John Honeywell, Author at Captain Greybeard

Egypt loses out to Canaries as cruise line cancels a season in the Red Sea

Interesting how cruise lines always fall back on safety and security as a justification for most things they do. As when MSC Cruises announce that they have cancelled a season of cruises in the Red Sea. MSC Armonia will instead be cruising in the Canary Islands and to Madeira and Morocco.. Unrest in Cairo and Alexandria has not yet spread to ports such as Sharm el Sheikh, Safaga and Sokhne. But passengers have voted with their feet and have chosen to avoid Egypt entirely. So the fact is that it's not really safety that has led to MSC's decision, it's [...]

By John Honeywell| 2013-07-25T07:52:10+00:00 25 July 2013|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

On Reflection, cruise film to watch

A cruise ship documentary well worth watching, especially if you are fascinated by how these modern-day giants of the seas are conceived and constructed. Long-time Celebrity cruise director Nick Weir narrates a fascinating insight into "The Making of Celebrity Reflection" chronicling 18 months of work at the Meyer-Werft shipyard in Germany. This is a short preview of the 71-minute production, available to purchase at www.shopcelebritycruises.com/Reflection or on board any Celebrity ship.

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:30+00:00 23 July 2013|Cruise Ships|2 Comments

Carnival sees a new Vista ahead

P&O might be coy about revealing the name of the new cruise ship they plan to launch in 2015, but sister company Carnival has no such qualms. Their 4,000-passenger vessel scheduled to debut in 2016 will be called Carnival Vista, the company's chief marketing officer, Jim Berra, revealed to a media briefing on board Carnival Sunshine in the Mediterranean this weekend. In a welter of sales-speak, he promised the ship would be "extremely connected to the ocean" with vistas from many spaces on board an important element for the passengers' experience. Berra cited last year's newly-launched Carnival Breeze - which [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:30+00:00 21 July 2013|Cruise News|0 Comments

Tempest plays the P&O name game to keep cruise customers guessing

Britain's biggest cruise line is likely to look to its 176 years of history and heritage when choosing a name for its next ship, which will be launched in 2015. Whether that means the revival of a familiar old name like Canberra remains to be seen, and we'll have to wait a few months to find out. There are fans who would love to see a return of the name carried on the popular ship which served from 1961 to 1997, while others would prefer it was laid to rest. Gerard Tempest, who has been in his job as Chief [...]

By John Honeywell| 2013-07-20T06:41:56+00:00 20 July 2013|Cruise News|0 Comments

From Russia With Love: Bond girls entertain on a cruise to the Baltic

James Bond's first girlfriend has been on a special mission - entertaining passengers aboard a cruise ship. Eunice Jackson - who as actress Eunice Gayson played the part of Sylvia Trench in Dr No and From Russia With Love - travelled on Discovery and was joined by Jenny Hanley who appeared in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Appropriately enough, they sailed on a cruise to the Baltic and visited Russia's second city, St Petersburg. Each took part in Q&A sessions with cruise director Richard Sykes, keeping passengers enthralled with their stories of their acting careers. Eunice was originally offered the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2013-07-19T07:57:03+00:00 19 July 2013|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

Balmoral’s world cruise TV series pulls in £1m sales for Fred Olsen

A TV series which has come in for criticism for making a cruise ship look like a floating old people's home has nevertheless helped to attract £1 million in advance bookings for world voyages. The Cruise: A Life at Sea reaches the third of its six episodes on BBC2 next Tuesday. The first show pulled in an audience of 1.9 million viewers. The series was filmed during a 112-night world cruise earlier this year on Fred Olsen's Balmoral and follows the work of ship's chaplain Colin Still. Nathan Philpot, sales and marketing director for Fred Olsen, said: "It is important [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:30+00:00 18 July 2013|Cruise News|0 Comments

Could Brangelina really be marrying on The Queen’s favourite ship?

Touted only this week as "the world's poshest holiday," Hebridean Princess has been chartered twice by The Queen - but is the ship good enough for Hollywood royalty? According to reports today Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are planning to charter the vessel - a converted car ferry - for a summer wedding in the Scottish islands. The Sun says that the couple's 11-year-old adopted son, Maddox, came up with the idea as an alternative to the French chateau they were originally planning to use for the long-awaited ceremony. If they chose to follow our own Royal Family on board [...]

By John Honeywell| 2013-07-17T13:40:01+00:00 17 July 2013|Cruise Gossip|1 Comment

Royal visit to Norway’s finest fjord is cancelled because of cruise crowds

Passengers who joined Queen Mary 2 on Saturday for a cruise to the Norwegian fjords were expecting to spend today in the beautiful UNESCO-listed Geirangerfjord, often claimed as Norway's finest. But the visit has been cancelled and they are in the pretty, Art Nouveau town of Ålesund instead. Not quite the same. Shortly after boarding in Southampton, passengers received a letter from the captain, Commodore Christopher Rynd, explaining: "Due to concerns over our ability to secure a safe anchoring position in Geiranger we have taken the decision to substitute our call at Geiranger with a call to Ålesund." Geiranger lies [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:30+00:00 17 July 2013|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|2 Comments

Double bubble: New ship orders for French and Norwegian cruise lines

Expedition cruise specialist Compagnie du Ponant is to build another new ship. The yacht, which will debut in spring 2015, joins the line's Le Soléal (above), launched only last month, and Le Boréal and L'Austral. The boutique ships, which each carry 224 passengers in 132 cabins, are specialists in Polar travel. Compagnie du Ponant also operate the 64-passenger sailing vessel, Le Ponant. The company was bought last year by venture capitalists Bridgepoint, which has substantial investments in the Pret a Manger sandwich shops and Hobbycraft retail chain. The new vessel, as yet unnamed, will operate in Alaska in summer and [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:30+00:00 16 July 2013|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Mistake by bridge crew made cruise ship fire worse, says Splendor report

Human error by a crewmember on the bridge has been blamed for the severity of the fire that crippled cruise ship Carnival Splendor. A 15-minute delay in activating an extinguishing system allowed the blaze, in November 2010, to spread to overhead cables, disabling power throughout the ship. The vessel, with 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crew aboard, was left without lighting and functioning toilets in the Pacific for three days before being towed into San Diego. The report, by US Coast Guard, says a member of the bridge crew reset the fire alarm and water mist fire suppression system instead of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:30+00:00 16 July 2013|Cruise News|0 Comments