74 December 14, 2014 READER OFFER Prices are ‘from’ prices, based on select departure dates from Dublin. Price is per person based on 2 sharing & strictly subject to availability. Supplements apply for travel during bank holidays and school holidays. Prices exclude check-in luggage. ClickandGo is fully licensed & bonded by the Commission for Aviation Regulation T.A 0700. E&OE. ALL FLIGHTS WITH BOOK TODAY 01 637 1699 www.ClickandGo.com LUXURY MEGA DEAL 5 STAR ALGARVE from only €319pp LIMITED OFFER: BOOK BY THURSDAY 18th DEC Sample prices include: Aer Lingus flights | Airport transfers | 7 nights b&b in a 5* hotel | Bed & breakfast | Taxes & charges Real Marina Hotel & Spa Olhao | The Algarve | Portugal Bed & Breakfast Jan - Mar from €319pp | April from €339pp N O W A V A I L A B L E O N L I N E • G I F T V O U C H E R S • SUN- WAY’s impressive Christmas sale includes a week in Orlando from May 15, staying at the Rosen Inn at Pointe from €519 per person sharing, including flights, or take a three-night break in New York for Paddy’s Day, staying in the Pennsylvania Hotel, room only, from March 15, with prices from €689. See sunway.ie, tel: 01 231 1800. ESCAPE with JP Thompson [email protected] EARLY BIRDIES GET A DEAL ON THE last time the Irish Open was hosted in the North it was a sell-out. Tickets for next year’s event at Royal Coun- ty Down, which has appeared in countless lists of the world’s best golf courses, will go even faster. Rory McIlroy (right) is hoping to recruit some of the leading players from both the European and US PGA for the 2015 tournament – Ric- kie Fowler has confirmed he will be playing. The course, with the stunning backdrop of the Mourne Mountains, will only be able to hold 20,000 spectators a day, but fans can guarantee their places – with an early bird dis- count – for the event which runs from May 28-31. Golf fans can save £10 if they book their tickets by Dec- ember 31, before prices rise to £35. Childrne under 16 will be admitted free as long as they are accompanied by an adult (up to four children are allowed with one paying adult). The surrounding area around Royal County Down has beautiful forest parks such as Tollymore and Cas- tlewellan, castles and picturesque fishing ports. Newcastle is a scenic seaside resort which lies on the Irish Sea at the base of Slieve Donard. Accommodation in the area is also expected to sell out pretty quickly as well, so for more see discovernorth- I HAD always wondered about cruise holidays. As a travel journalist and broadcaster who visits many of the world’s most impressive liners when they dock in Dublin for the day, I was curious about how I would find sailing the ocean seas for a week. Would I enjoy living, breathing and eating in a somewhat confined vessel for seven days or more? As a 29-year-old, would I really be able to let my hair down and party in the presence of so many families? And what about sea sickness? They were some of the many questions I asked myself when contemplating my ocean voyage. After much deliberation and weeks of research I decided it was time I gave cruising a try. My younger sister Ruth and I chose to go la dolce vita, as the Italians say, and opted for a seven-night sailing across the Mediterranean with Italian cruise line MSC cruises. Our 59,000-tonne ship, named the Sinfonia (which rather aptly has a musical theme and is based on Europe’s most famous composers such as Bach and Tchaikovsky), set sail from the pretty port of Genoa. Just some of the spots we sailed to included Cannes, Salerno, Olbia and Mahon. Our attractive itinerary also featured an overnight stay in Ibiza which, being the party animals that we are, we were delighted with. We were offered a stack of optional extras such as drinks packages and excursions at each port. We opted for MSC’s Allegrissimo drinks package. It was great value and meant we could pretty much drink and eat as we wanted without the worry of being faced with a huge bill at the end. Some of the most attractive excursions were Jewels of Montecarlo (from Cannes), the Amalfi Coast Our girl never imagined she’d have such fun in the confines of a cruise CRUISIN’: Rebecca loved the Amalfi coast PORTSIDE: Rebecca and her sister Ruth