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Mixed News For Egypt Cruises

After weeks of political unrest in Egypt many cruise lines have announced that they will be returning, whilst others still remain sceptical and have either changed or pulled Egypt itineraries completley.

This seems to be mainly down to the US State Department who are still advising that it is unsafe to travel in this area of the world and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office who have changed their tune - going as far as to say that the Luxor, Aswan and Red Sea Resorts (including Sharm el Sheikh) are calm.  Though they do say that the rest of Egypt is unpredictable and that the situation can change rapidly.  With all this being said the doors to Egypt seem to have been re-opened, at least to some of us.

Unrest In Egypt Causes Princess Itinerary Changes

With the current ongoing unrest in Egypt the US State Department has decided that it is best that American citizens avoid any travel to there at this time.  With this in mind Princess cruises have changed a number of itineraries from April to November.

And though Princess understands this may be a dissapointment for passengers they take the security and safety of their passengers very seriously.  They will continue to evaluate the situation and if it improves will take another look.

The affected itineraries are:

Princess Re-Fits

Having been on the Diamond Princess last September I can hand on heart say it is a great ship, the food is excellent, the service impeccable and the cabins some of the best I have been in. Unfortunately I feel there may be one gripe, and this is that there may be a slight lack in entertainment factor for the times when the ship is at sea for a long time.

In Alaska this posed no problem as the only times not in port were spent "scenic cruising" through the glaciers of the inside passage - but on its re-positioning cruise to the Far East I could see this becoming a bit of an issue.

Advice For Norway

So I flew back in yesterday from an airport which was about the size of and shape of a shed and whose name I certainly can't pronounce, that being said the holiday itself was amazing.

Not a cruise this time but thought it would more than worth sharing my experiences with you.  We spent a week snowboarding in Hemsedal which is a tiny little town around half way between Oslo and Bergen, if you like your skiing it is perfect, if not you probably aren't going to find much else to keep you busy for a week.

The main thing I wanted to convey here was the cost of living in Norway, we were told it would be more expensive but I don't think anyone could have prepared us for exactly how expensive it is.  For example the night before we left we went for a meal, just two pizzas and two soft drinks and this worked out at around £50 - a bottle of coke or a coffee was around the £3-£4 mark each and you may be thinking this is because we were on a ski resort but I have been assured that it is not.

This brings me to my point - if you are wanting to visit Norways' major cities and Fjords I would certainly take a cruise.  This means that you will probably only ever need to buy the odd drink or snack while all your meals are already paid for, and that will save you a small fortune in the long run.  Also if you are not going for the type of holiday I have been on all the main cities and attractions are along the coast anyhow making cruising in Scandanavia the ideal choice.

The bottom line is that I would go back to Norway but I would take my own advice and take my snowboarding elsewhere.

All Inclusive Luxury

I'm glad I only have to type this and not say it, Paul Gauguin cruises are a luxury ship designed specifically to sail in the shallow waters of the South Pacific, French Polynesia and Tahiti year round. And with no inside cabins and 70% of all cabins having a balcony you can really enjoy the stunning scenery.

Whacky Themed Cruises

So I think everyone knows by now that we do a few themed cruises, Gardeners World, Dance cruises and a few Music and Laughter cruises. I was quite amused when typing "themed cruises" into google, just have a look at what came up.