John Honeywell, Author at Captain Greybeard

Engine room fire on Allure

Allure of the Seas today joins an infamous roll-call of cruise ships which have suffered engine room fires this year. Unlike Costa Allegra and Azamara Quest, which were left drifting without power, Allure's high-tech systems kicked in and prevented serious damage. The Royal Caribbean ship, en route from St Maarten to Fort Lauderdale, reported a "small and short-lived" fire which broke out at 7.45 pm last night. A company statement said: " The ship's high fog system was immediately activated, which contained and extinguished the fire. There were no injuries to guests or crew. The ship is sailing towards Port [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 21 April 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

Second Sapphire cruise is cancelled

More disappointment for passengers booked on Saga Sapphire; work to repair the engine room fault which led to the curtailment of its maiden voyage is taking longer than expected, and the ship's second cruise has now been cancelled. The "Wonders of Iberia" cruise was to have started - a week later than planned - next Wednesday from Marseille instead of Southampton. Passengers who had been told they were getting a 50 per cent discount in return for the loss of seven of the scheduled 18 nights have now been informed they are going nowhere. I was alerted late yesterday by [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 21 April 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|6 Comments

Expedition ship goes green

Cruise ships visiting the Antarctic already have to abide by strict regulations governing the number of passengers they can take ashore, and the fuel they must burn to avoid polluting the wilderness region. Now a cruise line has declared for the first time that one of its ships will effectively be carbon neutral. Passengers travelling on Ocean Diamond (above) in search of penguins, seals and whales can do so with a clear conscience because operator Quark Expeditions will be offsetting their carbon dioxide emissions by supporting reforestation and hydro and wind-power projects in Turkey, Kenya, China and India. Diamond, carrying [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 19 April 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Cruise line probes claim its ship ignored fishing boat in distress

UPDATE: Princess Cruises said a preliminary investigation found there appeared to have been a "breakdown in communication" in relaying the passengers' message. It said Captain -Edward Perrin and the officer of the watch were not notified. "Understandably, Capt Perrin is devastated that he is being accused of knowingly turning his back on people in distress. Had the captain received this information, he would have had the opportunity to respond." Princess Cruises added that its ships had been involved in more than 30 rescues over the past decade. The investigation is continuing. Princess Cruises is investigating an allegation that one of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 19 April 2012|Cruise News|1 Comment

Viking ship deal switched to Italy

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has pulled off a coup by snatching a deal to build two cruise ships from rivals STX France. The two luxury vessels, with a capacity of just under 1,000 passengers, have been ordered by Viking Ocean Cruises, whose sister river cruise outfit has just launched four new boats. Viking originally announced the deal with STX just before Christmas, but it appears financing arrangements broke down, at which point the state-owned Italian company stepped in with an offer they couldn't refuse. Yet only two weeks ago, a Fincantieri spokesman was strongly denying rumours they had intervened to take [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 19 April 2012|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Escape to be an all-inclusive ship

Cheap-and-cheerful cruise ship Island Escape will be even more affordable next year - from March all food, drinks, tips and service will be included in the fare. Sailing from Palma, Majorca, and Limassol in Cyprus, Island Escape will be introducing 10 new ports of call into her itineraries, visiting Kusadasi in Turkey, Cagliari in Sardinia, Piraeus (for Athens), Corfu, Katakolon and Mykonos in Greece, Calvi in Corsica, Ibiza in Spain, Nice and St Raphael in France. The majority of the new ports will be visited on the new 13-night Temples and Tavernas itinerary, while the remainder will be part of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 18 April 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Scrap ablaze at busy cruise port

A large fire among a mountain of scrap metal at Southampton docks sent clouds of smoke across the port and the city. Firemen from across Hampshire, who have been tackling the blaze since Tuesday morning, have been assisted by heavy rain which helped bring the fire under control. The blaze broke out near the King George V dry dock, between dock gates 10 and 20, and at one stage yesterday up to 60 firemen were involved in putting it out, using compressed air foam appliances, aerial ladder platforms and a high volume pump. Most of the smoke was being blown [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 18 April 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

The last word on Titanic tragedy

My final postscript (for now) on the Titanic arrived today in the post today, in the shape of John Maxtone-Graham's latest book Titanic Tragedy: A New Look At The Lost Liner. By coincidence, the maritime historian (top left) - described as "the dean" in his publisher's blurb - arrived in the UK today together with his wife Mary aboard cruise ship Grand Princess which docked at Greenock, on the Clyde, this morning. There are some fascinating insights within the book's 235 pages, including rare interviews with survivors. Among them is Violet Jessop (below left), a stewardess whose life at sea [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 17 April 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Rescue on the way for passengers stranded aboard expedition ship

A rescue ship is expected to reach the island of South Georgia on Wednesday to collect passengers on board a Polar expedition vessel stranded by engine problems. The 114-passenger Plancius, on a 38-day voyage which should have taken it from the Argentinian port of Ushuaia to the Antarctic and then on to the Cape Verde islands, lost power on April 9. Mechanical failure has left it capable of a maximum of 4.5 knots in calm seas instead of its normal operating speed of 10-12 knots. The ship took shelter at anchor off Grytviken, South Georgia, 850 miles south-east of the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 16 April 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Smoky start to Saga maiden cruise

The thick black clouds billowing from the funnel of Saga Sapphire (after about 25 seconds) as the ship pulled away from the quayside at the start of her inaugural voyage do not, I am assured, presage the engine failure which has brought the cruise to a premature end. Indeed, there's no such smoke apparent in the second video, which shows the vessel's spectacular arrival at El Ferrol in northern Spain two days later - looking resplendent in her new livery with a light blue funnel instead of the familiar buff colour of her sister ships. But I have also realised [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 15 April 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments