With the ever-changing set of country regulations regarding covid vaccinations and testing, a survey shows how countries differ in their requirements with even neighbouring countries making totally different demands on visitors.
 
Whilst some countries insist on the original two jabs and a booster (which only lasts twelve months if you are going to Qatar), others still demand the production of a negative test, at a minimum an inconvenience and potentially a holiday disaster in the face of a positive result. In the neantime, others have dropped all covid-related barriers to entry.
 
So, which countries have now dropped all covid-related travel restrictions.
 
Whilst this is not a comprehensive list, the UK Foreign & Commonwealth offices identifies the following countries as allowing hassle-free entry, but check before booking in case of recent changes.

​Happy travelling!

​Ambassador Cruise Line has today announced that former British athlete, Sally Gunnell OBE has been chosen as godmother for their first ship, Ambience. Sally will rename the ship at a special ceremony at London Tilbury on 19th April.

​Ambassador is the first British cruise line to launch in the UK in over a decade. Sailing from London Tilbury, the no-fly itineraries provide a premium-value, authentic cruise experience predominantly aimed at the 50-plus traveller.
 
Ambassador’s first ship, Ambience, will enter service on 20th April 2022 with a maiden voyage to Hamburg, followed by a further 31 sailings calling at over 90 different ports. Itineraries will include the British Isles, the Norwegian Fjords, Greenland, the Arctic and Iceland, plus several short break cruises. For the winter months, a range of exploration style voyages will sail to the Canaries, Cuba, the Caribbean, Cape Verde and Scandinavia.

​Sally was born in Chigwell, Essex and is the only British woman to hold four major track titles simultaneously – Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth. Since retiring from international athletics, the 55-year-old mother of three has become an advocate for health and well-being for the over 50s.
 
Sally said, “I’m delighted to be godmother to Ambience, Ambassador Cruise Line’s first ship. I’ve a fondness for Ambassador’s homeport London Tilbury being in Essex, the county I was born and grew up in.
 
Being godmother comes with responsibility too and I’m flattered that I’ll be re-naming Ambience in April. I look forward to celebrating this wonderful occasion and ship with everyone at Ambassador, the crew onboard and all the guests”.

For more information on cruises and to book, go to www.ambassadorcruiseline.com ​

River cruising continues to gain in popularity and Saga is reflecting the trend by adding four new river cruise ships to its fleet.

​The new ships will be called Spirit of the Moselle, Spirit of the Main, Spirit of the Elbe and Spirit of the Rhône. Starting in May 2023 the ships will operate on the rivers after which they are named. 

They will join Saga’s existing new ships Spirit of the Rhine and Spirit of the Danube, which were jointly named Arnhem a week ago. 

For more information, go to travel.saga.co.uk

Stuck for something special to do on Valentine’s day? Well, here’s an idea that’s hard to beat
 
Cunard is offering a four-night voyage to Hamburg on the world’s only ocean liner, Queen Mary 2. You can even get married on board!

Guests will start the weekend with a welcoming bottle of sparkling wine in their room, can enjoy a plethora of activities on board and dance the night away at a spectacular gala ball.

Couples will get to spend a full day exploring idyllic Hamburg and can even leave a padlock on Love Lock Bridge!
 
For guests looking to tie the knot, Cunard also offers wedding packages, with unique extras such as scarlet uniformed bellboys escorting the bride to the ceremony, conducted by the captain.

Other treats on board include a couples’ seaweed massage in Cunard’s Mareel Spa, priced at $350 for 75 minutes and a decadent champagne afternoon tea, with Laurent-Perrier champagne, priced at
$34.50

Queen Mary 2’s Southampton – Hamburg – Southampton voyage departs 13 February and prices are from £379 per person.

 For more information, go to  https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M205PM205P

​Marella Cruises will be running a number of 3-12 night UK cruises this summer which go on sale Friday 16 April.

Marella Explorer will set sail from Southampton on UK itineraries from June 25, sailing to new ports of call including, Belfast, Dublin and Liverpool. Marella Explorer 2, the cruise lines adult only ship, will also offer UK sailings from Newcastle from Saturday 10 July, with even more UK ports of call. Newcastle sailings will go on sale by the end of this month.
 
The all-inclusive sailings start at under £450 per person.
 
Anyone aged 18-years and older will be required to have had both COVID-19 jabs at least seven days before travelling. All under 18-year-olds, excluding infants under the age of two who will not be able to sail as they are exempt from testing, will be asked to have a lateral flow test. 
 
All guests must also provide proof of a negative lateral flow test before boarding the ships at the start of the cruise.   

​Royal Caribbean International has announced that new UK sailings onboard Anthem of the Seas will be departing from Southampton from 7th July 2021. Families can holiday together as the cruises, which will sail with vaccinated crew, will be available to any adult guests who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and those under the age of 18 with negative test results.  

​UK residents can choose from a combination of 3 to 4-night Ocean Getaways in early July and 5 to 8-night British Isles cruises, starting 15th July, that feature visits to iconic destinations across the UK such as Liverpool, Belfast and Kirkwall. Bookings start on 7 April.

 Free staterooms
 
In recognition of the tremendous efforts of the emergency services, NHS, social care sector and armed forces over the last year, Royal Caribbean will offer 999 free staterooms onboard the first Ocean Getaways to those in these professions. Free sailings can be secured by pre-registering through the Royal Caribbean International website starting 13th April 2021. Pre-registrations will be entered into a ballot to be drawn by the end of April. 
 
For more information, check out their website.

Saga has launched its Summer cruises, and guests are spoiled for choice. Three of the four cruises will be on Spirit of Discovery whilst the fourth will be the inaugural cruise of Saga’s brand new ship, Spirit of Adventure.

All Saga cruises include drinks, gratuities, internet access, insurance and speciality dining, and all cabins have balconies. Cruises also include a choice of complementary UK travel to and from the port including a private door-to-door chauffeur service up to 250 miles each way, car parking near the port, domestic flights or standard class rail or coach travel. 

Scottish Highlands and Islands departs Tilbury on June 27th, 2021 aboard Spirit of Discovery for six nights calling at Lerwick on the Shetland Islands, followed by Scrabster and Invergordon before returning to Tilbury. Sight-seeing tours of Lerwick and Invergordon are included. Prices start from £1,154 per person.
 
 Great British Isles Adventure departsTilbury on July 11th, 2021 aboard Spirit of Discovery for 14 nights, calling at Falmouth, Holyhead, Belfast, Greenock, Ullapool, Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Newhaven and Newcastle and disembarking back in Tilbury. Sight-seeing tours of Belfast, Kirkwall, Edinburgh and Newcastle are included. Prices start from £3,375 per person.
 
From the Northern Isles to the Fjords departs Tilbury aboard Spirit of Discovery on July 3, 2021 or July 25, 2021 for six nights, calling at Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, cruising Sognefjord in Norway, Lerwick in the Shetland Islands and Stornoway followed by Scrabster in Scotland before returning to Tilbury. Sight-seeing tours of Kirkwall and Lerwick are included. Prices start from £1,539 per person.
 
The Inaugural Cruise on Spirit of Adventure departsTilbury on July 26th for 15 nights and heading to Newcastle, Newhaven, Dundee, Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Ullapool, Cruise St Kilda, Greenock, Belfast, Douglas, Holyhead, Bristol and Falmouth before disembarking in Dover. Sight-seeing tours of Newcastle, Edinburgh, Belfast and Bristol are also included. Prices from £3,458 per person.
 
In line with Government restrictions, guests will only be able to disembark at British ports. The Fjords cruising is purely scenic. All guests will require to show evidence of having received their second Covid 19 vaccination at least two weeks prior to boarding.

For more information on all Saga ocean and river cruises, click here

Riviera Travel has announced four 7-night British Isles cruises for this year, a chance to explore the best of the British Isles from the comfort of a 158-guest luxury ship.

​Two cruises cover the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The itinerary will take in Aberdeen and Balmoral Castle, before heading to Inverness, Orkney, Oban, the Outer Hebrides and County Donegal in Ireland. Tours on offer include trips to Loch Ness, the Neolithic Ring of Brodgar henge and stone circle, and the Callanish Standing Stones.

Two other cruises focus on the Emerald Isle. The itinerary includes Belfast, Dublin, Kilkenny, Galway, County Donegal and Cork. Tours on offer include Kilkenny Castle, Kylemore Abbey, a guided walking tour of Belfast with entry to the Titanic Visitor Centre, access to Trinity College, and a visit to Connemara, the largest Irish-speaking region. Guests can also take in the Slieve League Cliffs, the tallest sea cliffs in Europe, and the Cliffs of Moher.
 
