2011 - Captain Greybeard

New cruise line orders two ships and a Christmas mystery is still unsolved

The world of cruising had an interesting Christmas, and will now be looking forward to a healthy and prosperous New Year. There was a surprise Christmas present in the shape of two new ships to be built for a new cruise line. The award-winning Viking River Cruises is taking to the seas and has placed an order for two 41,000-ton vessels, each capable of carrying 888 passengers, to be delivered in 2014 and 2015. Construction on the first is expected to start in September and the ships are expected to operate mainly in the Mediterranean. Small by today's standards at [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 28 December 2011|Cruise News|3 Comments

Merry Christmas from the Captain

Maybe it's just me, but if you screw your eyes up, this view of the wake from Diamond Princess in Alaska looks a bit like a blue (and very wet) Christmas tree. A very Merry Christmas to all my readers.

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 22 December 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Irish passengers will follow historic footsteps cruising from Cobh

It started with the potato famine, and during a hundred years from the 1840s, more than 2.5 million men, women and children emigrated from Ireland through the harbour at Queenstown, near Cork. They are commemorated by the statue (above) on the quayside of what is now called Cobh. It depicts Annie Moore and her two brothers, who left for America in 1891. On January 1, 1892, Annie became the first immigrant admitted through Ellis Island in New York harbour, where a similar statue stands as a symbol of those who made the same journey. The Irish version stands outside the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 21 December 2011|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Take your partners for Strictly cruise

TV's Strictly Come Dancing may be over for another year, but it will take to the seas next summer with P&O Cruises. Super-critical judge Craig Revel-Horwood (left) will travel on two voyages, and he will be joined by professional dancers from the show who will demonstrate their skills on the floor and help passengers learn to jive, foxtrot, rumba and quickstep. Dancing fans should look out for Oriana's 12-night cruise to the Canary Islands, leaving Southampton on May 28, and the July 14 departure of the same ship for a 14-night trip to the Norwegian fjords. P&O managing director Carol [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 20 December 2011|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

Royal Crown safe for Hebridean

Reports of the bankruptcy of a Dutch river cruise operator sent a bit of a shiver up my spine - not so much because of the cruises which have been cancelled as a result, but because the company operates the luxury boat which Hebridean Island Cruises has chartered for its maiden river programme next year. Passengers booked on Select Voyages' Serenade 1 and Serenity Christmas cruises have had their holiday plans ruined at the last minute, thanks to the financial problems of parent company Euro Shipping Voyages BV, whose line of credit was cancelled by the ABN Amro bank. Fortunately [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 19 December 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

New look Oriana back in service

Looking refreshed after a month in dry-dock for a multi-million pound refit, P&O Cruises' oldest ship7, returned briefly to Southampton today. Arriving before dawn, Oriana spent just a few hours at the Mayflower terminal before setting out on a 17-night Christmas and New Year cruise to the Mediterranean The ship is now for adults only and much of the refurbishment work has involved taking the children's clubs apart. The 70,000-ton vessel has gained 27 new cabins and two new restaurants. Out has gone the Oriana Rhodes restaurant, replaced by a Marco Pierre White Ocean Grill, similar to the one on [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 19 December 2011|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

It’s party time for QE2

After three years sitting idly in port at Dubai, the former Cunard liner QE2 will soon be welcoming guests aboard once again. Still no nearer to being converted to a luxury hotel - which was the original plan when it was bought for $100 million - the ship is to host a VIP party on New Year's Eve. An Emirates company, Global Event Management, has hired the ship for an invitation-only, black-tie event. In decidedly over-the-top Dubai style, they claim it will be one of the most exclusive New Year celebrations in the world and that among the guests will [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-12-17T14:49:42+00:00 17 December 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Cruise is cancelled as Adonia heads for ‘essential’ repairs in dry-dock

A New Year's cruise on P&O's newest ship, Adonia, has been cancelled at short notice in order to carry out what the company has described as "essential maintenance." The 30,000-ton ship, which has been sailing in the Mediterranean since the autumn, was due to have set out from Naples on January 3 for a 10-night voyage to Southampton. Instead it will now go into dry-dock in Falmouth, Cornwall, prior to setting out on January 13 for a marathon 87-night South American Adventure which will take it around Cape Horn and through the Panama Canal. Hundreds of passengers have been contacted [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 16 December 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|7 Comments

Cruise ship rescues capsized rowers

Two men attempting to row across the Atlantic have been rescued by the cruise ship Crystal Serenity after their eight-metre craft was hit by an enormous wave and capsized in the middle of the ocean. Tom Fancett, from London, and Tom Sauer, a Dutchman who lives in Russia, were picked up early this morning 500 miles south-west of the Canary Islands after spending the night in a life-raft. The pair, both aged 23, were taking part in the Atlantic Challenge race as TeamTom and left la Gomera a week ago, headed for Barbados. The emergency locator beacon on their boat [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 14 December 2011|Cruise News|1 Comment

Cunard’s Eric sails into the sunset

For longer than many of us care to remember, the second Tuesday in December has been a highlight in the calendar, a date not to be missed. It's the day of the annual Cunard Christmas press lunch. The generous hospitality of the day, the fun, the food and the goodie bags contribute greatly to the fact that - as Cunard president and managing director Peter Shanks acknowledged yesterday - the company punches above its not inconsiderable weight when it comes to reaping good publicity throughout the year. And this in a cruise industry which he also said recently garnered more [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 14 December 2011|Cruise Gossip|0 Comments