For most of us, winter is the season of grey skies, umbrellas and overcoats. A time to batten down the hatches and wait for spring, but it’s also a great time to escape the worries of everyday life on a Fred. Olsen late autumn or winter cruise. Fred Olsen can take you away from it all for a few magical weeks, or even months, on a selection of carefree cruises in the Caribbean, around the Canaries, across the Atlantic, or round and about in European waters and with the special seasonal rates and on board spending credit to use as you wish, on selected cruises, its guaranteed to bring a warm glow to your winter.

Cruising through winter has never been more affordable, or more enjoyable. At Fred. Olsen Cruises, the fleet of ships reflects a century and a half of Norwegian maritime heritage. Each vessel is a floating home-from-home, offering a uniquely relaxed British atmosphere.

Europe is the hottest destination in cruising, whether it’s ocean cruising along the Mediterranean coast or river cruising along the continent’s historic inland waterways. Far less popular – at least for solo travelers – are the customary “single supplements” that cruise lines are forced to impose (because their standard pricing is calculated using a two-people-per-cabin model).

However, tour and cruise operator Tauck World Discovery has great news for solo travelers embarking on European cruises in 2009. The company is once again reducing its single supplement, offering savings on a total of 28 departures of 10 different ocean and river cruise itineraries.

The increase in global carbon dioxide emissions is not just damaging the Earth’s climate, but also threatening the very fabric of our oceans. Today, The Nature Conservancy, along with a dozen of the world’s top marine scientists, introduced key findings and recommendations to tackle ocean acidification as part of the “Honolulu Declaration on Ocean Acidification and Reef Management” revealed at the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meeting in Kona, Hawai’i.

“Coral reefs are at the heart of our tropics, and millions of people around the world depend on these systems for their livelihoods.