04 September 2022

The last time I went to Cyprus was approximately 3 years ago when we stayed in a small Greek/Cypriot village called Polis. We had the most fabulous time and I was excited to visit Cyprus again. This trip took out stay to another small town, Pissouri. The transfer is ordinarily by private taxi and takes approximately 35 minutes. Our accommodation was typical of Cyprus self catering, basic but enough to fit the needs of myself and my family for our stay and clean. The pool was huge and like it was made for me, the temperature was like a lukewarm bath…..heaven, especially with a teenager that’s constantly wanting to play catch the ball, splash the ball. Pissouri has approximately 7/8 local restaurants in the “Bay Area” and a few more up in the hillside, for these you need a car ??. Our car was again, typical of Cyprus and very bog standard. Don’t get me wrong, they get you from A-B but please don’t expect the cars you are used to at home! A few days into our very relaxed trip we took it up a notch and drove ourselves approximately 35 minutes away to the seaside resort of Paphos. Here we spent a couple of nights in a very modern apartment located right across from the sea front. We took a little time here to have a quick peek, and a drink at a few our our top selling properties, including Alexander the Great, Olympic Lagoon, Paphos and a couple of others that sit along the sea front. As we had 2 nights here we also had the time to experience the local fish restaurants, visit the water park and take a local boat trip to the blue lagoon, which is highly recommended and absolutely amazing! After a packed, fun filled time and a dent in the wallet it was time to head back to Pissouri for the rest of our trip. A good chance to go back and visit a couple of our new favourite places to eat with food a plenty, meat and fish meze and a good local wine ?? For any information or holiday requests on this side of the gorgeous island of Cyprus please get in touch today. Kerry x P.S I’m off to experience the other side of the island in September and viewing some amazing wedding venues….watch this space

26 March 2022

Well……what a fabulous time I had on board the amazing, fun filled Valiant Lady! ????? First of all you need to know my love for cruising is huge and I don’t do it nearly enough ?? The Virgin ships are adult only ships and this for myself is great as you don’t have that guilty parent feeling of leaving your kids at home and seeing other kids having a great time. There is also no “buffet”, everything in The Galley is freshly cooked to order. Yes, there a little wait bit the food is piping hot on arrival. The Galley is deck 15 and has an amazing selection of food choice including, Pizza, Tacos, Noodles, Sushi, Salads, burgers and amazing desserts. Other food options include…… The Wake - Steak & Seafood. This is favoured most for us brits as it’s more traditional to regular cruisers. Food quality is absolutely amazing and cooked to perfection. Our table was looking directly out of the window and we had a clear view of the sea behind us ?? Pink Agave - Mexican. This restaurant serves traditional Mexican street food. Our waiter brought us one of everything on the menu…..oh my…..all I can say is try it!! Every single theming we tasted here was again amazing ?? Gunbae- traditional Korean food cooked in front of you. This is a table share restaurant for up to 6 people. Our share was allergic to fish and left to dine elsewhere. There plenty choice as you see so they were ok with this. Be prepared for great food, plenty fun and drinking games. A real fun dining option. N.B Don’t fill up on the starter selection. The Pizza Place - These are freshly cooked whist you wait. You can also get fresh salad boxes with various choices of dressing. This would be lovely in the sunshine. There are lots more dining options that I didn’t get to try including, Razzle Dazzle, the vegan restaurant and Extra Virgin, the Italian. These are definitely on my hit list for May. All the dining options are included in the cost of your cruise once it’s booked along with - Lick me till I scream ?? I had a sea terrace cabin/stateroom on deck 13, cabin 13.278A. This was towards the front of the ship….easy to remember from the lifts near the Redroom…..straight up and left ?? Cabins/Staterooms are accessed with your personal sailor band, no cards or keys. The decor is so much more homely since Scarlet Lady launched in 2020 and there is complimentary water on arrival, refilled as required. Room lighting, temperature and TV are all controlled by the tablet on the dressing table. Apart from the $5 service charge all room service is complimentary, although I never actually ordered the food choice looked great. The bed can be made into a sofa during the day if you’d like, although we never bothered as we were out all day. The balconies are a decent size and each one has its own hammock….there should be instructions for getting in and out of this ?? When you book a VV cruise you already have so many inclusions, including all soft drinks, standard tea & coffee and water. Specialty coffees are available at an additional cost. A standard size latte is $4 and no tax to pay on top. At the moment you can purchase a $300 bar tab and you’ll receive $100 free, plus you can have 1 bar tab to share! This is plenty for the average weeks holiday, just remember to purchase upfront. Alcoholic drinks are very reasonably priced and if you feel like splashing the cash you can always shake for for champagne! ???? The ship uses modern technology for everything you want or need, including booking shows, meals etc. The annoying thing at the moment is sometimes the free WiFi and the VV app does glitch. This gets a little frustrating but as with anything new, I’m guessing these slight issues will be ironed out soon and it definitely does not spoil the holiday. Well…..where do I begin with entertainment and other facilities on board!!! There really is something at every turn. Random pop ups when you aren’t expecting them ?? The PJ party was good fun ?? and was inside on this cruise as outside was cold. They don’t have things like this on other cruise lines ?? The shows are amazing and the performers all have individual, incredible skills. like nothing I have seen anywhere before, never mind on a ship. Never Sleep Alone is definitely not for the faint hearted or anyone prudish…..really give you belly giggles ???? You have the option of joint in crazy games, pub crawls, lessons in the casino, listening to live bands, pop up singers, dancers, public Karaoke and also an option to hire a private karaoke booth plus much more!!! Abi the Hostess is an amazing women with a genuine heart and has a little bit of time for everyone she meets. This mustn’t be easy to do every day but she is smashing the role ?? Traditional cruise lives have black tie nights, #VirginVoyages have Scarlet night, just wear something red ?? If this isn’t enough Valiant Lady has her very own ice cream parlour, hair salon, barbers shop, a tattoo parlour for the adventurous and a very special IV shop for those in need of a hang over recovery ?? ?? Book the hair salon early if you’d like to try it, I tried twice for a decent appointment time and they only had really early in the day or really late at the evening left. The gym is all free along with most of the fitness classes. Yoga in the morning, bungee workout, 80’s workout, basket ball court, running/walking track, again I could go on and on ?? Although I didn’t use it the spa on board looked fabulous and was pricing at $39 for a 3 hour time slot. You are free then to use the hot beds, steam room etc. Robes are also provided and it’s a lovely place to relax away from everything else going on. The swimming pool is outside and although there were some complaints from the launch of Scarlet Lady that the pool was small I heard no complaints about the pool on this ship….and they are exactly the same. If you get the chance to sail with Virgin Voyages you will not be disappointed, you will be amazed at the ship, the facilities, the food and most of all the staff on board. The staff on board this ship have a relaxed, less formal uniform than other cruise lines are the most helpful and happiest staff at sea I have ever seen. It must be something in the water ?? Until next time…..Thank you

01 December 2019

In December 2015 myself and my youngest son spent the day in search of Santa in Lapland. After receiving his postcard invite from Santa it was an early start, arriving at Manchester Airport around 5am. The flight to Rovaniemi takes around 3 hours and was packed full of Christmas carols, games, activities and a warm breakfast it ends landing on the iciest runway I have ever seen. After transferring to the clothing pick up point, this provides all the necessary clothing you’ll need to keep warm, it’s a short drive to Rovaniemi to start the days activities. The day involved the crossing of the Arctic Circle, snowball fights, sledging, Reindeer rides, husky sledge rides, a scrumptious hot lunch and finally a visit to see the big man himself, Santa. Santa took the time out to speak to each child and they all received a small gift. The visit to Santa was amazing but sledging down this hills in Lapland was such good fun. The last couple of hours, after dark we had time to visit Santa’s Village. There was time to spare to send a postcard from Santa's post office, get our passports stamped and also see the real igloos! Around 7pm we were transferred to the airport for our return flight to Manchester. My son, who was 7 at the time was fast asleep as soon as the plane ascended into the sky. A long, exhausting day but one I will cherish forever. So full of magic and happiness. The smiles on everyone’s faces, Mums, Dads, Grandads, Grandmas, Aunts, Uncles, and most of all the children are absolutely PRICELESS!