Porthole
THE BIG PICTURE
Sparkling water
Cochin, India
Kerala’s stunning, green waterways attract more than half a million travellers every year. But before you get to the lush, palm-fringed backwaters that the south-western state is known for, the port of Cochin (or Kochi) greets you with its picture-perfect myriad of fishing boats and giant Chinese-style fishing nets. You can sample the fruits of their labour at the seafood stalls dotted along the waterfront of Fort Cochin, which, like the main town, is a melting pot of Portuguese, Dutch, Jewish and British heritage.
The port itself already features prominently on world cruise itineraries from P&O to Silversea, but is gearing up to be a bigger player with Indian investment set to upgrade the port’s facilities. Head out in the shoulder season between October and November and you’ll not only miss the monsoons (June to September), but also the December rush.
FOOD
What’s cooking?
The ships’ galleys are welcoming some new (and familiar) faces to cook up a storm
Anton Mosimann
Where and when?
Silversea’s Silver Wind, 18 October 2009
Who?
The Swiss-born chef’s private members’ club and restaurant in Belgravia, Mosimann’s, counts Joan Collins and Elizabeth Taylor as fans.
Onboard
Mosimann will join the Culinary and Wine cruise, where he will introduce an exclusive menu for the voyage, as well as hosting a grand gourmet dinner and cocktail reception for all guests.
Signature dishes
Look out for his famous risotto ai funghi (mushroom risotto) and bread and butter pudding.
Atul Kochhar
Where and when?
P&O’s Azura in 2010
Who?
Kochhar’s London venue, Benares Restaurant & Bar, received a Michelin star in 2007. He’s a regular face on food shows Market Kitchen and Saturday Kitchen.
Onboard
His restaurant, Sindhu, will combine the best of British and Indian cuisine in a fine-dining venue. He will make onboard appearances, giving demonstrations and getting down to work in the galleys.
Signature dishes
The soft-shell crab and squid salad or pan-fried lobster tail in coconut milk and tamarind sauce.
Charlie Palmer
Where and when?
Yachts of Seabourn’s Seabourn Odyssey, now
Who?
A big name Stateside, Palmer advocates ‘Progressive American’ cuisine, mixing unexpected flavours with classic French undertones.
Onboard
He’s worked with Seabourn for the past eight years on menus for dining venues fleet-wide, and more recently was onboard Odyssey giving demonstrations. He’s set to appear next year on Sojourn.
Signature dish
Prawns saltimbocca (prosciutto wrapped prawns) and whiskey honey soufflé.
Marco Pierre White
Where and when?
P&O Ventura, now
Who?
The fiery Hell’s Kitchen star has a portfolio of top London restaurants, including L’Escargot and Luciano.
Onboard
As well as his fine-dining restaurant The White Room on Ventura, White oversees The Beach House casual family restaurant. He makes regular appearances, and gives private cooking classes to groups of eight. The next cruise is 25 September 2009.
Signature dishes
Spaghetti all’Aragosta stile Americano, his lobster spaghetti, is the favourite.
DRINK
Shake it up
Looking for the perfect poolside, pre-dinner, or afterhours, cocktail? Boris Silli, public rooms manager on Seabourn Pride, serves up his perfect martini
EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT…
Smaller ports
Enchanted by the idea of sailing via exotic, lesser-known, harder-to-reach ports on some of the tallest vessels at sea? Star Clippers’ multi-masted, fully-rigged fleet is planning to sail to more than 40 maiden ports next year, most of which – shhhhh – are secluded. Which has softened the blow of their announced termination of Tahiti cruises after 2010. So in addition to visiting old favourites like Bora Bora (pictured), new off-radar stops will include Hiva Oa (Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia), Cocos Islands (Costa Rica) and Pearl Islands (Panama). We have our eye on the Mergui archipelago, off the southernmost coast of Myanmar, where Star Clipper plans to dock at five of its 800 virtually untouched atolls. The Andaman Sea in which they lie also has stunning diving spots. And the best time to see the abundant sea life, including huge manta rays? Between December and April. But best book now.
SHORE EXCURSION
Planet of the apes
It’s getting increasingly difficult to spot these fellas, but where there’s a will…
You don’t have to be David Attenborough to get a close-up of these fiery-haired orang-utans in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Borneo’s Malaysian state of Sabah. They only number 50,000 and are endangered, so are kept in a protected environment. Ogle over them in your own time on their island enclosure at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park (Old Penampang-Papar Road), which is only a 30-minute taxi ride from the city centre. Silversea’s Silver Whisper will visit the port again in February 2010.
ENTERTAINMENT
Sing it loud
You can catch your favourite musicals without stepping foot in the West End or Broadway
Straight from the world’s best stages and onto the high seas, musicals are finding their sea legs this year. The big-haired comedy hit Hairspray, set in 1960s Baltimore, will be the headliner on Oasis of the Seas for a minimum of three years when she launches at the end of the year. NCL is also embracing the swinging decade with SHOUT!, named after the eponymous hit from Lulu (see page 18 for an interview with the legendary songstress) which will have you singing along to classics such as To Sir with Love, Son of a Preacher Man and Downtown. Crystal’s Theatre At Sea cruise on 12 August showcases select scenes and numbers from the long-running Oklahoma!, while Saturday Night Fever is still a favourite on P&O’s Ventura. Worth making a song and dance about? We think so.
Join the club
With Cruise Thomas Cook’s Cruise Club, you’ll receive a welcome pack with a free guide to cruising and DVD, regular newsletters and emails. You’ll get the best offers and news from over 30 cruise lines and the chance to take ship visits, win cruises and have access to the Cruise Club’s microsite which has news and special offers. When you book, you’ll get a pack with vouchers for freebies like Thorntons chocolates, Sony discounts, Polaroid clips or kids’ sunglasses, and crystal decanter and glasses.
To join, simply pop into your local Thomas Cook or Going Places store, call 0800 916 6075 or log on to www.mycruiseclub.co.uk
FIVE OF THE BEST
HD camcorders
Catch your best moments onboard with these pocket-sized and portable high-definition video cameras
FULL STOP PHOTOGRAPHY
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
1 MINO HD BY FLIP, £169.95, WWW.FIREBOX.COM
2 VPC-CA9 BY SANYO, £329, WWW.JESSOPS.COM
3 HDR-CX105E BY SONY, £559.99, WWW.SONYSTYLE.CO.UK
4 VADO BY CREATIVE, £179.99, WWW.UK.EUROPE.CREATIVE.COM
5 ZX1 BY KODAK, £149.99, WWW.KODAK.CO.UK
ONBOARD WITH…
Lulu
The 60-year-old singer is about to embark on her maiden cruise, but wishes she could do it with Elton John, says Anisha Patel
SIMON FOWLER/CAMERAPRESS
This will be my first time on a cruise and it’s all because of Leo Green – he plays in my band. In a way I feel like a child taking my first steps. And that makes it a little bit intriguing and exciting.
I’m not looking to prove anything any more. The main reason I work today is to have fun. I’m just looking to get up there and really have a party.
I have been around for a long time now, and one has to be fluid. You have to be spontaneous. I think that’s a good thing.
My favourite decade for music has to be the 1960s. For me certainly, it was a revolutionary time in music – it was the start for me. It was special, and I was very fortunate to have had an opportunity at that time, because it’s so completely different now. It’s not as magical. It’s not to say there’s no talent – it’s such a tough business, the recording industry is suffering so badly, and they don’t nurture acts the way they used to. I was fortunate to start when I did.
Nowadays, I like listening to Ne-Yo and Flo Rider. Leona Lewis is amazing. I like Amy Winehouse and Paulo Nutini, too. I think Beyoncé is amazing, too – I did a show with her years ago. She’s really turned into a consummate performer, and all-round entertainer.
I’ve been to India, Malaysia, Japan, America, the south of France, Spain, Italy… I’ve stayed in hotels, in homes, I’ve done charity work in Indonesia, I’ve water-skied, I’ve snow-skied – I’ve done different types of holidays, but never a cruise!
Travelling is so tiring and stressful so cruising sounds like a great way of getting around. The great thing about a cruise must be that you get to go to so many different places. That must be the most exciting thing. You can disembark in a whole new country you’ve never been to before – and that’s really interesting.
If I could cruise anywhere I’d go to South America – it’s a long way to go though, isn’t it? I’ve never been. I like their rhythm – they can dance.
If I could chose anyone to go on a cruise
with it would be Elton [John]. He’s fun, intellectually stimulating and he’s like family. And he’s been everywhere. He’s just great company. We’ve been away together many times before – just several years ago we went to Hawaii.
Lulu will be appearing on Fred Olsen’s Boudicca alongside The Leo Green Experience on 8 November, departing from Portsmouth to Bilbao, Oporto and Lisbon
UK CRUISING
Staying south
The world’s biggest cruise ship is set to call Southampton home year-round
Independence of the Seas will be based year-round in Southampton from next year – a clear sign that Britain’s cruise business is set to soar.
Winter cruises on the 4,300-passenger ship, which is packed with restaurants, bars and facilities – from a FlowRider surf simulator to an ice rink and boxing ring – will sail to the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands.
