Discover New Experiences With Celebrity Silhouette

Be among the inaugural cruise season crowd aboard Celebrity Cruises’ brand new ship Celebrity Silhouette on a 12-night Holy Land fly/cruise from just £1,072 per person (based on two people sharing an inside stateroom).

Silhouette offers a host of brand new onboard venues and experiences including the interactive “Lawn Club Grill,” where guests can select and grill their own meats alongside expert chefs; “The Alcoves” relaxing, private, Wi-Fi-equipped cabanas on the real grass lawn; and “The Hideaway” with private tree-houses available where guests can read, listen to music and surf the net.

The price includes return flights from London Heathrow, transfers and a 12-night cruise departing from Civitavecchia (Rome) en route to Palermo (Sicily), Haifa (Israel), Ashdod (for Jerusalem), Mykonos (Greece) and Naples/Capri (Italy) before returning to Civitavecchia; meals and entertainment onboard and all relevant cruise taxes/fees.

Price is based on an October 10 departure.



For more info, visit www.celebritycruises.co.uk. or, for bookings, consult the specialist cruise travel agents of The Cruise Line Ltd.

Great Offers From Oceania

Those looking for a real cruise bargain this month could do a lot worse than consider these eight special offers from Oceania Cruises for the autumn:

7th September: Venice to Istanbul, 12 nights from £1,799

Oceania has a saving of up to £1,451pp off a 12-night cruise through the Mediterranean from Venice to Istanbul on board Marina, the company’s new, luxury ship, plus a credit of $1,000 per stateroom. The sailing now costs from £1,799pp or upgrade to a Penthouse suite for £2,399pp (saving £2,245pp). Prices in all cases are based on two sharing and include gourmet dining in a choice of six restaurants at no supplement, complimentary bottled water and soft drinks, but exclude flights.

19th September: 12 night Greek island cruise from £1,499pp

Marina has a spectacular 12-night sailing from Istanbul to Athens (plus $1,000 per stateroom onboard credit) with a saving of £1,327pp. The voyage embarks from Istanbul and visits Rhodes, Limassol, Haifa, Jerusalem, Crete, Patmos and Volos before disembarking in Athens.

1st October: 14 nights Istanbul to Barcelona from £1,399pp

Cruise from Istanbul to Barcelona via Ephesus, Patmos, Crete, Marmaris, Alanya, Limassol, Haifa and Valletta on board Oceania's mid-sized luxury cruise ship Nautica. The 14-night sailing now costs from £1,399 per person with $1,000 on board credit, saving up to £1,467 per person.

3rd October: 12 nights from Venice to Istanbul saving £1,061

Oceania has a saving of up to £1,618 off this Med cruise from Venice to Istanbul on board mid-sized Insignia, plus a credit of $1000 per stateroom. The sailing now costs from £1,199pp (was £2260, saving £1,061), with Penthouse suites from £2,399pp (was £4,017).

15th October: Mediterranean Rhapsody 14-night Med cruise from £1,749pp

Cruise through the magical Aegean Sea on a 14-night Insignia cruise, saving up to £1,420 per person. The sailing from Istanbul to Barcelona offers a $1,000 on board credit per stateroom and visits Kavalla, Ephesus, Rhodes, Santorini, Taormina, Amalfi, Rome, Florence, Pisa, Tuscany, Monaco and Marseille before disembarking in Barcelona.

1st October: Venice to Athens, just £999pp

Cruise from Venice to Athens along Croatia’s Adriatic coastline, visiting Kotor, Corfu, Kusadasi in Turkey and the Greek islands. This 10-night sailing on Marina was £1,890, and also offers a $1,000 per stateroom credit for onboard purchases.

25th October: Rome to Athens, £999pp

A 10-night sailing from Rome to Athens, along Italy’s west coast, visiting Sicily, Sardinia, mainland Greece and Kusadasi in Turkey can be booked for just £999 per person, with a $1,000 per stateroom credit for onboard purchases.

21st October: `Legacies of Antiquity’, 12-night Med cruise from £1,499pp

Marina sets sail from Rome to Istanbul with prices from £1,499 per person and a $1,000 on board credit, saving £1,185 per person. The voyage embarks from Rome and continues up Italy’s west coast to Istanbul via Florence, Pisa, Tuscany, Corsica, Sardinia, Sorrento, Palermo, Malta, Athens, Volos and Ephesus.

For more info, see www.oceaniacruises.co.uk or contact the UK's luxury cruise specialists of The Cruise Lin Ltd.

The Med's Top 10

I thought this press release, ahead of the April launch of the new Voyages to Antiquity operation (using the former Aegean I, heavily rebuilt as Aegean Odyssey), was worth repeating for those who like to enjoy the classical side of the Mediterranean.

With the new operation - which is being pioneered by Gerry Herrod, the man who created Orient Lines and Discovery Cruises (now Voyages of Discovery) - now just 2 months away, the company asked its historical advisor and author John Julius Norwich (aka Lord Norwich) to select his Top 10 historical sites from around the Med.

Here's what he said:

“To list one’s 10 favourite places in the Mediterranean and its hinterland is a tall order indeed. No other area on earth possesses a tenth of the quantity of superb historical sites to be found between the Pillars of Hercules and the coast of the Levant; and if we extend our range – as Voyages to Antiquity does – to cover Upper Egypt and St Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai, Petra and Palmyra, the task becomes more difficult still.”

However, Lord Norwich has been able to complete the task, and his 10 ‘never-to-be-forgotten’ sites are listed below. More importantly, all the destinations are offered in Voyages to Antiquity's inaugural season (personally, I'd have Istanbul No 1, but I'm not going to quibble!):

1. Palermo, Sicily - Visit the Sicilian capital to experience the dazzling Palatine Chapel and the Cathedral of Monreale, with its almost unbelievable 12th-century mosaics and equally magical cloister.

2. Cefalu, Sicily - The mosaic of the Pantocrator in the apse of Cefalu Cathedral is among the greatest portraits of Jesus in all Christian art.

3. Istanbul, Turkey - Istanbul is home to the Church of St Sophia, one of the greatest buildings in the world. And don’t miss the Harrowing of Hell fresco in the 14th-century Church of St Saviour in Chora.

4. Venice, Italy - You could single out St Mark’s Square or any one of a number of churches, but the ultimate miracle is the city itself.

5. Petra, Jordan - To come upon the ‘Treasury’ – a spectacular example of rock-cut architecture probably dating from the first century BC – is one of the great coups de theatre that the world has to offer.

6. Palmyra, Syria (pictured above) - The ruined capital of Queen Zenobia, far out in the Syrian desert, is a site as mysterious as it is beautiful.

7. Krak des Chevaliers, Syria - The most complete Crusader castle to be found anywhere, and the most impressive. To step into this fortress atop a 650-metre-high hill is to return to the 11th century.

8. Aphrodisias, Turkey - Thanks to its remoteness in the hills surrounding the valley of the Meander River, this remarkable ancient city is relatively free of tourists and utterly unspoilt.

9. Luxor and Karnak, Egypt - Ancient Egypt exerts an extraordinary spell on all visitors. The temples open at 6am, so get up early and enjoy the cool of the morning. (You will also have them virtually to yourselves.)

10. Leptis Magna, Libya - Roman ruins don’t come more magnificent than these – and they remain utterly unspoilt by the modern world.

Cruise note: The 382-passenger Aegean Odyssey will be sailing around the Mediterranean from May to November 2010. Fares start from £1,995 for a 15-day cruise, including shore excursions, gratuities, wine with dinner and scheduled flights on British Airways.