Captain Greybeard

The first cruise on Sun Princess following work during a two-week, £20 million dry dock has been abruptly cancelled, leaving 2,000 passengers nowhere to go but back home. The 14-day voyage, which should have left Singapore today, was called off at the last minute, with passengers swarming around the city's new cruise terminal. A power failure has limited the ship's ability to operate cabin lighting and air conditioning, vacuum toilet systems, and the galley. A statement from Princess Cruises said: "While Sun Princess was alongside at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore, there was a malfunction to the ship's [...]

Smokers are running out of places to hide. Three more cruise lines this week joined the ranks of those that ban smoking on cabin balconies. Disney Cruise Line is to bring in the change - which they say is a result of passenger feedback - from November 15. Passengers who flout the ban face a $250 "stateroom recovery fee." Smoking continues to be allowed on some outside decks. P&O and Cunard announced a similar policy change this week, to be phased in during the course of next spring and summer. They also cite "feedback from our guests and the results [...]

The deadline approaches: voting for this year's prestigious Cruise International Awards closes tomorrow. Make your voice heard by choosing your favourite cruise line, on-board restaurant or destination and you could win a luxury holiday to St Kitts and Nevis, a tablet PC, or one of a host of other prizes. You can even pick the best cruise blogger - no pressure, but the name's at the top of this piece. The Cruise Awards are the ones the industry leaders take note of, because they are voted for by the people who choose and book cruises. Other categories include best for [...]

The theme from TV's Love Boat blasted out across the water each evening as Royal Princess left port during the Mediterranean cruise which delivered me to Barcelona on Saturday. The ship is fitted with a seven-note horn to play the opening bar, although I'm not sure how many passengers still recognize the tune. It was one of those ironic twists of fate that led to Royal's much-loved older sister, the one-time Pacific Princess, arriving in a Turkish scrapyard during the exact same week. The 42-year-old vessel, one of the original ships used for filming the series, had come to the [...]

MY COLUMN FROM SATURDAY'S DAILY MIRROR You can hardly blame Micky Arison for puffing out his chest and boasting a little. The billionaire chairman of Carnival Corporation took to Twitter this week to brag: "We have more than 10,000 guests in Athens today." As indeed he had. On board the cruise ships Costa Magica, Carnival Sunshine, and his newest baby, Royal Princess. The crowds, together with those from two other ships in the port of Piraeus, bought gridlock to the steep paths leading up to the Acropolis. For once, Arison was on board one of his ships, rather than in [...]

For the first time in its 20-year history, cruise line Silversea has a female captain at the helm of one of its ships. Margrith Ettlin has taken command of the 132-passenger vessel Silver Explorer. She took over on the bridge this week when the ship was visiting Reykjavik, Iceland, and her first tour of duty will continue until October. Ettlin, who is Swiss, has extensive maritime experience in remote regions, including the Arctic and Antarctica. She has worked for Germany's F. Laeisz shipping group, and spent nine years as staff captain with the German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd. She is also [...]