John Honeywell, Author at Captain Greybeard

Hat-tricks for Royal and Celebrity

Not sure whether it was the chance of a cuddle with Pineapple Dance Studios' outrageous Louie Spence, or the suntan she acquired on a Mediterranean cruise earlier this month, but Jo Rzymowska (centre) is positively glowing. It could also be thanks to completing a hat-trick of prizes at the TTG Travel Awards. As general manager and associate vice president for the UK and Ireland operations of Royal Caribbean she collected the trophy for the Cruise Line of the Year (over 75,000 passengers) for the third successive year. Celebrity Cruises - on whose ship, Equinox, she travelled a couple of weeks [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:00+00:00 28 September 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Flag change would allow Cunard weddings, and save on wage bill

Cruise line Cunard is reported to be considering a change in the registration of its ships so that its captains can perform weddings at sea. Throughout its 171-year-history, and even during the last 13 years when the company has been owned by the American Carnival Corporation, its ships have been registered in the UK. But the Financial Times reported this weekend that they might soon be flying Bermudian or Maltese flags because UK law does not recognise marriage ceremonies carried out by captains. The change would allow Cunard to cash in on a lucrative market which is a big earner [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-09-25T20:48:38+00:00 25 September 2011|Cruise News|3 Comments

Only on a cruise … the food can be just as spectacular as the views

From the Sunday Mirror Homes & Holidays supplement, published September 25 "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome on stage, all the way from England, celebrity chef . . . Valentine Warner." Rather an unusual introduction for the very British TV cook who recently featured in Alan Titchmarsh's Love Your Garden, and whose latest book, The Good Table, has just been released. Unusual because unlike most of his fellow passengers on board a cruise ship crossing the North Sea to Scandinavia, he hadn't actually travelled a long way. The 39-year-old chef, once described imaginatively by a Mirror colleague as "the Russell Brand [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 25 September 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Food & Drink|0 Comments

Mention my name to Virgin and save 10% from the cost of your cruise

Great news if you're planning to book a cruise: mention my name and you can get a 10 per cent discount from Virgin Holidays Cruises. So a seven-night cruise next year on board Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas, including a two-night bed and breakfast stay in Barcelona, can be yours for as little as £791 instead of the brochure price of £879. AND you get $100 on-board credit per cabin. A seven-night cruise on the exciting new Norwegian Epic, plus two nights B&B in Barcelona, is £800 instead of the advertised fare of £889 - and you get $300 [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 24 September 2011|Cruise Deals|0 Comments

Blackbeard lives the showbiz dream with the Sky1 Showboaters team

Deputy Captain Blackbeard has got stars in his eyes. He's spent a few days on board cruise ship Thomson Dream, taking a backstage look at Sky1's new reality talent contest, Showboaters. Did he catch the judges' eyes? Read on to find out. Can there really be any better jobs than singing and dancing your way around the world? Well Sky1 seems to think not, and it has launched Showboaters, a reality competition with the aim of nurturing new cruise ship entertainment. The show was recorded on board Thomson Dream while the ship was in the Caribbean earlier this year. I've [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 22 September 2011|Cruise Entertainment|1 Comment

Breakaway, Breeze and Reflection: full steam ahead for 3 new ships

What's going on here, then? With that big red button, it could be the EuroMillions lottery draw - but the hard hats would be out of place. There are millions of euros involved though, because the picture shows today's ceremony marking the cutting of the first piece of steel for the construction of Norwegian Cruise Line's next ship, Breakaway. Kevin Sheehan, NCL's chief executive (in the white hat) got things under way, watched by shipyard managing director Bernard Meyer. S678 is the yard construction number allocated to the project, and every single piece of metal - from nuts and bolts [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 21 September 2011|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Peep inside the deserted QE2 … and fear for the future of this classic liner

In a city of amazing modern architecture, where hotel standards are measured in more stars than you can count on the fingers of one hand, the latest development is newsworthy partly because of its design, and partly because it does not live up to expectations of quality. The Grand Excelsior Hotel (above) in Dubai is a striking building; it looks like the stern of a modern cruise ship stranded on dry land. It claims to be uber hip, and boasts pan-Asian restaurants and a "classical" English pub among its facilities. The hotel cost about £70 million and is on a [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 20 September 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|2 Comments

Our survey said . . . uh-oh

There must be a better way to generate interest in National Cruise Week than an opinion poll which claims that the Mojito is the favourite cocktail among cruise passengers - based on the fact it garnered a paltry eight per cent of the votes. Or that New York has supplanted Venice as the most popular destination, and Johnny Depp and Jennifer Aniston remain our favoured fantasy travelling companions - according to the survey carried out by YouGov on behalf of the Passenger Shipping Association. Mind you, if you believe Shearings Holidays, who commissioned their own poll, comedian Peter Kay is [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 20 September 2011|Cruise Deals, Cruise News|0 Comments

Blue Man Group to OperaBabes – the best entertainment to be found at sea

It could be the fault of Silvio Berlusconi; no matter how many times he finds himself accused of sexual misbehaviour , his critics never miss an opportunity to hurl the epithet "cruise ship crooner" when they want to really hurt him. Or it could be Simon Cowell who's to blame, for the regularity with which he dashes a hopeful's dreams by describing them as cruise ship entertainers. But the insult is so out of date you'd think the last time he travelled on a ship it was full of animals travelling two by two. Cruise ship entertainment is often the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 19 September 2011|Cruise Entertainment|2 Comments

Mission Possible: Take a cruise to four Gulf cities and unpack only once

From the Daily Mirror Cruise Special, published September 17 MAKING A SPLASH: Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas in Muscat, Oman Come Christmas, we'll be watching in amazement as Tom Cruise swings Tarzan-like from the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai in the next Mission Impossible film, Ghost Protocol. No such antics for me when I spent 30 minutes at the 2,717ft-high tower's observation platform on the 124th floor. I kept my feet firmly on the ground, so to speak. Wisps of cloud hung in the still air above the desert city; I could almost reach out and touch [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 17 September 2011|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments