12/06/2016, COLUMBUS

will become the new flagship of Cruise & Maritime Voyages next year. At present it is a part of P & O Cruises,last year refitted and next April will also undergo refurbishment before being launched in June 2017. Reader Offers Ltd had a one page advertisement in yesterday's Daily Telegraph,the newspaper I admit I buy every Saturday for its wonderful travel pages, but,of course,read the lot except the Sport supplement. I should be more au fait with what is going on in the world of sport,but to my shame I just cannot muster the interest. DISCOVER CENTRAL AMERICA & CUBA.46 nights. Now, I know of Cruise & Maritime,but have never sailed with them. They do not have many cabins with balconies. And booking a cruise for longer than seven nights in a cabin without a balcony I would never do. The last sail on the lovely Queen Victoria was booked several days beforehand only, all they could offer me was a cabin with obstructed view.My feet were itching to travel,so I booked it, because the itinerary was perfect [ other than Vigo, but there is always a port or two one is not keen on, this is not the end of the world]. However it is unlikely I would ever do it again. I am familiar with Reader Offers Ltd,they had handled my booking on the Silversea Cloud cruise from The Tower of London to St Petersburg and Scandinavia and did a stellar job, even though there was a hick-up at the end of the cruise, when the pre-booked and paid for driver never turned up to pick me up and take me home. My complaint was handled in the most decent and professional way,and that is the way it should be. This is what separates the good travel agent from the not so good - how it handles and solves a complaint. So contrary to Planet Cruise,a firm, that had let me down very badly without any conscience,even though they are full of themselves at how many awards they have for this,that or the other. They lie and deny what they had promised and that is despicable. Iglu,another travel firm, had bought Planet Cruise just when I had the problem with them, I also wrote to the chairman of Iglu,who never even had the decency to respond. Who runs a business like that? I would never ever use Planet Cruise or Iglu again. So when I saw the itinerary yesterday - Amsterdam,Azores,Antigua,Tortola,Dominican Republic,Jamaica,Cuba,Mexico and many more other wonderful destinations, my heart jumped with joy. Immediately I looked up the ship on the internet, just 28 cabins with a balcony. I contacted the Reader Offers Ltd,they said they would check on the availability and phone back in five minutes and they did and I booked a cabin there and then and straight away phoned my sister and told her I would so very much like her to come with,but as it is 46 nights,it may be just too long for her,she may not be able to take such a long unpaid leave. She,like myself, adores cruising and would love to go and will do everything to be able to do so. But there is also her son's family to consider,they would find it very hard without her help,as her daughter-in-law works full time and this September will begin a two year study for a Masters degree. Luckily we have a year and a half to get organized and I will do everything possible to help. For me the date, 29 October,is absolutely perfect,it just could not be any better. By then I will be free,free.free to travel, travel,travel!