Cruise Blog

Lots of you come back to us after you have been on a cruise holiday and talk about how helpful and friendly the crew were, so I am sure at some point during your cruise you wondered what it is really like to work onboard.

After spending five years at sea myself, I wrote a blog a few weeks ago and shared a brief summary with you about my adventures. However, that was me, can you imagine being the most important person onboard, the Captain?

A cruise ship captain is a licensed mariner who holds the ultimate responsibility for the ship. In addition to operational responsibilities the captain has to oversee all passengers and crew and is the final authority for everyone onboard. As if being in charge of thousands of people is not enough, they are also responsible for all maritime protocols, safety regulations, ship’s engines and maintenance, leading the navigational aids, directing the piloting and following the ship’s strict security plan. A pretty daunting job description, don’t you think?

Even though captains do try to get out and socialize with guests as much as they can, due to the important nature of their job, they are a hard person to speak to! However, no mission is too small for us here at Iglu! On a recent trip on P&O’s Azura we managed to secure an exclusive behind the scenes talk with Captain Julian Burgess.

In this video interview he talks about his exciting career that lead him to become a captain, the best and worst thing about his job and what he gets up to in his spare time!

Take a look at this unique video of our talk with Captain Julian Burgess:

From this video we can see that life at sea is certainly very fascinating and people that work onboard clearly have a passion for ensuring all guests have the best possible cruise. It is very exciting to hear Captain Julian Burgess share some really interesting personal views and experiences of his life onboard. So, who wants to swop their nine to five, comfortable office environment for stripes and the responsibility of a multi-million pound ship and thousands of people!?

By Sally Grimes

Monday 29th April saw an exciting day in the cruising industry with the arrival of Norwegian Cruise Line’s new mega ship, Breakaway arriving into Southampton.

The long wait was over and finally we got to see what all the excitement was about, as Norwegian's most innovative and feature filled ship had arrived.

Before setting off on its inaugural sailing to New York, a few members from our Iglu team were lucky enough to go and check it out.

Full of beams and experiences to share, the team arrived back into the office on Tuesday with lots to say.

First Impressions

With so much speculation leading up to this ship launch we were all super excited to see her and were not disappointed, she certainly stands out from the crowd. As you see Breakaway from the outside you are automatically drawn to the colourful artwork spread across her hull. Designed by the renowned Pop Artist, Peter Max the quirky images of New York’s famous landmarks on the outside definitely make you want to see the inside.

As we entered the interior of the ship it was bright but stylish and instantly gave you a happy feeling that you were going to have a good holiday (it was just a shame we were not actually going on holiday!!)

We knew there was lots to do and see and did not want to waste any time, so set of to explore everything The Breakaway had to offer.

So many amazing features

There is something for everyone and from morning to night you will always find something to do, from adventurous activities to tranquil areas of relaxation.

Some of the features that really stood out for us were:

The Waterfront - Norwegian wanted the sea to be a focal point of the experience on Breakaway, so on both sides of Deck 8 is a quarter mile beach front packed with restaurants, bars and shops that all look over the ocean. Although it was slightly chilly to enjoy this in Southampton, when the ship is in warmer climates this area will be perfect and something that no other cruise ship has.

The Deck-top Complex – This area is so exciting and really has fun for the whole family. The Aqua Park is like no other on a cruise ship, boasting a whole range of rides, including the fastest water slide at sea. Watching people go down it was as awesome as going on it yourself! There is also a three-story sports complex, a zip line, miniature golf course, climbing cage and for the most brave, ‘The Plank’. This is where you are put in a harness and walk out on a narrow beam off the side of the ship. Onur from our Web Development team swallowed his nerves and gave it a go!

The Entourage – This is the area exclusive to teens, a place where 13 – 17 year olds can hang out and be themselves! The atmosphere here is young and chic and provides the perfect environment for teens to enjoy their cruise as much as their parents. Arcade games, jukeboxes, large movie screens and disco booths make this every teens dream hide out! Sean Harrison, our Administration Manager said "It made me miss my earlier years".

Entertainment for everyone

We were surprised by the extensive range of entertainment options onboard and the evening really came alive in the various theatres and lounges. We all collectively spoke about ‘Fat Cats’, it was definitely one of our favourite venues! An authentic New York style lounge that had live performances of jazz, blues and classic pop, even those of us who are not into jazz enjoyed it. It was big enough for people to dance around, but small enough that the atmosphere was electric.

We have to mention the dining

One of the main things we all took advantage of was the food! Norwegian are famous for their freestyle dining concept and as we know, this works very well for some cruisers. However there are so many other speciality restaurants on Breakaway.

Some of us opted to eat at the Manhattan, which is one of the three main dining rooms onboard. Laura, our Online Marketing Manager quoted "this venue actually does feel like New York, it offered live music as we enjoyed our meal. The menu was varied and simple enough to suit everyone".

Others went to Moederno Churasscaria, the Brazilian steakhouse. The concept of this restaurant is very unique and we were offered different meats that were carved at our table side. Set in the perfect location on The Waterfront, we had the option to dine inside or out. Our Product and Commercial Director, Dave was particularly impressed with the concept of having your own table card and turning it over to green for more meat, or red for ‘take it easy’!!

In a nutshell

We loved our one night visit to Breakaway and it was worth the anticipation. The ship itself is very bright and fun with lots to do. There is a wide range of venues, although many of them are quite small so we would recommend getting to your favourite venue early to avoid disappointment. The entertainment and dining was impressive, however we think doing some pre cruise planning would be necessary so you do not miss out on anything! We feel this would be a perfect ship for families and kids will love it! If you like cruising with Norwegian Cruise Line, you will not be disappointed as the ship is very ‘Norwegian style’ throughout.

We’ve just released an incremental update of our Cruise Search app. It is now available to download from the App Store.

So, what’s new? The big change is that we now support the iPhone 5’s longer screen. So gone are the black borders at the top and bottom and now you can enjoy scrolling through cruises in full screen and with high resolution photos.

We’ve also made a couple of changes to how we display destination and flight information to make cruises much clearer. So when you’re searching fly cruises now, it’s much more obvious where the cruise starts.

Finally, we know a few devices were suffering from occasional crashes. We’ve worked on improving this greatly and you shouldn’t be experiencing those any more. There’s also now a feedback form in the app, so if you do have any further issues or suggestions, you can send those to us directly.

Let us know what you think and if you haven’t tried it, you can download it from the App Store now.