Fred Olsen Sign Up Explorer Tim Severin

Explorer, author and historian Tim Severin is the latest illustrious name to join Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ Vistas programme as a special guest speaker. Perhaps best known for his Viking Series of historical novels, Tim’s new association with the cruise line is especially appropriate given the company’s Norwegian heritage.

During a spectacular career, Tim has: retraced the footsteps of Sindbad the Sailor, sailing from Muscat to China; steered a Bronze Age galley to seek the landfalls of Jason and the Argonauts and Ulysses; ridden the routes of the first Crusader knights across Europe to the Holy Land; travelled on horseback with nomads in Mongolia to research Genghis Khan; traced the origins of Moby Dick amongst the aboriginal sea hunters of the Pacific; and sailed a leather boat across the Atlantic from Ireland to Newfoundland, recreating the route taken by Irish monk St. Brendan the Navigator. One of his most recent quests has been to identify the ‘real’ Robinson Crusoe.

This eminent explorer and author will feature on ‘East of Suez: History and Culture,’ a sector of Black Watch’s 2012 World Cruise’. Departing from Southampton on January 11, this 32-night voyage covers the cruise as far as Singapore. Ports of call are Gibraltar, Cueta, Valletta, Port Said, then a transit of the Suez Canal, Sharm el Sheikh and Safaga. Tim will be joining in Safaga and stay aboard for the visits to Salalah (Oman), Mumbai (for an overnight stay), Cochin, Port Blair (Andaman Islands) and Singapore.

Prices start from £2,379 per person, based on two adults sharing an outside, twin cabin, Grade ‘D’. The cost includes return flights from Singapore to London and transfers, accommodation and all meals and entertainment on board, as well as port and airport taxes. There is no extra charge for taking part in Vistas activities.

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

Regent Offer Four New Early Winter Voyages

Regent Seven Sea’s free and unlimited shore excursion programme is designed to bring out the best of each destination and provide a carefully considered and safe way to explore off the beaten track destinations. Sailing on the all-suite, all-balcony Seven Seas Voyager, where guests are one of only a few hundred, the line has announced four new cruises taking in the best of the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, enabling guests to experience free excursions to some of the world’s holiest and most ancient cities.



The four new itineraries include calls to fascinating ports such as Ephesus, Safaga and Haifa as well as a transit of the Suez Canal and extended overnight stays at Ashdod and Petra, to provide an unforgettable east-meets-west experience. Choose from:

Luxor to Limassol: 8 nights, Nov 12

Calling at Petra (overnight), Sharm El Sheikh, transit Suez Canal, Ashdod (overnight), Haifa, Limassol. Balcony Suite from £ 2,675 per person.

Limassol to Barcelona: 8 nights, Nov 20

Calling at Alanya, Rhodes, Ephesus, Valletta, Barcelona (overnight). Balcony Suite from £2,350 per person.

Barcelona to Ashdod: 8 nights, November 28

Calling at Barcelona, Valletta, Rhodes, Limassol, Haifa, Ashdod (overnight). Balcony Suite from £2,330 per person.



Ashdod to Dubai: 13 nights, Dec 6

Calling at Suez Canal (transit), Luxor (overnight), Petra (overnight), Cruise the Red Sea/Arabian Sea, Salalah (Oman), Port Qaboos (Oman), Dubai. Balcony Suite from £3,343 per person.



As the most all-inclusive luxury cruise line, fares include: free return flights on every cruise (or free Business Class flights on all Med sailings in suites C-MS), free unlimited shore excursions in every port, transfers and government/port taxes, concierge amenities, all fine dining including speciality restaurants, all drinks and beverages including fine wines, selected Champagnes, premium branded soft drinks, all onboard activities, 24-hour room service and in-suite dining.

For more info, visit www.rssc.com or contact the UK's specialist luxury-cruise agents of The Cruise Line Ltd.

Azamara's 'Extended Voyages'

Azamara Club Cruises has launched 'Extended Voyages' which allow guests to join two, three, four or more consecutive cruises into one experience. By combining select consecutive cruises onboard Azamara Quest or Azamara Journey guests can embark on a holiday of a lifetime, ranging from 11 to 78-nights without repeated ports of call.

In addition, guests booking consecutive cruises will receive £200 per cruise, per stateroom for cruises of eight days or less and £300 per cruise, per stateroom for voyages of nine days or more for greater value. Savings double on sailings between October 1 and December 31 this year, if booked by July 31.

Guests wanting a longer adventure can book Journey's 77-night cruise from Stockholm to Civitavecchia (for Rome). Departing June 27, 2012, the sailing features 25 overnight stays, four being two consecutive nights, where guests can experience the nightlife of Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Paris and Seville. This Extended Voyage features the Norwegian Fjords itinerary, which highlights the North Seas Jazz Festival, one of the world's premiere musical festivals.

For those keen on exploring the Far East, Journey's Piraeus (Athens) to Hong Kong cruise departs on October 26, 2012. This 72-night cruise, combines six cruises - Holy Land, Egypt & Suez Canal; Luxor, Petra, Sinai & Eilat; Luxor, Petra & Sinai; The Spice Coast & Ceylon; Burma & Andaman Sea Islands; Vietnam & Thailand, Christmas and New Year - for an in-depth exploration of the region, plus an opportunity to spend Christmas and New Year in Hong Kong through a Land Discoveries excursion.

Quest departs Singapore on February 29, 2012, on a 78-night cruise, sailing from Singapore to Piraeus. This combines six cruises - Trade Routes to the Orient; Japan & Taiwan; Manila, Sabah, Borneo, Komodo & Bali; Spice Route; Petra, Sinai & Luxor; Holy Land, Egypt & Suez Canal.

For more info, look up http://www.azamaraclubcruises.co.uk/ or contact the luxury cruise specialists of The Cruise Line Ltd.

MSC Lirica to be based in Abu Dhabi

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Abu Dhabi's ambition to become an international cruise hub has received a significant boost following the signing of a landmark co-operation agreement between Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and MSC Cruises that will see the company deploy one of its top vessels to the UAE capital on a home-port basis from October 2011. Abu Dhabi's Mina Zayed Port will serve as the primary embarkation and disembarkation point for MSC Lirica.

Surrounding Lirica's 19 regional forays will be repositioning cruises from and to Genoa in Italy. On October 14, 2011, the vessel will depart Genoa for a 17-day/16-night maiden voyage to Abu Dhabi, where she will begin her maiden regional season.

A southland course will take Lirica through the Mediterranean, calling at Naples and Port Said (Egypt), before going through the Suez Canal and reaching Aqaba (Jordan). The vessel stops in Salalah and Muscat in Oman, then Dubai, before reaching her home port in Abu Dhabi. The luxury ship then leaves the UAE for Genoa on March 9, 2012.

With regional tours departing Abu Dhabi every Sunday from October 28, 2011, Lirica will travel round the Arabian Gulf peninsula to Muscat, before turning round en route for the UAE's eastern emirate of Fujairah on the Indian Ocean. It will continue heading north to Bahrain, then sail southwards to Dubai, before completing its journey in Abu Dhabi.

For further information log on to http://www.msccruises.co.uk/ or visit specialist agents The Cruise Line Ltd.