…suggests it will not be in place before this year’s peak Mediterranean and Europe cruising season. But keep an eye on this if you have any European cruising planned for this year. Second, also at the time of making this, there is potentially a key change happening to the United States ESTA, which is their electronic travel authorization. They’re proposing to bring it more in line with some requirements of their full travel visa application. This m…
…wer than many of the scheduled airlines I have used to commute to and from European destinations. The seats, even those without the extra leg room, had the same leg room as those other airlines. We had paid the premium to have an extra leg room seat at the exit, which cost around £40/ US$60 per person on each flight. The leg room was huge, and I could easily stretch out my long legs without even touching the seat in front. There was no free snack…
One of the options when visiting any of the main holiday destinations in Europe like Kefalonia in Greece, is to avoid hotels and resorts and find a place of your own by hiring a villa. This is often a more cost effective option if you are travelling with friends and children. Most will have a pool and so also means that you can stay at the villa some days, and avoid packing up for a day on the beach. On a recent trip to Kefalonia we hired a stunn…
…ptember to March when they reposition their ships into the area during the European Winter as it is too cold to run a Mediterranean schedule. Cruise lines tend to be quite nationalistic about where they promote, and so attract the bulk of their passengers. This is one thing to consider as most seem to therefore have the very vast majority of passengers from their home countries on board. For example, the P&O ship I was on was a definitely about 99…
…ny Continental Europeans go as there are not that many direct flights from Europe. All beaches are public. Although there’s a beach in front of a development or in front of a resort, it’s not only for the guests or residents of that resort. All beaches are public, which I think is a great idea. People tend to stick more to wherever they’re staying, usually, but anybody can swim on any beach. Barbados itself is a relatively expensive island to visi…
…on and Paris? This is also a question I get asked a lot by people visiting Europe and hoping to see both cities. The short answer is: There is no competition. To travel between London and Paris, the Eurostar train is the best way to get to go. The main reasons are: Getting through the airport these days. With the needed security, it is so stressful, cumbersome and time consuming going through the airport these days (especially Heathrow). You queue…
…affordable package holidays, and then low cost flights, made travelling to Europe and guaranteed sunny and warm weather. The problem with taking a summer holiday in England is that the weather is unpredictable. You can get glorious hot and sunny days, or you can find your week or two is full of grey and rain. In their day, English seaside towns were buzzing and popular. Many had holiday camps, such as Butlins. They offered affordable and entertain…
…n, the Eastern & Oriental train in Asia, Royal Scotsman train, Grand Hotel Europe in St Petersburg and Hotel Cipriani in Venice. 3: They tend not to push the Orient Express name to the forefront of their properties, other than the train. This means that people do not always know they are going to an Orient Express venue, something that they are looking to evolve and change so that people come to better understand their diversity, and the quality o…
…ally see all that the city has to offer! Madrid is the 3rd largest city in Europe based on population, after London and Berlin. Situated almost slap bang in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, Madrid is the capital of Spain with a long history. There are huge wide streets and boulevards, and across the years there have been major and grand plans as the city expanded which meant the city has a sense and feeling of open spaces and feels less crampe…
…sons where cruise lines move their ships to and from the Caribbean area in Europe/ USA winter to the summer in the Med. They usually involve 5 or 6 nights at sea and 4 or so nights at some ports. They tend to be great prices as more people seem to like routes with lots of ports, and also many people like to start and end at the same port. These though give you the best of many worlds! (6) DON’T WORRY ABOUT GETTING SEASICK I was really worried abou…
…transatlantic cruise as our trip “home” to the USA after living 6 years in Europe. I found your podcast “First timer cruise tips” extremely helpful and it provided several answers that I could not find from Cruisecritic.co.uk. I also enjoyed your podcast covering your QM2 Eastbound transatlantic cruise and along with your videos, they constitute the Ultimate Guide to the QM2. I do have a few questions that I’m hoping you can advise me on: First, w…
