Archive for category: Holidays

You are here: Home / FOODIE ADVENTURES / Holidays
Gorgeous new California adventures from Virgin Holidays

Gorgeous new California adventures from Virgin Holidays

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , /by

Well, hello October! I was just saying over on Instagram that I’ve got a very mixed (and very lovely) month coming up, with some exciting travel plans, plus some time at home set aside for baking, drinking red wine and planning future trips, of course. Talking of wine and trips, I attended a really lovely lunch last week in London, especially to hear about Virgin Holidays’ exciting plans for some really special new Californian tours. I think California can be a bit daunting as a holiday destination. We Brits head off to Florida without a second thought, but with California, I think maybe we’re a bit more hesitant when it comes to planning a holiday there: it seems huge, potentially expensive and terribly far away, somehow. Happily all that’s going to change (the hesitant bit, not how far away it is - even Richard Branson’s not that good), with the introduction of a really lovely new trio of one-off, personalised California adventures from Virgin Holidays that will really help you to get under the skin of this beautiful, diverse area.

Read more

Disney Cruise Line to Sail from New Orleans in 2020

Breaking: Disney cruises from New Orleans announced!

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , /by

It’s all going on at Disney Cruise Line recently! Quite apart from the fact that they have three new ships in the pipeline, this week has seen a ton of announcements from DCL about some cracking new itineraries for 2020 and there are some BIG surprises when it comes to ports, including the wonderful news that Disney cruises from New Orleans will commence in early 2020, and that Disney Cruise Line will also be returning to Hawaii!

Read more

Planning a trip to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando

Planning a trip to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando (updated)

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

I always get a little flurry of emails and messages as soon as I mention Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort, so recently, I’ve been keeping a note of the kind of things that people ask me, so I can bring together an FAQ for planning a trip to this brilliant event. I’ve collated a ton of advice here, with everything from picking the best dates to information on tickets and some tips on attending the event itself, so if you’re going to be heading to Universal Resort Orlando over the next few weeks, or are maybe even considering booking a trip for next year, here’s everything you need to know about planning a trip to Halloween Horror Nights.

Read more

Halloween Horror Nights 28 at Universal Orlando

Experience Halloween Horror Nights 28 at Universal Orlando Resort, Florida

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

If you’ve hung around these parts before, you’ll know that I’m a massive Halloween Horror Nights fan. It’s the world’s biggest and best Halloween event, and I’ve just returned from Orlando after visiting this year’s HHN (spoiler: it’s AWESOME). I’ve got a whole new post coming soon with loads of information if you’re planning a trip to Halloween Horror Nights, including an explanation of all the different tickets and passes (and also a review of the beautiful new Aventura Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort), so for this one, I’m just going to concentrate on the actual event. Get your big boy pants on, then, because it’s time to find out what it’s like to experience Halloween Horror Nights 28 at Universal Orlando Resort, Florida! Read more

Houses and scare zones at Halloween Horror Nights 2018

Houses and scare zones at Halloween Horror Nights 2018

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

If you don’t know much about Halloween Horror Nights, it’s an annual event at Universal Orlando Resort (2018 is the 28th year, which is why you’ll see the hashtag HHN28 used a lot on social media), where for a limited time, the streets come alive with murderous, terrifying characters, or ‘scareactors’, haunting scare zones around the park and also inhabiting individual mazes (haunted houses). Inspiration for the scare zones and houses is taken from modern and cult classic horror and sci fi films and TV shows, plus you’ll find incredible original concepts inspired by various eras or genres of films. Visitors can walk through the scare zones - areas of the park taken over by terrifying, realistic characters and walk through the incredibly detailed and realistic mazes. Want to know more about the houses and scare zones at Halloween Horror Nights 2018? Here’s everything you need to know!

