RECORD TRAVEL
Whether it’s France, Spain or Italy, this cruise will deliver six of the best destinations in Europe
DON’T miss out on your chance to join in the nation’s vacation elation. Public voting for the UK holiday “Oscars” has been running since July 2 and you could win a fabulous travel prize by taking part.
But you’ve only got till midnight tomorrow to vote, so hurry if you don’t want to miss out.
The renowned 2018 British Travel Awards are your chance to say who is the cream of the getaway business.
Britain’s travel industry regard them as their most coveted gongs because they’re voted for by you – the public who spend their hard-earned cash on the holidays and services they provide.
Categories for voting include airlines, hotels, overseas tour operators, cruise lines, staycation attractions and accommodation specialists, plus those important add-ons such as travel insurance, airport parking, currency exchange and price comparison websites.
As a thank you for taking the time to join in, everyone who submits a vote is entered into a draw for an Aladdin’s cave of superb holiday prizes worth BY NIGEL THOMPSON tens of thousands of pounds (see panel right). Last year, 359,634 people joined in, making the BTAs the largest consumer voted award programme in the UK. The 2018 winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in London on November 28. HOW IT WORKS Voting is all online at britishtravelawards.com where there are 83 award categories covering a range of leisure travel services and experiences.
Yes, that’s a lot – but you do not have to vote in them all. Just opt for as many or as few as you like.
And it’s really easy. If, for example, you only want to vote for your favourite airline and nothing else, you can.
There will also be an invite to take part in research that looks at the nation’s holiday plans for 2019. It’s voluntary and, like the awards voting, you can do as much or as little as you wish.
But if you do, to reward you there’s a bonus go in the prize ballot. Good luck!
Full terms and conditions are at britishtravelawards.com BY NIGEL THOMPSON CRUISES always have a sea day, don’t they? That chill-out time where you enjoy the splendid facilities as the ship slips through the water.
Not always, it seems. On our week-long voyage on MSC Cruises’ fabulous Fantasia from Genoa, Italy, we had a stop on each of the six days.
So, instead of a five ports of call and one sea day, we had six “things-to-see” days. Here’s how my wife Debbie and I did it:
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CANNES
The only port requiring a tender, we let the main rush get off the ship (not that there was much of one with a wellorganised disembarkation) and headed into the home of the famous film festival.
It’s certainly a glamorous place – the first cars I dodged crossing the road from the port were a Ferrari and a Lamborghini.
We headed up to the castle ruins at the top of the old town hill to take in fine views and then ambled back down to find lunch in the pleasant streets a block back from the fabled Croisette seafront.
It wasn’t cheap – a club sandwich and a beer cost €17, although the food was freshly made and very tasty.
On to the Croisette and we found the beach had been largely taken over by vast corporate venues for visitors in town for a tech convention.
The public area left was pretty small, which is a shame.
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PALMA, MAJORCA
We had half a sea day with a 2pm arrival in the Balearic Island’s lovely capital.
We grabbed a cab up to 14th century Bellver Castle, perched on a 370ft hill.
It’s one of the few circular fortresses in Europe and is quite striking. There’s a museum on the history of Palma, which is well worth a look and the views across the city from the top of the ramparts are ideal for your Instagram portfolio.
Mercifully, on what was a very hot afternoon, there’s a nice little cafe selling cold beers at €3.
We could see the ship from the castle and decided to walk back down. Bad idea. What Google Maps claimed was a 30-minute walk was considerably more and involved a spectacularly slippery rocky track.
BARCELONA
We’d been several times but never got to Park Guell, architect Antoni Gaudi’s hillside creation in the Gracia district.
If you’ve never been, it’s a must. In a city of so many highlights, this is a stand-out. There’s a central core of buildings which have an admission charge and timed tickets. But the rest of the large site is free and a delight to stroll around.
The views are spectacular, not least at the Hill of Three Crosses monument. There are signs warning not to climb it, so of course everyone does.
Lunch beckoned at the fabulous Boqueria produce market on the Rambla, followed by the cable car up to the 18th century Montjuïc Castle overlooking the port. Like Bellver Castle, fine views but sadly no nice little cafe for a cold one on another baking day.
AJACCIO, CORSICA
A new destination for us and it’s a perfectly pleasant one for a meander.
The markets were over for the day by the time we docked, so we wandered round the marina and the cathedral and hoofed the mile