Early Booking Discounts for Summer 2009 sailings.

Book your summer 2009 cruise to Scandinavia and Russia by 31 May 2008 with Emagine UK Ltd and receive additional £100 per person off web prices (Maximum £200 per state room).

For further details on this special offer click here.

The 12 night cruises are from Harwich on Royal Caribbean's impressive ship, Jewel of the Seas. This Radiance class ship offers 13 desks of activity, entertainment and spacious staterooms. Once on board you will have a choice of 5 dining venues, an array of bars, state of the art fitness facilities and outstanding entertainment including the casino and stage productions.

The cruises take in the Baltic and Scandinavian capitals; Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki and Tallinn. For many the highlight of their cruise will be two days in the stunning city of St.Petersburg.

For the full itinerary and prices click here.

Modern Finnish food at its best.

The Michelin Guide for 2008 saw the awarding of stars to four restaurants in Helsinki. This includes two newcomers.

The new comers;

Restaurant Carma  - One Michelin Star

This small restaurant with just 24 seats is located in the centre of Helsinki. Its décor is themed around international design objects. It’s modern food has an emphasis on using local produce. Expect relaxed, professional, friendly service.

Ludviginkatu 3-5
00130 Helsinki
phone: +358(0)9 67 32 36

www.carma.fi

Restaurant Postres - One Michelin Star

This young team offer innovative and exciting modern food at the centrally located Helsinki restaurant.  They have a real passion for desserts, which will become clear when you see their exciting menu.

Eteläesplanadi 8
FI-00130 Helsinki

Tel: + 358-(09)-663 300

www.postres.fi

Retaining their Michelin stars:

Restaurant Demo – One Michelin Star

Demo’s chefs and owners Tommi Tuominen & Teemu Aura have retained their Michelin star that they were awarded for the first time in 2006. The restaurants emphasis is on high standard home cooked food served in a relaxed and cosy environment.

Uudenmaankatu 9-11
00120 Helsinki

Tel.: +358-(0)9 2289 0840
www.restaurantdemo.fi

Chez Dominique – Two Michelin stars

Chez Dominique opened its doors in Helsinki in 1998 and first gained two Michelin stars in 2003 with its cuisine influenced by Nordic and French flavours. Its chef and owner Hans Välimäki who believes -Our job is to surprise, offer experiences not to be found at home nor at any other restaurant. First element in our cuisine has always been the taste. I love to experiment but not on the expense of our customers.

Rikhardinkatu 4,

00130 Helsinki,

Tel. + 358 9 612 73 93

www.chezdominique.fi

Three fabulous locations in Finnish Lapland – which one is for you?

At Emagine we have chosen three very different locations and itineraries for our New Year holidays but whichever you choose we promise you will return special memories that will last a life time. After a hectic Christmas there is nothing better than escaping to clean air, exhilarating activities and a chance for some quality time away from the TV and daily stress.

Come and recharge your batteries in Finnish Lapland.

Hotel Jeris, near Muonio, Finnish Lapland.

For all ages.                           

6 days.

Our New Year guests at Hotel Jeris in Lapland last year never stopped talking about the setting, the scenery and the silence. It is a wonderful location, set deep in the forest, by a huge frozen lake and with a National Park on its boundary.

The holiday is a balance of activity and free time. It includes a snowmobile safari to a reindeer farm and a husky safari but on the other days you get to set the pace. Some guests chose to book on additional safaris, some collected cross country skis and explored the trails through the National park, others relaxed in the spa pools or curled up and read a book. It is fair to say that everyone tobogganed!

Following dinner on New Years Eve everyone had their fortune told and then headed onto the lake, a drink in hand, to see in the New Year and admire the fireworks.

Jeris is ideal for those wishing to get away from the crowds, have some activity but still have free time as a couple or family enjoying the cabins with their private saunas and fireplaces.

For further details click here.

Hotel Harriniva, Muonio Finnish Lapland.

For teens and adults only.     

6 days.

At Harriniva for New Year our safaris are longer so not recommended for younger visitors. When you head off on snowmobiles it will be across the fells, taking in the most spectacular views and with a stop for lunch in a lakeside chalet along the way.  Your husky safari will take you though the forest, with simple lunch served in a traditional kota.

Even though the group will not include children it doesn’t mean you have to hide the child in you, especially when we head off to the local ski slopes for some tobogganing!

There is also an opportunity to learn more about the region, its animals and the indigenous Sami people during a visit to the village of Hetta. Lunch will be served in the amazing Hetta Snow Castle.

