John Honeywell, Author at Captain Greybeard

First pictures of Celebrity Reflection

Look in the Mirror and what do you see? A Reflection, of course. Here is cruise ship Celebrity Reflection emerging from a construction shed in Germany earlier today. The 126,000-ton vessel is the fifth and last of the Solstice Class ships built by the Meyer-Werft yard in Papenburg for Celebrity Cruises. Not quite a mirror image of its sisters, Reflection has an extra deck, so its twin funnels and signal mast could not be fitted until after it had been floated out from dry dock to the fitting-out pier alongside. Work will continue over the next few weeks on fitting [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:45+00:00 12 August 2012|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Pay up for faster boarding perks

THIS IS AN EXTENDED VERSION OF CAPTAIN GREYBEARD'S COLUMN FROM TODAY'S PRINT EDITION OF THE DAILY MIRROR If you've waited months for your holiday, every little delay from the moment suitcases are packed to the minute you can relax in the sun can become irritating. Especially if you've booked a cruise in order to avoid the unpleasantness of airport check-ins and security delays. Hold-ups can still occur in the cruise terminal and even on board ship; cabins are often not available until after lunch, which can mean trailing through the buffet restaurant with hand luggage in tow. Many cruise lines [...]

By John Honeywell| 2012-08-11T12:45:52+00:00 11 August 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

Dog watch duty for Pudsey

Simon Cowell's favourite dog, Pudsey, arrived home today with his owner Ashleigh Butler, after a trip to America and a Transatlantic crossing on the Cunard liner Queen Mary 2. Winner of Britain's Got Talent, Pudsey made an appearance on the US version of the show, and will soon be in rehearsals for the Royal Variety performance. During the seven-night crossing Pudsey and Ashleigh wowed the ship's 2,600 passengers with two special performances of their Charleston dance routine from the Britain's Got Talent semi-finals. Ever the entertainer, Pudsey couldn't resist performing for the crowd on the quayside in Southampton after disembarkation. [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:45+00:00 10 August 2012|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

New tune for cruise ship Melody

MSC Cruises have sold their oldest ship, MSC Melody, which has for some time looked out of place among the more modern vessels in the fleet. Melody has been bought by a South Korean company which plans to establish a regular service between Shanghai and the island of Jeju. Originally called Atlantic, the ship was built in 1982; at 36,500 tons and carrying 1,076 passengers in 532 cabins it is a far cry from the rest of MSC's newer and bigger ships such as the 3,500-passenger Divina, launched in Marseille earlier this year. The MSC website lists Mediterranean cruises on [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:45+00:00 9 August 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Pudsey cruises home in style

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 is the only cruise ship equipped with kennels and it's the only one which sails regular scheduled Transatlantic crossings. So it was the natural choice for canine superstar Pudsey, who is returning home after a performance on American TV. Together with devoted owner Ashleigh Butler, the six-year-old dog - who won Britain's Got Talent in May - performed on the US version of the show last month. And this week, they have been on stage in the splendid surroundings of QM2's 1,100-seat Royal Court Theatre. It would be interesting to see what admirer Simon Cowell has [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:45+00:00 7 August 2012|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

Cruise ship bashes Derry pier

Expedition cruise ship Clipper Odyssey arrived in Dublin today, still bearing the scars of an embarrassing encounter with a concrete pier at the weekend. The 120-passenger ship crashed into the jetty at Fort George in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on arrival in the city on Saturday morning. The concrete pier at the former British army base has recently been refurbished and Odyssey is the only major passenger vessel scheduled to use its facilities this year. Most cruise ships visiting Derry use the port of Greencastle, 20 miles away, or Lisahally, five miles from the centre. A statement from the Port and [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:45+00:00 7 August 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

End of the line for deckchair cheats?

THIS IS AN EXTENDED VERSION OF CAPTAIN GREYBEARD'S COLUMN FROM TODAY'S PRINT EDITION OF THE DAILY MIRROR Towels on deckchairs; not just a hangover from package holidays, it's one of the most complained-about aspects of cruise ship life. John Heald, star cruise director on the world's newest cruise ship, has announced a solution. Crew on the 4,600-passenger Carnival Breeze patrol the pool deck, placing timed stickers on chairs that have been reserved with towels, books, or other passenger items. If the seat is still unoccupied 40 minutes later, the items are removed and taken to the towel station by the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:45+00:00 4 August 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

Be careful when the sea is calling

It's an all-too-familiar situation for many cruise passengers. The cocktail hour has just passed, and maybe one-too-many glasses has been downed at the end of a long and tiring day on an excursion ashore. The dinner table beckons, but just look at that spectacular sunset! Must take a picture. Your camera is back in the cabin but no worries, you've got a mobile phone in your pocket. Dash to the ship's rail, switch to camera mode, press the button, and . . . splash. The iPhone is not your phone any more; Davy Jones says "That's my phone" and adds [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:45+00:00 2 August 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

Visa-free way into St Petersburg

St Petersburg is justifiably one of the busiest and most popular cruise destinations in northern Europe. The city has just reported a record number of visitors in July - 150 ship days (most stay overnight) and 110,000 passengers. On the second day of my visit last week there were no fewer than eight ships in the beautiful Baltic city. At the modern cruise terminal Saga Sapphire was joined by Celebrity's Constellation, Costa Fortuna, MSC Poesia, Pullmantur's Empress, and Phoenix Reisen's Albatros, while moored on the banks of the River Neva were the clipper Star Flyer and Columbus 2, the former [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:45+00:00 1 August 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Titanic menu sells for £45,000

A dinner menu from Titanic sold for a remarkable £45,000 as more than 400 items of memorabilia were auctioned at the weekend; with public interest heightened by this year's centenary, many prices were way above expectations. A document signed by the "Unsinkable Molly Brown" and other survivors, calling for Captain Arthur Rostron and his crew on board rescue ship Carpathia to be rewarded for their valour went to an American buyer for £35,000 at the sale held by Henry Aldridge and Son at Devizes, Wiltshire Also for sale was the gold medal awarded to Second Officer James Bisset as a [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:45+00:00 31 July 2012|Cruise News|2 Comments