Thank you Sadie. Another gold star!
This was not my most challenging trip but, as always, you made all the arrangements, and it worked perfectly without any hitch.
Great peace of mind when travelling with DialAFlight
An excellent cruise organised by Darryll ncluding flights and hotels.
Every interaction with DialAFlight has been excellent. Thank you to Callum in particular for attention to detail and quick responses. We had a wonderful holiday in Greece.
Will use your services again, thanks.
I have been singing the praises of your company to my friends and family for 3 years. I am very impressed with Monika Jain who is a credit to your company and we are very impressed with her commitment to her customers. Already speaking to her for our next adventure.
Excellent as ever, thank you
Excellent service at very competitive prices
Please advise that check-in is also needed for EasyJet flights and that this needs to be done through DialAFlight as the reference numbers don’t work on the EasyJet app
Carry on as you are
Always felt confident and at ease because of number to ring in emergency. Check in very pleasant and straightforward. Will be back.
Thank you Helen Jones - you remain our star.
Aegean has a lovely lounge for its customers at Athens
Always helpful, beat all quotes. Great communication
You were extremely helpful - wish I'd booked earlier though to get cheaper flights
Doug is a fantastic knowledgeable person who represents DialAFlight at the highest level
We were delayed for two hours on return at Heathrow because the baggage hold door jammed! They couldn’t get the bags out. - so frustrating but nothing to do with you! So thanks as always for an otherwise trouble free trip,
Keep it up! Please don’t let your deserved success affect your standards in any way. You are unique!
Excellent end to end service
All went well with the flights and hotels. The app was really useful too.
After a fraudulent flight company we were left without flights to our destination with only several days before we were due to leave! Calvin put together a great package which meant we could make our holiday after all
I thought the pre holiday attention was great and given the amount of variables involved in my trip to several Greek Islands - logistically it was great. I would say there was some inconsistencies in hotel qualities though as the only caviat. But I appreciate it was a fairly tricky itinerary and was overall a fantastic holiday
So good to know you were in the background had we hit any travel problems.
Brilliant service as always
Everything went perfectly. Great communication at every step.
The service provided by Lucy over the covid period has been excellent. Her advice was really valued.
I am a returning customer because DialAFlight always delivers.
Whole holiday was amazing and everything done with Stafford was easy and stress free! Will 100% be using DialAFlight for my next holiday.
Very helpful for a last minute trip
There I was, sailing around the Aegean on a super-yacht... and there wasn't an oligarch in sight.
Crystal Cruises' new Esprit is one of the new generation of smaller cruise ships, and it was the perfect home for a tour of the beautiful Greek islands, the Holy Land and the Jordanian port city of Aqaba.
The Esprit was recently christened in the Seychelles with a bottle of champagne (Louis Roederer, Cristal Brut 2004 since you ask), and its 31 suites are spread over two floors.
There are no balconies - it's a yacht, remember - but each suite comes with lovely picture windows.
It felt like I had been invited to a house party - albeit one held at sea - rather than a cruise, and there was a sense of immediacy and familiarity that is not readily apparent on larger ships. It really does feel like you've checked into a fabulous floating boutique hotel.
Boarding in the Greek port of Piraeus, I walked up the gangplank to a champagne reception.
Crystal really does know how to make guests feel welcome. My butler Clarke showed me to my stateroom, unpacked for me, and before long we were sailing towards the party island of Mykonos.
WELCOME COCKTAILS
That evening Esprit's director Harry Ter Horst arranged for the yacht's small crew to meet the guests. It broke the ice and friendships were made over some truly shipshape cocktails. Dinner was also superb. Fine dining at sea is a wonderful experience and the wines were carefully matched. Best of all, it was all included in the price.
Most sommeliers can't wait to show off their knowledge and end up boring you towards a wine you didn't really want, but Ramon made choosing one a pleasure. Still, I decided the time wasn't right to order a £4,300 bottle of Chateau le Pin.
The first night at sea always takes some getting used to: the hum of the engines and the slight rolling of a smaller ship. The stabilisers aren't quite as good as those on bigger vessels but the stateroom technology is certainly better. There were iPads to make in-room dining and communications more passenger-friendly.
As an experienced cruiser, the most important elements for me during a trip are the quality of the food and choice of excursions.
Louisa Kierman was in charge of the tours and she chose the destinations wisely. 'I prefer working on a yacht because everything is far more personal,' she said. 'You get to know people and they aren't just buddies on boats - we feel as though we are welcoming guests into our family.'
One of her excursions during our tour of the Aegean was to Santorini - perhaps my favourite destination. The skies were blue and the whitewashed houses in towns such as Oia sparkled in the sunshine. And if you visit out of the peak summer season, as we did, the crowds have gone and you feel as though you have the island to yourself.
THE HOLY LAND
All of our guides were good but in the Holy Land they were outstanding. One, Barak, was a major in the Israeli army and he helped bring familiar stories from the Bible to life. As for the food, after a week I didn't think the chef, Rainer Buss, could prepare a better dinner, but he did - a sublime lobster with hot butter sauce, and sea bass with asparagus risotto. Everything was Michelin standard.
Crystal Esprit is sleek and nimble, with a shallow draught of less than 15ft. And because of her relatively small size it means a new array of harbours can be accessed, allowing visits to exclusive marinas, hidden coves, and secluded islands where the docking infrastructure - so critical for big ships - doesn't exist.
SUMMER ROUTES
Crystal Esprit sails the Adriatic through the summer, with seven-night cruises between Athens and Dubrovnik, and Dubrovnik and Venice. Included are all meals and drinks, butler service, marina and water-sports activities, a choice of complimentary shore excursions and gratuities.
The only problem is that spending a week on board the elegant and luxurious Esprit spoils you for life.
First published in the Mail on Sunday - April 2017
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