John Honeywell, Author at Captain Greybeard

Fly to see the Northern Lights

From today's print edition of the Daily Mirror NASA predicts the 2011-12 winter will provide the most spectacular display of the Northern Lights for 50 years. Fred Olsen's Boudicca, and Cruise & Maritime Voyages' Marco Polo will be among the cruise ships heading north in early spring, and Hurtigruten, with its ships of the Norwegian Coastal Express, is pulling out the stops to attract British passengers. They are organising flights from regional UK airports to join their 11-day round-trip voyages through the fjords to the icy wilderness of North Cape and back. The ships, which carry vehicles and cargo as [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 20 August 2011|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Barcelona champions again

The port of Barcelona is bracing itself for a record week, with eight cruise ships bringing almost 35,000 passengers into the Catalonian capital tomorrow - just a week after there were unexpected crowds when ships diverted because of strikes in Mallorca. Due in tomorrow for turnarounds - with passengers leaving at the end of one cruise and more arriving to embark - are Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas (4,000 passengers), Ruby Princess (3,500), Disney Magic (3,000), Sovereign (2,500), Holland America's Noordam (2,200), Silver Wind (300) and SeaDream I (110). Also in port in transit will be Nieuw Amsterdam (2,500). [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 19 August 2011|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Yes Micky, you ARE cool

My regular readers - and those who recognise the widget on the right of the screen - will know that as well as writing for the Mirror and specialist cruise magazines, Captain Greybeard is also an avid Tweeter. When Carnival blogger John Heald alerted me to the fact that his boss, multi-billionaire Micky Arison (above, left), had also joined Twitter, I had to become a follower. It would have been rude not to. The CEO of Carnival Corporation and owner of NBA team Miami Heat, Micky is rated by Forbes magazine as the 69th richest person in the world, with [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 19 August 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Lorraine gets her portrait back

P&O cruise ship Adonia will be waiting for me in Tromsø next week and I'll spend a week on board visiting the Norwegian ports of Andalsnes, Bergen and Farsund before returning to Southampton. Last time I was on the ship was in 2007 when it was being christened Royal Princess by a very special passenger, Lorraine Arzt, who spent many months living on board. Lorraine was Princess's most-travelled passenger, having spent thousands of days at sea since the death of husband Joe. I first met her on board Sea Princess during a 2006 voyage along America's eastern seaboard. Princess recovered [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 17 August 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Steve’s marathon effort at sea

The hardy few who pound the Promenade Deck during a cruise rarely rate a second glance from other passengers as they fight to keep their figures trim with a power walk or a steady jog. One man is hoping for more attention as he takes the opportunity of a few days at sea to run a marathon on a cruise ship. Steve Eaton (above, left), from Tamworth, Staffordshire, plans to complete the distance to raise funds for Help For Heroes, in memory of a soldier who was murdered last year. Steve, 57, has run 33 marathons, and is a friend [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 17 August 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

It’s goodbye Egypt, hello Japan

The political unrest in Egypt might have calmed down since the heady days of the Arab Spring, but the country is still a tough sell for travel companies. Cruises with scheduled visits to Alexandria and Port Said have had to discount fares to attract passengers, who are voting with their feet and staying away. Costa, Europe's largest cruise line, has already made a decision about next year's itineraries. It has announced that, with the exception of its seven-night cruises from Sharm el Sheik on Costa Voyager, it is dropping all Egyptian ports from its 2012 brochures - and it says [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-08-16T19:38:03+00:00 16 August 2011|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Who wants to win a wine cooler?

Trivia buffs on cruise ships take their quizzing seriously. The keen ones are always first to the venue to grab a table for their team, and even if they're not the sharpest pencil in the box, they make sure they get the sharpest pencil to write their answers down. Heaven help the unfortunate member of the cruise staff who mis-pronounces a question, or - worse still - isn't sure about an answer. He or she is howled down immediately by teams of passengers who always know best. Take it from me: quizzes are not to be taken lightly, and they [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 16 August 2011|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

Love Boat to get a makeover

Only weeks after disclosing multi-million pound losses, one of the UK's leading cruise lines is preparing for a major announcement. Far from being news about cutbacks or savings, it looks like All Leisure Holidays is planning to expand. The company operates three brands: Voyages of Discovery and its 710-passenger ship Discovery (above); Swan Hellenic, with the 352-passenger Minerva, and Hebridean Island Cruises and the 49-passenger Hebridean Princess. It has scheduled a briefing on September 1 when it is likely plans will be announced for the introduction of another vessel, the 500-passenger Alexander von Humboldt. All Leisure bought the vessel in [...]

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

Cruise ship teams on the ball

Today might be the start of the Premiership season in England, but a football match of international significance took place earlier in the week. The tourist board in the Norwegian port of Alesund sponsored a game between teams from two visiting cruise ships - Holland America's Ryndam and Prinsendam (above) - which took place in the town's main stadium. If you don't want to know the result, look away now ... Ryndam won 4-2.

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 13 August 2011|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

This cruise ship’s got talent

Showbiz wannabes have been given a dream chance to push the boat out and begin a sparkling career at sea. Showboaters, a new reality TV series put together by Jamie Oliver's production team, was recorded over four weeks earlier this year and will be broadcast on Sky One starting on September 13. The contest took place on board the cruise ship Thomson Dream while sailing in the Caribbean and the winner secures a place in the ship's entertainment team this coming winter. The contestants (above), who range from a 56-year-old hairdresser to a 21-year-old Geordie steelworker, performed in front of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 13 August 2011|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments