P&O 'plague ship' docks at Southampton after norovirus outbreak

P&O 'plague ship' docks at Southampton after norovirus outbreak Passengers claim captain admitted crew had struggled to cope with outbreak on Christmas Baltic The P&O liner Oriana, which was described as a 'plague ship' by passengers, has docked at Southampton. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA A cruise liner dubbed "a plague ship" by passengers struck down with the norovirus winter vomiting bug has docked at Southampton. Scores of passengers were laid low by the virus.

One female passenger told Sky News today: "It was poorly organised. The crew were running around like headless chickens. Passengers on the 10-day voyage aboard the P&O vessel Oriana claimed up to 400 travellers had been struck down. Chris Meadows, from Southampton, who attended a crisis meeting between the liner's captain and passengers, said the captain had told them staff were struggling to cope. Meadows told the Daily Telegraph: "The captain has admitted at the height of the outbreak that the crew could not cope." "They didn't seem to know what to do and we were told it was all our fault." A male passenger told Sky that passengers had had to rely on room service for food as parts of the ship had been shut off. "The wait was around two and a half hours," he said. A spokeswoman for P&O's owner, Carnival, said on Thursday that out of 1,843 passengers only six had active symptoms. The Oriana left Southampton on 4 December, with passengers paying up to £1,400 for the voyage, which included visits to Copenhagen, Oslo and Amsterdam. The Health Protection Agency said this week that more than 750,000 people across the UK could be affected by a norovirus outbreak.

The P&O Cruises managing director, Carol Marlow, apologised to passengers on Friday. She told Sky: "We had a number of people who were taken ill. I have written to all the passengers saying how sorry I am. "These are our passengers. We want them to have a good time so they sail with us again." She invited passengers with particular concerns to contact the company and added that any compensation would be dealt with on an individual basis. Travel insurance: do I really need it? One well-travelled reader regales us with tales of his cover-free adventures... but can we all afford to be so oblivious to risk? Рlease write comment on my blog!

Best restaurant!

Hello! My first impressin were great - i loved the deor in the foyer, staff were helpful and dheck in easy. 
And the location is great and rooms large enough considering the locatn but overall I was disappointed with the hotel.

So, I cannot believe that you are charged for wifi and not only once it is per device.....this can only be a money makinjgventure. You can'tturn the computer in the room off and the whirring sound was not congenial for sleep, I had to call twice to have it deactivated. My room had a musty smell each time I returned and I was particularly surprised that there is no turn down service of an evening.

And the restaurant staff were pleasant and helpful and service good.

The hotel was very busy for the four nights I stayed on enquiry I discovered it is s base hotel for the many cruise ships that leave from th area.

But overall I believe there are thugs the hotel can do to make it a better place to stay.

 I enjoyed my stay there, the highlights are the big windows with gorgeous views. the rooms are nice, clean and well decorated, but to be honest I would expect more from an intercontinental hotel. the wifi charge is a joke, come on people get with the times, and I did not like the computers in the room, kind of ruin the decor.
location is magnificent and i love the rain shower, but I do think for the price they could offer a bit more.
 My husband and I stayed here prior to our cruise out of NYC. We were so pleased with everything and everyone that we encountered. The bellmen were so courteous and helpful. Our check in service was pleasant also. Our room was very clean, small but that's a NYC given. The location is convenient, between Hell's Kitchen and Times Square. I would definitely recommend it, and will stay there again on our next trip.

 The hotel is in good condition. The room on 5th floor was not very large, but it was nicely decorated and pleasant enough. The bed was comfy. Large HD tv. Front desk, bellboys, housekeeping all offered correct service. Location is close to Times Square. Subway stop on 7th avenue is actually under the building. It was all fine, reliable, but nothing truly special. 
Stayed September 2012, travelled on business.
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About Travel Agents

About Travel Agents Travel agents coordinate every aspect of travel, from choosing a destination to booking a flight, from making arrangements for hotel accommodations and car rentals to arranging tours. Many travel agents work closely with cruise lines, as well as with resorts, spas, and special-interest travel groups. Travel agents are expected to know the ins and outs of the destinations they recommend, including tourist attractions, restaurants and entertainment, local customs, as well as any hazards or issues to be aware of.

Education requirements for travel agents include a high school diploma, but many travel agencies prefer their travel agents to have bachelor's degrees or specialized training in the travel field from vocational schools, online programs, adult education programs, or community colleges. Several colleges in the United States offer degree programs in travel and tourism. In addition, travel agents who are experienced travelers are highly sought after. In addition to being travel savvy, travel agents must have excellent listening and communication skills, must work well with people, must have excellent research skills, and must be well organized. Good sales ability is also a plus. Travel agents spend a large portion of their time in offices behind desks, using the computer, talking with clients on the telephone, arranging reservations and itineraries, and filling out paperwork. They may also spend some portion of their time traveling to resorts, hotels, motels, restaurants, and attractions to assess cleanliness and convenience, and to better make recommendations.

The job outlook for travel agents increases as people travel. During a slow economy, people tend to travel less, while during a robust economy, travel picks up. Travel agents who specialize in particular destinations, as well as those who handle certain special interest groups, tend to have the best job prospects.

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A morning in Germany and Switzerland mountains!

A morning in Germany +Switzerland mountains!

^^ That morning, I found myself in Germany, especially in the city of Cologne. I wanted to make the most of business trip for visiting this city. The day before, I was crossing Germany by train in order to join my final destination in the night. Fortunately, I found a room in a very cheap and nice hotel close to the station. My morning in Germany The next day was “The day”, my diary was full, and nevertheless I had some hours to visiting the town. It was in the beginning of January, the weather was cold and the ground slippery because of the black ice. That was a very funny morning during which I made some shopping down town. My good German surprise My fantastic journey in Germany ended in the beginning of the evening. I jumped in the car and crossed one more time this pleasant country by road.

I had very good surprise to see a TV in my hotel bedroom, so I could watch the news. In the morning, I was surprised to find a bus stop in the bottom of my hotel. There I could get a bus going to my final destination. Leaving Germany

Switzerland mountains!!! A week in Geneva

Nevertheless, I thank GOD for the last minute place found in a lodge of center Geneva. And I spent a very enjoyable journey in this cosmopolitan city. Thereby, I made the most of my trip by visiting unforgettable places like the Leman’s lake or the famous train station of Cormavin.

Here’s the story of my travel by car in Switzerland where I discovered amazing mountains and fascinating lakes. For example, a lake called “Léman” with its nice beaches and the jet. Switzerland is a beautiful country inside the mountain of Alps, a very touristic place for several winter and summer sport. My discovery of Switzerland

Traveling by car was tremendous opportunity to peruse the landscape during my trip. And when I got to the city it’s was a challenge to find a place in a hotel. It’s was then that I realized the need to book an hotel before my departure.

My departure from Switzerland After this awesome week, I went back by car of course to my home city. I bought a camera in order to capture the wonderful photos of my travel in Swiss Confederation.

My travel story in Belgium

How to prepare your stay My travel story in Belgium, stories of a trip to Brussels

my travel story My first travel story was during a trip to Brussels airport called Zaventem located in Belgium. My travel story in Europe was in Belgium, exactly in the airport of Brussels. Indeed, I was transiting there because there were no direct flight to my final destination. Nevertheless, I was impressed by the numerous people from many countries I met during my transit.

My travel story in Belgium Lastly, at noon, it was time for me to say: “bye” to Brussels airport. I pursued my travel enriched with unforgettable records. My travel story in Belgium: Part 2 It was a nice morning; I spent about six hours wandering in the airport. I found many shops hidden upstairs and some sitting rooms where travelers could sit down while they were waiting for their plane.

This time I was crossing Belgium by car back from Germany. I was amazed to see the enlightened roads of this kingdom, what is unusual in many countries. I suppose that they found the secret of low cost electricity. My travel story in Belgium: Third journey I discovered the north of Belgium during a enjoyable holiday in Antwerp. I perused the diamond shops in the center of the city. Most of these stores are hold by the Jewish community. Furthermore, I had the good surprise to meet a childhood friend in train the station. Obviously, we talk about the past, the present and the future… Рlease write comment on my blog!

How to navigate around London Underground

How to navigate around London Underground:

Use a map of the underground to note which line your starting station is on (the easiest way is to note the colour).
If they are two different lines, make a note of where they cross which is where you will need to change trains.
Work out which direction you will need to travel in (ie eastbound, westbound, northbound or southbound) OR make a note of the station name at the end of your destination line.
Then note which line your destination station is on.

Signs and maps situated at the entrance to each station or each line will tell you which line you should take, with the stations marked on them. These will be colour coded according to the line colours on the underground map.
Make a note of how many stations there are until your stop, then get on the appropriate train and count the stops until you have to get off!

“When they try to cheat tourists...”

We only went to this place to have a coffee at the bar and paid it 2.50 € each (other coffees in Paris costed 0.95 - 1.20 €). They said it's the price written in the carte but we didn't see it, and anyway they made us pay as we had table service but we didn't! I think it's not honest from them and I'm happy we didn't have dinner there.

The worst part was not that they added 13,50€ to the bill of a lunch for 2, but how terribly they treated us when we complained about it. We ordered a dish of calamaris to share, spaghetti with clams and risotto with seafood. When we asked for the bill, we saw that the price of each of the main dishes had been increased in 2€ and that there were 2 dishes of calamaris instead of the single starter we had ordered, so double of the price indicated in the menu. The waiter accepted without apologising that the price of the main dishes was incorrect but refused to let us pay just the starter we had ordered because we had already eaten it. This after having tried to convince us, with no success, that in fact they had already discounted one of the portions because the whole price of the calamaris would have been 36€. The menu clearly indicated "calamari fritti 9.50." No comments. Then the waiter invited me to go to the hall to meet "il direttore" if I still was not happy with the amount to pay. It was later when I understood how this allowed the director to shout at me and insult me without disturbing the rest of the clients. However, I'm sure everybody heard how he called me "stronza maleducata" while he yelled "when I travel in Spain, I pay what they ask me to" (I'm Spanish.) I decided then to ask for the complaints book. This only made things even worse, with the director holding one of my arms, his other hand raised and shouting at me if I was trying to eat for free. The waiter was also extremely disrespectful to us, saying lovely things as "who do you think you are to complain" and "if you don't have enough money to pay just leave." The funny thing is that before we could even imagine the terrible scene we would have to suffer, we had already regretted having chosen this place for lunch as the food was too salty to be enjoyed and the decoration really tacky, with pictures of old fashion landscapes and plastic flowers among other beautiful details.

My worst experience so far in a restaurant and the only bad incident I had in my, apart from this disturbing episode, wonderful holidays in Sardinia.

India by rail

India by rail in 2012
The train judders to a halt and jolts me out of deep sleep. I peer out of the carriage window into the foggy night. On the final leg of a 2,300-mile railway journey across India, we have pulled up at a station somewhere in Assam, in the north-eastern states. It is 3.05am. Under harsh overhead lights, dozens of people are sleeping on the platform, great lumpy bundles of bedding and shawls. I get up from my bunk bed, pad up the corridor of the sleeper carriage, a dark cave of snoring, and step down onto the platform.

The station signs tell me that we are at Lumding, a junction 40 miles or so south of the Brahmaputra river. Beyond the river are Bhutan and Tibet; to the west is Bangladesh; to the east, Burma. It’s the far frontier of the Indian railway network.

Half-asleep fellow passengers fill their plastic water bottles from platform taps or drink tea poured from huge chrome kettles by wide-awake “chai wallahs”. Stray dogs dart past, scavenging for food.

Slowly the great caterpillar of carriages pulls off and we clamber back aboard. My wife, Clare, is still sleeping peacefully in the top bunk, unaware of Lumding, and I’m soon lulled back to sleep by the lumbering rhythm of train-on-track, train-on-track.

Clare and I have been trundling across India for 10 days. We started at the most westerly station on the regular passenger network – Okha in the state of Gujarat, 100 miles down the coast from Pakistan – and will soon be pulling into Ledo, the network’s most easterly station, a tiny Assamese town of tea gardens and coal mines. We could have done the bulk of this journey on one train, the Dwarka Express, but it runs only on Fridays. It sets off from Okha at just before noon and, 2,000 miles later, pulls into Guwahati, the capital of Assam, on Monday morning. Sixty-seven hours at an average speed of 30mph. We love Indian trains, but not that much.

Australia and Pacific

Australia and Pacific
Your visit to Melbourne is probably more likely to be dictated by an event – the Australian Open, the Comedy Festival or a new exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria – than the climate, which is notoriously changeable; locals say that Melbourne has “four seasons in the same day”. Just remember that winters here (June to August) can be bitterly cold, so wrap up.

Birthplace of Australian Rules Football, host of the 1956 Olympic Games, home of both the Australian Open and the Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne can rightly claim to be the sportiest city in a country where sport is the only true religion.

The Melbourne Cup may indeed be the horse race that “stops a nation” but the same could also be said of the traditional Boxing Day Test at the “G” (the Melbourne Cricket Ground) – or indeed, the AFL Grand Final when 100,000 fans pack the stands. Despite this obsession with sport, Melbourne is not a one-dimensional society.

Even Sydneysiders – its sternest critics – now concede that Melbourne has a superior restaurant and bar scene. The southern capital also sets the pace when it comes to fashion, theatre, design and architecture. It’s also quite funny. Remember a certain housewife superstar who hailed from Moonee Ponds?

Victoria is also Australia’s most compact state, which means the Great Ocean Road, the Yarra Valley and Phillip Island with its fairy penguins are right on the doorstep. So, after decades of playing second fiddle to Sydney, “Marvellous Melbourne” is recovering its lustre, with a thrusting city skyline, a new entertainment precinct and a pulsating Docklands area.

Stuffy? Old-fashioned? Nonsense. Caffeine-fuelled, sports-mad and outward looking, Melbourne is unquestionably Australia’s most exciting and diverse metropolis. Go now.
When to go?

Unlike Perth, Sydney and the Gold Coast, Melbourne has not given its soul to the beach. Theatre, fine food and competitive sport are really the dominant forces here – not the changing seasons.

Vietnam: ethnic tourism among the valleys with no name

Vietnam in 2012: ethnic tourism among the valleys with no name
A typhoon had blown in during the day. White rain clouds lay like a boiling sea in the valleys, creating the illusion that the twisting mountain pass was an ocean road. As our vehicle turned a blind corner we came across a gaggle of motorcyclists, caped against the rain and gawping over the edge.

A lorry had gone over while overtaking another lorry, trusting to a hard shoulder that had gone soft in the rain. Through the clouds we saw that the plummeting vehicle had ploughed a vertical groove of red earth in the sheer mountainside. Its roof was visible, a couple of hundred feet below.

Most live in rural areas, growing rice, practising slash-and-burn farming, keeping animals, making handicrafts, worshipping their ancestors and believing in spirits. Many still wear their distinctive, traditional dress – or at least the women do; men tend to go for the easy option and wear Western clothes these days – and this is part of what makes them especially intriguing and attractive to foreigners. Market days, when different groups come together in a throng of colour and noise, are thrilling spectacles.

Incredibly, the driver had just been hauled up alive and whisked off to hospital. As the men continued to stare, a woman in a beautiful and strange costume strode away from the scene as if in disgust. She was the reason we had come to this remote, mountainous region in the north of Vietnam, just 50 miles from the Chinese border. Her distinctive look – black tunic and trousers embroidered with red-and-white patterned panels, red scarf and headdress – marked her out as a member of the Dao ethnic minority, one of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam.

The Viets are the biggest group, accounting for 86 per cent of the population and dominating mainstream culture. To varying extents, the remaining minorities lead marginalised lives, both culturally and geographically.