John Honeywell, Author at Captain Greybeard

Pay more to eat like a Norwegian

Norwegian Cruise Line is increasing the cost of its Ultimate Dining Packages, popular among passengers who want to sample several speciality restaurants during a cruise on its ships Epic, Breakaway and Getaway. Introduced in January, the package was priced at $59 for a cruise of up to six days, and amounted to a substantial saving on the individual restaurant cover charges - especially if the passenger chose to eat each evening in the $30 Cagney's steakhouse. The cost has now gone up to $74 for a four-night cruise, and by further daily increments of $15-$20. A seven-night package now costs [...]

By John Honeywell| 2014-04-19T07:43:42+00:00 19 April 2014|Cruise Food & Drink|1 Comment

Quantum is Shanghaied: Why Royal want to get you on a new boat to China

Everything changes: a new cruise ship which boasts dodgem cars, a sky-diving simulator and an observation pod inspired by the London Eye is to be based in ... China. Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas, nearing completion in a German shipyard, launches this autumn. After a brief visit to Southampton it will spend the winter sailing from New York. In May 2015 the 4,180-passenger vessel will relocate to Shanghai from where it will operate year-round, sailing three to eight-night cruises to Japan and Korea. The company already has Mariner of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas, each carrying more [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:27+00:00 18 April 2014|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Rock the boat! Legends at sea

The seas have been alive with the sound of music in the past few days. The Moody Blues headlined a five-day cruise from Miami, and rockers Styx (above) opened Carnival's season of LIVE! concerts. The Moody Blues were joined on board MSC Divina by The Who's Roger Daltrey, the Zombies, Little River Band, and ELP drummer Carl Palmer Styx had passengers rocking in the aisles on consecutive nights aboard Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Fascination in Nassau. Guitarist Tommy Shaw said "We had a great time and it looked like our fans loved it too. Can't wait to do it again [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:27+00:00 17 April 2014|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

Quantum closer to completion

Looking good: Assembly of the main structure of Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas has been completed at the Meyer-Werft yard in Papenburg, Germany. There's still plenty more to be done before the 168,000-ton ship is floated out of the construction shed and makes its conveyance along the Ems river to the sea. The ship will visit Southampton before heading to America this autumn; sister ship Anthem of the seas will debut next spring.

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:27+00:00 7 April 2014|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Explorer IN, Adventure OUT

Change of plan for Royal Caribbean in the UK - Adventure of the Seas is being replaced on its Southampton sailings by sister ship Explorer of the Seas from next year. They are virtually identical Voyager-class vessels, each carrying 3,114 passengers. Adventure first entered service in 2001, Explorer a year earlier. Before arriving in the UK next April, Explorer will spend a month in dry dock for an overhaul and "refreshment," during which it will be fitted with a Flowrider surf simulator and a 3D cinema. Several of the speciality restaurants familiar on Royal Caribbean's newer vessels will also be [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:27+00:00 31 March 2014|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Why cruise holidays have never been better value than they are today

Good news for Britain's cruise passengers - the industry's latest annual report shows their holidays at sea are better value than ever before. The review compiled by the UK and Ireland arm of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) shows the average fare paid in 2013 was £1,376. In 2007 the figure was £1,334, but taking inflation into account the cost in today's money would have been £1,568. Seven years ago, the cost per day was £137 - or £170 after inflation. Last year's daily rate, for a holiday which almost always includes all meals and entertainment, was just £134. [...]

By John Honeywell| 2014-03-29T08:03:13+00:00 29 March 2014|Cruise Deals, Cruise News|0 Comments

Britannia breaks booking records

Britannia brought in a record number of advance bookings for P&O Cruises this week. The company claims that the first day of sales on Thursday delivered 24 per cent more business than their previous best - when Ventura went on sale in 2007. The bookings - and accompanying deposits - came pouring in despite a computer system meltdown that crippled the company's systems for much of the morning. P&O said the technical issues were a result of "unprecedented demand" which caused the failure of all three booking engines. Marketing director Christopher Edgington published a number of apologies on P&O's Facebook [...]

By John Honeywell| 2014-03-28T22:58:38+00:00 28 March 2014|Cruise News|0 Comments

Jamie Oliver takes to the sea

Jamie Oliver has changed the eating habits of the nation and proved that you don't have to shout and swear to be a success in the kitchen. He took jobless youngsters off the streets to work in his pioneering 15 Restaurant, and he took on the Ministry of Education and stubborn turkey-twizzling mums to shake up school dinners. Now he is about to take his successful Jamie's Italian concept to sea for the first time, on Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ships, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas. His is one of 18 themed restaurants on each ship [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:27+00:00 27 March 2014|Cruise Food & Drink, Cruise News|0 Comments

Fjord focus for Disney Magic cruises

Cruise ship Disney Magic will be making its first ever voyages to the Norwegian fjords - inspiration for the animated adventure Frozen - in 2015. The 1,750-passenger ship will also be coming back to the UK, with cruises starting and ending in the port of Dover. Magic, built in 1998 and given a multi-million pound makeover last year, will also be sailing in the Baltic and - another first - on a cruise to Iceland and the Faeroes. The first northern European cruise of the season is a seven-day voyage departing from Copenhagen on May 30 and visiting Tallinn, St [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:27+00:00 26 March 2014|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Dubrovnik Celebration for Thomson

Cruise ship Thomson Celebration is to call the walled city of Dubrovnik its home for the summer of 2015. The 1,250-passenger ship will be sailing four adults-only itineraries to ports including Sibenik, Korcula, Rovinj, Split and Hvar in Croatia, Trieste, Bari and Brindisi in Italy, and Corinth and Itea in Greece. Thomson will be increasing its air capacity on flights to Dubrovnik to 50,000 seats for the summer, and adding departures from Glasgow, Newcastle and Bristol to the existing airports of Birmingham, Manchester, and Gatwick. Its ships Thomson Spirit and Thomson Majesty have been elevated to Platinum status and will [...]

By John Honeywell| 2014-03-24T10:18:13+00:00 24 March 2014|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments