John Honeywell, Author at Captain Greybeard

Take a look inside Carnival Breeze

If shipbuilders Fincantieri have put as much care and creativity into the building of Carnival Breeze as they did when making this video - and I'm sure they have - then I'll be in for a treat when I spend a week on board the ship from June 15. I'm looking forward to hooking up with senior cruise director, blogger extraordinaire and Carnival brand ambassador John Heald, although given his attitude to the French it might be best to steer clear of him when we arrive in Marseille on Day 2 of the voyage. Here's John showing off more of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:48+00:00 3 June 2012|Cruise Food & Drink|0 Comments

Back on course: Cruise ships return to fjords after last-minute strike deal

The pilots' strike which has disrupted shipping in Norway has been settled and cruise lines are making hasty plans for their ships to resume their original itineraries. The dispute had closed Oslofjord since last weekend and spread to the rest of the country on Wednesday, initially forcing several ships to be diverted and later resulting in wholesale changes to itineraries. Announcing the settlement, the Norwegian Coastal Administration said: "The strike among the pilots in the Oslofjord, and the 103 pilot boat skippers in the country is over. The parties reached an agreement during the night of June 2. "NCA is [...]

By John Honeywell| 2012-06-02T12:45:40+00:00 2 June 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

How does this cruise deal add up?

I will never understand high finance. Norwegian Cruise Line has announced it is buying cruise ship Norwegian Sky, a vessel it has been operating for many years. NCL is 50 per cent owned by Star Cruises which is itself a subsidiary of holding company Genting Hong Kong. Norwegian Sky is owned by a company called Ample Avenue which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of, wait for it, Genting Hong Kong. NCL has been operating the 2,002-passenger ship under a bareboat charter, which means that while renting the vessel, they provide the crew, provisions and fuel. Under the new deal they are [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:48+00:00 2 June 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Jubilee at sea – how Britain’s cruise fleet will celebrate this weekend

CLICK TO ENLARGE The three Queens of Cunard's cruise fleet will be leading the way in celebration of Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee this holiday weekend. After Saturday's Epsom Derby, Sunday's pageant on the river Thames, and the Jubilee concert in the Mall on Monday the ships will line up in Southampton on Tuesday to be saluted by a Red Arrows flying display and a fireworks farewell as they leave together at the end of the day. Sadly Her Majesty will not be in attendance - she will be otherwise engaged in a procession through the streets of London and a [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:48+00:00 1 June 2012|Cruise Entertainment|1 Comment

P&O Cruises re-routes ships to avoid Norwegian ports closed by strike

The Norwegian pilots' strike has forced P&O to devise completely new itineraries for two cruises departing from Southampton this weekend. Azura leaves on Saturday and was scheduled to take her 3,000 passengers on a seven-night voyage to Stavanger, Flåm, Olden and Bergen. Instead of cruising in the fjords, they will now travel to Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Copenhagen and Gothenburg. Adonia, departing on Sunday, should have been taking a 14-night voyage along the Norwegian coast to North Cape and the Midnight Sun. Now her 700 passengers will be diverted to Iceland and the Faeroes, with calls in Ireland and Scotland en route. [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:48+00:00 1 June 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|8 Comments

Devil in the detail for UK cruises

According to figures issued this week by CruiseBritain, a total of 666 cruises will depart from British ports in 2012. Somebody should have a word and get one added to or removed from the list. Don't they realise it's the Number of the Beast? Lucky or not, it represents a 17 per cent increase on last year's figures, with departures to destinations as far afield as South America, the Caribbean, Baltic, Mediterranean and America. In addition, the number of round-Britain cruises will increase to more than 100 for the first time, and are up 33 per cent year-on-year. Passengers will [...]

By John Honeywell| 2012-06-01T10:28:17+00:00 1 June 2012|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Cruise ship Countess brings Jubilee cheer to disappointed Highland town

The people of Fort William were left disappointed last weekend when a cruise ship failed to turn up as expected. Local businesses had taken on extra staff, and restaurants and takeaways doubled their food orders in anticipation of the arrival of 800 passengers on board Marco Polo. The visit was called off when the ship's captain decided he was not prepared to take the 580-ft long vessel through the Corran Narrows and into upper Loch Linnhe without the assistance of a qualified pilot. Apologising for the disappointment, operator Cruise & Maritime Voyages assured Fort William that next Monday's planned visit [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:48+00:00 1 June 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Pilots’ strike disrupts fjords cruises

Just at the time of year when cruises to the fjords should be reaching their seasonal peak, the strike among Norwegian pilots is beginning to cause huge disruption. Many ships are having to switch ports at the last minute or drop calls altogether and spend unscheduled days at sea. One ship has abandoned Norway completely for the week and will instead travel to ports in Germany, Denmark and Sweden. The capital city, Oslo, is completely off-limits to visiting cruise ships and those - such as Vision of the Seas - which use the port for turnarounds, have been forced to [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:48+00:00 31 May 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Cruise ship loses power within hours of quayside celebrations in Liverpool

Within hours of making history as the first cruise ship in 40 years to use the centre of Liverpool to embark passengers, Ocean Countess suffered an embarrassing engine failure which left it stranded in the Irish Sea. Instead of heading north for an eight-night Jubilee voyage to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, the ship - with a full complement of 719 passengers on board - was left adrift near the Isle of Man when an electrical problem caused a loss of main engine power. After drifting in calm seas for three hours, the ship was taken into Holyhead on [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:48+00:00 30 May 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

Cruising to Infinity – and the Wonder

Mickey Mouse won't be getting things all his own way on cruise ship Disney Wonder this year - he's facing a takeover by Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story. They will be joined by Mr Incredible, grumpy old Carl from Up, and Remy from Ratatouille in a series of four Pixar-themed cruises along the California coast. The seven-night voyages on board the 1,750-passenger ship will be sailing out of Los Angeles from September 16 and will visit San Francisco, San Diego and Ensenada. Pixar artists and film-makers will be on board to give passengers a behind-the-scenes peek at the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:49+00:00 30 May 2012|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments