Breaking Blue : Helping you explore the world!

When you’re fretting over what to do for the next summer holiday, why not try taking a cruise holiday for a change. Many people who have never considered cruise holidays are very pleasantly surprised. After hearing tales of wall-to-wall entertainment they may have thought that a cruise holiday would be like an over-organised holiday camp, but they couldn’t be more wrong.

There is indeed a great deal of entertainment available aboard the modern cruise liners, but you don’t have to take an active part in any of it. There’s certainly no Hi-de-Hi wakeup call first thing in the morning, and there are no redcoats either. Everything is modern and geared towards satisfying your every whim.

Many cruise liners have restaurants designed by top chefs like Gary Rhodes, and the cuisine on offer is equal to that served up in the Savoy. Entertainment is there in many forms if you want to take advantage of it, and there are special kids’ activities to keep the young ones fully occupied.

A cruise liner is a vast, floating hotel, a safe and secure environment where the kids can get on with their thing whilst you take a welcome break and enjoy the bars, restaurants, bistros, cinemas and live entertainment on offer throughout the ship.

There’s nothing quite like a cruising holiday to unwind in style, being taken to different exotic locations every day and being attended to by a professional crew who place your enjoyment as their top priority.
 
Think about cruising next time you’re stuck for a holiday idea.  

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Carnival Cruise Lines is one of the world’s most popular cruise providers. Carnival Cruise Lines have a fleet of 19 ships, all of which are family-friendly floating cities offering loads of activities to keep the kids happily occupied and plenty of entertainment for adults in the evenings.

The atmosphere on Carnival cruises is relaxed and informal, and there’s everything you could possibly want from a cruise holiday, with the added bonus of constantly changing views. Carnival cruises have spacious cabins for families, couples and singles alike, and there are child-friendly menus in all the restaurants as well as kids’ clubs and great excursions ashore. Or just stay on board and take advantage of the many facilities on offer.

Carnival cruises offer all the advantages of a traditional holiday, with lots of group activities thrown in as the vessel moves from one exotic destination to another. There are wine-tasting classes, trivia quizzes, and even volleyball and professional golf coaching to keep you stimulated and occupied.

With many bars, bistros, restaurants, stage shows and cinemas available across the decks, you’ll never be short of something to do, and late in the evenings with the kids safely wrapped up you can enjoy a bottle of wine on your own balcony and watch the world drift by.

The kids probably won’t want to come home after experiencing the rich variety of foods and entertainments available on a Carnival Cruise Lines break, and you’ll wonder why you’d never thought of cruise holidays before.

Try a Carnival cruise the next time you’re looking for a fun holiday.

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Cruise holidays come with some fantastic advantages that not everyone is aware of.  You can only imagine how superb they are until you try them out for yourself.

For example, many cruise holidays enable you to see more than one place while you are away.  If you take a normal holiday the chances are you will be based in one location the whole time.  A cruise is different because you may call at several ports while you are away.  You could end up seeing several different countries depending on how long your cruise lasts for.

You can also stop fretting about the stresses of actually getting to your destination in the first place.  All you have to do is make it to the port your cruise ship will be departing from.  Once you get on board you are there – your room is ready for you and you can start enjoying the facilities straightaway.  It’s no wonder people love this aspect of cruise holidays – you don’t have to hang around in airports for ages before you start having fun.

You also have lots of restaurants and facilities on board that are an essential part of all cruise holidays.  Every ship has its own unique character and some have spas as well, which can make it even easier to have a relaxing break. 

As you can see there are lots of advantages to taking this kind of holiday.  You can also enjoy short cruise holidays as well as much longer ones that are away for several weeks.  Which would suit you best?

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In the past, cruises have been associated, either with the elite in society, or the older generation, so a cruise holiday was not seen as suitable for either families or young people. However, there has recently been a renaissance in cruise holidays, so now anyone can take a cruise.

Some cruise lines offer cruise holidays that are particularly aimed at families. On board there will be children’s clubs and activities, as well as facilities that all the family can enjoy.

For those who are more interested in the culture and history of the places that they visit, there are cruises that are designed to appeal more to adults. These will frequently run courses in wine tasting, local history or art, and may offer cruises to some more exotic locations such as South America or the Far East. Cruises to Alaska or the Arctic Circle are also popular. The Arctic would be impossible to visit any other way, as going ashore is strictly controlled in order to preserve the fragile ecosystem. The cruises offer an opportunity to see some unique wildlife, and to gain an understanding of the scientific work carried out at the base camps.

With more young people choosing to take cruise holidays, cruise lines have designed cruises to suit people who want more excitement and activities. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s Voyager-class ships are equipped with ice-skating rinks, rock-climbing walls and the FlowRider – a powerful wave that can be surfed. Carnival cruises offer survival adventures in Belize, on which passengers can learn to cook jungle-style. P&O Cruises offers its travellers the chance to hire a Ferrari F430 for a day in Alicante, or a bike ride for a cheaper option. Princess Cruises offers zip-wiring through trees, and in Alaska this can be combined with a bobsled ride.

Other types of cruise holidays include cruise weddings or honeymoons, river cruises, Christmas cruises, mini cruises and many more. Cruise and stay holidays offer the chance to combine a cruise with a hotel stay.

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If you are considering taking a cruise at some point and you have started looking for something suitable, you may well have come across Baltic cruises. These are quite unique because the Baltic Sea is mostly inland, surrounded by various European countries including Poland, Sweden and Germany.  This gives you an ideal chance to explore Europe on a cruise that will enable you to see lots of countries in one go.

What are typical Baltic cruises like?  A good example comes from Princess Cruises and it lasts for fourteen nights.  When you leave the UK you will go and visit destinations in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Norway and Estonia.  As you can see, Baltic cruises really pack in the destinations and because the countries are relatively close together, huddled round the Baltic Sea, you can visit a lot of places in a short space of time.

Because of where the Baltic Sea lies, you can also enjoy a full seven day cruise to this part of the world when you leave from the UK.  Even a week long cruise can take you to four different countries, as some examples from Fred Olsen Cruise Lines and other providers demonstrate.

Just because many Baltic cruises take in the same countries though, don’t assume they all stop at the same ports. Always find out where they are stopping so you can choose the best cruise itinerary for you. Fourteen days allows for a lot more exploration than seven, so it may suit you better to book a longer cruise.

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When you want to go on a cruise you will have any number of companies to choose from when you make your booking.  So what makes P&O Cruises worth considering as your premier selection?

For starters there are seven ships you can choose from as the location for your holiday.  With another one – the Adonia – launching in 2011 you will see that P&O Cruises offer the best in accommodation and facilities across all their ships.

There are lots of destinations you can book with P&O; if you have ever wanted to see the fjords and visit Iceland, there is no better way to do it than on a cruise ship.  Then again if you have the time and the budget why not go all out and book your place on a world cruise? 

Their website also has a section which allows you to find the right type of cruise for you. This makes it a lot easier to search for what you need. This could be according to the length of time you want to spend cruising, or it could be related to what the cruise will be like. For instance you can search for P&O Cruises that are perfect for families.  Conversely if you are travelling with your partner and you don’t want to be bothered by kids, you can look for cruises that don’t allow children on board.

There are plenty of reasons why you should consider P&O Cruises over the competition. Which one will tempt you?

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Barbados, Havana, Montego Bay, the Cayman Islands… the names and locations of various exotic destinations for Caribbean cruises offer up some obvious clues why so many people opt for a cruise to the Caribbean. The Caribbean has long been a measure of luxury for many people. But you normally have to endure the stress of airports, long flights and many hours travel to get there.

With Caribbean cruises the journey is very different.  You can begin to relax as soon as you are on board. You will start to enjoy your holiday long before you reach your destination, and once you are there you are ready to explore without that jet lagged feeling.

When you take a Caribbean cruise you will be able to see more than just one location. Many cruises are available for seven or fourteen nights, with some going to eighteen nights or more as well. For instance a typical two week long cruise offered by Thomson Cruises takes you to various locations within the Caribbean, including Havana, Bridgetown, Kingston and Montego Bay.

In fact if you have always wanted to visit the Caribbean, a cruise is by far the best way to do it. You can explore all kinds of locations in the area without having to worry about getting from A to B. You will also benefit from enjoying the same accommodation throughout, without moving your luggage from place to place. What better way could there be to enjoy the delights of the Caribbean?

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In the early days of considering cruise holidays, you’ll probably start by picturing many of the conventionally lovely routes, like Caribbean cruises, Mediterranean cruises or Far East cruises. But it may be worth taking a closer look at the increasing number of Baltic cruises now available.

If you take this option, you’ll not only get to see some of the most beautiful architecture in the world, including authentic medieval art galleries and superb museums, but your ship will also take you up close to some of the most stunningly spectacular archipelagos on earth. They’ll simply take your breath away as you meander past. Baltic cruises are also ideal for anyone in search of a no-fly option, with many Baltic itineraries starting from ports in the UK.

The Baltic region is immense, so there are numerous different itineraries to choose from. You could try a Russian Baltic cruise, stopping at St Petersburg with its infamous ‘onion domed’ architecture. Or dock in the enchanting city of Stockholm on a Swedish Baltic cruise, where you’ll be immersed in jaw-droppingly beautiful architecture and surrounded by cafes and shops galore. Baltic cruises in Denmark will take you to the magnificent city of Copenhagen, where you’ll see the movingly beautiful statue of Hans Christian Anderson’s ‘Little Mermaid’ staring wistfully out to sea from her rock.

Cruise lines offering Baltic cruises include P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Costa Cruises. These cruises provide ample proof that traditional choices like the Caribbean and the Med, most certainly don’t have a monopoly on beauty.

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Those of us who have come to be a little self-conscious about our expanding waistlines may feel a little reticent about opting for cruise holidays. In the past, it has been all too easy to order calorie-crammed foods such as cheese-laden pizzas, burgers with fries, butter coated surf-and-turf and artery-clogging wedges of chocolate cake. With little else to do during the day but lounge beside the pool grazing on the occasional snack, cruises of the past were hardly a weight-watchers ideal vacation. But the tide, to use a marine analogy, has definitely turned.

Many of the big cruise operators have responded to public health concerns about the dangers of obesity, making substantial changes to their onboard fare and activities as a result. Executive Chef Johann Petutschnig of Royal Caribbean Cruises’ “Liberty of the Seas” notes that menus have started to include much more in the way of low-fat meats like fish and chicken, along with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Delicious vegetarian options have become increasingly popular. Costa Cruises newest vessels (the Concordia and the Serena) have even included a specialty spa restaurant, where vegetable lasagne comes ‘pasta and cheese lite’, resembling a salad of peas, mushrooms, hearts of Romaine lettuce and potatoes tossed in a wine sauce and lightly dusted with parmesan.

Add to this the superlative effort made by the big players to enhance their onboard facilities, and you’ll discover that cruises will help you lose your jelly belly, not cultivate it. The bigger vessels run by Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruises, Thomson Cruises and P&O Cruises as well as Costa and Royal Caribbean include fabulous activities, including fully equipped gyms, water-surfing simulators, miniature golf courses, rock climbing walls and, of course, superb swimming pools.

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P&O is a well known name in the cruise industry. They offer cruises to destinations worldwide and can cater for very short two night breaks right up to 98 night voyages taking in 37 ports in 21 countries.

Accommodation onboard is varied and suitable for all budgets, from indoor state rooms to deluxe penthouse suites P&O Cruises caters for everyone. All accommodation has as standard a daily maid service, refrigerator, tea and coffee making facilities, hairdryer, television, radio and telephone, safe and air conditioning. Outside staterooms also have picture windows to make the most of the view.

Evening entertainment choices onboard P&O cruises are varied and as such will have something to please everyone. Casinos and theatres are available for those who do not wish to visit the cocktail bars and night clubs; live bands and classical concerts will entertain those who won’t be joining in with the quizzes. P&O Cruises also run themed fun nights including 60’s and 70’s or Black and White ball themes.

Certain itineraries allow for overnight stay in some ports including New York, Acapulco and Barbados meaning the chance to explore the nightlife and entertainment as part of a shore excursion. Daytime shore excursions include once in a life time opportunities like a helicopter ride over Monaco or exhilarating activities like travelling though the Jamaican rainforest on a zip wire.

As an added extra P&O Cruises also offer weddings and vow renewals. A unique way to spend your honeymoon is to wake up every day in a different port.

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