Carry on: News for business travellers

EXECUTIVE TRAVEL:

Cycling cruises for families
Sea Cloud Cruises provides the perfect combination of a tranquil European river cruise with carefully planned bicycle tours that enable travellers to explore the landscapes both by water and land. Special provision is made for families on a selection of cruises. Children up to 18 years can stay in their own separate cabin at only 50% of the cruise. In addition, all shore excursions are complimentary. The cruises glide past numerous castles and palaces while also allowing exploration of historic cities such as Heidelberg, Strasbourg, Vienna and Budapest. A seven night/eight day cruise on the Danube leaves from Passau, Germany, on August 2 for Budapest, while another departs Nuremberg, Germany, on September 29 for Basle, Switzerland. Costs start as at €1995 per adult and €997.50 for each child up to 18. This includes six meals a day with drinks and all guide and port fees. Details at www.seacloud.com

Heathrow arrival nightmares mount
Immigration queues lasting up to two hours are now common at the world’s busiest airport and they will get worse next week when several public service unions have a one-day strike on May 10. Airlines approached by NBR say they are unable to give specific advice on how to minimise the inconvenience. But they do advise you checking Heathrow’s website for arriving passengers, though this contains nothing about the queues, which are caused by extra security measures linked to the London Olympics. The government has drafted extra staff but the unions are more concerned about cuts to their pensions. The May 10 strike will affect all UK airports as well. Heathrow has more information on the Olympics. 

London remains top for tourists
Regardless of the difficulties of arriving at Heathrow, London tops the list of the world’s top 25 travel destinations in TripAdvisor’s travellers’ choice awards, released this week. This is the year to visit London at its most spectacular. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will be celebrated in June with all due pomp and circumstance (including a huge parade and flotilla of 1000 boats on the Thames). That will be followed by the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. No wonder Heathrow boasts its busiest day ever will be the day after the Games end, when the airport will process some 200,000 bags rather than the normal 150,000.

Fast-tracking frequent travellers
The visit of US Secretary of State for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano this week could lead to easier travel for frequent travellers there. One of two agreements she signed in Wellington was a statement of intent that both countries more closely work together on border controls. Ms Napolitano suggested the Smart Gate system, which is used to fast-track travel between New Zealand and Australia, could be matched up with America’s Global Entry system, a fast-track customs process there for international travellers. In the US, the Transportation Security Administration is rolling out a "Precheck" screening system at big airports. This has special lanes for background-checked travellers, who can keep their shoes, belt and jacket on, leave laptops and liquids in carry-on bags and walk through a metal detector rather than a full-body scan. The process, now at two airlines and nine airports, is much like how screenings worked before the September 11 attacks.

New route of the week
Emirates will start its daily Dubai-Lisbon service on July 9. The Portuguese capital is at the far western end of Europe and boasts a heritage linked to maritime exploration. The most famous explorer was Vasco da Gama, who was born in the mid-15th century and made the first sea journeys by a European to India. You will find plenty about him in Lisbon such as his resting place at Jeronimos Monastery, a World Heritage Site. You can also go window shopping in Chiado square and view treasured art at the Calouste Gulbenkian and Berardo museums.