The Scottish cruises depart 5 and 26 July and the Irish cruises depart 12 and 19 July. Guests can book both cruises on a back-to-back basis.

​Prices are from £1999 per passenger, two sharing, and include full board and a range of shore excursions. There is also an attractive drinks package available.
 
For more information and to book, call 01283 742 317 or go to www.rivieratravel.co.uk

​Grandeur of the Seas will be based in Barbados, and its late evening departures will allow guests to fly out from Gatwick and Manchester to join the ship the same day, thus avoiding the extra time and expense of a pre-cruise overnight stay and associated transfers that are necessary on Florida departures. It also avoids the crowds and often lengthy delays involved in flying into popular US airports as well as the two-day sailing time to get to and from the Caribbean from Miami; guests can immediately immerse themselves in the Caribbean atmosphere. 

Ports of call for the seven and fourteen night cruises include Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, plus Trinidad and Tobago. Longer itineraries add destinations such as Aruba coupled with visits to Cartagena, Colombia; Colon, Panama; and Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, among others. The itineraries also mean that ESTAs would not be requires as there are no American ports involved. Cruises start in December 2021.
 
Go to https://www.royalcaribbean.com for more information or contact your cruise/travel agent.

It was not that long ago that the generally-held view about the price of a cruise was that it cost double what you initially paid for it. Expensive drinks - to which 20% gratuities were added, a further £8 or so a day for more tips, plus slow and pricey internet access, all  helped to rack up the final bill, a significant deterrent to those considering a cruise.
 
Now Celebrity Cruises have addressed this major issue by introducing ‘Always Included’. From Tuesday, 17th November 2020, every Celebrity Cruises holiday will include fast Wi-Fi, drinks and tips, simplifying the holiday experience and making it so much easier for passengers to budget for a luxury holiday. 

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, said; “Today, nothing is more luxurious than when things are extra simple and extra special.  We wanted to bring that big wonderful feeling of ‘everything is taken care of’ to life for our guests.” 

Celebrity Cruises have a history of innovation in cruising. These include grass lawns on top decks 

​and, with Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Apex, the ‘magic carpet’, an additional piece of deck that can be moved  up and down to provide anything from additional party space to a large, stable platform for boarding tenders at ports where mooring alongside is not possible.

As we move slowly back to normality, this latest move will be very​ welcome to their existing clients, as well as those looking to cruise in style without breaking the bank. 
 
For more information on all Celebrity Cruises offerings visit www.celebritycruises.co.uk.

​Wearing a mask has become an everyday requirement for many people so it’s great to find a mask that is comfortable, efficient and saves you money.
 
The Breath Happy mask comes in two forms. Everyday is for low density areas such as shops or outside use, and Commuter is for higher density usage. Initial kits, each containing five filters per mask, can be purchased for one, three or five people

The initial mask kit comes in three parts. First there is the main unit that fits snugly around the face and made of a comfortable soft material. Then there is a front filter holder, plus a pack of five replaceable filter pads. These can be bought separately when your initial supply runs out.
 
The Everyday filter has a Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE) of 95% and the Commuter filter achieves 98%. Each filter can be used for seven days before being replaced. Everyday filters cost less than £1 each and Commuter filters no more than £1.25 each, less if purchased in larger quantities, a massive cost saving over disposable masks, and much more effective.
 
Because the mask moulds comfortably to the face, it doesn't need to be regularly adjusted, and  it won’t steam up your glasses!

​Ideal for shopping, work or travelling, if you are looking for a comfortable, efficient and cost-saving mask, this could be the answer.
 
For more information and to order, go to https://www.breathe-happy.com

Saga’s new ocean cruise ship, Spirit of Adventure, was handed over today in Emden, Germany, by shipbuilder Meyer Werft.
 
Spirit of Adventure is Saga’s second purpose-built boutique cruise ship, joining Spirit of Discovery which became part of the Saga Cruise fleet with much fanfare in July 2019 when she was christened by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall at an elegant quayside garden party.
 
Spirit of Adventure has 554 all balcony cabins and can accommodate 999 passengers with a tonnage of 58,250 GT. She will soon set sail for the UK with her inaugural cruise now scheduled to leave on the 5th February 2021 for the Canary Islands.

​Nigel Blanks, Managing Director of Saga Cruises, said, “Though the inaugural cruise will take place a little later than we had originally planned due to the ongoing restrictions on travel, we cannot wait to welcome guests onboard and see all she has to offer. Having recently visited the ship in Germany, I can assure you, she is worth the wait!”

Over the past few months, Saga has put in place detailed new procedures for a return to cruising in a COVID world. These include reduced capacity, pre-departure testing both at home and before boarding, increased medical staff and facilities and enhancements to their state-of-the-art air conditioning, which already provides 100% fresh air throughout our ships.
 
Saga’s all-inclusive ocean cruises include door-to-door transport, balcony cabins, insurance, internet access and drinks on board.

For more information on Saga holidays, including ocean and river cruising, go to https://travel.saga.co.uk
​

Blue Islands’ codeshare partnership with Loganair, Scotland’s airline, is now live. Customers can book services from Exeter, Southampton, Jersey and Guernsey to destinations on the Loganair network via www.blueislands.com, or their preferred travel agent.

​The codeshare enables customers to seamlessly book connecting flights with just one booking and one transaction. All hold luggage will be checked through to the final destination.
 
Starting from 26 October, passenger can book from Guernsey and Jersey to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle and Manchester via Southampton.
 
From Exeter and Southampton, passengers can fly to Aberdeen and Inverness via Manchester.

​Blue Islands CEO, Rob Veron said, “We are delighted that customers can now book flights using our previously announced codeshare partnership with Loganair. Our initial set of connections enable easy travel to a number of very popular destinations in Scotland and the North for our customers in Guernsey, Jersey, Exeter and Southampton. We expect the network to develop even further very soon, with a wider choice of destinations for next summer.”
 
Loganair Chief Executive Jonathan Hinkles said “We’re excited our new codeshare partnership with Blue Islands starts today and we’re confident it will be welcome news for customers looking to travel to the North from the Channel Isles and by those in Scotland looking to explore all that Jersey and Guernsey have to offer.”

​Bucking the trend in aviation, regional airline operator Blue Islands is today re-launching flights from Exeter to both Manchester and Jersey to service both leisure and business passengers.

Flying with Blue Islands is designed to be as easy as possible with simple transparent fares. Blue Fly includes 1 x 23kg luggage allowance as standard. Choose the Blue Plus fare for inclusive 2 x 23kg hold luggage allowance, complimentary seat allocation, double frequent flyer points and flexibility. 
 
Blue Islands is also working with Visit Jersey to promote late summer/autumn breaks to Jersey. Flights from £49.99 one way are still available this September and October, it’s a world away in just 45 minutes.
 
Blue Islands CEO, Rob Veron, confirmed, “We are very pleased to reinstate two very popular routes from Exeter. The flights will initially operate three days a week, and for next summer we will increase frequencies with Manchester served three times a day and Jersey once a day.”
 
He added, “The initial flights in September and October will use aircraft from the Channel Islands. However, as previously announced we will base an aircraft in Exeter from the end of October, employing around twenty pilots, cabin crew and engineers in total.”
 
For more information, visit the airline’s website https://www.blueislands.com

All three ships, TUI Isla, TUI Maya and TUI Skyla have undergone a major multi-million-pound makeover  transform them into stylish and comfortable floating boutique hotels. Customers will have the choice of two restaurants both complete with floor to ceiling views of the river, - Verdastro, an elegant fine dining experience, and Bistro, a more casual scene. 

​Two brand new bars will also be onboard, the Observatory with glass sliding doors opening out to the terrace and the Club Lounge, a relaxing coffee and cocktail bar with a digital fireplace and signature scent. Customers can choose from a selection of local wines during lunch and dinner as part of the full board plus board basis. In addition, cruisers can also purchase local wines on-shore which the waiter can serve to them during their meals with no corkage charge.

​There is a choice of seven cabin types per ship with three cabins for solo travellers. As part of a sustainability initative, all cabin carpets have been made from recycled fishing nets giving them a unique, subtle finish. For those wanting a more luxurious trip, there are 36 suites across the three ships. All suites come with walk in wardobes, double French balconies and spacious bathrooms.

The river cruise line offers 32 itineraries along the Danube, Rhine, Moselle, Main and Dutch and Belgian waterways with the added flexibility of three to 14 night sailings for those wanting a short break or those opting for a longer getaway. 

TUI Isla will sail three festive Christmas itineraries including Mistletoe & Rhine, Yuletide Wonders and Rhine Gems throughout November and December.  TUI Skyla and TUI Maya will be preparing to set sail in April 2021 from Frankfurt and Budapest.