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What to expect from Saga's new Spirit of Discovery

What to expect from Saga’s new Spirit of Discovery

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A few weeks ago I headed to lovely London in the sunshine to a special event at Peter Layton’s London Glassblowing studios to find out about Saga Cruises’ brand new cruise ship. I’ve actually been on a Saga cruise before. I sailed on Saga Pearl II with my Mum for a Cruise International feature a few years ago, and I was impressed with how elegant the ship was, even though she was… let’s just say in her twilight years (the ship, not my Mum). Saga Cruises’ first purpose-built cruise ship, Spirit of Discovery - one of two currently being constructed for the cruise line - will replace Saga Pearl II in July this year (I can’t wait to attend the christening ceremony) with the second ship, Spirit of Adventure, planned to set sail in August 2020. Here’s what to expect from Saga’s new Spirit of Discovery.

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A weekend break at the Z Hotel Soho

A weekend break at the Z Hotel, Soho

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You might remember that a little while ago I told you about my trip to London to stay at the fab new Z Hotel in Covent Garden. Last weekend, we were due to meet a lovely friend in London for his leaving drinks (bon voyage, Kelly!), so we decided to make a night of it and have a mini weekend break at the Z Hotel in Soho. It’s a brilliant location, literally right next to the Palace Theatre in London, so it’s absolutely perfect if you’re going to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (we’re planning a return visit when this happens), or if you just want to be right in the centre of things for eating out, going to the cinema in Leicester Square, exploring Covent Garden, shopping on Oxford Street or whatever else you have planned.

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Everything you need to know about sailing the Danube with Viking River Cruises

Everything you need to know about sailing the Danube with Viking River Cruises

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I’ve just come back from a Viking River cruise from Passau in Germany to Budapest in Hungary. It’s pretty different to my usual ocean cruise and I didn’t really know what to expect before I went, so I thought it might be useful to give you an overview of everything, from the accommodation and food on board, to what to expect from the excursions and destinations. Spoiler: I absolutely loved it. I never thought I was really a city break person but it’s such an easy (and luxurious) way to tick off several different cities all in one trip. Here’s everything you need to know about sailing the Danube with Viking River Cruises.

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A new local recommendation: The Meating Room Berkhamsted

A new local recommendation: The Meating Room, Berkhamsted

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I feel like this was ages ago now, but it seems like we’ve done so many lovely things recently that I’ve got a bit of a backlog of recommendations for you. As you probably know, it was Charlie’s 21st birthday a couple of weeks ago, and as well as throwing a little get-togetther for family and friends, we wanted to take him somewhere local, just to celebrate quietly. I’ve been driving past The Meating Room for weeks now since it opened and have been dying to give it a go, plus Charlie had followed them on Facebook and noticed that if it’s your birthday you get a free burger (I think terms apply - check before you go!).

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Everything you need to know about Toy Story Play Days at Disneyland Paris

Everything you need to know about Toy Story Play Days at Disneyland Paris

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Have you heard much about Toy Story 4 yet? We’re huge Toy Story fans in this family (unsurprisingly) and can’t wait to see Woody, Buzz and friends reunited in the latest film which sees the gang taking a road trip with Bonnie and a brand new character called Forky. The adventure takes an unexpected turn when Woody is reunited with his old friend Bo Peep too. The new film is produced by the brilliant Jonas Rivera who also produced Inside Out and Up, and directed by Josh Cooley, who directed the gorgeous short film Riley’s First Date. Toy Story 4 is released on 26 June, and to celebrate, Disneyland Paris have announced Toy Story Play Days - an 11 day celebration dedicated to all things Toy Story 4.

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What to wear in the evening on a cruise

What to wear in the evening on a cruise

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I’ve been meaning to write this post for soooo long, as it’s one of the questions I get asked an awful lot. Quite a few cruise lines have a ‘formal night’ or some version of it (see also, ‘cruise elegant’, ‘chic night’, ‘evening chic’, ‘gala night’). If you love dressing up, and already have a wide selection of evening dresses and heels, well, you’re good to go, just pack your faves. If, however, you’re a serial down dresser like me, eternally happier in joggers or jeans, and the words ‘cocktail dress’ strike doom into your very heart, the thought of choosing stuff to wear for formal night can be a bit daunting. Happily, there are several ways to approach it without having to buy a ton of new clothes that you probably won’t wear anymore anyway. Here are my thoughts on what to wear in the evening on a cruise that won’t leave you awkwardly pulling at your outfit like it’s your first day at school.

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Everything you need to know about Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

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There’s so much going on at Universal Orlando Resort at the moment, and last night I was lucky enough to be invited to the suitably Hogwarts-esque St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London to hear more about all the exciting new experiences, including the brand new coaster attraction featuring everyone’s favourite Professor. Here’s everything you need to know about Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure!

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The brand new MSC Bellissima in pictures. Pic (c) MSC Cruises

The brand new MSC Bellissima in pictures

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Wow, what an exciting weekend! On Friday, I was invited down to Southampton to join a panel discussion on family cruising at CLIA‘s mini family cruising conference. I’m a bit scared of public speaking but I think it’s a good thing to do stuff that scares you so I accepted. I also accepted because the conference was to be held on board the brand new, utterly beautiful MSC Bellissima, in port at Southampton all ready for her glittering christening ceremony on Saturday night - I mean, who would turn down the chance for a sneaky night on a brand new ship before the bottle’s even been smashed?! Certainly not me, and I thought you might like a little guided tour of beautiful MSC Bellissima in pictures too - especially while she was fresh out of the box - I love that new ship smell!

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The best friends breakfast with Lilo & Stitch at Disney's Polynesian Resort

The best friends breakfast with Lilo & Stitch at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

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The boys have always adored Lilo & Stitch. I dread to think how many times we’ve watched the movie over the years and even now Charlie’s got a Stitch character on his car keys. One of the things I really wanted to do when we were at Walt Disney World was to treat everyone to the best friends breakfast with Lilo & Stitch. I did it ages ago and it was great fun, plus the food really stood out for me, so on the day we were due to fly home, I booked us in for breakfast for a last treat before we headed back to pack up and leave Disney’s Contemporary Resort (sob). Read more

Is it worth buying tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Is it worth buying tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party?

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Last year, I told you all my top tips for planning a Christmas trip to Walt Disney World, Florida, one of which was to give serious thought to buying tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Honestly, as I said at the time, it’s not cheap, and there were six of us, so we had to think long and hard about whether to go. So now we’ve had the chance to experience the event and time at home to really process all our favourite things from the holiday, I thought it was time to revisit the question: is it worth buying tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party? Here’s more about what to expect at the event, and a deeper look at whether we thought we got our money’s worth.

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Some of our favourite things to do at Walt Disney World

Some of our favourite things to do at Walt Disney World

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Sometimes, when you’re planning a Disney holiday, it can all seem a bit overwhelming. When I was writing my post with my top tips for planning a Christmas trip to Walt Disney World, I think I touched on the fact that I’d let it all get completely out of hand and was rabidly writing lists and planning out days until Jim gently reminded me that this was, in fact, a lovely family holiday, not some sort of military operation. One of nicest things, I always find, is talking to people about their own cherished memories of their Disney holidays. And when they go all misty eyed and say ‘oh we loved XYZ’, those are the things you should be listening to. So with that in mind, here are our own misty eyed memories - some of our favourite things to do at Walt Disney World.

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Christmas at Disneys Contemporary Resort

A Disney Dream come true - Christmas at Disney’s Contemporary Resort

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Waving goodbye to Universal Studios was hard, but we were also incredibly excited as our next stop was Walt Disney World, and more specifically, Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Since my very first visit to Walt Disney World, back in 2009, I’ve always wanted to stay at the Contemporary. I’m a bit of a Mary Blair obsessive (more of this in a bit) and I’m fascinated by the hotel’s structure, more specifically the story of how the A-frame of the Contemporary Tower was built and then workers slotted the rooms, which were constructed off-site back in 1971, into the building after they were finished. I’ve even heard rumours that at one stage, Walt Disney planned to keep the hotel modern by periodically removing and updating the rooms before slotting them back in. So what’s it like to spend Christmas at Disney’s Contemporary Resort? Here’s what we thought.

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Making the most of a day at Universals Volcano Bay

Making the most of a day at Universal’s Volcano Bay

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And so, sadly, we’ve reached the final part of our Universal Orlando Resort Adventure. I’ve told you all about what it’s like to spend Christmas at Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, talked you through our top ten attractions and everything to do with Christmas at Universal Studios, and last week was all about Grinchmas and Christmas at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. The last park on our list was Universal’s Volcano Bay, the beautiful tiki-themed water theme park centred around a huge volcano, which had been calling out to us every day from our hotel room window. We were originally booked to go on the Monday of our trip, but the weather wasn’t looking great and, as it turned out, the park wasn’t even open, so we swapped our days around and - happily - the Tuesday morning turned out crisp and a little chilly, but with perfectly bright blue skies and the promise of decent temperatures to come as the day warmed up. I really loved our evening conversations when we all did a bit of brainstorming after a day out and came up with our best bits from the day: things we’d loved, things we thought you would like to know… So without further ado, here are our top tips for making the most of a day at Universal’s Volcano Bay Water Theme Park.

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The Z Hotel Covent Garden: an affordable hotel in the heart of London

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I first heard about Z hotels after bookmarking Monica from The Travel Hack’s 10 best cheap hotels in London list last summer. I live a 30 minute train ride outside of London, but I love a little overnight in the city, and it’s always really handy to know an affordable hotel in the heart of London to turn to when you need a night away. The new Z Hotel Covent Garden is located right in the centre of all the action and 30 seconds from the famous piazza, bars, shops and restaurants. It took me about three minutes to walk there from Leicester Square Tube (anyone else not keen on those Covent Garden lifts?), and I found the Z Hotel Covent Garden tucked away just off Bedford Street.

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Christmas at Universals Islands of Adventure

Grinchmas and Hogwart’s Castle: Christmas at Universal’s Islands of Adventure

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On the last part of our Christmas adventure in Orlando, we covered Christmas at Universal Studios, including Diagon Alley, beautifully decorated for Christmas. When we’d done just about everything we could fit in at Universal Studios, we headed to Kings Cross Station to board the Hogwart’s Express to Hogsmeade Village over at Universal Studios’ sister park, Universal’s Islands of Adventure. I thought I would turn this into part three, as there was so much stuff to cover, and I didn’t want to make the blog posts too long and boring, while still wanting to fit in loads of information and photos. So here goes with Christmas at Universal’s Islands of Adventure!

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Classic potatoes dauphinoise

Classic potatoes dauphinoise and half price tickets to The France Show

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I adore France. I have so many happy memories, from family holidays in Brittany, my boys scoffing snails and jumping from the pier at Le Val André into the sea, to a gorgeously grown up break at a Chateaux on the Côte d’Azur. Mr E and I are always plotting a redo of our Parisian adventure and, of course, I’ve loved so many wonderful trips to Disneyland Paris. I’m also a huge fan of French cuisine, so when The France Show challenged me to recreate my favourite French recipe, I had a few to choose from. Still, it’s chilly, and comfort food is the order of the day, so what better dish to choose than an indulgent gratin full of cream and butter and heady with garlic: delicious, decadent potatoes dauphinoise. Read more