Category Archives: Europe

MSC Cruise Sale

Posted on by By Vivienne DuBourdieu
Sometimes you have to have some luck.. I was d...

Image via Wikipedia

MSC Cruises has just launched an exclusive 7-day sale.

Offers start from £399 per person,with savings of up to 66% on the original selling prices.

Plus, MSC Cruises is also offering up to £200 per cabin onboard credit with every booking.

Cruises include flights from London or depart from Southampton.

These are the cruises on offer, departing on various dates until January, 2012:

  • 7-night winter-sun Med cruise, was £789 … now £399
  • 7-night eastern Med cruise, was £1249 … now £479
  • 8-night summer Europe no-fly cruise, was £1209 … now £549
  • 7-night western Med w/upgrade, was £1479 … now £599
  • 7-night Dubai & Emirates cruise, was £1359 … now £749
  • 7-night Med in Yacht Club Suite, was £2109 … now £1589

Cabin upgrades are also discounted. Book by 22 July.

For more information, click here.

All cruises are based on two people sharing.

Flights are from London airports. Internal UK flights to London are an extra £50 return.

The no-fly cruise departs from Southampton.

Onboard credit is per cabin at £100 for Inside,£150 for Outside and £200 for Balcony Cabins. Subject to availability. Tips are not included.

 

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Ecoli Incident in Germany

Posted on by By Vivienne DuBourdieu
Cucumber. Photographed and eaten by VDuBourdieu©May 31, 2011

Cucumber. Photographed and eaten by VDuBourdieu©May 31, 2011

An incident in Germany involving the potentially deadly disease Ecoli has brought widespread concern in the media.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (EDCDP), 373 people were confirmed to have caught Ecoli.

Most of the cases were in Hamburg, Germany, and 68% of those affected were women.

Meanwhile, authorities in the Czech Republic and Austria have taken some Spanish-grown cucumbers off store shelves over fears they are contaminated with Ecoli.

So how people can best avoid catching the bug? GP Dr Rosemary Leonard explains the symptoms and offers some advice here:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health

Whatever the bug, it is always advisable to wash and, if necessary, peel vegetables befoe eating, whether they are to be used raw or cooked.

Whilst the Ecoli incident in Germany is extremely distressing for those directly involved, the media may be over-reacting, according to European Tour Operators Association (ETOA).

It is important to note:

  • Ecoli is endemic in all societies, and such regrettable “peak” outbreaks occur regularly in such developed countries as the United States and Japan. They are containable.
  • The current outbreak is exclusively associated with Northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, North-Rhine-Westfalia and Hamburg). There appear to be no sources of an outbreak in any other region of Germany, nor any other country in Europe.
  • Those involved seem to have been exposed to a contaminated batch of cucumbers. There is no evidence that there are any other foods, such as meat or dairy products, involved.
  • Whilst the occurrence of this outbreak is naturally a cause for concern, the risks posed to travellers even in the affected regions of Germany are extremely minimal.
  • There are no extraordinary risks posed to travellers in Europe as a whole.

It is always difficult to take a clear stand on a situation like this, especially when attention is drawn to individual instances. But there is a danger of undue concern occurring where no unusual risk exists.

In these circumstances any formal measures (such as the condemning all uncooked vegetables) seems disproportionate, particularly in areas outside those affected.

Since its foundation in 1989, ETOA has grown exponentially to include over 500 member organisations, of which more than 150 are Tour Operators.

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