Karen Murphy

My Personal Travel Experience

Having been in the travel industry since 2001 I have been very lucky to have travelled to many unique and amazing places, but there are two parts of the industry that I happen to love the most, Cruising and Hawaii.

Ever since my first cruise in 2002, the love of ocean travel grew and I am now up to 37 sailings and multiple on the horizon now that cruising is back up and sailing both domestically and internationally post COVID.  There is nothing like being able to get away on the open seas and enjoy the motion of the ocean. I still say my nights at sea are some of the best sleep I have ever had. Whether I am by myself or travelling with my family, there is nothing better than knowing everyone is having a great time whether it be laying on the pool deck, hanging out in the kids club or sipping a cocktail at the bar. It doesn’t matter if we are cruising the South Pacific, the Mediterranean or just around Australian Waters, it’s one of our happy places.

Having sailed on many different cruise lines and ships from Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Cunard, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, MSC & Ponant to just name a few, I have cruised from ships that are 2.5* all the way up to the luxury of luxury and it depends on the type of holiday I am wanting to the way we decide to go.

The other big love of my life is Hawaii and everything she has to offer.  I have travelled to the paradise islands of Aloha 10 times and having just come back in August 2022.  Having visited all of the 6 main islands (Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Hawaii, Lanai, Molokai), I still keep going back to Maui, the garden isle and my utmost favourite place on earth. Whether its heading up to the upcountry for a day of Organic Vodka tasting and roaming around the Lavender farm, strolling Front Street in Lahaina and trying to find the perfect souvenir in the boutique gift shops or just relaxing by the hotel pool with a cocktail in hand, life really doesn’t get much better in my books.