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Disney Cruise Line
by Travelator
The Disney Magic is a large ship which carries 2600 passengers. It is 900 feet long and 105 feet wide. We booked the deluxe stateroom with a veranda. It as very spacious compared to other ships we have been on. The room contained a full king size bed, two night tables, a two seated sofa, a chair, a coffee table, dressing table with ... drawers, three wardrobes. We were on deck 6 and very close to the aft end lifts.
The bathroom contained a good sized shower (by cruise ship standards), a sink and a toilet. Towels were changed twice daily.
Our cabin was very quiet and we couldn't hear much noise from the cabins either side. There also wasn't much creaking when we were at sea.
There were several different restaurants to choose from. We preferred the Palo restaurant because it was a kids free zone. We were travelling without children so it was nice to have a space to go where no children were allowed.
This ship is a fun palace and definitely geared towards families with children. If you are expecting a quiet holiday, please don't choose this chip. Children were everywhere. Fortunately, they were well behaved but obviously, children make more noise than adults.
The Parrot Cay restaurant is the main dining area for first and second sitting evening meals. We chose second sitting, when we went and the food was excellent. There was a choice of children's meals and adult meals. The adult meal were the equivalent of fine dining and the presentation was excellent.
There are three swimming pools on board. Mickey and Goofey's pool are for family's with children. We used the quiet cove pool which is for adults only. There was pleasant music playing and a constant stream of bar waiters and waitresses to meet your every need.
The Walt Disney theatre is huge and the shows were worthy of any Broadway or west end production. The cast worked very hard and were well rehearsed. We went every night to the shows and we never saw the same one twice.
The Cove Café provides a great space to have a coffee and access the internet. I could check my emails daily and keep up with the news back home. It gets really busy around 11am and then again at about 4pm. Having said that, we never had to wait for a seat. The coffee was really good and the service was excellent.
Signals was on deck nine and that is an adult only bar. It has great views of the scenery around the boat. It is quiet and a good place to curl up with a good book.
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British Airways Holidays
by garymarsh6
British Airways holidays.
How many people know that BA not only just provide flights to 100s of destinations they also offer combined flights and hotel deals sometimes these work out significantly cheaper than booking independently. I have booked a couple of holidays with BA mainly short haul breaks and found it so easy to do ... with minimal fuss and instant confirmation.
British Airways website is user friendly and it not only offers just flights and holidays but also other things like car hire, hotels or in various combinations etc. If you hover your mouse over one of the main headings at the top of the page where it says flights and holidays there is a large drop down list detailing all the things that are available from flights to holidays, late deals, special offers and different types of holidays from city breaks to beach holidays and luxury holidays.
It also gives information about some popular destinations too which is quite handy. Once arriving on BA.com you have the choice of booking flight only, Flight + hotel, Flight + car, hotel only or car hire only. Just click on the button you wish to use and type in your departure airport and then the destination and the dates you wish to travel. Quite often BA have negotiated special deals with other companies so you get what you want at a discounted price. You also can decide on the main page which class of travel you want to fly in either economy or business class. Once you have decided where you want to go and the date and class of travel just click search and it will search for hotels.
Hotels vary from small 2 star hotels up to 5 star hotels and will list whether breakfast is included or not and whether it is continental or full breakfast. It will also give information of the hotel facilities and the types of rooms available. There is usually a map to show you the position of the hotel whether you want to be in the city centre in the middle of all the action or further out. This is very important when choosing a city break hotel.
For long haul or luxury holidays it is useful to check out the hotels own web site and perhaps TripAdvisor to get a feel of what the hotel is like but taking the middle road on some reviews as some people are always hell bent on criticism on the most minor issues. Once you have decided on the hotel you want you can then decide the time of day you fly if several flights are offered. Sometimes these are available at no extra cost or if it is a busy flight time then there may be a small supplement.
Once you have sorted your hotel and flight then you agree to the terms and then you have the option of securing the holiday by making a deposit typically £150 per person. When I have booked I tend to book and pay for the whole trip in one go rather than forget to pay the rest although I imagine that BA will email you your details and reminders when final payment is due.
If you belong to the executive club your details will be entered there and flight times and numbers and any other preferences for example seat preference or meal preferences. You can check in on line 24 hours or more before departure and choose your seat however there are costs involved in trying to secure your preferred seat unless you are a gold card holder which I am not yet and that is one of the perks with booking BA.
If you have a smart phone then you can download British airways app which you set up to include all your details and it even shows your flights and boarding pass in code. All you then have to do is show up at the airport drop your bags off and waltz through security. You will always get email confirmation of the details of your trip and this is almost instant as soon as you have paid for it.
It is always worthwhile printing off your itinerary and hotel details to present to the hotel on arrival if necessary. There is no need to worry about tickets as BA are mainly ticket free and you only need to check in with your passport. You will have to complete some information and details about the travelers IE their name and passport number. Don't forget though it is your responsibility to ensure that you have obtained any visas if required and if you need one and have not got it BA can refuse to take you as you could be denied entry and sent back to the UK. This will cost BA as they tend to get fined by the country you are visiting.
British airways fly from many British airports although they fly out of their main hub at Heathrow and Gatwick North Terminal but there are flights available from regional airports although you may have to fly into one of the main hubs to connect with some flights.
For ease of accessibility I usually fly out of either Gatwick or Heathrow as these are the nearest airports to where I live however if I am flying long haul it usually means departing from Heathrow. If it is an early morning flight then I tend to stay at the airport the night before so that we do not get trapped on the dreaded M25 which helps to reduce anxiety levels quite significantly. Just a word of warning the M25 is currently dreadful around the southern section between junction 5-7 with significant delays and I know many people have missed flights so bear this in mind. Anyone travelling on the M25 will know that this is now the norm rather than an exception.
I have found that most of the holidays I have booked with BA have been very competitive and it is not that much more to fly club Europe as opposed to flying economy. There are of course advantages of flying club which includes dedicated check in, fast track security, entry to the lounges and more room on the aircraft. Not only this as you are sitting at the front of the plane you are one of the first passengers to get off.Arriving at your destination your baggage is labelled priority so it is one of the first bags off the plane which means that before you know it you are out of the airport as fast as possible.
Transfers to your hotel are not usually included.
Would I recommend BA holidays?
Yes I would as I have found it very easy to book and am usually pleased with the deal I have got with BA. They might be a little bit more expensive but everything is streamlined and I have found it to be problem free. The standard of the hotels are usually very good and have never had any problems not only that you can also earn Avios points on any bookings you make with BA which can be put towards flight upgrades, discounted fares or even free flights. Compared to some airlines I have always found BA to be of a good standard and very reliable. My one main criticism though is actually trying to speak to customer services which seem to be quite a difficulty to get hold of someone although they do eventually answer emails. From the point of view of actually trying to speak to a real person this is somewhere where I think they need to improve.
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National Holidays
by Mrs A Rolley
My friends and I have just returned from this four day break with National Holidays but were very disappointed with the trip to see the Midsomer villages, it was a long and tiring day driving to villages that were more like small towns and nothing like the pretty villages we were expecting. The first one we came to was impossible to get ... to the sights we were supposed to see because the roads were too narrow for the coach to turn into, so we missed out on that.The next one, Thame, was quite nice but we were told that they only thought the town hall and chippy might have been used in the programme,The next one, Ammersham was awful.It had a main street with charity shops, supermarkets and restaurants, no cafes and no pubs so we couldn't get a hot drink and it is the only "village" I know that has a tube station.We told the driver not to bother with the last one but he drove through it all the same, and all I can say is that if you blinked you would have missed it, like I did!!!!! The rest of the holiday was fine and we stayed in the Britannia Hotel in Coventry which was also fine. So if you book this trip stay in Coventry and go around the shopping area on the day you should go to the villages, you will enjoy it more.
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