Elizabeth in 1938 and she herself launched the famous, but now retired, QE2 in 1967.

This magnificent new Queen Elizabeth will be the second largest Cunard ship ever built and will enhance the company’s illustrious reputation for exquisite ocean travel redolent of a bygone era. With a wonderful retro design look full of Art Deco, all the décor will pay homage to past Cunard Queens and there will be exhibits, photos and memorabilia connecting the line’s links to royalty and the rich and famous…. but of course, under all this glamour will be the very latest in 21st century technology.

Accommodating just over 2,000 guests in 1,046 staterooms on board, 85% of which are outside and 71% with balconies, luxury is definitely the name of the game and that of course means the very best in 21st century beds. So what are the best beds fit for a Queen? It has to be Sealy - the world’s No 1 bed brand. Their beds are found in the very best places and are slept on by royalty, presidents, celebrities and connoisseurs.

Sealy, world famous for their renowned Posturepedic range, have developed specially designed beds for the new Queen Elizabeth which include the very latest in their sleep technology. They contain zones of the very best pocket springs with layers of upholstery that will support and cushion the body to ensure, say the company, "the very best night’s sleep as guests drift off to the soothing whispers of the waves as the liner silently crosses the oceans of the world. Even if the weather gets rough outside, there will be no tossing and turning for guests cocooned and cosseted in their sumptuous Sealy Posturepedic beds!"

Now these beds, The Sealy “Cunarder” Range, will also be available to buy via the Cunard website, for those guests who want to carry home their wonderful sleep experience and continue to dream of luxury life on the ocean waves!

A Spa Fit For A Queen

It's the perfect marriage of Spas and Cruising, and Cunard Line’s long-standing tradition of providing luxury experiences at sea will continue, it seems, with the forthcoming Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Spa.

This stunning 13,000sq ft spa space will feature an impressive art deco-style decor with two levels for the array of treatment rooms, fitness and pool facilities.

Like her sisters, Queen Elizabeth’s spa offers a comprehensive health and wellness programme with a spectacular Hydrotherapy Pool and Thermal Suite. Newly created is the Royal Bath House, the centrepiece for the ultimate spa experience. Inspired by relaxing treatments drawn from disciplines around the world, the Royal Spa will offer the most luxurious and exotic treatments available in any spa resort, including being the first spa at sea to provide Remède products and treatments.

The new Royal Bath House is a relaxing, covered space, a social relaxation area that includes both the Thermal Suite and Hydrotherapy pool, all adjacent to the main outdoor pool on Deck 9. Luxurious robes, slippers and other amenities will be provided. Day passes are available for those guests not booking a treatment.

Beyond the aquatics area of the spa, guests can enjoy treatments provided by one of Cunard’s many high-end partners. Queen Elizabeth will be the first spa at sea to offer Remède service, including Customised Facials and Massages, as well as Remède and Elemis spa products. Additionally, other new treatments and partners include:

Royal Spa Self-Scrub: Guests work with the spa’s mixologist to create a customised special blend of exfoliants that buff away dead skin and impurities.

Cellulite Reduction and Revitalizing Leg Therapy by Ionithermie: This detoxifying, firming and toning treatment helps to eliminate toxins. Alleviates water retention and also guarantees inches will be lost after just one treatment.

Peter Shanks, Cunard’s Managing Director and President, says: "As the world awaits Queen Elizabeth, our guests are eager to experience all the lavish amenities featured on board, including the rituals of luxury found in the Royal Spa. From couples’ treatment suites and new treatments to adventurous fitness classes and premium spa product partners, Cunard continues to offer the ultimate in rejuvenation at sea.”

The centre also includes a full-service hair and nail salon using award-winning products and providing the latest services, such as:

Phyto Hair Cocktails: Phyto is a blend of plants and herbs that helps repair the structure of the hair and nourish the scalp.

Award-winning St. Tropez Sunless Tanning for the face and body.

Brazilian Blowout: The Brazilian Blowout leaves hair smooth, healthy and frizz-free for up to 12 weeks without the use of damaging chemicals.

For health-focused guests, Queen Elizabeth’s Fitness Centre includes a fully appointed work-out facility and aerobics studio featuring signature fitness classes including:

Walkvest®: which helps use extra calories while wearing a weighted vest (two – 16 lbs.) while walking

Walking Poles: which turn walking into a total body workout, engaging every muscle with each stride. Classes show how the use of the poles can enhance ‘walking’ experiences to help improve stamina, posture and balance

Aqua Tone: This special class incorporates movements with various types of water equipment, such as dumbbells, floats, aqua gloves and fins. The water resistance helps build muscles without overexertion

To promote overall wellbeing, the spa also offers services using the ancient traditions of Chinese medicines and Ayurvedic techniques. A professionally trained acupuncturist, registered by the British Acupuncture Council, offers six different treatments to assist in alleviating stress, pain, or helping with weight loss.

Ayurveda (Sanskrit for the Science of Life) is an ancient Indian health care system and offers a wellness plan that includes the guests’ preferred type of exercise and dietary choices. A key part of health and wellness is education, and so seminars ranging from managing arthritis to metabolism enhancement will be offered throughout the voyage.

Sound good? I thought so, too. Now, where can I sign up for a treatment....?!

Oh, and don't forget to check out Alastair Greener's Cunard Blog for more info and insight into the Queen Elizabeth arrival.

Celebrity Luxury Property Spain

Celebrity Luxury Property Spain

For many years Spain has been the number one choice for holidays and real estate investments. The statistics show the most popular regions for property investments are Malaga, Granada or Alicante. And talking about celebrities favorite place for investments that is Majorca Island. Many American and European famous people have vacation residencies in Palma de Majorca.

Many people are attracted to this place probably because of its histroy that is associated with King Juan Carlos. The entire royal family’s presence is familiar among the inhabitants of Majorca. Another royal visitor of this Spanish Island was Queen Elizabeth of England. With so much blue blood, Majorca attracted many American celebrities too. Michael Douglas, Patsy Palmer, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mike Oldfield and many more invested in vacation properties on the island.

This region is so full of famous people that a regular tourist can spot a celebrity on any given day. This has been happening for the last 50 years. But it also has its private beaches, mountain isolated facilities meant to offer the celebrities just the ideal proportion between intimacy and public recognition.

Celebrity Luxury Property Spain

Celebrity Luxury Property Spain

Celebrity Luxury Property Spain