48 ............... Saturday, September 3, 2016
48 ............... Saturday, September 3, 2016
the
aturday S
1SM
1SM
TRAVEL
Sea-ing is believing
IT’S 24°C IN FUERTEVENTURA — seven nights’ all-inclusive at the 4H Labranda Aloe Club Resort in Corralejo is from £303pp. Flights from Glasgow on November 30. Book by September 12. See blueseaholidays.co.uk
HOT SPOT
IT’S 28°C IN THAILAND — stay eight nights for the price of four at the 4H Centara Resort in Phuket from £599pp with Cheapflights. The price is based on room only with flights from London via Beijing. See cheapflights.co.uk
HOT SPOT
back DRAWING it curtains, the wasn’t a huge surbe to prise greeted by haar. A real pea souper — the kind you only find when you’re by the sea.
Somewhere out in the dense grey blanket of mist was Falmouth harbour and the first UK landfall of the voyage.
As this was my very first cruise, I wasn’t sure what to expect but fog at some point was predictable — and thankfully short-lived. Before long, the sun had burned it off, revealing clusters of small masts and lush green headlands. That day was a landmark day for Voyages to Antiquity. It was the first time they had docked in the UK on their inaugural cruise from Seville to London. Cruising has never been more popular with ever larger ships — some like floating cities — taking to the world’s waves. On the high seas, size really does matter. Luckily for me, my first cruising experience was on a small ship.
SET SAIL ON A MAIDEN VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY
The sun lazily slipped below the horizon
WIN £150
SunSNAPS!
THERE are beaches and there are beaches. And this looks like one of the latter – just look at that sea! Renate Roberts, from Suffolk, had to go all the way to Madagascar to find a sky so blue. She caught this perfect slice of paradise at the Anjajavy Resort on the north of the island. Renate gets the £150 hotel.com voucher this week for making us jealous. Send us your best holiday snap, from home or abroad, and we will choose our favourite each week. Send high-resolution pictures to [email protected] – and don’t forget to tell us where you were holidaying.
Not only did it ease a novice like me into cruising life but there are also a great many advantages to being onboard a smaller vessel. For one thing, it means you can dock in places larger ships simply can’t reach — like the heart of Bordeaux. The wine capital of the world was in the grip of Euro 2016 fever when I joined the Aegean Odyssey for the start of my week’s voyage. Perching for my first beer of the week at the outdoor Lido deck bar, I could hear the buzz of the fanzone just metres away as Spaniards and Croatians draped in flags milled around chanting and singing. The Place de la Bourse, one of the focal points of the city’s waterfront with its mesmerising miroir d’eau water feature, was within touching distance from our berth on the Gironde river, the sandstone of the century 18th city’s Unesco buildings gleaming in the baking sun. Bliss. With the rest of the passengers back onboard from their excursion to the Bordelais vineyards, we raised anchor and cruised up the Gironde as the sun lazily slipped below the horizon. With perfect weather and surroundings, I soaked up the last of the day’s rays with a gin and tonic aperitif before heading down for an al fresco dinner at The Terrace restau-
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE ROME... HOP onboard Cunard’s lovely Queen Victoria for a ten-night cruise from Rome calling at Florence/Pisa, Toulon, Barcelona, Valencia and Gibraltar before sailing back home to Southampton. Costs from £769pp, flying from Manchester on November 5 and get a free oceanview upgrade. See scotland cruisecentre.co.uk or call 0800 197 8049. P&O Cruises has selected Oriana sailings in its “come celebrate with us” promotion with extra on board spending money for Select Price bookings in an outside cabin or above made by September 30. Options include a 16-night Christmas and New Year cruises to the Canaries departing December 18 (X624). Book a Select Price outcruise side cabin for £2,099pp and news receive £350 on board spending money per cabin. A round-trip from Southampton, ports of call include Madeira, above, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Agadir, Lisbon and La Coruna. See pocruises.com or call 0843 374 0111. PRINCESS Cruises is offering holidaymakers free balcony upgrades from oceanview, on over 400 cruises. The deal applies to selected voyages in 2017-2018 for Europe, Alaska, Japan, South East Asia and all Americas. Guests booking a balcony stateroom between September 1 and Octo-
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SHIP SHAPE . . . cruise novice David was wowed by his break, which took in Falmouth and Bordeaux
GO: VOYAGES TO ANTIQUITY
GOING/GETTING THERE: Voyages to Antiquity’s 15-day Iberia, France and England cruise costs from £2,495pp. The cruise departs from Seville calling at Lisbon, Oporto, Vigo, Bordeaux, Falmouth, Dartmouth and Honfleur. The price includes return flights, transfers, gratuities, guest speakers plus onboard and shore excursions. For more information see voyagestoantiquity.com or call them on 01865 302550. rant. Catering for just 350 passengers as opposed to 3,000plus on the bigger ships, the crew really get to know the passengers (and vice versa) for a truly attentive, bespoke service — another tick in the box of small ship cruising. By the end of the week, I knew my steward, bar and restaurant staff like good friends. the why that’s Perhaps Aegean Odyssey has one of the highest rates of returning customers in the cruising industry. That’s no mean feat given the sheer number of sailing
options out there. And no one cruise with Voyages to Antiquity is the same. As the award-winning company only has the one vessel, it means sailing into port in different places all year round. After a day of relaxation and luxuriating at sea, we made our first port of call at Falthird the Boasting mouth. deepest natural harbour in the world (behind Sydney and Rio de Janeiro) it’s other claim to fame is being where Olympic hero Ben Ainslie learned to sail. Falmouth was also a US
naval base during the Second World War where some of the D-Day landings started out from. But what I was most excited about was the shore excursion to the Eden Project. I’d heard lots about it but never had the opportunity to visit — until now. Nestled in a huge crater the size of 30 football pitches, the large biomes looked like how I imagine future human settlements on Mars will be. The world’s biggest greenhouse transports visitors to the steamy Malaysian rainforest in one biome (I saw bananas growing — in Cornwall!), while biome Mediterranean the whisks you away to the dry heat and herbal smells of rural Italy or Greece. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. One thing I’ve learned about cruising is that it’s as much about exploring new places ashore as
enjoying yourself on the ship, so ago, we next sailed through the it was back to the Aegean Odys- night across the Channel to sey for a Cornish cream tea and reach Honfleur. Artist Claude to join new friends Ken and Monet had a soft spot for the Marion — half of our formidable narrow lanes, crooked wooden quiz team — for an afternoon houses and fishing boats here. I have always had a soft spot G&T as we slipped out of Falfor Normandy in general, with its mouth for The Channel. The next morning I awoke to charming hamlets of timberthe pip-pip whistles of steam framed farmhouses and gites. the Home of Calvados brandy, apple along trundling engines banks of the River Dart. The cider and camembert, it is the small harbour town of Dart- greenest part of France I’ve vismouth had never seen anyAegean the like thing Odyssey sailing in before. Postcard-worthy views over breakfast of small multicolour houses and church steeples k and dotted along the mouth of the Line-caught haddoc Dartestuary set me up for a day chips at Rockfish in of exploring the nooks and mouth: £12.95 crannies of the old harbour at array of take advantage of the Bayard’s Cove. Retracing the s ion urs exc shore voyage of thousands of anxistline ious soldiers and sailors bound worry about your wagood! for the D-Day beaches 71 years — the food is just too
What costs what?
Do Don’t
ited so far. It is also one of the most significant in modern history. After a pitstop at the celebrated Bayeux tapestry, we were spirited by coach through the countryside to Arromanches on the coast where the Allies built the famous Mulberry harbour. These artificial harbours were vital in landing supplies and equipment for the Allied forces to push further into France and ultimately Germany. The bone-like remains still protrude through the surf, a permanent reminder of the heroics and human sacrifice of D-Day. As it was the final day, sampling the cocktail menu in good company in the Charleston Lounge was in order. I wasn’t sure life on the open sea would suit me but after my first voyage, I could definitely have carried on cruising. DAVID WALSH
49
l thescottishsun.co.uk
Edited by LISA MINOT & HEATHER LOWRIE
HOL OFF TO A FLIER AT AIRPORT HOTEL
tasty burgers — spiced PREMIER INN, NORTH chicken and BBQ — while TERMINAL, LONDON the kids tucked into bangGATWICK WHAT’S IT LIKE? The per- ers and mash. The delicious breakfast buffet the fect stopover if you are flying from Gatwick. From the following morning had everything from a full Scotmoment we arrived there tish to freshly-baked croiswere plenty of friendly, effsants and pastries, yoghurt icient staff on hand to help and fruit. It is open from with everything. Customer service was faultless and it 5am and the restaurant doesn’t close until 10.30pm set the tone for our — really handy for hunstay. gry travellers. ROOMS ANY GOOD? Sheets check in WHAT ELSE? There is a Costa coffee bar were crisp and check it and a business fresh and the out room was spotlounge. Overnight less — we felt like parking is available. we were the first peoSO YOU’D GO BACK? ple to use it. All rooms have Definitely. Our stay really Freeview TV, free Wi-Fi and was hassle-free and set us tea and coffee-making all up perfectly for a longfacilities. haul flight the next day. EAT HERE OR GRAB A WHAT’S THE DAMAGE? PIZZA? The hotel’s own Double rooms from £75 bar and grill, Thyme, offers per night including that a great range of dishes delicious brekkie. Visit including Ribeye steak, premierinn.com or call cod and chips, pizza and 0871 527 9354. macaroni. We plumped for SAM LOVE
Saturday, September 3, 2016 ...............
ber 18. A seven-night Spain and France cruise, sailing roundtrip from Southampton and calling at Guernsey, Bordeaux, Bilbao and La Coruna, is from £799pp. See princess.com/holiday or call 0843 374 2402. DISCOVER France & Spain with Royal Caribbean on a six-night cruise holiday from October 22-28 onboard Navigator of the Seas, sailing round-trip from Southampton. Prices start at £559pp (based on two sharing a Balcony stateroom) calling at Le Havre for Paris, Bilbao, Gijon and back to Southampton. See royalcaribbean.co.uk or call 0844 493 4005. CRUISE the Caribbean at an absolute bargain price with a 24-night cruise onboard P&O Aurora from £1,274pp (full board) sailing from Southampton on October 8. Includes stop offs in La Coruna, Tortola, Antigua, St Maarten, St Lucia, Barbados and The Azores. See iglucruise.com or call them on 0203 696 9451. UNIWORLD Boutique River Cruise Collection has a Festive Rhine Markets Christmas Cruise from £1,244pp. The eightday sailing starts in Basel and ends in Cologne with plenty of stops in between. The price includes all meals and unlimited beverages onboard, onshore excursions and transfers on arrival and departure days. Departs December 19. See uniworld.com or call 0808 281 1125.
l
l
l
the
aturday S
1SM
1SM
TRAVEL
Sea-ing is believing
IT’S 24°C IN FUERTEVENTURA — seven nights’ all-inclusive at the 4H Labranda Aloe Club Resort in Corralejo is from £303pp. Flights from Glasgow on November 30. Book by September 12. See blueseaholidays.co.uk
HOT SPOT
IT’S 28°C IN THAILAND — stay eight nights for the price of four at the 4H Centara Resort in Phuket from £599pp with Cheapflights. The price is based on room only with flights from London via Beijing. See cheapflights.co.uk
HOT SPOT
back DRAWING it curtains, the wasn’t a huge surbe to prise greeted by haar. A real pea souper — the kind you only find when you’re by the sea.
Somewhere out in the dense grey blanket of mist was Falmouth harbour and the first UK landfall of the voyage.
As this was my very first cruise, I wasn’t sure what to expect but fog at some point was predictable — and thankfully short-lived. Before long, the sun had burned it off, revealing clusters of small masts and lush green headlands. That day was a landmark day for Voyages to Antiquity. It was the first time they had docked in the UK on their inaugural cruise from Seville to London. Cruising has never been more popular with ever larger ships — some like floating cities — taking to the world’s waves. On the high seas, size really does matter. Luckily for me, my first cruising experience was on a small ship.
SET SAIL ON A MAIDEN VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY
The sun lazily slipped below the horizon
WIN £150
SunSNAPS!
THERE are beaches and there are beaches. And this looks like one of the latter – just look at that sea! Renate Roberts, from Suffolk, had to go all the way to Madagascar to find a sky so blue. She caught this perfect slice of paradise at the Anjajavy Resort on the north of the island. Renate gets the £150 hotel.com voucher this week for making us jealous. Send us your best holiday snap, from home or abroad, and we will choose our favourite each week. Send high-resolution pictures to [email protected] – and don’t forget to tell us where you were holidaying.
Not only did it ease a novice like me into cruising life but there are also a great many advantages to being onboard a smaller vessel. For one thing, it means you can dock in places larger ships simply can’t reach — like the heart of Bordeaux. The wine capital of the world was in the grip of Euro 2016 fever when I joined the Aegean Odyssey for the start of my week’s voyage. Perching for my first beer of the week at the outdoor Lido deck bar, I could hear the buzz of the fanzone just metres away as Spaniards and Croatians draped in flags milled around chanting and singing. The Place de la Bourse, one of the focal points of the city’s waterfront with its mesmerising miroir d’eau water feature, was within touching distance from our berth on the Gironde river, the sandstone of the century 18th city’s Unesco buildings gleaming in the baking sun. Bliss. With the rest of the passengers back onboard from their excursion to the Bordelais vineyards, we raised anchor and cruised up the Gironde as the sun lazily slipped below the horizon. With perfect weather and surroundings, I soaked up the last of the day’s rays with a gin and tonic aperitif before heading down for an al fresco dinner at The Terrace restau-
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE ROME... HOP onboard Cunard’s lovely Queen Victoria for a ten-night cruise from Rome calling at Florence/Pisa, Toulon, Barcelona, Valencia and Gibraltar before sailing back home to Southampton. Costs from £769pp, flying from Manchester on November 5 and get a free oceanview upgrade. See scotland cruisecentre.co.uk or call 0800 197 8049. P&O Cruises has selected Oriana sailings in its “come celebrate with us” promotion with extra on board spending money for Select Price bookings in an outside cabin or above made by September 30. Options include a 16-night Christmas and New Year cruises to the Canaries departing December 18 (X624). Book a Select Price outcruise side cabin for £2,099pp and news receive £350 on board spending money per cabin. A round-trip from Southampton, ports of call include Madeira, above, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Agadir, Lisbon and La Coruna. See pocruises.com or call 0843 374 0111. PRINCESS Cruises is offering holidaymakers free balcony upgrades from oceanview, on over 400 cruises. The deal applies to selected voyages in 2017-2018 for Europe, Alaska, Japan, South East Asia and all Americas. Guests booking a balcony stateroom between September 1 and Octo-
l
l
SHIP SHAPE . . . cruise novice David was wowed by his break, which took in Falmouth and Bordeaux
GO: VOYAGES TO ANTIQUITY
GOING/GETTING THERE: Voyages to Antiquity’s 15-day Iberia, France and England cruise costs from £2,495pp. The cruise departs from Seville calling at Lisbon, Oporto, Vigo, Bordeaux, Falmouth, Dartmouth and Honfleur. The price includes return flights, transfers, gratuities, guest speakers plus onboard and shore excursions. For more information see voyagestoantiquity.com or call them on 01865 302550. rant. Catering for just 350 passengers as opposed to 3,000plus on the bigger ships, the crew really get to know the passengers (and vice versa) for a truly attentive, bespoke service — another tick in the box of small ship cruising. By the end of the week, I knew my steward, bar and restaurant staff like good friends. the why that’s Perhaps Aegean Odyssey has one of the highest rates of returning customers in the cruising industry. That’s no mean feat given the sheer number of sailing
options out there. And no one cruise with Voyages to Antiquity is the same. As the award-winning company only has the one vessel, it means sailing into port in different places all year round. After a day of relaxation and luxuriating at sea, we made our first port of call at Falthird the Boasting mouth. deepest natural harbour in the world (behind Sydney and Rio de Janeiro) it’s other claim to fame is being where Olympic hero Ben Ainslie learned to sail. Falmouth was also a US
naval base during the Second World War where some of the D-Day landings started out from. But what I was most excited about was the shore excursion to the Eden Project. I’d heard lots about it but never had the opportunity to visit — until now. Nestled in a huge crater the size of 30 football pitches, the large biomes looked like how I imagine future human settlements on Mars will be. The world’s biggest greenhouse transports visitors to the steamy Malaysian rainforest in one biome (I saw bananas growing — in Cornwall!), while biome Mediterranean the whisks you away to the dry heat and herbal smells of rural Italy or Greece. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. One thing I’ve learned about cruising is that it’s as much about exploring new places ashore as
enjoying yourself on the ship, so ago, we next sailed through the it was back to the Aegean Odys- night across the Channel to sey for a Cornish cream tea and reach Honfleur. Artist Claude to join new friends Ken and Monet had a soft spot for the Marion — half of our formidable narrow lanes, crooked wooden quiz team — for an afternoon houses and fishing boats here. I have always had a soft spot G&T as we slipped out of Falfor Normandy in general, with its mouth for The Channel. The next morning I awoke to charming hamlets of timberthe pip-pip whistles of steam framed farmhouses and gites. the Home of Calvados brandy, apple along trundling engines banks of the River Dart. The cider and camembert, it is the small harbour town of Dart- greenest part of France I’ve vismouth had never seen anyAegean the like thing Odyssey sailing in before. Postcard-worthy views over breakfast of small multicolour houses and church steeples k and dotted along the mouth of the Line-caught haddoc Dartestuary set me up for a day chips at Rockfish in of exploring the nooks and mouth: £12.95 crannies of the old harbour at array of take advantage of the Bayard’s Cove. Retracing the s ion urs exc shore voyage of thousands of anxistline ious soldiers and sailors bound worry about your wagood! for the D-Day beaches 71 years — the food is just too
What costs what?
Do Don’t
ited so far. It is also one of the most significant in modern history. After a pitstop at the celebrated Bayeux tapestry, we were spirited by coach through the countryside to Arromanches on the coast where the Allies built the famous Mulberry harbour. These artificial harbours were vital in landing supplies and equipment for the Allied forces to push further into France and ultimately Germany. The bone-like remains still protrude through the surf, a permanent reminder of the heroics and human sacrifice of D-Day. As it was the final day, sampling the cocktail menu in good company in the Charleston Lounge was in order. I wasn’t sure life on the open sea would suit me but after my first voyage, I could definitely have carried on cruising. DAVID WALSH
49
l thescottishsun.co.uk
Edited by LISA MINOT & HEATHER LOWRIE
HOL OFF TO A FLIER AT AIRPORT HOTEL
tasty burgers — spiced PREMIER INN, NORTH chicken and BBQ — while TERMINAL, LONDON the kids tucked into bangGATWICK WHAT’S IT LIKE? The per- ers and mash. The delicious breakfast buffet the fect stopover if you are flying from Gatwick. From the following morning had everything from a full Scotmoment we arrived there tish to freshly-baked croiswere plenty of friendly, effsants and pastries, yoghurt icient staff on hand to help and fruit. It is open from with everything. Customer service was faultless and it 5am and the restaurant doesn’t close until 10.30pm set the tone for our — really handy for hunstay. gry travellers. ROOMS ANY GOOD? Sheets check in WHAT ELSE? There is a Costa coffee bar were crisp and check it and a business fresh and the out room was spotlounge. Overnight less — we felt like parking is available. we were the first peoSO YOU’D GO BACK? ple to use it. All rooms have Definitely. Our stay really Freeview TV, free Wi-Fi and was hassle-free and set us tea and coffee-making all up perfectly for a longfacilities. haul flight the next day. EAT HERE OR GRAB A WHAT’S THE DAMAGE? PIZZA? The hotel’s own Double rooms from £75 bar and grill, Thyme, offers per night including that a great range of dishes delicious brekkie. Visit including Ribeye steak, premierinn.com or call cod and chips, pizza and 0871 527 9354. macaroni. We plumped for SAM LOVE
Saturday, September 3, 2016 ...............
ber 18. A seven-night Spain and France cruise, sailing roundtrip from Southampton and calling at Guernsey, Bordeaux, Bilbao and La Coruna, is from £799pp. See princess.com/holiday or call 0843 374 2402. DISCOVER France & Spain with Royal Caribbean on a six-night cruise holiday from October 22-28 onboard Navigator of the Seas, sailing round-trip from Southampton. Prices start at £559pp (based on two sharing a Balcony stateroom) calling at Le Havre for Paris, Bilbao, Gijon and back to Southampton. See royalcaribbean.co.uk or call 0844 493 4005. CRUISE the Caribbean at an absolute bargain price with a 24-night cruise onboard P&O Aurora from £1,274pp (full board) sailing from Southampton on October 8. Includes stop offs in La Coruna, Tortola, Antigua, St Maarten, St Lucia, Barbados and The Azores. See iglucruise.com or call them on 0203 696 9451. UNIWORLD Boutique River Cruise Collection has a Festive Rhine Markets Christmas Cruise from £1,244pp. The eightday sailing starts in Basel and ends in Cologne with plenty of stops in between. The price includes all meals and unlimited beverages onboard, onshore excursions and transfers on arrival and departure days. Departs December 19. See uniworld.com or call 0808 281 1125.
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