John Honeywell, Author at Captain Greybeard

Prize ship nearly complete

There's only a few days left to enter the competition to win a trip on the new ship Celebrity Eclipse asd it leaves the shipyard in Germany and travels down the River Ems to the North Sea. Entries in the contest - which I am helping to judge - must be submitted by midnight on Sunday. Full details are in my earlier story. Not sure whether the picture above will be of much inspiration to entrants, but I thought you'd want to see it anyway. It shows the Eclipse nearing completion at the Meyer-Werft yard in Papenberg. And yes, it's [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:33+00:00 9 February 2010|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Is this really top of the bill?

The launch of P&O's newest cruise ship, Azura, will be one of the highlights of 2010 with prima ballerina Darcey Bussell an elegant and glamorous godmother. Passengers booked on her maiden voyage, a 16-night Mediterranean cruise leaving Southampton on April 12, will no doubt be looking forward to spectacular evenings of entertainment in the ship's 800-seat theatre to match the splendour of destinations such as Dubrovnik and Venice. I wonder how many will be impressed by the line-up announced today. Topping the bill is tenor Russell "The Voice" Watson, and he will be joined by Claire Sweeney and Gary Wilmot. [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:33+00:00 9 February 2010|Cruise Entertainment|1 Comment

This week’s top cruise deals

Saga Pearl II, the replacement for the much-loved Saga Rose, is nearing the end of a £20 million re-fit in dry-dock at Swansea, and the 450-passenger ship will be named in Southampton next month. There are still some places on her inaugural voyage, to the Norwegian fjords and north of the Arctic Circle, with TV's Judith Chalmers and comedian Tom O'Connor for company. Fares for the 18-night cruise, departing on March 15, start at £2,404 per person and include travel to and from your home to Southampton, insurance, and all meals, entertainment and gartuities on board. Saga cruises are for [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:33+00:00 6 February 2010|Cruise Deals|0 Comments

TV makes life on board Costa Serena look far from serene

According to cruise director Federica Giammarioli - in five different languages - Costa Serena is one of the most beautiful ships in the world. According to the narrator of a new TV series, it's one of the world's most spectacular cruise ships. And if you can stand the tension over the next six weeks it will be the most watched cruise ship in the world, as the star of Cruise Ship Diaries - in glorious HD (that's high drama as well as high definition). The series promises to take us behind the scenes among the 1,000 crew who look after [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:33+00:00 5 February 2010|Cruise Entertainment, Cruise Gossip, Cruise News|0 Comments

A bridge of sighs ?

A couple of months ago, I was invited to take the controls of a cruise ship and steer it into port in Singapore or through Glacier Bay, Alaska. It was a fantastic opportunity, the fulfilment of a dream, even though it would not actually have been on the bridge of a real ship. My moment of glory would have taken place on a high-tech simulator at CSMART - the Centre for Simulator Maritime Training - in Carnival UK's training centre at Almere in the Netherlands. According to Carnival, the centre "features state of the art equipment and instructional tools to [...]

By John Honeywell| 2010-02-03T22:27:35+00:00 3 February 2010|Cruise News|0 Comments

Grandeur joins Med cruise fleet

It's going to be pretty crowded in the Mediterranean next year. Hot on the heels of announcements that Norwegian Epic and Carnival Magic will be based there next summer comes the news that Royal Caribbean will be basing the 2,446-passenger Grandeur of the Seas in Palma de Mallorca from next May. Details of the itineraries will not be revealed until next month, but they are expected to be alternating seven-night voyages departing each Sunday to ports in Italy, France and Spain, giving passengers the option of taking a back-to-back two-week cruise. A delighted Jo Rzymowska, associate vice president and general [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:33+00:00 2 February 2010|Cruise News|0 Comments

Exclusive review of Oasis of the Seas is not what it seems

The website cruise.co.uk is claiming to have obtained an exclusive with its publication of extracts of a review of Oasis of the Seas by Douglas Ward, author of the Berlitz Guide to Cruise Ships. Which is odd, because a two-page review of the biggest cruise ship in the world appears in the 2010 edition of the guide, which was published before Christmas. It's there on pages 493 and 494, sandwiched between the Norwegian Sun and the Ocean Dream. The original review was completed before work finished on building the ship, and it was based on Ward's experience of Oasis's smaller [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:33+00:00 1 February 2010|Cruise Ships|2 Comments

Celebrate Baked Alaska Day

The Baked Alaska Parade is one of the much-derided rituals of holidays aboard cruise ships. Modernists may hate it, but traditionalists love the moment when waiters march through the restaurant carrying their desserts aloft, often with the lights dimmed and sparklers ablaze. I was secretly delighted during my Red Sea cruise on Thomson Celebration last week when the parade was a fitting conclusion to the Gala Dinner. Especially when, as one of the guests at the Captain's table, I was serenaded by a group of singing restaurant staff. Imagine my surprise today to discover that February 1 is Baked Alaska [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:33+00:00 1 February 2010|Cruise Gossip|0 Comments

Cruises with a difference

Cruising is not just for pampered passengers sailing to exotic destinations on a vessel packed with every luxury. I've just come across a one-day cruise with a twist - a special day out to celebrate National Marmalade Week. Surprisingly, it's not to Seville, where marmalade oranges come from. This voyage doesn't even put to sea; it's on board a steam boat on Ullswater in the Lake District. This food-focused cruise will leave Pooley Bridge, at the northern end of the lake, at 11.00am on Thursday February 4. Passengers will sample some of the best marmalades in the country, washing these [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:33+00:00 31 January 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

This week’s top cruise deals

I flew back this week from a week in the Red Sea on board the Thomson Celebration. You could go on the same cruise next month for as little as £629. Fly from Gatwick or one of several regional airports on February 11 to join the ship in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh and sail to Aqaba in Jordan for an overnight stay and an excursion to Petra. Then it's off to Port Sokhna, from where it's a two-hour drive to Cairo and the pyramids, followed by a two-day stay at Safaga, for the long drive to Luxor, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:33+00:00 30 January 2010|Cruise Deals|0 Comments