All Inclusive for Fred Olsen!

Yes, you heard it right, Fred Olsen are going All Inclusive!



On selected sailings for 2013 you can now purchase an All Inclusive drinks package. So if you are anythng like me and like a few glasses of wine with your evening meal or some pre/post dinner drinks then this could be just the thing for you.

What's Included?

All inclusive in the Restaurant and at the Buffet

·        Soft drinks

·        Mineral water (by the glass)

·        Draft/ bottled beers

·        Coffee/tea

All inclusive in the Bars

·        Soft drinks and water

·        Selection of wines by the glass

·        Draft/ bottled beers

·        Selected branded/ Non Branded Spirits

·        Coffee/tea

Includes a selection of wines/ beers/ branded spirits, soft drinks and tea and coffee, with the exception of certain premium brands/ wines, liquors, cocktails, and Mini Bar products.

Adults (18 years and over) excluding service charges.What isn't included?

The all inclusive drinks package excludes all flights and transfers and all shore excursions unless indicated otherwise at the time of sale.

The all inclusive drinks package excludes all other onboard purchases including but not limited to;

·        Casino

·        Gift shop purchases

·        Spa treatments

·        Shore excursions

·        Some Premium wines/ bottle of wine/ liquors/ cocktails

It is available on the following Breamar sailings:

Departing 17th February 2013, 7 nights M1305FC

Departing 24th February 2013, 11 nights M1306FC
Departing 7th March 2013, 10 nights M1309FC
Departing 17th March, 8 nights M1310FC

To take advantage of this All Inclusive package you MUST BOOK THE CRUISE BY THE 31ST JULY 2012

Not everybody likes the idea of All Inclusive on cruise ships as they feel it can attract the wrong sort of customer....what are your thoughts on Fred Olsen offering this? Considering the general clientele that tends to travel on Fred Olsen I think it will be absolutely fine and could save people a bit of money, which is helpful in this day and age!

Does FREE really mean free??

You might think it is a silly question as of course free means free, that is the meaning of it after all, something for nothing basically. But is this the case with cruises?




By FREE I mean when the cruise lines try to entice a customer by offering added extras to the cruise such as car parking or on board spending money. When they say book your cruise and receive FREE this that and the other, is it really a good deal? Well, you know how the saying goes "there's no such thing as a free dinner" and that pretty much is the case I’m afraid.

At the moment Cunard and P&O have a June Jubilee offer on whereby on selected sailings they are "giving away" car parking and onboard spends, sounds good doesn’t it? Who wouldn’t want free parking and onboard spends with their booking? Not me! Because on many of these cruises there is also another promotion running along side it, which in technical terms, is called the Getaway Promotion. On this promotion you don’t get any of these lovely extra's but what you do get in return is a slashed in half price! For me this just proves that the cruise lines at the moment are in fact charging for the parking and onboard credit they are claiming to give away as if you book on this deal you are paying on average about £500-1000pp more for the same cruise!!! Madness!

Being a specialist cruise consultant I see the many different deals that the cruise lines add on a daily basis. My job is to make sure I advise you on all the deals on offer and, of course, try and get you the cheapest. So it is very much the case at the moment where you might see your cruise of choice advertised with free parking and onboard credit but we will always tell you if there is a better deal on if it is going to save you a lot of money.

So the moral of my blog post is, when you call up and ask us if a cruise has any free parking or onboard credit just remember if it has it is likely you are just paying for it anyway so don’t be put off if it hasn’t….if it looks like a good price and a good deal IT IS so don't waste time in booking!

Phew - what a week!

I am now back in the office, cruise.co.uk, after having had a lovely week off last week, and what a busy week it was for me! So what does a Specialist Cruise Consultant get up to in her spare time...??

The bank holiday Sunday I was in Hertfordshire at a Jubilee/60th Birthday party with some friends and family. It was a lovely day which was hosted at the local pub They had kitted out the whole pub with Jubilee bunting, decorated the tables and really went to town to make it feel very patriotic with a mad hatters twist!

On the Bank Holiday Tuesday my other half (not the better half may I add!) treated me for my Birthday (which is on the 21st June) to a lovely Spa break. We headed to Fawsley Hall in Northampton where we spent the day relaxing in the spa, swimming in the pool and enjoying the rain whilst sat in the outdoor jacuzzi pool...absolute heaven! Then we had a lovely meal in the Michelin rated restaurant.

The Hall itself dates back as early as the 7th Century!! I love history and this place was brimming with it. Queen Elizabeth I stayed there in 1575 and they now have a suite called the Queens Chamber, which is said to be the room she resided in....
Check out the "Great Room" it really did have a very old and Regal feel to it...

Our room was absolutely beautiful and felt like we had been transported back in time...

On Friday I attended the wedding of a very good friend, it was a fantastic day and the bride looked absolutely stunning. My poor boyfriend must have been asked a thousand times when we would be next, not holding my breath there though! Watch this space...

What did you get up to for the Jubilee Bank holiday? Did any of you have any street parties? All in all I had a lovely Bank Holiday week off but am back in the swing of things now and ready to get you all booked up on your cruise holidays :)