Aalborg Set To Welcome Fred Olsen

The Danish port of Aalborg will be opening its new city centre cruise berth this Wednesday (May 25), and the first ship to dock there will be Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ 1,350-guest Balmoral. The new Aalborg Royal City Berth is right in the centre of the town, making it extremely convenient for cruise ship guests to go ashore. This quay is also used by the Danish Royal Yacht, Dannebrog.

On inauguration day, there will be a ceremony on the quayside, with a performance of music and dance – Samba Show, performed by members of the Aalborg International Carnival, the largest carnival in Northern Europe. This will be a delightful spectacle for crew and guests on board ship and visitors to the quayside.

There will also be a ceremonial opening of the cruise berth, with Balmoral's Master, Captain Olav Soevdsnes, cutting the ribbon. The City of Aalborg will then present a plaque to the Captain, commemorating the ship's first visit to the new berth.

Find out more by visiting http://www.fredolsencruises.com/,

More Big Savings With Oceania

Oceania Cruises is offering savings of up to 57% off selected cruise departures in spring and summer, including sailings on board new Marina, with an onboard credit of $1,000 per stateroom. All prices include all meals and complimentary bottled water and soft drinks but exclude flights.

Route of the Vikings: 14 nights from £1,399 saving £1,829 PLUS $1,000 on board credit.

Departing July 1, Oceania has a 14-night sailing from Copenhagen to London on Marina, crossing the North Sea and Atlantic through Norway, the Shetland Islands, Faroe Islands, Iceland (above) and Ireland before disembarking in London.

Greek Isles Odyssey: 12 nights from £1,499, saving up to £1,235pp PLUS $1,000 on board credit.

Departing July 9, this cruise sails from Istanbul to Athens through some of the Greece’s most beautiful and historic islands on board the mid-sized Nautica, with with savings up to £1,235 per person for an Outside ocean-view stateroom, based on two sharing.

Myths and Legends: 12 nights from £1,199, saving up to £1,160pp PLUS $1,000 on board credit.

Departing July 21, this magnificent sailing from Athens cruises the Greek Islands, Montenegro and Croatia before disembarking in Venice on Nautica, now from £1,199 per person for an Inside stateroom.

Majestic Inspiration: 14 nights from £1,399, saving up to £1,529pp PLUS $1,000 on board credit.

Departing August 2, cruise through the magical Aegean Sea on a 14-night cruise on board Nautica and save up to £1,529pp for an Inside Stateroom, based on two sharing, with a $1,000 credit/stateroom. The sailing departs from Venice and continues into the Aegean Sea cruising through Croatia, Greece, Italy, Monaco and France before disembarking in Barcelona.

For more info, visit www.oceaniacruises.co.uk or luxury cruise specialists The Cruise Line Ltd.

Try A Mini-Cruise To Denmark

Visit one of the various museums in Esbjerg with DFDS; or, if you’ve a head for heights, stroll up to the famous water tower and take in a beautiful panoramic view of the town. Alternatively, head to the beach for a stroll and admire the huge white sculptures, Man Meets the Sea, or visit the island of Fanø, a haven for wildlife.

You see, there is a lot to do a min-cruise top denmark, these days. And, after all the day-time fun, return to the ship for a peaceful night’s sleep before boarding a coach next morning to the Medieval town of Ribe. Spend the day wandering the cobbled streets and browsing in the quaint shops before heading back to the ship for your relaxing cruise home.

What's Included

Three nights onboard ship in an en suite cabin (including 1 night in Esbjerg port), dinner on the outward departure, breakfast on the first morning, transfer to Ribe and time to explore Esbjerg at your leisure.

Departs Harwich on May 8.

Alternatively, for a longer break, try a 4-night Cruise-and-Drive from Harwich to Ribe from £252pp, including carriage of a standard car, 2 nights onboard in an en suite cabin and 2 nights in a self-catering apartment at Ribe Holiday Centre.

For more info, visit http://www.dfds.co.uk/.

