John Honeywell, Author at Captain Greybeard

Cunard confirms change of flag

OUT goes Southampton from Cunard sterns, IN comes Hamilton Confirmation today that for the first time in its 171-year history, no ships in the Cunard fleet will be registered in the UK. Instead of having the name of their home port, Southampton, emblazoned across the stern and on their lifeboats, Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth will carry the name of Hamilton, capital of Bermuda. The islands are a British Overseas Territory, so the ships will continue to fly the Red Ensign - which Bermuda has also adopted as its national flag. None of this, however, was stated [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:59+00:00 19 October 2011|Cruise News|6 Comments

Paul’s close encounter with a tiger

When I heard that Paul Merton had a close encounter with a tiger during the filming of his latest TV series, I thought it might be the creature voiced by Angelina Jolie in the Kung Fu Panda films. The Dreamworks characters are, after all part of the entertainment on board Allure of the Seas, the cruise ship which Paul travelled on for the first episode of Paul Merton's Adventures, showing on Channel 5 this Wednesday (October 19). No such luck. Apparently it was a real live baby tiger which sank its teeth into him. "I had some incredible experiences," says [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:59+00:00 17 October 2011|Cruise Entertainment|1 Comment

Cash plea for Scottish cruise ports

In the week that The CRUISE Show arrives in Glasgow for the first time, it would seem all is not well in the cruise business north of the border. While the number of passengers visiting Scottish ports is at an all-time high, bringing record amounts of money into the economy, voices are being raised in demands for more support for the industry from the Scottish Assembly. Andrew Hemphill, general manager of the Clydeport Ocean Terminal at Greenock, has also complained that while rival ports in Wales and Ireland have received substantial financial backing, cruising has been largely ignored by VisitScotland, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:59+00:00 17 October 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

A year of wine and chocolates

A YEAR ago this week, the Queen toured the Cunard ship that bears her name, shortly before smashing a bottle of wine against the hull to christen the vessel. Since then, the new Queen Elizabeth - the ship, that is, not the monarch - has visited 107 ports around the world in a journey totalling 124,375 nautical miles and including transits of both the Suez and Panama canals. Her Majesty has not, however, been among the 52,600 passengers. Since the decommissioning of the Royal Yacht Britannia - an act former Prime Minister Tony Blair apparently now regrets - her days [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-10-15T09:54:13+00:00 15 October 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Splashdown for Disney Fantasy

When cruise ship Disney Dream launched in January, it introduced the AquaDuck - a whole new concept in having fun at sea and getting wet at the same time. Sister ship Disney Fantasy, debuting next March, will also have the water-coaster feature, and lots more "splashtacular" fun, including the AquaLab (above) play area, a family wading pool, and an adults-only waterfall pool (below). In true Disney tradition, all these places have to have a back story, so we learn today that AquaLab was created by Donald Duck's nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie. Through hand-painted notes left by the nephews, kids [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:59+00:00 13 October 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Nude cruises for an all-over tan

If you ever have trouble packing for a cruise, or are confounded by weight restrictions on airline baggage, I may have found just the holiday - a naturist cruise in Croatia. Niche operator eWaterways is launching four cruises next year on a fleet of motor sailing ships, island-hopping along the Adriatic coastline and among Dalmatia's hundreds of secluded islands. Two different itineraries for the naturist cruises will be available, both offering plenty of opportunities for guests to be as nature intended while on board - or in the water - with clothes required only when in port and during meal [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:59+00:00 11 October 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|1 Comment

Paul’s drawn by the allure of cruising

Genial comedian, astute observer and intrepid explorer Paul Merton has been on his travels again. After TV travelogues visiting India, China and Europe, his latest series takes him to places where most of his audience is more likely to spend their own holidays. In Paul Merton's Adventures, debuting on Channel 5 next Wednesday, October 19, will see him on a fly-drive holiday in Florida, upsetting the Top Gear generation in a caravan, visiting the clubbers' paradise island of Ibiza, climbing the Alps, and touring Scotland. And in the first episode, "On A Cruise," he joins 6,000 passengers on Allure of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:00+00:00 10 October 2011|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

I’ve got my head in the clouds, thanks to Discovery’s excursions

Discovering new sights and experiences is, as the name implies, an integral part of a journey with Voyages of Discovery - and I have enjoyed my share during the past few days on board. Whether re-visiting familiar cities for an opportunity to look with a fresh eye, or encountering somewhere for the first time, it has been a fascinating experience. The major ports of call - Dubrovnik, Venice, Athens and, from tonight, Istanbul - are all places I have been before, but I found something new (to me) in each. After a walking tour of the streets and alleys of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:00+00:00 10 October 2011|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

P&O’s Ventura Vikings have a ball

While the world's top rugby union teams fight their way to the World Cup finals in New Zealand - or in most cases pack their bags to fly home - P&O Cruises' own rugby team, the Ventura Vikings, is preparing to play its fourth season in the Caribbean. The Vikings rugby team was established in 2008 by Ventura's youth director, 33-year-old Mark Price after he decided to do something about missing his rugby playing days at home. The first season saw Mark taking a bag of old rugby shirts and boots sourced from his local rugby club, Tynedale in Northumberland, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:00+00:00 7 October 2011|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

Determined to defy Italian strikers and Greek demonstrators

If the news reports are to be believed, there could be demonstrators on the streets and police firing tear gas grenades when mv Discovery and its passengers arrive in Athens on Saturday. They had better be warned - the intrepid Discoverers won't stand for any nonsense, especially if it threatens to affect either the euro in their pockets or their planned excursions to the Acropolis, the Corinth Canal, or Mycenae and Epidaurus. My fellow passengers on Aegean Odyssey last month showed similar determination to triumph over adversity on a visit to Pompeii and Herculaneum, two towns devastated by the eruption [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:00+00:00 7 October 2011|Cruise Destinations|1 Comment