Gordon's Your Cruising Tonic

On November 29, 2017, MSC took delivery of its revolutionary new cruise ship the MSC Seaside. Designed by Fincantieri S.p.A., and built at their Monfalcone shipyard, the 153,316 gross ton MSC Seaside is the largest cruise ship ever built by Fincantieri. The 1,059 feet long Seaside, incorporates a number of unique design elements. The Seaside…

P&O have recently announced that they are changing their ruling on customers consuming their own alcohol on board, and also to their dress code standards. It seems that they are trying to move away from the Stag/Hen do parties, bringing their own booze on board, whilst dressed in fancy dress,…

After the devastation, and loss of lives after Hurricane Irma, it was heart warming to hear about a major cruise line assisting with rescues and delivering much needed supplies. Hurricanes Irma and Maria have impacted islands and communities from the Caribbean to Florida and beyond. Following the storms, Royal Caribbean…

Exciting news from 5* cruise line Celebrity. As of 2019, their exciting new ship, Celebrity Edge, will be based in Europe. They boldly state "Europe has never seen a ship like this before, and you’ve never seen Europe like you’ll see it on Celebrity Edge." They have teamed up with…

Two big news stories emerged from the Thomson camp yesterday. The 1st was the unbelievable news that they were re-branding their cruise fleet, the 2nd was the exciting new ports of call for winter 2018. More about that later. For years we all knew the Thomson cruise brand, and what…

Treasures of the Mediterranean 29th August - 05th September Having spoken about our recent cruise on the Thomson Majesty on my last blog, this time I will look at our itinerary and ports of call. Palma, Majorca The most striking feature of Palma is the stunning Cathedral, dominating the skyline.…

Well we have just returned from a fantastic week on the Thomson Majesty, and can honestly say, we are missing her already. From the very quick embarkation process, with our cases waiting for us on arrival at our cabin, to our sad farewell a week later, everything was just as…

In March 2008, I spent my honeymoon cruising the river Nile. This was my absolute favourite holiday, and I would love to do it again.   Although it is generally associated with Egypt, only 22% of the Nile’s course runs through Egypt, it also flows through Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan and…

In the words of the late, great John Lennon....."All we are saying is give peace a chance." As the news started to filter through of the horrific happenings unfolding in Spain yesterday, my first thought was, not again. In the last few years there have been terror related attacks in London,…

As part of our upcoming cruise on the Thomson Majesty, we will be visiting Rome. I am really looking forward to visiting Rome, the Eternal city, as I am fascinated by the Italian culture and way of life. In Rome, classical ruins and early Christian places of worship stand next…