Posts in Travel
24 hours in NYC - Holiday Moments • Featuring British Airways

This post was sponsored by British Airways

We have been fully in countdown mode at this house this week, counting last sleeps for Sammy as a 7-year-old, and texting every night back and forth with my brother who is going to be the best surprise present of all.

A few months ago Sammy became completely overwhelmed with emotion – one of those wobbly lip moments that descended into a full-blown stream of tears running down his cheeks, and fighting for breath as struggled to get out his words. 

And it was all over his love for his Uncle Pat and his family in America. How much he misses them both and his baby cousin and how, in typical dramatic fashion, he’s “only seen them twice in his whole life!”, which I had to remind him wasn’t quite true.

But I know how it must feel, that the handful of times he has had with them doesn't seem enough. The thing we forget when we are all grown up is that a few months feels like forever to their young minds. Those weeks and months waiting for your birthday and Christmas to arrive are just endless!

Well, the wait is almost over my darling and when you run out of school on Friday, swinging your book bag in one arm and your school jumper in another, you’ll be running into the arms of your uncle! Even just typing about it makes my fingers tingle and I can feel a lump building from my tummy right up into my throat. There will be tears and probably this time they will all be from me!

It’s quite an incredible thing really, when your holiday allowance from work is so precious, to give up so much of it to fly home. We give my brother a hero’s welcome, just like we did when we waved him goodbye, knowing he’d truly lost his heart to a girl in New Jersey. Just like before there’s balloons and bunting flapping above the front door, I will stock up our fridge with all his favourites – things he misses from US supermarkets like traditional pork sausages and bakery sausage rolls! You’d think we would want to pack as much in as possible when we have such a limited time together, but in fact the way we make those 36, or 48 or, if we are really lucky, 72 hours last the longest is by keeping him at home. Games in the garden, pottering around the house. I love it, he loves. But so often I think he’s really got the bad end of the deal.

He has a home-from-home back here at our house and, likewise, we are so lucky to be able to go and visit him and my sister-in-law in New Jersey, have a US postal address for internet purchases and a base for us to bounce off from too. Rich and I have been over almost more times than I can count on two hands which is good going in 7 years. We’ve stayed in all their apartments and houses as they’ve climbed the housing ladder, ending up in a beautiful house with a white picket fence and neighbours with basketball hoops on the drive. And we get to visit New York, even if just for a flying visit.

Before my niece was born we were so lucky to scoot across the pond and have a magical summer night in the city as part of our visit around the time of our ten year wedding anniversary. I was sorting through a whole heap of albums on the computer the other night and I realised I have never shared the photos! 

I adore having the boys and going on holiday with the boys, but there’s something so wonderful about a trip away just the two of us. We took the train and crossed the state border into Manhattan and in just 50 minutes we had swapped the Garden State for skyscrapers but this time there was no steam rising from the sidewalks. It was roasting. I’ve never really understood the concept of summering out of a city. My early working life never really allowed me to decamp to escape the heat of a sticky office, but it’s absolutely true in New York. The streets feel different. There’s a calmness amongst the chaos and the traffic and after dropping our bags at the hotel, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the incredible view from our floor to ceiling window, we headed off to find a bike station and we cycled off towards Greenwich Village. 

Now I’m not a hugely confident cyclist, I tootle through the village after the boys with a picnic in my bicycle basket and ding my bell, but I felt so safe. Rich is all about making the most of an experience, seeing as much as you can and I followed his tracks, across junctions, through heaving traffic and smiled up at the drivers of what felt like the most enormous trucks I have ever seen, as we stopped at a red light. There were several points at which one of us or at times both of us let out a “wooooooo hoooo” like we were 7 years old and blasting down a hill. The sun came out from behind each tower block like lighting bolts as we made our way up the grid of roads and we decided to eat our way around Chelsea down to Soho and across to the East Village. 

We stopped for a coffee, (and a cup of tea for me. You can take the girl out of Somerset but you still can’t get her off a nice cup of builders) browsed in a few little boutiques, picking up some souvenirs (doesn’t everyone bring home a set of intriguing bitters you have no idea how to use for their mini bar?!) and dived into a few picture-perfect bars, with rows of metal bistro chairs squeezed onto the pavement around a table just big enough for your cocktail in a mason jar. 

It was bliss.

And looking through these photos made me smile. Tomorrow is tortoise party day for Sammy!

The funny thing is we had always imagined we would celebrate our 10-year anniversary in Italy, in a lakeside hotel full of history, and disappear for a few days to do nothing. I’m so glad that didn't come about because that can wait for year 13, 14 or 15. Something to plan for, something to look forward to, to research, to countdown to.

That and the big plans of a mass family meet up somewhere in America for my fortieth … which may be a few years away yet, but in our family it’s never too early to start day dreaming!


British Airways Holidays has teamed up with HuffPost Travel to celebrate those amazing little moments that make your holiday unforgettable. Share your favourite holiday moment and you’ll be entered into a draw to win a city break in Rome. 

 

Mark Warner Levante Beach Resort #mwmoment #mwmum

There's a reason we all love looking at holiday photos. Why we add them to our Facebook feeds and frame them for the grandparents at Christmas. When I think back to my favourite photos from my childhood they are all pretty much from the school holidays. Jumping through waves on the shore line with my cousins, making friends and starting a mass beach cricket game until the sun went down. I remember it as being idyllic. Meeting the same families year on year, crossing over on the same weeks on purpose, exchanging what was then landline numbers and addresses that now is swapping Instagram accounts and adding each other on Facebook. 

And I am so happy that history is repeating itself for our boys. A couple of years ago we discovered Mark Warner holidays and when I look at these photos from our summer week at the Levante Beach Resort I almost see different people. Sun kissed, relaxed, really happy people rather than the worn out wintry face that stares back at me from the bathroom mirror. 

Before the boys were born we were quite adventurous, long haul trips to Tokyo, America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and weekend city breaks in Europe. But we have come to the realisation that when we say we want the boys to travel, what we really mean is we want a holiday. A pack-up-their-matching-little-soldier-backpacks-for-the-aeroplane, smile-at-friendly-faces-in-the-check-in-queue, and-by-the-end-of-the-easy-coach-ride-to-a-resort-the-boys-had-made-new-friends kind of holiday.

Rich and I like to think we are spontaneous people but in truth we love routine, as do our boys. We like to settle into a familiar holiday itinerary, find a favourite table for lunch and make a base camp around the pool. It doesn't have to be exactly the same spot but we always seem to gravitate towards the same pair of loungers. Tell me you do the same!

If you ask any of our friends and family or pretty much anyone who even whispers that they are looking to book a family holiday, they will tell you that we are absolute Mark Warner converts and do our best to convince them to join the club. Because once you are in it you realise there's no going back. 

I am a Mark Warner mum, or rather I should say, we feel like we are a Mark Warner family.

We arrived at Heathrow on Ollie's birthday in July last year (dressed in Pee Wee Herman red bow ties, with bunting to hang on the back of the aeroplane seats - oh the things you do for the love of a 5 year old) and although we were heading to a different MW resort we knew we were in for the same holiday that we'd loved the year before. We may have underestimated the distance to the gate and raced like the scene out of Home Alone to join the last few passengers boarding the flight. Fortunately a family of five were in the same boat and we laughed as we ran helping each other navigate Terminal 5. By the end of the flight, baggage reclaim and the coach ride to the resort we'd exchange names, the kids had sussed out who would be in the same clubs and by the plane ride home, a week later, we all swapped seats as soon as the seat belt sign had been switched off. Mums in one row making the most of the British Airways complimentary Sauvignon Blanc and trying to persuade each other to book the same week again next year, with the kids all squeezed into 3 seats sharing games and iPad movies. 

If you know the resorts you'll agree that arriving at Levante is like stepping into modern luxury. An impressive large lounge and lobby area, contemporary furniture, a beautiful terrace overlooking the pool which adjoins the main restaurant and rooms that still felt to us brand spanking new. 

And just like the year before in Lakitra, we found most of the guests we chatted to on the walk to Mini Club, or at the breakfast buffet were second, third and fourth timers. Seasoned MW fans who had counted down to their holiday and the tried and tested routine of drop offs, early morning bike rides, Zumba classes overlooking the sea and precious time to yourself while your little and big ones have the time of their life on the water, in the pool and out on the pitches, which makes many of them book their holiday for the following summer before they've boarded the bis to the airport to take them home. 

In all honesty I probably didn't take advantage of everything on offer, because do you know, I really needed a rest. A rest from driving, haring about clocking up thousands of miles a month and in truth I relished those odd mornings over the week where we fed the boys breakfast among the hustle and bustle of all the families whisking them off for the 9am water activities and then after drop off, went back to join the quieter crowd, with older children who surfaced a little later before they headed to join the Indi club. The ones who exchanged knowing smiles with us as if to say "This will be you in a few years!"

You could spot the families whose children are so lucky to be growing up on Mark Warner Holidays. The ones who I would bet will be wearing a red uniform and part of the beach front team after they finish school. A staff team of helpful, enthusiastic bronzed gods and goddesses greeted us on the beach every morning, Sammy's favourite Dawn calling out "Sammy Heath is in the shack!" to him as we popped his bag on the pegs in the childcare den right on the beach. 

For us, the childcare staff should be awarded gold medals at the end of the season. Within minutes they seem to have learnt every new child's name, they suss out which are the shy ones that need to be comforted and which are going to lap up the end of the week show to all the parents. We saw how understanding they were with a child who required one to one care all week and couldn't have made him or his parent's feel more relaxed and special, while at the same time just being one of the gang, if they tried. 

I am not ashamed to say that there were tears from me, a few other mums and the staff on Friday evening when we all hugged and thanked them for giving us and our children an amazing week and to have a very well deserved day off on the Saturday! 

These holidays aren't about not spending time with your children, they have worked out a magic formula that gives everyone a holiday. Keeps everyone happy and entertained and wishing they could come back again the following year to see the friends they have made. We loved our next door neighbours and by the middle of the week the boys were scooting between patio doors, exchanging pool floats and asking to swap email addresses so we could keep in touch. They even asked when we flew back if we wanted to be neighbours again this year. And I said oh yes we would love to!

Our week fell into a pattern of mornings by the pool, sailing in the afternoon and a swim in the sea after lunch and then a last swim after high tea. Some days we could barely drag the boys out of the pool after they jumped in from childcare pick up and so one of us would mooch over to the pool bar, order a takeaway pizza or sandwich and drinks and wander back to our terrace. And we saw lots doing the same, having lunch on their balconies then heading for a nice snooze while it was so hot. 

This summer baby couldn't have been more in heaven. I crave the heat and warmth that is distinctive to Greece now. Not humid like the Middle East and not muggy like the Caribbean can be sometimes, just beautiful sunny hot weather! Even Rich who is a snow lover was in his element, sailing every day, determined to crack windsurfing by the end of the week as he felt a little rusty from his childhood Mark Warner holiday and took part in a boat race. It's a sight to see, whether you are out on the water or watching from the shore and everyone comes back in debating the conditions and winners must like they did on our holiday at Méribel after a day on the slopes.

It's like booking a holiday and being sent away with ready made friends. 

Rich scored some serious cool dad points with the boys when we sat in the speedboat pulling him along behind and they definitely were getting the sailing bug by the end of the week with Sammy asking why we hadn't booked him in for his RYA qualification like his friends Henry and Jovi! We want them to be respectful and comfortable on the sea. To find it exhilarating but also learn how to do it properly. 

Rich took them both out during the week and we went out together as a family and do you know what is so lovely? You just rock up to the tower, get your life jackets on and pick a boat. Any day of the week! 

mark warner levante beach resort 10.jpg

We didn't do much exploring out of the resort the year before but I had heard about the most picture perfect bay a cycle ride along the coastline and it was absolutely worth the 20km ride to get there. We headed off straight after we dropped the boys in the morning. One so we didn't feel under pressure leaving later in the morning to be back in time for lunchtime pick up and two because it was definitely a wee bit cooler in the morning compared with the Greek afternoons. It was nice to see a bit more of the island, people watch as we cycled by the public beaches with the stripy umbrellas and sun loungers and soak up a little of the Greek culture, laying out our towels on the pebbles and taking a dip. 

It's totally doable in a morning and there are some lovely other routes the bike centre manager talked us through to try another time. You don't have to push yourself if you don't want to and equally if you are a fanatic there's group cycles, longer rides and professional advice on offer from serious cyclers. 

Anthony Quinn Bay is breathtakingly beautiful. So much so we actually found a patch of 3G and FaceTimed our families! My sister kept saying "oh that's so so nice over and over", to each tale in our morning story and as we cycled back I thought just how nice it was to have some time on our own. Doing something. I adore sitting on loungers by the pool each with our nose in a book or magazine or ear plugs in listening to our own music. But it was really nice to discover something together.

We joked with others over drinks in the evening about what their other halves had got them doing - oh yes we got some of our evening on our own too! Giving the boys the choice of eating with us or eating between 5.15pm and 6pm at the children's "High Tea" among their friends and then heading to movie club at 7.30pm. Guess which they chose almost every night of our week?! And it was great to hear that lots of other couples with equally busy lives juggling work and children, had got out on a tennis court together, joined in the dance fitness class in the adult's pool or taken a kayak or paddle board out on the water. 

We went with boys and we came home with fish. They made up games that the main pool was a huge lagoon and each had to race to the other end one in a water melon, one on a donut and others in a dinghy. It's sounds a cliche but it was a joy to watch. Confident children from different parts of the country thick as thieves. The pool is graded gently so there's a shallow area at each end, effect for our games of bat and ball and younger ones who wanted to branch out from the dedicated toddler pool. Our room was right opposite the end next to the beach bar and the boys would run in to get diving sticks, and buckets we bought from the on site shop to share among their gang. 

As the sun went down each night the sky turned pink and cast the most beautiful glow over the resort. On one of the nights we could tempt the boys away from their pals we all got dressed for dinner (Am I the only one who loves packing a different outfit for each night and then forcing my family to pose for pictures?!) and headed down to the beach to soak up the last of the day before we went off for dinner in the main restaurant. 

The thing about a holiday is that it is a chance for everyone to have some time to themselves, some time together, to take a break from school runs, making breakfasts and making your beds. Well for me it is. To be looked after. 

To be blown away by the buffet three times a day without being bored, to banter with the spaghetti chef and befriend the maitre d'. To end up chinking glasses one minute and then wandering into dinner without needing a reservation every night and for the staff to make up a big table for the parents who hadn't finished swapping stories over cocktails. Each of the three times we have been on a Mark Warner holiday we have met the loveliest families and I hope they feel the same about us. People we are still in contact with, who I hope we cross over with again one day. People who know the MW resorts so well they can give you the lowdown on their favourites like they are unofficial staff!

We adored Levante for the size of the resort and the shininess of the facilities. But our hearts are torn between our love for Lakitira and it's smaller more intimate homely feel, the beach bar and the Greek evening entertainment that made the boys roar with laughter. Are you a Mark Warner fan? Which is your favourite?

Check out their offers for last minute deals for for Summer 2018!

ps. I didn't have to share this but we can't speak more highly about their holidays. We love them!
pps. This post contains affiliate links. 

Jet Set Sail • Celebrity Cruises • Barcelona

There have been a handful of times in my life when I have felt like a very important person. Swishing around like a princess in an ivory wedding dress, even as I got out of the car to droplets of rain outside the church, I felt like someone very special as I lifted the tulle netting underneath the skirt and gathered it up into my arms. I can remember walking down the steps built into the rocks at The Cliff restaurant in Barbados on a pre baby holiday, passing Gary Linekar on the stairs and gasped when I saw the flaming torches lighting up the beautifully laid tables over looking the Stingrays gliding through the lapping shore. I can vividly remember thinking wow, I feel so lucky to be here. And stepping out of the taxi to the private jet terminal at Stansted Airport a few weeks ago set the tone for another special experience. 

I'd been invited to join the inaugural Jet Set Sail flight to Barcelona with Celebrity Cruises, a brand new initiative to start your holiday with Celebrity as you mean to go on. There was a sense of calmness and measured excitement given the early hour, with everyone almost gliding around the plush carpet and holding glasses of Prosecco in their hands. No harsh "Bing bong flight number..." announcements over the tannoy making you wince at 6am, just an array of smiling faces, elegantly dressed Celebrity staff gently asking if the soon to be cruisers needed any help with their hand luggage or paperwork. There were no frantic dashes to the check in desk, no other halves waiting anxiously at the terminal doors looking out for their partners who had taken the car to the airport parking, everyone had driven right up to the hanger, parked and breezed onto the red carpet. Literally.

The trouble is when you know this is how you can travel, it makes you never want to go back! No long queues at security, streams of people corralled towards the scanners like sheep about to be dipped, no trek to the departure gate which you just know always happens to be the furthest away leaving you a little breathless when you hand over your boarding card. Oh no, this is the way to travel and for much less than you'd think. 

I am a girl with impossibly high expectations and the difference between the private jet terminal and the norm that I have experienced was quite remarkable. There was plenty of seating in the contemporarily decorated departures lounge, magazines and papers to read, a mezzanine level for those wanting a quieter space and spotlessly clean floors with coffee, tea and pastries on tap for anyone feeling peckish before a two course breakfast on board. People pottered up to the refreshments bar and could help themselves or be served by one of the well presented terminal staff. 

One of my favourite things about airports is people watching and I loved looking around at groups of friends chinking their glasses of bubbly toasting the beginning of their holiday and others thumbing their slightly dog eared brochures from their hand luggage, that have obviously been excitedly flicked through over the last few months.

The very best thing for me about jetting off from the private terminal is the difference in time. No two hour mooch at what feels like the crack of sparrows around half empty shops, meandering in a sort of zombie like state looking for mints and a bottle of water to fling in your handbag, that's already stuffed with expensive children's magazines that come with an unnecessarily large free plastic toy, just a very civilised hour from arriving to boarding the aeroplane. 

I was in a lovely group of travel bloggers and cruise journalists and we hung back letting the other passengers embark the plane first and settled into our seats. There's allocated seating so no jostling or splitting families, 31 inch rows of seats slightly larger than your standard economy flight and a bottle of water on the seat waiting for you. Aeroplane food can be notoriously bad, especially scrambled eggs I find, but the breakfast was delicious and before I remembered to reach for my camera I'd eaten the lot! 

The flight to Barcelona felt quick and easy and as we all chatted non stop throughout the flight, I had to admit that I'd never really considered a cruise holiday before and felt a little intimidated by this great hunk of metal on the sea.

Luckily the Celebrity team from the Marketing Department who joined us for the trip are the experts in the cruise way of life and instantly put me at ease. To be honest I had never stood next to a ship, only ever seen them in photos or online and heard about what they are like inside from family who regularly book. We landed in almost the same soggy weather I'd been drenched in on our wedding day but our great British spirit wasn't to be dampened and we oohed and aahed through the coach windows as we headed to the port.

It sounds like an obvious thing to say but the ship was vast. It made me feel like a tiny ant scuttling along the rope line to the security point at the entrance to the ship. As you stand on the dock and crane your neck backwards to take in every floor right to the top of the open deck, it makes you feel almost childlike, and I instantly remembered that feeling of being dwarfed by the giant sixth formers at school. 

There was a dedicated queuing system for those who had booked the Jet Set Sail experience as as our line tootled past the other passengers one remarked in jest that they had picked the wrong queue, to which I explained that we had arrived in style from Stansted and she elbowed her husband and said next time we need to book that. You can board the ship for most of the day before the 4pm sailing time. But I suspect the dreadful weather meant that more passengers chose to arrive a little earlier rather than stop for lunch in Barcelona en route and we all made our way through the gift shop and supplies stands to the gangway.

Celebrity Cruises Jet Set Sail 1.jpg

We waited at one of the crew boarding points and it was fascinating to see the change over in staff as we cleared security with the personnel on duty. It's a multicultural word on board, so many languages, ages and loyal staff who have worked on the Celebrity liners for years. The staff fly into Barcelona which is the home of the Equinox when not at sea from all over the world. The operation beneath the cabins is extraordinary. I got a very sneak peek on a whistle stop tour of the main facilities on board at the staff quarters and you cannot believe the hustle and bustle compared to the more serene atmosphere in the rest of the ship. Luggage trolleys on auto drive delivering thousands of suitcases to individual cabins, crisp white polo shirts darting in and out of doorways in contrast to the soft music transcending throughout the upper decks with the glass elevators giving you a real sense of scale as you hop between levels. 

The main atrium is grand but not gaudy and the ship in it's entirety was elegantly decorated with each bar, restaurant and lounge area having it's own unique identity. The sound of the musicians flooded the main staircase and you couldn't help but stop to take in the beautiful orchestral music. 

The upside to a rainy departure day is that everyone mills about inside. It was heart warming to see couples sat with their feet up, paper or book in hand, drink resting on the table beside them, tiny droplets of condensation from the freezing cold ice slowly dripping down the side of the tumbler. People relaxing. Friends at the bar, perched on bar stools exchanging banter with the barmen and watching their cocktail shaking and making skills.

We headed straight to the Luminae restaurant for lunch which is open for Suite Class passengers, which was much smaller than I expected. In a good way! I was under the impression that cruise ships is all about scale and size and it was a pleasant surprise to sit in a much more intimate setting. It's fine dining that fills you up. Exquisitely presented dishes from an ample choice of menu and the simple white decor had a romantic and serene feel about it. All three courses were delicious, the portions were very generous and we passed around dishes to snap our blog photos. We raised glasses full of wine to a happy 24 hours and spent the next hour learning more about what life is like on board.    

The challenge with just 24 hours from start to finish is that we wanted to see as much as possible in as short a time as possible! And a few of us who hadn't been on board the Equinox before whizzed through the main decks led by the Marketing Director who knew every inch of the ship and put passengers at ease with welcoming hellos and good afternoons as we raced through the lounges, main restaurant, lawn club and spa.

