John Honeywell, Author at Captain Greybeard

Strictly steps out on Oriana

Acid-tongued Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood will be taking to the sea this summer as the hit BBC show goes cruising. He will join dancers Natalie Lowe, Ian Waite, Katya Virshilas and Pasha Kovalev (above) on board P&O's Oriana sailing to the Canary Islands in May, and returns to the ship in July with another line-up of dancers, including Kristina Rihanoff and Robin Windsor, for a voyage to the Norwegian fjords. As well as watching the programme's professionals show off their award-winning routines, passengers will also be able to see a collection of the exquisitely intricate costumes worn [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:52+00:00 13 March 2012|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

BOGOF to the Cruise Show

The unmissable Cruise Show returns to London's Olympia next weekend (March 24 and 25) and if you mention my name when booking tickets, you can get two for the price of one. Just quote "Captain Greybeard" when booking online at www.cruisingshow.com or when calling the ticket hotline at 0871 620 4024 between now and 1.00 pm on March 23. Normal prices are £10 each on the door, or £6 in advance. There will be plenty of rewarding cruise deals available from the top lines attending the show, and there's a chance to win a seven-night holiday in an MSC Yacht [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:52+00:00 13 March 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

Kai Tak terminal ready to welcome cruise ships in place of airliners

Hong Kong's Ocean Terminal is ideally placed for the shops, restaurants and museums of Tsim Sha Tsui. Cruise passengers can walk straight off the gangway into the malls of Harbour City, and within minutes be boarding a Star Ferry from Kowloon to Wan Chai or Central. Trouble is, the pier cannot accommodate ships of more than 50,000 tons. When I arrived in Hong Kong last week on board Diamond Princess, the ship berthed at Terminal 4 in the manically hectic Kwai Chung cargo port (below), where the ship was dwarfed by the giant multi-storey lorry park that is the Hutchison [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:52+00:00 13 March 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|1 Comment

Costa considers its scrap options

Fire-damaged cruise ship Costa Allegra, which was towed to the Seychelles after an engine-room fire, will be scrapped. The 20-year-old ship, one of the oldest and smallest in the Costa fleet, was already up for sale at the time of the incident, and the line's management has decided it is too expensive to repair. The 927-passenger Costa Voyager has been pulled out of its Red Sea itineraries to replace Allegra for its forthcoming European itineraries in the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, six bids are being considered for the removal of Costa Concordia from rocks of the Italian island of Giglio, where [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:52+00:00 10 March 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

More cruises, passengers and ports

Almost 700,000 British holidaymakers took their first cruise last year, many of them leaving from a UK port, according to figures compiled by the Passenger Shipping Association (PSA). While the number of Brits booking a holiday abroad was the lowest this century, they took a record 1.7 million cruises. One in every eight package holidays booked is now a cruise; nine years ago, the figure was one in 25. While retail prices were rising at about five per cent, the price paid for a cruise rose by less than one per cent - the average fare was up from £1,421 [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:52+00:00 9 March 2012|Cruise News|1 Comment

Love Boat scrapped – but still lives on

Fans of television's Love Boat are mourning the loss of the ship which was the setting for the 1970s series. The one-time Pacific Princess (above), which has been laid up in Genoa, Italy, since 2009, is to be scrapped. The 1971-built vessel has been sold for €2.5 million (£2.1 million) and will be towed to Turkey to be broken up. Cheesy as the TV series was, it was a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic from 1977 to 1986, and is responsible for turning a generation of holidaymakers into cruise passengers. Gavin MacLeod, who played Captain Merrill Stubing, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:53+00:00 9 March 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

Opera House debut for Queen Mary 2

No, the Sydney Opera House has not been extended with a new wing, that dark shape at the right of the picture above is the bow of Cunard liner Queen Mary 2.. The photograph was only possible because instead of using her usual berth at the Garden Island naval base, the ship docked for the first time at the city's Circular Quay. QM2, which has spent the past 22 days circumnavigating Australia, might have been able to get close to the iconic Opera House, but there's still no way her big red funnel is going to squeeze under the Harbour [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:53+00:00 7 March 2012|Cruise Destinations|2 Comments

Adventure coming to the UK

It's Royal Caribbean's turn to announce another cruise ship operating from the UK - Adventurer of the Seas will be based in Southampton from May next year, operating alongside Independence of the Seas, which is already in its fourth summer there. Although Independence has been pulled from the UK for the winter season, Royal must be confident of the summer business - they'll need to fill another 3,114 berths a week on Adventure, in addition to the 3,634 of its bigger sister. The Voyager-class ship, which was launched in 2001, has the signature features of a shopping mall Royal Promenade, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:53+00:00 6 March 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

Majesty joins Thomson cruise fleet

Rumours of a new-build ship to join the Thomson fleet remain wishful thinking, but the line will confirm today that it has acquired a replacement for the ageing Thomson Destiny. Thomson Majesty will take over in May, operating the Adriatic Explorer, Pearls of Aegean, Colourful Coasts, and Canarian Flavours itineraries. The ship, which entered service in 1992 with a maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, was christened Royal Majesty by singer Liza Minelli. More recently it has operated as Louis Majesty. The 1,462-passenger vessel has five restaurants including a la carte offerings at Le Bistro, 5-course waiter service dinners [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:53+00:00 6 March 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Watch Disney Fantasy leave New York

Naming ceremony over, Disney Fantasy has left New York for her new home at Port Canaveral. My friend Scott captured the video (above) as the ship pulled away from Manhattan piers, playing a selection of tunes on the ship's whistle. Those of a nervous dispostion be warned: there's a snatch of the "Small World" theme which will be an earworm for the rest of the day. If you have half an hour to spare, the compilation video (below) shows the ship arriving in the Hudson, a selection of still photographs, and a lengthier version of the deparrure. Both videos will [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:53+00:00 6 March 2012|Cruise Ships|0 Comments