Life at Harriniva are quite relaxed with evenings spent relaxing over dinner, a drink in the bar or maybe soaking in the lakeside hot tubs.

On New Years Eve following dinner and some fortune telling head outside onto the ice, not once but twice to celebrate the Finnish and then the Swedish New Year with drinks and fireworks before hitting the disco in the bar.

For further details click here.

Hotel Riekonlinna, Saariselka, Finnish Lapland.

For all ages.               

7 days.

Hotel Riekonlinna is located in the lovely northern Lapland resort of Saariseka. We have planned the holiday so you have a mixture of organised and free time so you can design your holiday to meet your family’s needs. It includes a long snowmobile safari and a long husky safari, both with lunch served along the way. On other days you can choose from an exciting range of additional optional safaris. You may decide to head off to the nearby ski slopes, spa swimming pool or try the resorts 2km toboggan run. We have included some dinners in the hotel so you can make new friends and other evenings are free so you can try the resorts excellent restaurants whether in search of pizza or some local delicacies!

On New Years Eve enjoy dinner in the hotel before stepping outside to take in the fireworks that are set off around the resort.

Emagine staff will be on hand throughout your stay to help you make the most of the amazing location.

For further details click here.

Visit Santa in the most magical settings, away from the madding crowd!

At Emagine this week we have launched our Santa Holidays to Finnish Lapland and Northern Finland. You can choose from 4,5 and 6 day holidays the most magical settings: isolated fell top hotels, cabins set deep in snow covered forests or picturesque resorts.

As you know this is where Santa Claus lives and he is often seen out and about training his reindeers. You will get to meet him twice. Once, as a family, as he rests in a cabin and again at a Christmas party.

You will take part in a host of exhilarating activities such as husky safaris, snowmobiling, tobogganing, reindeer rides, ice fishing, snow hockey…………….and lots more.

For a full list of dates and itineraries click here.

Choose from in a number of stunning resorts. Click on the hotel name for a full description.

Syöte enjoys its first winter snowfall.

The pretty area of Syöte in Northern Finland and home to Hotel Iso- Syöte and Syöte Keskus reported its first snow fall today.

The hotels sit atop Finland’s southern most fells in perfect isolation. The nearest town, Pudasjarvi is over 30km away.

This is early days so the snow will probably melt as the day warms up but it indicates that winter is on its way and the beautiful and colourful autumn this region experiences is at an end.

During winter the region attracts, skiers and those looking for adventure on snowmobile and husky safaris.

Over 700km south in Finland’s capitol, Helsinki, they had several hours of sleet.

To visit Syote this December click here.

Saariselkä in Northern Finnish Lapland received its first snow overnight!

The Elk are winning!

There are estimated to be 100,000 elk in Finland and during winter young pine trees are their main source of food. The elk love to eat the new growth at the crown of the sapling. The good news is this doesn’t kill the tree but does cause it to grow crooked therefore making it considerably less valuable as sawn timber.

Some of the foresters spray their saplings with an array of natural and chemical deterrents but few seem to be effective. The alternative is culling. The government grant hunting licences each year but only for a fraction of the 50,000 winter population that the Finnish Forest Research Institute (METLA) estimate would have to be culled to give the forests a better chance of being productive.

For the full story in Helsinki Sanomat click here.

according to the 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index.

Finland, Denmark and New Zealand share the top score of 9.4 in the 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index. The index looks at perceptions of public sector corruption in 180 countries and territories. It scores countries on a scale from zero to ten, with zero indicating high levels of perceived corruption and ten indicating low levels of perceived corruption.

Below are the top 20 countries, for the full list go to http://www.transparency.org/

country	country	2007 CPI	surveys	confidence range
rank		score	used
1	Denmark	9.4	6	9.2 - 9.6
1	Finland	9.4	6	9.2 - 9.6
1	New Zealand	9.4	6	9.2 - 9.6
4	Singapore	9.3	9	9.0 - 9.5
4	Sweden	9.3	6	9.1 - 9.4
6	Iceland	9.2	6	8.3 - 9.6
7	Netherlands	9	6	8.8 - 9.2
7	Switzerland	9	6	8.8 - 9.2
9	Canada	8.7	6	8.3 - 9.1
9	Norway	8.7	6	8.0 - 9.2
11	Australia	8.6	8	8.1 - 9.0
12	Luxembourg	8.4	5	7.7 - 8.7
12	United Kingdom	8.4	6	7.9 - 8.9
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