Pictured: Hays Travel Cramlington branch manager Lisa Clarke with Barbados cruise customer Carol Gallagher
Hays Travel is running 14 exclusive charter flights for escorted cruise holidays over the next two years in a tie-up with P&O Cruises.
The charters, the first of which left on March 11, will run until 2024. Flights are out of regional airports nationwide and offer direct flights to join a cruise holiday operated by P&O Cruises. The trips are accompanied by Hays Travel staff.
The first charter operated from Newcastle International Airport to Barbados with 350 clients on board. A further two are planned out of Bournemouth and Newcastle this year and seven more cruise packages are being offered in 2023, with exclusive charters out of Newcastle, Belfast, Bournemouth, Glasgow, Bristol, Edinburgh.
Four more are planned for 2024, with flights from Bournemouth, Newcastle, Bristol and Glasgow airports.
Two of the cruise packages are already fully booked and the others are filling up fast, said the company.
Hays Travel’s head of cruise Catriona Parsons said: “They are proving very popular,” adding: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to bring this offer of our own direct flights to Barbados from regional airports along with the experience of a P&O Caribbean cruise.”
Staff from Hays Travel were on hand at Newcastle airport to help clients board the first flight, including one passenger with a terminal illness who was looking forward to what could be her last ever cruise holiday.
The two-week cruise holiday on board P&O Cruises’ Britannia includes trips to Antigua, St Kitts and Grenada. Hays Travel has a desk manned by two branch managers on board the ship to help clients with any queries they have.
Parsons said: “It was quite emotional as it was a big moment for many of our customers coming back to cruising and there were a few tears of joy from our team and our passengers as they all boarded successfully.”
The trips all include exclusive direct charter flights and are escorted by Hays staff on the flight and cruise ship. Prices start from £2,099 with for a 5% deposit and can be paid by monthly direct debit.