It will be the first time that Royal Caribbean has based a ship year-round in the UK. Independence of the Seas has been especially tweaked for the British market, with tea and coffee facilities in every cabin and heated pools.
The ship’s Royal Promenade is an internal street that is longer than a football pitch and is lined with shops and bars. It even has an English-style pub, the Dog & Badger.
Royal Caribbean’s UK chief Jo Rzymowska says: “When Independence of the Seas first sailed from the UK she was one of the best-performing ships in the fleet. When she returns next April to be home-ported in Southampton, she can truly be called the UK’s ship.”
For more on Independence of the Seas, call 0800 916 3233, visit www.cruisethomascook.com, your local Thomas Cook or Going Places store, or see Thomas Cook TV, Sky channel 655
BEAUTY
Happy feet
Want to know the secret to fabulous-looking tootsies? Look after them with these scrumptious scrubs and lotions
AFFORDABLE CRUISING
Going aboard for a song
Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of Cruise Critic tells us how to bag the best deal
Do your homework
The buyer is king in this economy, and there are some insanely good offers if you research properly. Signing up for any newsletters is a good start.
Be an early bird
Booking early will give you access to benefits such as free cabin upgrades, free onboard credit, free parking, or inclusive gratuities. Gratuities alone can be £10 a day per person, so a party of three can end up spending more than £200 on the tip after a weeklong cruise.
The last minute concept
If you can be truly flexible, up to two weeks before a ship sails you can get some massive discounts. You won’t get the extras, but it’s extremely affordable – especially if there is no air travel involved.
A shore thing
Figure out well in advance whether you want to do the cruise line tours, or go with an independent operator, which can be a bit cheaper. If you do it when you get there, you’ll rush into doing something and end up spending more money.
Avoid high time
Go in the shoulder season. As long as you’re flexible with the weather, you’ll not only get better prices, but more added value, such as upgrades. You’ll make a killer saving in the Baltic in May or September, and in the Caribbean between August and early October.
MUSIC
Those were the days
Like the idea of taking Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Perry Como on your next cruise? Consider it done, pastperfect.com, has introduced a pre-loaded 8GB iPod Nano with more than 1,000 digitally remastered classic songs ranging from the golden 1920s to the fabulous 1940s so there’s no need to faff about with actually downloading anything. It’s music to our ears.
£279.97, www.pastperfect.com
IN NUMBERS
A room with a view
The number of staterooms and cabins with a balcony or verandah is on the increase
Percentage of staterooms and cabins on a ship with a balcony or verandah
Behind the scenes
Julie Sherrington, Guest Relations Manager, Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW HAYES-WATKINS
My days are so unpredictable. I have a computer in my room, so the first thing I do is get up at 7am and check my emails. I check the night security report to see if there are any major concerns or breaches of our guest conduct policy. If that’s the case then I’ll go and meet them, and if necessary, we ask them to leave the ship. But that would have to be an extreme situation. It doesn’t just protect our guests, but also our crew. The days have gone where the guest is always right. We do get situations all the time – but I’m quite fair.
I started out working in the beauty salon doing hair, and I switched from there to the purser’s desk and just carried on working my way up. I’ve been working with Royal Caribbean for 18 years, and as Guest Relations Manager for 10.
We have an internal logging process for any concerns like noise complaints or guest problems. There’s a morning meeting with division heads to go through any concerns of the day or future plans for the week. I make sure that the concierges and VIP lounges are okay, that the Daily Compass (the ship’s newsletter) has been printed for the next few days. Then I just deal with any concerns at the front of the desk. I also have to make sure the team is on time.
I try and get a break when we’re in port and go for coffee or get a bite to eat. Sometimes I work all the way through the day. But usually at about nine or 10 at night I’ll go to bed.
But again, if anything happens during the night, I can be called.
It’s funny, I wouldn’t apply if I looked at my job description now. I wouldn’t have thought in a million years that I’d be able to do it when I actually analyse what it is and all the responsibilities involved. I left school with zero qualifications. But I’d rather employ someone who has personality more than anything else. It’s so important in the hospitality business.
I don’t like it when guests get upset and I can’t turn the situation around. But usually it’s because they don’t want me to turn it around. Nine times out of 10 you can fix the situation if it’s fixable, and that one per cent of people don’t actually want you to fix it.
We have a satisfaction card where guests rate us, which the company takes extremely seriously. But when you’re at the gangways saying goodbye to people at six in the morning and they don’t want to go, and you’ve got to know people quite personally, you can just see it in their faces that you’ve done a good job.
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