Festive Break to Esbjerg and Ribe

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Cruise overnight from Harwich with DFDS and enjoy some delicious food in the onboard restaurant before watching the entertainment or settling down in your ensuite cabin to watch a film on demand. After a peaceful night's sleep, arrive in the quaint city of Esbjerg.

Spend the day exploring the town's boutiques, coffee shops and museums before returning to the cruise ferry for a good night's sleep.

Next morning, enjoy breakfast before a short coach transfer to Denmark's oldest town, Ribe. With its cobbled streets and half-timbered houses, this is the perfect place to enjoy a gentle stroll and soak up the atmosphere. After a full day's exploration, head back to the cruise ferry for your journey home.

What's included:

* 3 nights onboard ship in an en suite cabin
* Dinner on the 5th December
* Breakfast on the 6th
* Transfer to Ribe on the 7th
* Time to explore Esbjerg at your leisure
* Time to explore Ribe at your leisure
* Live onboard entertainment

Departs Harwich on 5th December, from £131pp

To find out more, visit http://www.dfds.co.uk/.

Allure of the Seas and Twin Funnels

By guest blogger Steve Newman

With its twin funnels lowered for the first time, new cruise ship Allure of the Seas has passed under the Storebaelt Bridge with a tiny amount of breathing space. The 18km-long Storebaelt Bridge stretches between the Danish islands of Zealand and Flynn and towers to a height of 254 metres (833ft) with the road it carries at 65 metres (213ft) above the sea.

Allure of the Seas also stands at 65m at its highest point – the twin funnel stacks. The architects from Royal Caribbean behind the design of the new ship developed funnels that retract inside the stack to reduce its height by one metre, thus allowing the vessel to pass under the bridge. The tight manoeuvre took place as Allure made its way to its new permanent home, Fort Lauderdale in Florida via the North Sea, Dover Straits and English Channel having left the STX shipyard in Turku, Finland, on October 29.

The first paying guests will join Allure on December 1 when the ship begins offering cruises in the Caribbean for the first time. Prices for a nine-night fly/cruise, including flights from the UK for a seven-night voyage, start from £1,470 per person.

At 225,282 gross registered tonnes, Allure can accommodate over 6,200 guests and is 360 meters and 5mm long (1,187ft). If stood upright, bow to stern, the ship would dwarf the One Canada Square building at London’s Canary Wharf and New York’s Chrysler building.

Featuring huge outdoor spaces, highlights include an open air park – Central Park – longer than a football pitch, a two-level shopping street, 17 different bars, over 20 restaurants and cafes, two rock climbing walls, two FlowRider surf simulators, a zip-line ride and even a large outdoor AquaTheater for high diver performances and water shows.

For more information, see http://www.allureoftheseas.com/. (Photo: Simon Brooke Webb)

Media Rubbish!

You have to wonder about the media sometimes (only sometimes?).

The grand new Oasis of the Seas is officially launched into Royal Caribbean ownership and makes its way serenely out to sea via the Great Belt bridge in Denmark.

And this is one of the headlines on a so-called News agency:

‘World's largest cruise ship comes within two feet of disaster on its maiden voyage’

Not the fact the ship successfully negotiated a major (and planned for) navigational obstacle and is now ready for a glittering introduction to the cruise community, with the capacity to grab the attention (and interest) of a whole new range of potential future passengers.

No, the ship came within ‘two feet of disaster’. Not just a bit of a funnel-scraping embarrassment but a major, calamitous failure of life and limb. The world’s largest cruise ship was just moments from another Titanic.

What a joke.

Does anyone in this supposed News agency actually bother to read the drivel they pass off as ‘news’ before they put it out there?

Did they bother to think that Royal Caribbean did actually know where the ship was going, what the possible snags might be and how to deal with them capably and without ‘disaster’?

It just goes to show what you have to put up with when you do something epic and ground-breaking. No matter how successful you think you have been, there is always someone willing to insist that you ‘nearly failed.’