The Land of Ice and Fire

By guest blogger Steve Newman

You can now visit the Northen seas with Saga for 14 nights, departing from Dover on June 28, 2011 from just £2264 per person.

Enjoy a thrilling two-week voyage absorbing the breathtaking landscape of Iceland and returning via Norway. Discover beauty and be mesmerised by the freshness and colours of nature, taking in the puffin colonies and the spectacular Godafoss Falls.

The journey reveals the dramatic geological treasures of Iceland with its frozen coastline, bubbling geysers and beautiful fjords, as well as discovering the thriving capital of Reykjavik. You also call at the Orkney Islands, with their fascinating ancient heritage, and remote Faroe Islands.

Highlights:

• Discovering Iceland’s hot bed of geothermal activity, eerie lava formations, hot springs and glaciers
• Visiting the Laufas Farm Museum and gain an insight into early Icelandic farm life
• Visiting the amazing Godafoss Falls – Europe’s most powerful waterfalls, punctuated with dozens of rainbows.
• The Orkney Islands archaeological sites, including the Stone Age Ring of Brodgar and the Neolithic village of Skara Brae (above)
• Exploring Norway’s cultural city of Bergen, with its colourful gabled houses

Ports of call:

Dover, England – Kirkwell, Orkney Islands – Heimaey, Iceland – Reykjavik, Iceland - Grundarfjordur, Iceland – Isafjord, Iceland – Akureyri, Iceland – Seydisfjordur, Iceland – Torshavn, Faroe Islands – Bergen, Norway – Dover, England

Price Includes:

• Travel insurance
• All on-board gratuities
• Entertainment and activities
• Welcome cocktail party and Captain’s Dinner
• All meals onboard, including 24-hour room service
• All port taxes and visas
• UK mainland travel service to your departure point

For further details, look up http://www.sagacruises.co.uk/

A True Mediterranean Odyssey

By guest blogger Steve Newman

The Mediterranean's sunny climate, historic ports and enchanting cities have made it an eternally popular cruise destination. The problem arises when deciding where exactly to go, as there are a plethora of voyages on offer in this extensive region.

One option is join Saga on their Saga Pearl II for a two-week exploration around the Iberian Peninsula and into the Western Mediterranean, departing on 29 April 2011 from Southampton. This ship (above) underwent a £20million three-month refit and now recalls the same stylish surroundings and superb service that cruise-goers have come to expect from the company’s elegant ships.

She has a smaller size than most vessels (just 446 passengers, and with 60 single cabins), and offers a more relaxed and intimate atmosphere to her guests. Deluxe cabins have twin beds, some of which can be converted to a king-size on request. These cabins have a bath, with a shower and wc, and some cabins benefit from a balcony.

The wooden floors and al fresco soft sofas on the Bridge Deck and a library with over 3,000 books give the ship a real private yacht feel, while the open-dining policy of sitting with who you like enhances this feeling.

The voyage visits Lisbon, Gibraltar, Mahon in Menorca (with those wonderful steps that lead you from the harbour up in to the city) and then on to Marseilles, Barcelona, Ibiza Town and Vigo in Northern Spain before returning to Southampton.

All of the ports of call have ample time to thoroughly explore these wonderful maritime and architectural gems. However, what Saga does extremely well is the choice and standard of their excursions and I have to say those being offered on this voyage are very good indeed.

Saga are also exhibiting at the Cruise Show in Birmingham in October.

Farewell Black Prince, Hello Marco Polo!

Cruising from UK ports has been on a steady upward curve for the past 10 years and looked to be heading for record levels in 2010, until Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines announced that their beloved Black Prince would be leaving them after this season.

The loss of this small-but-popular vessel - only 11,209 tons but with the history and passenger appreciation level of a megaliner - had threatened to leave quite a gap in the ex-UK cruise portofolio, especially with the departure of other small, traditional vessels like Saga Cruises' Saga Rose.

But, in a move that was both surprising and smart, there will be not one but TWO new choices for fans of cruising from a variety of British ports.

Cruise and Maritime Services have been a player in the ex-UK charter market for quite a few years now, but they had noted the loss of Black Prince and Co and determined that something needed to be done to fill the void. And how.

Forming their own British cruise 'brand,' Cruise & Maritime Voyages, they have extended their charter relationship with the ship's owners and turned it into a year-round proposition sailing from British shores.

Her itineraries (from January 2, 2010) will take her on winter voyages to the Amazon, Orinoco and West Indies, all from the little-used Essex port of Tilbury. In the summer, she will sail for Scandinavia, the Baltic and Russia, again all from Tilbury.

More senior cruisers will also be keen to know Marco Polo will operate as an 'adults only' vessel, meaning passengers will be 16 and up only. So no children's facilities at all, and none of the shenanigans that some of the bigger, family-intensive ships have reported in recent years.

However, not content with adding this long-popular gem (she sailed for many years for the old Orient Lines before NCL unceremoniously ditched that brand in 2007), C&M have also decided to bring another traditional ship into their fold by adding the 17,000-ton Ocean Countess to their stable.

The former Cunard Countess, launched in 1975, she will add more classic British cruise style and a host of options for ex-UK voyaging, including Hull, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Greenock.

Starting in April, she will operate a wide-ranging series of cruises to the Baltic, Scandinavia, Mediterranean and the Canaries, all with that 'no-fly' option which appeals to many. She will also undergo a major renovation (costing some $5million) before becoming a Cruise & Maritime vessel.

So, just when you thought it was time to bemoan the dwindling band of 'old faithfuls' operating to that sector of the market who appreciate that smaller and older can, actually, be quite a pleasant contrast to large and modern, along comes not one but two new options.

All aboard now............!