Gordon's Your Cruising Tonic

On the 27th of October, my wife & I will be joining the Marella Explorer to do our first ever transatlantic cruise. The Marella Explorer is the latest addition to their fleet, joining in Summer 2018. She was launched in 1996 as the Celebrity Galaxy before transferring to the TUI…

We have recently heard of two very different stories concerning people being rescued by cruise ships from the sea. First of all, the Pacific Princess changed course after seeing a distress flare in the North Sea. They joined the coastguards to help rescue three fishermen adrift in a life raft drifting of…

The exciting news leaking from P&O is that, from May 2019, they are going to end the discretionary daily Service Charge. Until that date, a discretionary daily Service Charge amount of £7 will continue to be added for guests aged 12 and over. What do you think of that news, do…

Richard Branson is a self-made man, with many fingers in many pies. He is now entering the cruise market to further strengthen his quest for global domination. (Or that's what I think!) In fact, he is so confident of being a success he boldly predicts that "other cruise lines will…

Some people love a drinks package, but others think that it attracts the "wrong sort" of guest, what do you think? The news is that from the 21st July, only on P&O Azura during the trial, there will various packages available – hot drinks, non-alcoholic, and children’s – and the Ultimate…

First, it was Adonia, now it`s Oriana that is leaving the P&O fleet. This surprising news was broken last week by P&O Cruises senior vice president Paul Ludlow, who said: “Oriana is an original, and a much loved P&O Cruises ship. Whilst we will miss her, her departure will allow us…

Something a little different this time, I am going to talk about ME! This is your chance to get to know the person behind the name, to see what makes me tick. Away from work, my life revolves around the following things, my wife, my dogs, my grandkids, animal rights,…

The 25 April 2018 was a special day for P&O Cruises, the very first piece of steel was cut for their newest addition to their fleet, the P&O Iona. The name was revealed on the 24th May by TV presenter Stephen Mulhern, aptly located on the beautiful Scottish Isle of Iona. More than…

Earlier this month Marella launched the latest addition to their fleet, the Explorer. Marella Explorer is the sixth ship in the fleet of what used to be known as Thomson Cruises. With invited guests on board, Craig David kicked things off in style, everyone waving their flashing wristbands as the singer performed…

My wife and I have just returned from a week in Lanzarote, which got me thinking about the difference between a land based trip and a cruise. We spent a lovely week staying in the Occidental Lanzarote Mar, by Barcelo, which we enjoyed but it just did not excite us…