Ocean Village opens up the Caribbean

Ocean Village will operate 14-nt durations in the Caribbean next winter. 10 of these will operate to new destinations which will not be available on 7 nt sailings

3 different fly-cruise options will be available on 2 ships with the price starting at £1,199 pp.
This price includes a fantastic 45% reduction available from CruiseDirect Samana in the Dom Rep, Grand Turk, Mayreau and Colon will be available on Barbados cruises.

14 night cruises only area available as this is what research has show to be clients preference, with more than 85% of people choosing this option.

Prices revealed for Oasis of the Seas

Royal Caribbean International has revealed that prices for nine-night fly cruises on mega ship Oasis of the Seas will start at £1,299 per person. The ship is one of the most hyped vessels of all time and, with capacity for 5,400 passengers, will be 40% larger than the current largest ship in the world, Independence of the Seas, which is also owned by RCI. Oasis of the Seas will make its first sailing on December 12, 2009 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The inaugural season will begin with 19 consecutive seven-night sailings to the Eastern Caribbean, with ports of call at Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Nassau, Bahamas. From May 1, 2010, Oasis of the Seas will alternate its Eastern Caribbean itinerary with the Western Caribbean itinerary, which will call at Labadee, Royal Caribbean International’s private beach destination in Haiti; the new port of Falmouth, Jamaica; and Cozumel, Mexico. The ship will feature the first ever outdoor park at sea, called Central Park. Cabins will go on sale on September 3rd and the company is so confident of strong sales that it has decided not to offer early booking discounts. Jo Rzymowska, associate vice president and general manager, Royal Caribbean International, UK and Ireland, said: “Oasis of the Seas is the most hyped holiday experience ever to be available. We are predicting a day of mammoth sales on 3rd September. “The prices represent phenomenal value for money and includes access to some of the most groundbreaking facilities ever available from a leisure resort, especially when you consider that this one will be at sea.”

Carnival Cruise Lines reorganise categories of staterooms

CARNIVAL Cruise Lines is revamping the categories of their staterooms on board their vessels to better portray the cabins in terms of windows, balcony's and also where they are on the ship.
They say the staterooms will now be graded differently on upper and lower decks even though the actual cabins are the same. Indeed this will also be applied according to the position of the cabin within the deck. This they hope will allow passengers to choose more easily their preferred location and type of cabin. This new arrangement means a better cabin will cost slightly more than one in a slightly less popular position.

Carnival Valor will be the 1st to feature this style of grading with the remainder of the fleet following this path later in the year.

MSC Cruises order 2 new Cruise Ships

MSC Cruises has placed orders for two new ships.

The renowned French shipbuilding yard Aker have reportedly received an order from MSC Cruises for 2 Muscia-class vessels, to be delivered in February 2011 and February 2012.

The MSC Fantasia, the companies biggest vessel launches in December 2008. At 133,500-tonne the ship will increase the fleer to 10 vessels, increasing to 12 in February 2012.

New Hot Cruise Deals from Cruise Direct

Cruise Direct have recently brought out some of the most outstanding cruise deals seen fora long time.
We have listed them below please contact CruiseDirect or Barrhead Travel for the details


Ocean Village Exclusive Offers
– these offers are at least £190 cheaper than any other agent

Crete to Barbados
Ocean Village
30 October 2008 12 nights
Fly Manchester to Heraklion – Alicante –Madeira – Antigua – Barbados Fly back to Manchester
Prices from £749pp

Mediterranean Mixture
Ocean Village
23 October 2008 19 nights
Fly Man to Heraklion –Limassol –Rhodes –Kusadasi –Santorini- Mykonos- Alicante-Madeira-Antigua-Barbados
Prices from £999pp


Caribbean Chaser
Ocean Village
30 October 2008 19 nights
Fly Man to Heraklion –Alicante –Madeira-Antigua- Barbados- Tortola- St.Barts- Martinique-Grenada – Barbados
Prices from £1,099pp


Princess Cruises
– this is an exclusive offer to Barrhead Travel and Cruise Direct
Sea Princess – Caribbean Cruise
28 March 2009 15 nights

Fly Direct from Glasgow to Montego Bay –Gran Cayman – Aruba –Bonaire –
La Guaira – Grenada – Barbados –Dominica – Antigua- St.Maarten – Tortola –Samana – Montego Bay fly back to Glasgow
Prices from £1,493
$150 FREE to spend onboard per cabin


Cruise Direct have
FRED OLSEN – These prices are less than any other agent
£50 per cabin onboard spend

Around Britain Cruise
Onboard Black Prince
01 June 2009 9 nights
Cruising from Greenock to Dublin, Falmouth, St Peter Port, Greenwich, Leith, Oban, Greenock

Inside cabins from £719pp
Plus £50 FREE to spend onboard

Shanghai's new expanded Cruise Terminal is open for business

Last week the Costa Allegra became the first ship to sail into Shanghai's newly expanded cruise terminal. This is a major development for the Chinese city as it will allow the port to handle 4 cruise liners at once.

Given the name the "water Drop" because of the shape of the main terminal building this marks a substantial improvement of the facilities available to the vessels visiting the port.

China and Shanghai in particular are ever growing in popularity as a Cruise and tourist destination, and will benefit substantially again from the focus on China provided by the Olympic games in Beijing.

P&O Ferries order 2 massive ships for Dover Calais

P&O Ferries have placed an order with Aker Yards for the 2 biggest ever ferries to sail between Dover and Calais. At 360million Euro's (approx £288 million) they represent a substantial vote of confidence in cross channel services. The service will begin in December 2011 when ship number one is launched with the 2nd ship entering service the following September. They will supercede the Pride of Dover and the Pride of Calais, both of which have given the Ferry company sterling service.

Aker will build the ships in Rauma, Finland.

P&O are considering an order for 2 more ships of the same type, weighing in at 49,000 gross tonnes and 210 mtrs long they will be the biggest ships that the facilities in Dover can presently handle. Uniquely for a ferry they will be the first vessels to be able to manouver under their own steam in 50 Knots of wind. An additional 3rd deck will offer space for just under 200 cars, and will have capacity for 2,000 passengers

P&O, Cunard, Princess Cruises, Ocean Village 2009 /2010 Now on Sale

P&O, Cunard, Princess Cruises, Ocean Village have opened bookings for a number of their most popular sailings stretching as far ahead as Summer 2010.

These are all available at CruiseDirect and Barrhead Travel, details of how to book can be found on their websites
The cruises in question are:

P&O Cruises World Cruise 2010
P&O Cruises 2nd Edition 2009
Cunard 09 Main ED2
Cunard World Cruises 2010
Princess Cruises Exotics ED1 2009/10
Princess Cruises Med ED2 2009
Ocean Village Caribbean Preview 2008/09 Advance

Fred Olsen install interactive television on board

The Fred Olsen Cruiseline have installed an interactive Television facility on 2 of their cruise ships.

The Balmoral and Braemar will offer a facility which will allow passengers to find information on excursions ashore, and enable them to browse and buy from the shops onboard without leaving their cabin. They can order Breakfast, room service, choose from the wine list prior to dinner, or buy goods duty free, line up a film for the evening, reserve shore excursions and book their next holiday afloat, all via the TV.
A major benenfit for both passenger and the company is the resulting reduction in queues However those who prefer the personal touch can still make their bookings in person.
The plan is to introduce this service to the whole fleet in the not too distant future.
Cruisedirect and Barrhead Travel Cruising are recommended agents for Fred Olsen.