John Honeywell, Author at Captain Greybeard

Come Cruise With Milly on Azura

The four woman at the centre of Milly Johnson's entertaining novel Here Come The Girls get up to all sorts of mischief on a 40th birthday cruise to the Mediterranean. Milly herself (left), all bubbly five-feet of her, had to behave herself a little better on a recent cruise to the same destinations on P&O's Azura - she was accompanied by her two young sons - but as she relates in her blog, she had an equally enjoyable time. Back home in Barnsley, she wrote: " It's so lovely to look at the pictures and know that I truly painted [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 5 September 2011|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

Cruise windfall from Libya turmoil?

The turmoil in Libya has already had a significant effect on the cruise industry, as ships have had to change itineraries and cancel calls at ports in the troubled north African country. There's now a chance that an astute entrepreneur could take advantage of the fall of Gaddafi's regime, which had its own cruise ship under construction in a French shipyard. Workers at the STX yard in St Nazaire began constructing the 139,400-ton vessel in December last year, but the contract with GNMTC, Libya's state-owned shipping company, was cancelled in June because of missed payments. Gaddafi's fourth son, Hannibal, was [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 4 September 2011|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Sunbed availability guaranteed

After TV's True Blood, Vampire Diaries and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it was only a matter of time before there was a vampire-themed cruise. After all, there have been cruises for everyone from Archers fans to bikers; Agatha Christie followers to celebrity chefs; and musically for fans of Kiss, the Backstreet Boys and Donny and Marie Osmond. The Vamps at Sea Cruise is taking place on Holland America's Zuiderdam next June, sailing from Vancouver to Alaska, and just to make sure nobody feels left out, one selling slogan is "Whether you are Team Glitter or Team Goth, remember - we [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 4 September 2011|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

How hurricanes and art led to a series of right Royal blunders

UPDATE: See below for latest response from Royal Caribbean's Adam Goldstein The damage caused by Hurricane Irene was not limited to uprooted trees, wrecked buildings and flooded streets in a swathe from the Caribbean to New York - it also blew a huge hole in the reputation of giant cruise company Royal Caribbean. While rival Carnival has won praise for the way it dealt with stranded passengers, Royal is still struggling to recover from the bad call it made right at the start of the storm's devastating passage. As Irene headed for the island of Puerto Rico, the authorities at [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 3 September 2011|Cruise News|2 Comments

Odyssey plans to journey beyond the Med to cruise to India and SE Asia

Monday morning will see me flying to the Med for a short trip on Aegean Odyssey - I'm particularly looking forward to touring Pompeii and Herculaneum in the company of Cambridge classics professor Mary Beard whose book on Pompeii was the basis for her TV documentary focussing on the seedier side of life in the Roman town. The cruise I took on the ship last year from Venice to Dubrovnik introduced me to some beautiful parts of Croatia and to Dame Rebecca West's weighty tome Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, a portrait of Yugoslavia in the 1930s. Next week should [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 2 September 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Toothless Watchdog is off-target

Funny old programme, BBC TV's Watchdog. It was back on our screens last night with its usual random collection of consumer complaints, but each item seemed to fizzle out without reaching any proper conclusion. And I'm still trying to erase the memory of Anne Robinson's embarrassing flirting with newly-betrothed Chris Hollins. Eeuch! There was an excellent investigation into a rogue valet parking outfit at Heathrow which uncovered some truly disturbing and undoubtedly illegal practices but then limped to a finish with presenter Matt Allwright cordially shaking hands with the evasive proprietor. Furniture giant IKEA, which had dishonestly used Watchdog's name [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 2 September 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Voyager joins Discovery and Hebridean takes to the rivers

Roger Allard, executive chairman of All Leisure Holidays, must have been cursing accountants Grant Thornton this morning. Nothing to do with money, but they deprived him of one of the best views in London. Roger, whose company is the biggest British-owned cruise operator with Voyages of Discovery, Swan Hellenic and Hebridean Island Cruises under its wing, had booked a 12th-floor room overlooking Tower Bridge for a press conference. He proudly showed pictures of luxury cruise ship Hebridean Princess, and new acquisition Alexander von Humboldt both passing under the raised bascules of the bridge, but the view we had out of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 1 September 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Sky’s the limit for Noble Caledonia

Expedition cruise line Noble Caledonia announced today that it has acquired a new ship . From next May Caledonian Sky will join sister vessel Island Sky and will spend much of 2012 in the waters around Britain - and north to the Arctic - before heading for South America, Australasia and the Pacific Rim. Both ships once sailed together in the 1990s as Renaissance VI and Renaissance VIII. Six later became Hebridean Spirit (above), but was sold in 2009, reportedly for £4 million, to be converted into a private yacht. Island Sky carries 116 passengers and 66 crew; as Hebridean [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 31 August 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

New role for QE2’s anchor

The centrepiece of Southampton's QE2 Mile, a pedestrian route linking the city's Cenotaph with the waterfront at Town Quay, will be unveiled tomorrow. A 13-ton anchor from the ship has been set in the walkway at Holy Rood Place, outside the church which has been a memorial to Merchant Navy sailors since 1957 Councillor Royston Smith, Leader of Southampton City Council, said: "Cunard's generous gift has finally been given an appropriate home in Southampton. Not only will it add an important heritage site to the city, it will also raise the profile of the QE2 Mile and ultimately attract more [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 31 August 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Spirit goes back to being Berlin

Life is not over for plucky little cruise ship Spirit of Adventure. After the 350-passenger vessel finishes her winter season in the Far East and sails her farewell cruise next April from Cyprus to Rome, she will reappear in a new guise - or more accurately, an old one. For the 9,570-ton ship, which has been operated by an arm of Saga Cruising since 2006, is going back to being called MS Berlin, and will sail a series of Mediterranean voyages for Germany's fifth-largest travel company. Some details of the new operation have appeared on an FTI website, together with [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 31 August 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment