Beat The Winter Chill With Fred Olsen

An ideal post-Christmas getaway is Fred Olsen's Braemar’s 15-night Caribbean fly-cruise, departing on January 5, 2012, an exciting itinerary that includes a late-night stay in the colourful and vibrant Cuban city of Santiago de Cuba. You also fly from London Gatwick or Manchester to Barbados on exclusive, fully-escorted Fred Olsen charters.

The cruise starts with an overnight stay in Barbados (above), then visits Bonaire and Aruba, Montego Bay in Jamaica, and on to Santiago de Cuba, the island’s former capital. The cruise also visits the Turks & Caicos Islands, Tortola and Antigua, with a scenic journey through the Grenadines, en route back to Barbados for the return flights.

Prices start from £1,394 per person, based on two adults sharing an inside twin cabin, Grade I, and include flights and transfers, all meals and entertainment on board, and port/airport taxes. Olsen is also offering some attractive Canary Islands cruises this winter, representing excellent value.

One such cruise is Balmoral’s 13-night cruise departing from Southampton on December 8. The cruise first visits Madeira, calling at the capital Funchal, then visits the Canary Islands of La Palma, Tenerife, La Gomera and Gran Canaria. The final port of call is Portugal’s vibrant capital city, Lisbon.

An additional attraction on this cruise is a theme of ‘History of the British Royal Family’ as part of the line's award-winning onboard enrichment programme, Vistas. The programme covers a comprehensive range of topics, from wine-tasting and gardening to antiques and photography, hosted by experts in their relevant fields. The expert hosting the Royal Family theme is David V. Thomas MVO, the former Crown Jeweller, who was responsible for the care and conservancy of the Crown Jewels from 1991 to 2007, as well as the personal collections of Her Majesty the Queen and other members of the Royal Family.

Prices for this cruise start from £737 per person, based on two adults sharing an inside, twin cabin, Grade I, and include accommodation, all meals and entertainment on board, and port taxes.

Find out more at www.fredolsencruises.com or contact the UK's leading cruise specialist agents of The Cruise Line Ltd.

Gerald Scarfe Joins Fred. Olsen

As part of its growing cruise enhancement programme, Vistas, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is delighted to announce that the artist and satirical cartoonist, Gerald Scarfe, CBE, RDI, will be joining Braemar’s cruise to the Atlantic Islands next April.

Best known for his biting and highly individual political cartoons, as well as his collaboration with Pink Floyd on their epic production of The Wall, Scarfe was born in St. John’s Wood, North London, in 1936 and started to draw and create models as he recovered from bouts of asthma as a child.

He started drawing cartoons for national newspapers and magazines, including the Daily Sketch, Evening Standard and Punch magazine and was one of the early contributors to Private Eye. His work is also familiar from the opening credits of the 1980s TV series ‘Yes Minister’ and ‘Yes, Prime Minister’. From drawing, he moved into creating papier-mâché models of politicians, and gradually into television, film and other areas of the arts.

Scarfe was awarded the distinction of ‘Royal Designer for Industry’ in 1989, in recognition of his talents as an illustrator. He was then awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2008, remarking: “I am pleased, but surprised, since I’ve spent so much of my professional life being rude to people.”

He will host a ‘Drawing’ theme on Braemar's M1208 cruise to the Atlantic Islands, a 14-night voyage that departs from Dover on April 14, 2012, calling at Lisbon and visiting the islands of Lanzarote, Tenerife and La Palma in the Canaries, and two ports in the Azores, Praia da Vitoria and Ponta Delgada, before returning to Dover.



Prices start from £1,429 per person, based on two adults sharing an inside twin cabin, Grade ‘I’, and includes accommodation, all meals and entertainment on board, and port taxes. There is no extra charge for taking part in Gerald’s Vistas workshops.

Find out more about by visiting www.fredolsencruises.com or the specialist cruise agents of The Cruise Line Ltd.