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No Fly Cruising for 2017 and beyond
Today at ROL Cruise HQ, we’ve been talking no-fly-cruising, and whether starting a cruise holiday at an airport is a nuisance or a god-send – here’s what we think. Firstly, in this post, we’re going to address the elephant in the room – the one that most cruise specialists would shy away from talking about - for fear of being too honest- but we like to share both sides of the debate.
For both professional cruisers and first-timers, there are four notorious little words that conjure up a thousand thoughts; four little words that have a lot to answer for in the world of cruising, and are probably amongst the most misunderstood.
“The Bay of Biscay.” - there you go, I said them, and it wasn’t so bad, was it?
Bounded by the west coast of France and the north coast of Spain, this 86,000 sq mile stretch of water is likely accountable for a large proportion of those who refuse to cruise. There are other reasons too of course, such as the fear of being on the wrong type of ship, or not liking your fellow passengers, but for most, I’d say this naughty little bay is at least partly responsible.
The latter of course can largely be avoided by seeking advice from a cruise expert like ROL Cruise – (do you see what I did there?), but due to Mother Nature and geography, we can do little to calm the Bay of Biscay for you. What we can do however, is put your mind at ease, and tell you that it’s unlikely to be as bad as you’ve heard.
The caveat here is that your no-fly cruise could well be as bad as your friends Richard and Susan reported after their “crossing from hell last summer”, or like the thousands that take to cruising forums every day, but it may also be much better - so let’s look on the bright side.
In my 13 years’ cruising, I’ve probably navigated ‘the bay’ six or seven times, and I’ve seen it all: Blistering sunshine, gale-force winds, and five or so other variations of weather – including one of the short cruises that I took in the winter (the worst time for cruising this part of the world), and it was practically still.
Don’t get me wrong, if you’re expecting a millpond you’re likely to be disappointed, but it only takes a day to cross, and you’re on holiday, so try to distract yourself with one of the hundreds of activities available on board.
Duncan Croucher, our Sales and Training Manager (and recent Travel Weekly Magazine Mystery Shopper winner) wanted to add a couple of extra tips for you to consider: I’ll share with you his personal favourite tip for overcoming any Biscay-related bother (#1), and his other, slightly more publishable tips for you to consider.
I did plenty of research before writing this, and there isn’t much more to add. Telegraph writer (and Blue Horizons regular) Jane Archer hosted a Q & A on the Telegraph website, and she pretty much reported the same, as did the rest of the team here at ROL Cruise; all frequent cruisers.
We all give cruising the thumbs up - despite the infamous Bay of Biscay.
However, if you absolutely would prefer to stay well away from this little rascal of the seas, there are plenty of other options available to you. Check out our selection of voyages to the Baltic and Scandinavia. The Mediterranean has sunshine and sand, but the chances of spotting the Northern Lights or the Russian Ballet are – well – slim!
Or our equally popular fly-cruises, where anytime of the year, you can fly straight out to the sunshine. You won’t be sharing a drink with Duncan on the runway, as he hates to fly, but there’s a cruise for everyone – you just need to take the rough, with the smooth. (excuse the pun).
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