Spring Into Europe With Voyages of Discovery

Guarantee yourself some early sunshine this year and join Voyages of Discovery’s MV Discovery for a 15-day European Icons cruise from £899 per person (based on two people sharing an inside cabin). Discover Istanbul, Rome and Piraeus, also known as the ‘Gateway to Athens,’ on this cruise through some of Europe’s most beautiful islands and countries, including Spain, Corsica, Sicily, Italy and Greece.

The price includes return flights from London, transfers and the 15-day voyage departing from Istanbul (overnight), Piraeus (for Athens), Messina (Sicily), Civitavecchia (for Rome), Ajaccio (Corsica), Almeria (Spain) Gibraltar and La Coruna (Spain) before returning to the UK at Portsmouth. Departure is April 27. Price includes all meals, entertainment and gratuities on board and all relevant cruise taxes/fees, plus onboard lectures from a team of renowned Guest Speakers.

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

Save With Voyages of Discovery

Here's a good cruise saving to be had today, as announced in this press release from one of our favourite 'discovery' cruise lines:

Further reductions have been made to Voyages of Discovery’s 12-day Classic Mediterranean – save up to £740 and cruise from as little as £859 per person.

This price includes return flights from London, transfers and a 12-day voyage departing from Lisbon (Portugal) and calling at Cadiz (Spain), Malaga (Spain), Cartagena (Spain), Ajaccio (Corsica), Livorno (Italy), Civitavecchia (Italy) and Messina (Sicily) before arriving at Dubrovnik (Croatia) for an overnight stay; all meals, entertainment and gratuities on board and all relevant cruise taxes/fees, plus onboard lectures from a team of renowned guest speakers. Price is based on a September 19 departure.

For more info, visit www.voyagesofdiscovery.co.uk or contac the specialist cruise booking agents of The Cruise Line Ltd.

Scroll down for a superb offer at New Year with SeaDream Yacht Club

Windstar's 'Rail & Sail' Voyage

- Limited Availability On One Departure Only -

Windstar Cruises is offering guests an exclusive opportunity to combine rail with sail on its June 25 Nice to Barcelona sailing.

Guests will take the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Nice on June 24 and spend a night at the four-star Mercure Nice Centre Notre Dame, which is located in the heart of Nice opposite Notre Dame church, near Place Masséna, Promenade des Anglais and the old town.

The following day they will join the intimate, 312-guest Wind Surf for a seven-night cruise from Nice to Barcelona during which they will visit the beautiful ports of St Tropez, L’lle-Rousse, Ajaccio, Alghero, Mahon and Ibiza.

Wind Surf features deluxe, ocean-view staterooms that include beds with luxury linens and mattresses, flat-screen TV and DVD player, Bose SoundDock speakers for Apple iPods, waffle-weave robes with slippers and sumptuous L’Occitane products. Guests enjoy culinary wonders in The Restaurant, Degrees, Le Marché and Candles. The ship also features a lounge, Yacht Club, WindSpa, casino, three bars, two pools, two hot-tubs, a shop, photo gallery and watersports platform. At the end of the cruise, guests will transfer to the airport in Barcelona for their return flight back to the UK.

Prices for this exclusive Rail & Sail package start from £2,450 per person including train from St Pancras to Nice, an overnight at the Mercure Nice Centre Notre Dame in Nice, transfer from hotel to ship, seven nights on Wind Surf in an ocean-view stateroom with all meals and entertainment and port taxes, transfer from ship to airport in Barcelona and flight back to the UK.

Further Rail & Sail dates will be announced shortly.

For more info, visit/www.windstarcruises.co.uk or luxury cruise specialists The Cruise Line Ltd on 0800 008 6677.

Vintage Cruising

By guest blogger Steve Newman.

Fine wines and elegant dining have always been part of the cruising experience but now Oceania have taken that tradition a step further with their new luxury ship Marina due to launch in January next year.

Teaming up with Wine Spectator magazine the company have incorporated into the design a specially designed wine tasting centre where guests can sample some of the world's finest vintages as chosen by the magazine's connoisseur experts.

Quaffing wines from the region where you are anchored does sound eminently appealing, plus the lectures given on the production, history and ethos of the wines should ensure you enjoy them that much more - and help get the tastebuds into top gear.

It doesn't stop there either as Oceania have set up seven-course (yes, 7!) tasting menus to help you appreciate the wines that much more, while the magazine's editors will also recommend reds and whites to accompany the evening menus.

As with all Oceania's cruises, there are ample choices when it comes to dining areas, - it's something they are renowned for.

So, if sipping one of those unique red wines from Ajaccio, watching the sunset bathe the Corsican hillside in that beautiful orange light, or raising a glass of Bianco D'Alcamo as you sail gently pass Sicily appeals, then why not find out more?

The only trouble I can see is that it's not the cruise line but the waistline that's going to be the problem. Great, isn't it!