When Ponant first offered cruise itineraries from New Zealand, I was interested to learn that it offered Antarctica cruises.  My initial impression was that Ponant, a luxury French cruise line, would be a cruise line for the Mediterranean.  Learning that it was one of the leading "luxury expedition" cruise lines was an eye opener and explains why Ponant is making an additional commitment to its fleet for Expedition cruises.

When UK / Europe Earlybird airfares are released, planning ahead to secure the cheapest Business Class booking classes can be the main factor in securing the greatest discount.  

Through Fine Travel's relationship with specialist travel wholesale partner World Journeys, we are pleased to share with you an insight into their travel experiences, and the expertise we can draw on when planning your holidays. With increased airline competition on routes between New Zealand and North America we are seeing more frequent Business Class discounts, setting up our clients for memorable holidays.  

When holiday time is precious, retracing your steps to connect with a flight home can feel a waste of valuable time.  For many Fine Travel clients who take advantage of UK / Europe Business Class Specials to spend time with family, a return flight from London Heathrow makes good sense.  But often European travel becomes much more than this.

One of the most common responses travel agents hear when recommending travel insurance is: "That's ok, I have free travel insurance with my credit card".  Even though the cost of the travel insurance premium may be built into the annual card fee or interest rate, the true cost of credit card travel insurance can be much higher if it doesn't cover you when it comes to claim time.  Here are three of the common traps we encounter with credit card travel insurance.

As we have a significant distance to fly from New Zealand to the UK / Europe, it is often tempting to think "I just want to get there" and as a travel agency we hear that from many of our clients.  However, for Business Class flights to the UK and Europe we are seeing greater interest in stopover packages - and for good reason.

I must confess when we had a Fine Travel famil to Las Vegas I fell into the trap of stereotyping the "food scene".  "It'll be high volume, deep fried, quick turnaround to get the punters back into the casinos", I thought.  After previously travelling through America's Southern States, and being amazed by the variety and sophistication of some of their cuisine, I should have known there was more to Vegas.

Whenever the Oceania Cruises' ships come to Auckland the ship inspections are highly sought after. With a focus on cuisine and fine art, time onboard in Auckland gives the Fine Travel team a true appreciation of what our clients can experience in the Mediterranean.  

European river cruises continue to be popular with New Zealand travellers.  One river cruise line that has made a significant impact on the New Zealand cruise market is APT (also known as APTouring or Australia Pacific Touring) with its APT and Travelmarvel cruise brands.