22 October 2019

I am recently back from our first full length cruise holiday and wanted to share it with you all. I know there a lot of people who wont consider cruises, due to false pre-conceived ideas and cruising myths. To start I travelled with my husband, 9 year old son and my Dad. We left from Southampton on 8th October with Royal Caribbean Independence of the seas for 11 nights. On arrival to the ship terminal it was super easy. Our cases were taken off us, boarding passes were scanned, photos taken and then straight on to the ship. The whole process took less than half hour, much quicker than the airport. Another big bonus sailing from Southampton is that you have unlimited baggage allowance! First impressions of the ship…..just wow! We was greeted by friendly staff, offered a drink straight away, offered lunch etc and the ship is huge! We were able to get into our cabin at 1pm where our sea pass cards were waiting for us. Sea pass cards are literally everything. Your cabin key is what you need to get on and off the ship and to make payment. Ships are cashless, so you scan you sea pass for everything you want to buy and settle your bill at guest services with cash, or you can add a credit card to the account and you don’t even need to settle as it will automatically come off the card. So simple! Your sea pass card will also have your dining time, table number and your muster point in case of an emergency. We had a drinks package included in our cruise, which I would recommend. You can have alcoholic packages or soft drinks packages. The cheapest alcoholic beverage on board was $8 so the package is value for money (sometimes you can even get it included) The drinks on board are all branded and so varied. Anything you can think of is there and the cocktails are amazing! We opted for an inside cabin as we knew we wouldn’t be in there often and preferred to use the extra cash towards spending money. There are great options of cabins for all though and everyone will have different tastes and needs. The inside cabin was spacious enough and had plenty of storage. The service on board was amazing. All the staff were so friendly and helpful. Especially our room attendant and waiters in the main dining room. Our room attendant helped with anything we needed and in the turn down service of an evening left a sea compass (information sheet with all the activities and main things to note for the next day) and towel animals. The waiters in the dining room went above and beyond. From the first evening they knew our drink and food preferences, had special dessert of bananas and custard made for our son, cut up our son's food and always brought us different food if we tried a new dish and wasn’t too keen. On the Independence of the Seas there is a main dining area in which you eat every evening if you choose. You have the same table and waiters which is nice. Here you can choose from different options over 3 courses. There is also the windjammer buffet which isn’t like a typical buffet, the food is just as good. The windjammer is more relaxed. There are 3 speciality restaurants, which do have a small charge but worth trying – Steak House, Italian and Japanese. There also a pizza shop which also offers pies, café which offers pastries, cakes, cookies, wraps, sandwiches and other snack options, Ben and Jerry's, sweet shop, American Diner and Fish and Chips. All the food on the ship was top quality and I couldn’t fault any of it. We also took a tour around the kitchens to get an idea of what goes on. It was a brilliant experience and really makes you appreciate the hard work all the staff do to make sure you receive the best food and service possible. There is so much variety you can always find some entertainment you will enjoy. All day there is something going on at different areas of the ship so you could never be bored. Through out the day there are movies, yoga, dance classes, cooking classes, quizzes, bingo, singers, bands etc. During the evening there is a pool movies, nightclub, casino, a main show in the theatre which usually shows twice (some we experienced include Grease, European champion dancers, magician and juggler, comedian, violinist etc) singers, karaoke, bands, ice skating shows and more. The sea compass will let you know what time and where all the activities happening. A good tip is take a highlighter and highlight the things you don’t want to miss the following day. The kids club for kids is also brilliant. My son has been abroad a lot over the last 9 years and never wanted to do kids club, on the cruise we couldn’t get him out of it! Other facilities on the ship are so varied for everyone too. There are adult only areas and bars, a lovely spa that offer complimentary services and workshops, two big water slides, a splash pad with smaller slides and sprays, a trampoline which can also be experienced using a VDR headset, laser tag, ice skating, flow rider surfing, the royal promenade has a variety of shops, Ale and Anchor pub, gin bar, pizza shop, sweet shop, guest services, book your next cruise office and during the night holds silent disco parties, 80 parties, other themed parties and discos and parades. So now I have included the most important things I can think of I am going to explain why I prefer and why I recommend a cruise over an all-inclusive hotel resort. • Food and drink cant be beaten. Top class and plentiful • Different place every day – getting to see more of the world and not being stuck in one place • Top class service – cant do enough for you • Top class and varied entertainment – not just 1 main show and a few pool games • So many facilities on board you can not get bored. • More space – this ship is like a floating hotel resort but doesn’t feel overly busy like some hotels. No sunbed wars either lol • Something for everyone – the whole family regardless of age or likes can find something on this ship. Pleases everyone. You might have your own reservations. Please let me know and I will reassure you. I was someone who would never consider it before and now I am totally sold and already researching the next cruise. I honestly couldn’t recommend a cruise more and there isn’t anyone who I don’t think it would suit. Get in touch if you have any questions or want more information about cruising. There is a reason it’s the fastest growing area in travel and why there is a massive repeat booking rate.

29 August 2019

Hope you have all had a lovely summer. I wanted to tell you about the holiday we just came back from. It was a 3 centre trip but for this blog I am just going to focus on Las Vegas, but more specifically Las Vegas with children (or child in my case). I know what you are thinking “you must be crazy” but I promise it was absolutely fine. This “crazy” idea manifested due to my Dad’s 60th birthday. We had already decided to go back to our favourite place San Diego and my husband and I decided we would add Vegas into the trip as a surprise for Dad's birthday. We flew with BA from Heathrow to Vegas and got super lucky on the way out. I had requested extra leg room seats for my son as he has complex medical needs. Unfortunately the information hadn’t been passed on. When noticing we had been assigned normal seats I explained the situation and get this….we was upgraded for FREE to business class! Cue my jaw dropping to the floor. As you can imagine it was an amazing experience and so comfortable, although it did make the journey home back in economy difficult after being spoiled. Arriving in Vegas we called an Uber to our hotel The Linq. It was pretty cheap at just $12. Pulling onto the strip cued another jaw dropping moment for me. It was just WOW. Bright lights, themed hotels, dancers all filled the streets. The Linq hotel is centrally located and is a modern quite new hotel. Check in was a bit of a wait as so many of us turned up all at once, but once again we was pleasantly surprised to find out we had breakfast included in our stay. The first you notice when walking in, and to be honest most hotels in Vegas, is that the first floor is just one big casino. I wasn’t surprised by this but I was surprised at how big it was. Most of the daytimes were spent in the pool at the hotel next door The Flamingo. The Linq hosted pool parties due to the summer break so was strictly 21 and over. The Flamingo pool was lovely though and there was an additional pool with 2 water slides. It was just too hot to walk about during the day, throughout our 4 days temperatures varied between 42-45 degree Celsius. Being in the dessert it was also humid. Thank god for air con! Of an evening we explored all the famous hotels on the strip from The Venetian to Caesars Palace. We visited the zoo at The Mirage hotel, Watched the fountains outside the Belliago and rode the rollercoaster at New York New York. We also rode the high roller which is like a bigger version of the London Eye and gives the most amazing views of the strip and beyond. We timed it so that we could also see the fountain show again from up above. As for the casinos us adults all fancied a little flutter so we waited until our son was asleep and took it in turns (1 sat with him whilst the other 2 gambled). The best tip I can give for gambling in Vegas is to set yourself a budget before you go and stick to it. Also make sure it’s a realistic budget, something you can afford to loose. As there is no guarantee you will win. It may seem like an obvious thing but the atmosphere and excitement can soon suck you in and we saw a few people chasing after money long after they said they’d spent their budget. The highlight of the trip though has to be our helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon. That experience was just out of this world and its easy to see why it’s a wonder of the world. The flight is about 40/50 minutes and takes you past Lake Mead and Hoover Damn. The pilot gives you lots of interesting information and tells you the best places to get the perfect pictures. It was just amazing approaching the Grand Canyon and seeing just how big it really is. We was lucky to land inside the Canyon and was given a drink and snack to eat. Turning and looking around you surrounded by the Canyon and beautiful views is just an experience we will never forget. I would 100% recommend anyone in doing this trip. Our 9 year old absolutely loved it, especially the helicopter ride. That trip concluded our time in Vegas and the next morning we headed off to the airport for our flight to LA. There is so much to do in Vegas and surprisingly so much family friendly activities too. We didn’t get chance to do everything in our short time but I wouldn’t hesitate to go back and I would take my son again too.

25 July 2019

In April this year we done the trip of a lifetime! Hands down my best holiday so far. A road trip from San Diego to San Francisco. At the time a lot of people thought I was crazy for attempting to do this with an 8-year-old. That’s what I thought I would write this blog to share our experiences and show it wasn’t crazy and our son actually loved it just as much as us. Before I go into details of the different stops we made. I just want to quickly give some tips that made this trip appealing to our son. • Stay in the friendliest family area for the longest • Take regular breaks throughout the drive – even if its just a short half hour stops • Interact with your child- ask them what they see, what their excited about next, play car games e.g. first to spot a red car. • Make sure you have drinks and snacks in the car and regular toilet stops. Children are always hungry and thirsty and always “need a wee” Those are just a few of the most important tips I can think of. Now on to the locations we visited. San Diego We have been here previously before and love the place! Its so family friendly with perfect weather all year round. There’s so much to see and do here. Beautiful beaches where seals lie in the sand, Belmont Park with rides, arcades and right on the beach, San Diego Zoo the biggest Zoo in the world, SeaWorld, Legoland, Waterparks and so much more. We stayed here for 8 days to do a lot of the fun things mentioned above. Anaheim The city of the original Disneyland theme park. Anaheim has 2 Disney theme parks, which are amazing and so magical. It’s also home to the first ever theme park in California Knotts Berry Farm. As we had done the Disney parks previously, this year we checked out Knotts Berry and wasn’t disappointed. The theming is amazing, the rides are great (something for everyone) the shows are fun. They have a little shopping market near the front too, which was great to browse around – found some unique gifts. Los Angeles We only stayed here for a couple of hours, as we have previously visited. This was a short stop to break up being sat in the car and to get some pictures of us all close to the Hollywood Sign (something we didn’t get time for last year) Santa Monica and Malibu These two places once again were just quick stop offs. Both have amazing piers, Santa Monica being a lot bigger and even includes rides. The beaches here are also beautiful – In Malibu you can spot some famous peoples houses dotted along the beach. Oxnard This was our first stop over since Anaheim. We stayed for 1 night as it was in between Anaheim and our next stop over in Monterey. It’s a very quaint and quiet place but the people are so friendly, and they serve great BBQ food! Solvang This place is a hidden gem! Also known as the Dutch Capital of America. Quaint old-fashioned buildings housing shops, restaurants and cars. Windmills, horse and carriages and a vintage car show. I would 100% recommend anyone doing this road trip to stop off here. Its not to be missed. There were quite a few stops between Solvang and Monterey, mostly at little beaches or lakes and too many to fit into the blog (I can give more details if you want to ask me though). Monterey Another beautiful place with so much to see we wish we had longer here. The aquarium is amazing and actually goes into the sea. Also, for any golf fans they have a famous golf green in Monterey. From Monterey we travelled a little up the coast to Santa Cruz a sea fishing village. Here we boarded a boat and went out into the sea to whale watch. One of the best experiences I have ever had. We saw Grey, Humpback and Killer whales in their own natural environment. Some of the younger whales showed off and breached a lot for us which was just WOW! San Francisco Our last stop of the trip. Let me first tell you though that to get from Santa Cruz to San Francisco I highly recommend taking the coastal road. The Big Sur – as its famously known is one of the most scenic drives in the world. Literally around every corner there’s a new beautiful scene, from Mountains to the sea. It really is breath-taking. Now for San Fran itself. Amazing city! Once again so much to do. Fisherman’s Wharf, Lambard Street (the most crooked street in the world), cable cars, Pier 39 and one of my bucket lists places – Alcatraz! I had always wanted to visit Alcatraz and it didn’t disappoint, even my 8-year-old son (who I thought would be bored) loved it and asked lots of questions. The last place we visited in San Fran was the Redwood Forest. This place has trees that over 2 thousand years old and reach right up into the sky. They was also featured in the movie Planet of the apes. Its such a tranquil and beautiful place to visit. We felt so relaxed and it was really peaceful. Such a great way to end the trip. California - They call you the sunshine state, but you are much more than that and have now become my families most favourite place! This was just a brief overview as there’s so much I could include and talk about. If a West Coast Road Trip is on your travel bucket list – get in touch. If you want more information, I am happy to chat with you about it!