Now even the ships that are allowed in, are not allowed to fly a flag.

Argentina Forces Cunard to Lower Flag

Sage advice from P&O. Keep calm and cruise the Canaries.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/emma6/media/keepcalm-1.jpg.html

In case you do not choose your cruise by destination, ship, company or price, Cruise Critic have produced a table comparing the loyalty benefits you can acquire from sailing with different companies.

Here is the link: http://www.cruisecritic.com/blog/index.php/2013/08/19/cruise-line-loyalty-with-chart-break-down/

If you would like more detailed information, please visit their article which takes an in-depth look at what each loyalty scheme offers.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=73

As not all cruisers go Southampton – Southampton, these tips will apply to any fly cruisers, as much as for any holiday.

Copied from Independent Traveller.com

http://www.independenttraveler.com/travel-tips/packing-and-accessories/what-not-to-pack

My personal advice comes from someone wise, whose name I forget.  It is as follows:

Lay out everything on the bed. Everything. Bottles, clothes, gadgets, money, everything you intend to take.

Then take out half the clothes and put in twice the money.

Job done.

And a last word of wisdom from Dave Gorman: it is always cheaper to buy socks at the other end than to pay extra for having packed them.

In the latest blow to Carnival Cruise Line, a class action lawsuit is claiming that hot tubs on Carnival ships are infested with flesh-eating bacteria.

The suit alleges that hundreds of passengers contracted the MRSA virus on Carnival ships and calls for anyone infected to join in.

Tab Lankford claims he caught it on Carnival Paradise in December 2011 and almost lost his leg.

He spent a week in the hospital with doctors contemplating amputation, and running up $70,000 in medical bills.

Lankford claims someone in Carnival guest relations told him 50 other passengers on the ship also caught the virus.

Maria Osoriocano and Andrew Smith claim they caught MRSA and staphylococcus aureus in the hot tub of Carnival Fascination on a May 12 2012 sailing.

Attorneys for the three have filed a class action demanding that Carnival release the names of others who fell sick after using its hot tubs.

“Our clients – and we believe many others – have suffered horrendous infections from bathing in Carnival’s hot tubs,” said Sean Cleary, attorney for the Fascination couple.

“One problem is that these infections may take a few days to surface. By the time the passengers know they have been exposed, it is often too late to report the problem on the ship.”

A motion by Carnival to dismiss the class action was denied by Federal Judge Cecilia Altonaga of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

A Carnival spokesman said: “The lawsuit is meritless. All pools, whirlpools and water-based amenities on board our ships are properly maintained and their water content properties are routinely monitored. We take sanitation and cleanliness on our vessels very seriously and water quality is confirmed through periodic inspections by the U.S. Public Health service.

“Our guests may rest assured that these shipboard amenities are maintained via strict standards and practices to ensure a clean and safe environment. We decline to comment further given the pending lawsuit.”

By Cheryl Rosen, TravelMole US.  Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Of course, if the case was really “meritless”,, the Judge in Florida might have noticed…