If you’re the kind of person who dreams of a warm winter Cruise Holiday, savouring authentic Med-iterranean cuisine while in port, open air cafés or restaurants by the sea, a place where the locals speak English & greet you with sincere familiarity, where history books have not done enough justice to heritage sites & a place where culture seeps from every stone in towns & villages, then the Maltese Islands are the destination for you.
No wonder so many of today’s major Cruise Companies have secured Valletta’s Grand Har-bour as their Port of Call or turn-around port until March 2012. Liners such as the MSC Fantasia, Musica, Orchestra & the Opera, Costa’s Concordia, Deliziosa, Fortuna, Marina, Allegra & Favolosa ships, the Seabourn Legend and TUI’s Mein Schiff are among those who will visiting the Maltese Islands regularly over the winter, while others, such as ships from renowned companies like Celebrity, Seven Seas, Navigator,
Le Ponant, Astor, Saga and Silversea shall also be including Malta between November 2011 and March 2012.
Visiting the Maltese Islands during the winter months has it’s clear advantages. Besides fewer crowds, cooler weather, unbeatable value for money on great accommodation options and a rich cultural & events calendar, www.visitmalta.com/events-
A visit to Malta as part of your winter Cruise holiday is guaranteed to make for an unforgettable family experience. You can enjoy safe onshore experiences & share in local traditions & festivities together. Senior citizens will revel in the slow paced lifestyle of the villages & towns, while honeymoon couples may wish to extend lifetime memories by spending a few more days on Gozo, the magical sister Island to Malta and haven to Homer’s mythological love-nymph Calypso.
While Malta’s father of lateral thinking Edward de Bono, would invite you to “think outside the box” or ‘’put on your thinking hat’’, you certainly won’t have to do much of that when you arrive on this friendly island. The renowned hospitality of the locals shall never fail to assist you with questions and need for directions. Commuting from site to site is easy to follow & distances are short with the new public transport system www.arriva.com.mt
Just to put a cherry on your holiday ice-cream, getting there has never been easier thanks to Malta’s modern falcon and National carrier, Air Malta. Check out Air Malta’s website for a full listing of flights available www.airmalta.com
Meanwhile, if you’re already scheduled to visit the islands for a day during your Cruise holiday this winter, be sure to collect Air Malta’s exclusive promotional voucher from the Valletta Cruise Port Terminal or the Tourism Information Offices at the Valletta Waterfont or in Valletta itself. Your Cruise visit will bring you a 10% discount on all Air Malta flights departing from EU airports. Coming back to an island where summer fun never seems to end has never been so sweet.
If the Maltese Falcon & the Knights of St John sound familiar to you and you’re ready to discover more about Malta, then it’s time to book your next vacation to this strategically positioned Island in the Mediterranean. Uncover the fascinating reasons why so many nations have battled over the centuries to take control of this unassuming Island fortress.
Malta Tourism Authority, cruise@visitmalta.com, www.visitmalta.com