There was a ripple of excitement and anticipation, you could tell those who were seasoned cruisers who had settled into life at sea within minutes and those who were getting more familiar with the ship's layout and flicking through the on board guides, discussing the first stop. We snuck into the theatre where a guide to all the destinations on the cruise was being held and walked at pace through the casino, slipped around the back of the jaw dropping glass wine rack, the highlight of the main dining room, which offers flexible dining options from 6pm to 9.30pm. It was good to know that you could chose whether you wanted to share a table or whether you preferred to eat just with your travel companion something I assumed was just a given. That shared tables were standard cruise practise. But you could see people making friends in those first few hours and why the split level dining area works so well. 

There are times when you wish it was sunny and times when it's quite handy it's not and for me heading out to view the pool ad jacuzzi area was one of those. The fierce rain meant the pools were empty and I got to capture just how beautifully laid out the loungers are, the perfect symmetry in design and I loved wandering down into the indoor pool and spa seeing the uniform X's on the wooden loungers. There's almost military perfectionism and style to the pool areas and passengers were already taking full advantage of the Canyon Ranch spa with acupuncture treatments to one side and massages to another. It made you want to strip to your bathers and join them!

Dotted around the indoor pool are heavenly pods and hammocks overlooking the ocean. Room for two, a good book with a glass of something at the ready. It was something out of a picture perfect glossy brochure except it was real. And I kept thinking about the lucky people who would be whiling away a few dreamy hours gently rocking as the ship powers through the waves of the Mediterranean. 

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I managed to see the bright lights of the on board nightclub, get a proper look at the children's club areas which were immaculately clean and well designed for the different age groups. Quite frankly they would be as spoilt in the kid's club as you would be having dinner by yourselves!

We all met back at the gangway and gathered our overnight bags to head into the city. I had grand plans to take in as many of the streets and sights of Barcelona as possible that afternoon but the weather had other ideas. And it actually worked brilliantly. Because instead of everyone splitting up and heading in different directions we all sat in the hotel bar for the next 4 hours, chatting, laughing and getting to know each other over Barcelona's best G&Ts. I got to really pick their brains about what makes a Celebrity Cruise different to their competitors and why people travel with them over and over again. 

The team were so open to our feedback from our early morning flight and I got this overwhelming sense of pride from the manager behind the whole Jet Set Sail vision and execution. They have worked hard to get to know their customer so well, they want to offer unrivalled customer service and I felt it in spades. 

The drive to hone the service so it works like clockwork and each passenger gets the sense of their modern luxury ethos from the moment their holiday starts as they empty their suitcases from the boot of the car. 

We waved a number of the Celebrity team goodbye who were catching the last flight home to London and had an hour as the rain eased off to take a stroll through the streets near to the hotel before changing and heading off for a wonderful dinner at a renowned local restaurant. Sometimes you just click with people and that evening I felt as though I was among very old friends.

We woke up bright and early to rays of sunshine and I darted up to the rooftop to snap the incredible view of the city. Barcelona has a magical almost mystical charm at that time in the morning. It was so quiet it felt as though the electricity of the cosmopolitan city had been dialled down to zero before 8 am. There was a smell of Jasmine in the air, shadows on the deck and I could hardly bring myself to leave, wishing I had time for a quick swim but the taxi was waiting to take us back to the airport. 

 

I kept thinking on the flight home that it hadn't felt like I was on a ship, as silly as that must sound to read. It felt like you were in a new town that just so happened to be floating on water. I hadn't appreciated the mix of people on board, the opportunity that a cruise gives you to take in so many different destinations in just one trip, until I actually saw it for myself. I may or may not have fallen in love with the idea of the Adriatic holiday! Seeing the ship with my own eyes made me realise how much Rich and I would love the cruise experience, the world class food, the quality entertainment and facilities that evoke a more intimate Las Vegas hotel and the like minded passengers with a passion for travelling in contemporary opulence. 

It's the people that make the Celebrity experience, little touches that make you feel more welcome which assure you that you are going to be well looked after, the modern luxury that starts from the moment you drive up to the private terminal.  

You can find Celebrity at Taste of London this weekend so if you are visiting make sure you stop by at their Lawn Club. 

Check out all the current offers on board the Equinox. Prices start at £599 per person for an interior cabin setting sail from Barcelona on 25th June 2016. 

Thank you to Celebrity Cruises and their team for the very kind invitation to Jet Sail Sail to Barcelona for an eye opening 24 hour experience.