Holiday News - Direct

Costa Cruises has announced the Costa Allegra and Costa Marina in winter 2010/11 will be based in the Red Sea in Sharm El Sheikh. They both will do seven day sailings with the Costa Allegra departing on Mondays and the Costa Marina departing Thursdays.
TravelMole reports, “The itinerary includes three days in Sharm El Sheikh […]

Norwegian Cruise Line is bringing the Norwegian Epic to the Mediterranean cruise market in 2011. In a bid to expand their range of destinations, NCL has decided to focus on Europe in the second season for the ‘Epic’ liner rather than staying in the Caribbean.
Kevin Sheehan, Chief Executive of NCL said, “By bringing the […]

Holidays in Egypt have become ever more popular, largely due to Sharm el-Sheik which has been one of the top destinations for winter sun holidays in the last few years.
So, what are the must-do activities for holidays in Sharm el-Sheik. The Daily Mail has put together a quick guide.
1. Kite Surfing
This is literally what it […]

Celebrity Cruises has named the fourth ship in the Celebrity Solstice-Class as the Celebrity Silhouette. The cruise ship is a 2,850 person vessel which will commence service in 2011.
The Celebrity Eclipse is due to set sail from the UK’s main cruise port of Southampton in April 2010. Other ships in the Celebrity Cruises […]

All-inclusive resorts are set to rise in 2010 as UK holidaymakers search for good value for money holidays. Holidays abroad will be shorter as travellers look towards week long holidays and city breaks to break up the year.
All-inclusive resorts give customers peace of mind about not having to worry about extra money for food […]

A masterplan by Liverpool City Council aimed at tripling cruise ships calling in at the city over the next decade has been launched.
With Southampton being the UK’s major cruise hub, Liverpool’s 10 year plan which has been launched in partnership with Peel Ports and MerseyTravel will rival the southern departure port if the plan succeeds.
During […]

Holidays-Direct.co.uk has revealed a noticeable increase in the last few months of interest in winter holiday destinations. Many UK holidaymakers want to escape the doom and gloom of dark mornings and cold winter evenings to swap for somewhere hot and sunny.
There are many winter holiday bargains as well as city break offers in the […]

Jamaica is the worlds leading cruise destination for the fourth year running in the World Travel Awards (WTA) and Ocho Rios named the Caribbean’s leading cruise port.
Votes for the WTA’s are cast by travel industry professionals from over 183,000 companies worldwide, and are classed as the travel industries answer to ‘Oscars’.
William Tatham from Cruise Shipping […]

UK holidaymakers are planning to travel further afield this winter to destinations such as Dubai, Hong Kong and The Caribbean.
Longer haul destinations are favoured due to the poor exchange rate for many European resorts, giving a wider choice for UK holidaymakers to try somewhere new and get better value for money.
Holidays-Direct believe researching holiday destinations […]

Get up and Dance with Lilia Kopylova and Darren Bennett is an opportunity for cruise goers to show off their dancing skills on board the Island Escape cruise liner, bookings are available through online travel agency, www.cruises-direct.co.uk.
Every week during January and February Island Cruises are running dance classes twice a day in Latin American dance […]

For the first time, Disney Cruise Lines are being promoted in the UK in order to increase sales as well promote the launch of Disney’s newest ship, Disney Dream.
Launching in January 2011, the cruise liner is more than twice as big as the other ships in the Disney fleet, Disney Wonder and Disney Magic at […]

As the UK cruise market has grown over the previous couple of years, Royal Caribbean Cruise line has brought in a new charitable initiative for the launch of the worlds largest cruise ship, Oasis of the Seas.
Royal Caribbean will hold an introductory fundraiser aboard the cruise liner, with all proceeds going to charity, along with […]

Thomson Cruises has announced it will be starting a number of 14 day cruises to the Caribbean later on this year, including the introduction of Cuban ports.
Scheduled to begin in December, the Thomson Dream will sail to many Caribbean ports including Havana, Cuba, where not many cruise liners have gone before due to US restrictions.
Thomson […]

Mike Tanzer, Chief Executive of ABTA has addressed the ABTA Travel Convention attendees in Barcelona about the latest initiative to help safeguard holidaymakers who purchase flights or accommodation separately, as well as those who purchase packages.
In a fundamental effort to close one of the tourism industry’s biggest loopholes, ABTA, along with the support from its […]

The latest cruise industry organisation to join ABTA is Royal Caribbean Cruises. The travel industry body has revealed a total of 62 new members which have been accepted into the association in the last 12 months.
With 98 percent of ABTA subscribers renewing their membership earlier on in the year, the industry body is quite […]

The UK cruise market according to experts will be bigger than ever, with more choice of destination, larger ships to choose from, experts are predicting an ‘upswing’ on this particular market in the travel industry.
This year alone the cruise industry has seen a boost in interest as well as sales and experts don’t think this […]

Thomson Cruises and Island Cruises have researched what is more important to their travellers, Port visits or days at sea.
The results have come back to show that ports are more important, as a result of this, The UK’s second largest cruise firm will increase fly-cruises agenda in 2010.
In 2010/2011 winter season, the popular cruise liner […]

Online travel agency, CityBreaks-Direct.co.uk has compiled a list of the most popular destinations for romantic getaways in Europe. With many Brits opting for citybreaks over week long summer holidays, citybreak bargains are being snapped up fast.
Citybreaks in Paris, Rome and Barcelona are particularly popular for couples looking for a romantic getaway, […]

Crystal Cruises are planning a $25million revamp to the Crystal Symphony. The 940 passenger luxury cruise liner will go under 2 weeks of work in October 2009 in Boston.
Plans include giving the lavish 50,000 ton ship a makeover from the current Penthouses, Italian Restaurant and Café into Residential apartments – which will include larger […]

Research released today by American Express Travellers Cheques has found that nearly 80 percent of UK holidaymakers are continually looking for ways to reduce holiday spending budgets.
Here is a list of the top cost cutting ways Brits are using, and percentages of people using each method:
• Travelling at an off peak time/day. Around 53% of […]