NHS ONLINE Rewards - 9 day luxury cruise We are delighted to announce that the winner of the NHS ONLINE Rewards competition is Hilary Golds, Executive Assistant at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Hilary wins a fantastic 9 night luxury Iberian cruise for her and a companion, courtesy of Fred Olsen cruise lines. They will be accommodated in a lavish Balcony Suite with private facilities; the perfect way to enjoy the Mediterranean sun. Hilary can look forward to a week and a half of relaxation, sun, exotic destinations and of course, gourmet cuisine and Fred Olsen’s famous on-board entertainment.

The competition was a close run affair but Hilary’s perseverance paid off and the competition closed with her leading the league table by 50 points.

Congratulations to Hilary and well done to all our contestants who doubtlessly worked very hard accumulating points over the course of the competition.

A message from our NHS ONLINE Rewards competition Runner up Simon Hawes

Simon is the runner up of our NHS ONLINE Rewards competition
Simon wrote:

Our stay at Whittlebury Hall and Spa was wonderful - for a 2 night stay this felt like a fortnight holiday. On arrival our room was well prepared and looked lovely with a bottle of wine and some fruit being complimentary.

The first night (Wednesday) we relaxed in the bar and enjoyed a sumptious 3 course meal in Aston's dining room before having an early night ready for our Thursday experience. On Thursday, after a lovely breakfast, we headed down to the spa area and spent most of the morning enjoying the swimming pool, sauna, steam room and Whirlpool spa.

Our head, neck and back massage was booked for 3:30 and lasted for half an hour. I can honestly say it felt like it lasted 2 minutes and the urge to ask for another session was too great.

I don't think i have ever felt quite so relaxed. After the massage we spent the rest of the day in the Heat and Ice Experience with its pool, ice treaments, crystal steam room, foot baths and sauna's and ice cave. In the evening another glorious meal in Astons followed in the morning by cooked breakfast again.

All in all the experience was fantastic and i would recommend it to anyone and everyone - you just have to try it at least once. As for us we are planning on going back very very soon.

A message from our NHS ONLINE Rewards competition winner Hilary Golds

Hilary won our NHS ONLINE Rewards competition
Hilary wrote:

I’d like to say a huge thank you to NHS ONLINE and Fred Olsen Cruises for a wonderful 9 night cruise on the MS Braemar. Unfortunately the cruise did not get off to the best start because the Bay of Biscay lived up to its notorious reputation producing winds of force 8 on day 2, which increased to force 9, with 10 metre waves on day 3!
The conditions were certainly very challenging for the Captain and he was forced to abandon the scheduled itinerary of cruising to Portugal and turn the ship around so we could sail into calmer seas off the coast of Northern Spain.

The crew did a brilliant job in rescheduling the ports of call and shore excursions and we visited La Coruna, Gijon, Santander and Bilbao in Spain and La Pallice in France. My favourite excursion was Bilbao as it was great to see the Guggenheim Museum and walk along the promenade next to the river in the sunshine.

The food on board was out of this world. I was amazed that the executive chef and his team were able to produce meals for over 1,000 passengers each time which were always beautifully presented and of an extremely high standard. I could definitely get used to having someone else plan and cook my meals all the time for me!

I am now definitely addicted to cruising and can thoroughly recommend this type of holiday to anyone who has never cruised before. It was a fantastic experience and I cannot thank NHS ONLINE enough for such a wonderful prize.

A message from our first ever cruise winner Gill Crouch who has just returned from her trip! Gill won our Name That Tune competition in May and was treated to a 14 night luxury Mediterranean cruise, courtesy of Fred Olsen cruise lines.

Gill wrote:

“I just want to say thank you to NHS ONLINE and tell you how great the cruise was. Carl (my husband) and I had a fantastic time and really enjoyed the atmosphere and experience - everyone, passengers and staff were so friendly.

“The weather was great and the whole cruise was very well organised and we were very well looked after. The food was amazing and was available nearly all day if you wanted it, so needless to say our clothes have shrunk a bit!! We visited all the ports of call and did 4 organised tours (Marseille, Ibiza, Gibraltar and Lisbon) which gave us an insight to the cities.

“I think we will definitely be cruising again! Many thanks again and I am definitely recommending both the NHS ONLINE website and also Fred Olsen cruises!”