Read more

Cruising with friends: our P&O Cruises Oceana adventure

Cruising with friends: our P&O Cruises Oceana adventure

/1 Comment/in , , , /by

I’ve known my friend Erica since we met on our first ever Disney trip together back in 2009. We’ve always stayed in contact and, along with most of the original members of the Disney 7 (our group of mummy bloggers from way back who met on our very first Disney trip), chat pretty regularly. Erica lives in Edinburgh (where she runs the hugely successful Edinburgh food blog, Foodinburgh), so we don’t get to see each other that much. Every so often the opportunity comes up for us to take a trip together, and this time as we were both so busy, we wanted to choose a holiday where we could kick back and relax. We wanted lovely, chic surroundings for a few days of quiet contemplation and catching up, with a bit of light exploration thrown in. As you probably know, I’m a bit in love with cruising: I love the glamour, the gorgeous surroundings, the delicious food, cocktails on the deck and waking up in a new port with all the fresh possibilities of exploring a new destination, so we chose a Greek islands trip from Malta on board P&O Oceana - a beautiful not-too-big, not-too-small ship, with a bit of old-world glamour thrown in. And although you might not immediately think of taking a cruise with friends as a grown up holiday option, we absolutely loved it. Here’s why we think cruising with friends is fabulous:

Read more

Five reasons why you need to visit new Toy Story Land at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida

Five reasons why you need to visit new Toy Story Land at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida

/2 Comments/in , , , /by

If you follow me on any form of social media, I’m pretty sure that you won’t have missed the fact that I was back in my favourite place on earth recently for the opening of brand new Toy Story Land at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida. First up, I’ve got a video we had great fun making, showing you all the highlights of this incredible new addition to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and then I’ll tell you five reasons why you need to visit new Toy Story Land at Walt Disney World - the largest expansion in the history of the park!

Read more

My must do experiences at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida

Slushies, Dole Whip and dancing with Ariel: a few of my favourite things at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

So last week, I was lucky enough to be invited to the opening event of the brand new Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World. I’ve got tons to tell you about new Toy Story Land, including a video showing you all the new attractions and more, but until then, I thought I’d share some of my favourite experiences, dining venues and yummy treats that will add so much value to your Walt Disney World holiday. Often, it’s the little things that people tell you about that can really make a difference to your Disney experience so here are a few that made my trip extra special this time. I smiled so hard writing this and remembering all the fun we had - so grab a cuppa and get comfy while I tell you all about a few of my favourite things at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida (obviously in addition to raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens).

Read more

A guided tour of Marella Explorer in pictures

A guided tour of Marella Explorer in pictures

/14 Comments/in , , , /by

I’ve had a bit of a travel flurry over the last few weeks, and after our fab few days on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, Mr E dropped me off at Gatwick to spend the night at the gorgeous BLOC Hotel before setting off to Palma to join Marella Cruises for a lovely weekend to celebrate the launch of the latest edition to their fleet: Marella Explorer. So what’s it like to cruise on board this brand new ship? I thought it would be fun to give you a guided tour of Marella Explorer in pictures!

Read more

Tips for anxious travellers

My top tips for nervous flyers

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

You don’t have to be ‘scared of flying’ to be a nervous traveller. There are all sorts of different reasons why you might not particularly like flying: it might be a dislike of large crowds or being squished into places with lots of strangers (this is mine), meeting new people, the feeling of being trapped in an enclosed space, food allergies or preferences that can be difficult to manage when you’re away from home… it all adds up to feeling like you’re not in control of your own destiny, and that can feel unpleasant and make anyone feel anxious. I don’t actually mind flying at all - for me, it’s an opportunity to sit back, chill out, watch a film or two, read a big pile of magazines and not look at my phone for a few hours, but I do know that travelling can be a whole lot easier if you have a few simple techniques up your sleeve. Here are my top tips for nervous flyers:

Read more

Visiting Walt Disney World with toddlers

Visiting Walt Disney World with toddlers

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

A lovely friend of mine emailed me a while ago and said that some friends of his were going to be visiting Walt Disney World with toddlers in tow, and did I have any tips I could share. I compiled a big list of all sorts of bits and bobs of advice and recommendations for him and have used it several times since when people have asked me similar questions. I thought it would be helpful to compile everything into one big blog post and then I can keep adding to it as new attractions and activities arrive in the parks, or as other people give me their top tips. So here, for now, is everything that I can think of that would be remotely useful to know if you’re visiting Walt Disney World with toddlers.
Read more

Marvel Summer of Super Heroes at Disneyland Paris

Marvel Summer of Super Heroes at Disneyland Paris

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

This weekend, Mr E and I were lucky enough to be invited to the launch event for the brand new Marvel Summer of Super Heroes at Disneyland Paris (you might remember reading about me forgetting my passport when I was invited to the special exhibition in Paris to showcase the plans for the new Marvel event. What a wally. Anyway, this time I panicked incessantly and checked my passport every five minutes and yes, got to Paris in one piece in time to experience this brilliant new summer of Marvel-based attractions available to everyone visiting the park this summer. Read on to find out more about it!

Read more

Independence of the Seas' multi-million pound makeover

Independence of the Seas’ multi-million dollar makeover

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

Many, many moons ago, back when my children occasionally did anything I asked and I was a fully fledged ‘mummy blogger’, I was really proud to be asked by Royal Caribbean Cruises to be an Official Family Ambassador or ‘Royal Mum’. It was a fab time and I really enjoyed my role: as part of my ambassadorship, I wrote about family cruising on the Royal Caribbean blog as well as in newspapers like The Times, and was lucky enough, along with my lovely fellow Royal Mums, to experience wonderful trips like a Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas, and a family cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas. Another wonderful memory was when we all got together at Southampton for a sunny day on board Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas. I’ve always been hugely proud of my long-running association with Royal Caribbean: I love the quality of the brand, the wonderful people who have a genuine love and enthusiasm for creating incredible experiences, and all their beautiful, innovative ships, so when Mr E and I were invited along to experience the shakedown cruise following Independence of the Seas’ multi-million dollar makeover, we were all over it. Here’s how we got on.

Read more

Staying overnight at the airport: BLOC Hotel Gatwick

Staying overnight at the airport, BLOC Hotel Gatwick

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

There are loads of reasons for staying overnight at the airport before a flight. Maybe you’re not sure of your exact arrival time (my drive to Gatwick can take anything from an hour and a half to three or four depending on traffic), and don’t want to miss a flight, or maybe your departure time is really early in the morning and you don’t fancy getting up at 2am… Sometimes it’s even a cheap way to get airport parking: a lot of the hotels do an overnight stay/parking deal. Every time I walk past the very stylish entrance to the BLOC Hotel at Gatwick South Terminal, it reminds me of how much I want to stay there. Finally, before a very early flight to Palma last week, I got to experience it for myself when the lovely people at BLOC very kindly put me up for the night. If you’re considering staying overnight at the airport, BLOC Hotel Gatwick is my new favourite. Here’s what to expect.

Read more

All the news from Universal Orlando Resort, Florida

All the news from Universal Orlando Resort, Florida

/2 Comments/in , , , , , , /by

Hola! Well isn’t this weather nice? I was actually in Athens this weekend, working for Cruise International, and the weather here in the UK was actually hotter when I landed. Crazy. Anyhoo, I’ve been storing up all the news from Universal Orlando Resort for a while now, so whether you’re interested in breathtaking new rides (in which case, may I direct you to my Fast & Furious - Supercharged post here), beautiful new accommodation options or big fat gorgeous doughnuts, you’ve come to the right place. Grab a cuppa and settle down to read my exciting roundup of everything new at Universal Orlando Resort, Florida.

Read more

The free Disney dining offer is back for 2019 holiday bookings!

The free Disney dining offer is back for 2019 holiday bookings!

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , /by

I honestly don’t think there’s a bad time to visit Walt Disney World resort in Florida (incidentally, for a heads up on the best times to go and loads of other info, visit my My Walt Disney World top tips post here), but the free Disney dining offer makes a family holiday at Walt Disney World considerably better value. I always recommend you stay at a Disney resort hotel if you’re visiting Walt Disney World (I think all the perks like Extra Magic Hours and free Disney’s Magical Express airport transfers add significant value), but now it’s even better value. If you’re a bit confused about what free Disney dining would mean to your family holiday booking in 2019, read on. I’ve got all the info on how the offer works, plus some top tips on the best places to book, too.

Read more