Laurie’s Cruise Lookout

Cadiz is frequently-visited by cruise ships, and I recently had a chance to visit the port, as I was staying for a week in the city of Jerez, just 45 mins train ride away.   Whilst Cadiz is a pretty place, with an imposing cathedral, and many quaint, pedestrianised streets to…

The one topic of discussion that never ceases to amaze me, is.....tipping.....so why? Because so many people have such different views on the topic; some people believe in tipping, but only face-to-face, some people are happy to let the cruise line allocate the tips as they see fit, and some…

A couple of months ago, I had a 3-night stay in Salamanca, one of Spain's most historic cities.  I did the trip as an aside from Madrid, taking just 2 hours by train, but many people can visit this amazing place from a Duoro river cruise, as the turnaround point…

This issue is one of the most frequently-discussed during the cruise booking process, and is, confusingly, one of those factors in a constant state of flux, but here's the current state of play.... If you want drinks automatically included, and you can afford them, most of the 'Luxury' cruise brands,…

Every week I have customers coming to me who (incorrectly) assumed that they were getting the best prices by going direct to the cruise line.  I carefully explain that by coming to a specialist cruise agency, we not only have access to better prices, but also usually offer a more…

Hi Folks, So, following on from my monologue regarding cabin types 2 weeks ago, I thought I would comment on location, location, location! Having been part of the crew, I've been taught to never be fussy about location (having lived on deck 0, and all the way forward, near the…

This is usually one of the big questions pondered particularly by first-time cruisers.  Of course many moons ago, only the more wealthy passengers could afford a cabin with a balcony, but over the course of the last 20 years, balcony cabins have become much more plentiful on the newer ships,…

I'm off to Riga..... Where? Riga.... Where? Latvia.... Where? You get the idea....this was my first-ever trip to the old Soviet Union, and a good chance to see what one of the lesser-known Baltic capital cities is all about.  I spent 2 days there, and had plenty to see, so…

Hmmm...this is a difficult one....it's easy to say the Captain, but with that goes a lot of responsibility, as is the case of course with all senior ship management, including Staff Captain, Chief Engineer and Hotel Director.  I enjoyed a great life onboard as one of the 'department heads', combining…

Most of my blogs are about places I've visited, so I thought I would give everyone a brief history of myself, so that you all know who you're dealing with when you book your cruise with me! In 1994 I graduated from Essex University with a 2.1 in Politics, but…