John Honeywell, Author at Captain Greybeard

Oriana’s return will be delayed

Passengers hoping to be the first to experience the new adult-only incarnation of P&O cruise ship Oriana are going to have to wait a bit longer - the schedule for the vessel's refit has been extended and three cruises have been cancelled as a result. The 70,000-ton ship, named in 1995 by HM the Queen, is going into dry-dock in Hamburg for a transformation which includes 27 new cabins in place of the children's play areas. Also planned in the refit, which will begin after the ship returns to Southampton in November from a 16-night cruise to the Aegean, are [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 16 September 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Norwegian salvage crews battle to prevent blaze ship from capsizing

Emergency crews and salvage teams have been pumping thousands of gallons of water out of the stricken Hurtigruten ship Nordlys to prevent it capsizing. The ship has been listing at an angle of almost 22 degrees. An engine room explosion on the vessel killed two crew members and caused the hull to leak. Six Britons were among the 207 passengers taken off the ship. Hurtigruten has brought in a support team to the town of Ålesund to assist and counsel those affected, and to provide practical support in the form of medicines, clothes and cash. Powerful pumps have been brought [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 16 September 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Liverpool raising its cruise hopes

The bunting has been out in Liverpool during the past week as the ship celebrated the maiden visit of Cunard's Queen Elizabeth, and welcomed back Queen Mary 2 to the Mersey. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and a brace of choirs supported soprano Lesley Garrett in front of 2,000 guests at a celebratory concert in the city's Anglican Cathedral, and loyal fans like Carol Thatcher, Falkland hero Simon Weston, Coronation Street's Roy Barraclough spoke of their fondness for Cunard. With the ship berthed in the shadow of the Cunard Building - one of Liverpool's renowned Three Graces - company president [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 16 September 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|4 Comments

Hurtigruten ship blast: Two crew killed but all 207 passengers are safe

Two crewmen were killed and four seriously injured in an engine room explosion on board the Hurtigruten ship Nordlys. All 207 passengers were safely evacuated after fire broke out on the vessel this morning off the coast of Norway. It is believed 106 were rescued by lifeboat, while the remainder were able to walk ashore when the vessel went alongside at the port of Ålesund. Fire broke out at 9.17 am as the ship was about to make a scheduled call at Ålesund during a north-bound sailing from Bergen to Kirkenes. Huge clouds of black smoke billowed from the ship [...]

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

Fred Olsen sails to triple success in first Cruise International awards

RED SUNS IN THE SAIL SET: The best cruise picture of the year The first cruise I ever sailed on was not an unmitigated success. A faulty propeller shaft left the ship with only half power and we were almost marooned in Marmaris until a pair of Turkish tourist ferries acted as tugs and eventually hauled us off the quay. The next day a Mediterranean storm blew up out of nowhere and battered us about a bit, leaving the ship with a pronounced list to port - so much so that the water in my bath would not drain away [...]

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

Cruise ship passenger missing

Passengers disembarking from cruise ship Balmoral in Southampton yesterday were questioned by police over the disappearance of an elderly man who is believed to have committed suicide by going overboard in the North Sea. Some were delayed by up to three hours at the end of their eight-day cruise to the Norwegian fjords. The man, who is believed to have been travelling alone, was last seen at dinner on Sunday, shortly after the 44,000-ton ship left Stavanger. He was reported missing the following morning when a stewardess found a note in his cabin. The ship was by then in the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 14 September 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Karl v Claudia showboat in catfight

BARING THEIR TEETH: Karl and Claudia are already at each other's throats Rather like Andre Previn's piano playing in that memorable Morecambe and Wise Show, Sky1's Showboaters has got all the right ingredients. I'm just not sure we're getting them in the right order. Last night's debut for the talent show on a cruise ship - Thomson Dream, sailing in the Caribbean - had the contestants at each other's throats before the audience had been given the chance to get to know them and, vitally, decide which ones we are going to love and who we'll hate. Viewers saw nothing [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 14 September 2011|Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

Phillip looks his best on a cruise

Phillip Schofield always looks so well turned out on ITV's This Morning that it came as a surprise that he tries to avoid fellow Brits while on holiday because he's "a scruffy sod at heart and I don't always want to think about having a shave or always having to smile." "I appreciate fans very much, but family time on holiday is sacred," he said recently. Not much chance of avoiding his fans last week, when he took a short holiday on Cunard's newest cruise ship, Queen Elizabeth (above), which was making its maiden round-Britain voyage. Back on our TV [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 12 September 2011|Cruise Gossip|0 Comments

Stage school at sea for starlets

Plenty to come soon from my fascinating four days on board Aegean Odyssey and especially the visits to Pompeii and Herculaneaum in the company of Cambridge classics professor Mary Beard. First, time to catch up with a few items of cruise news from while I was away, starting with my column from Saturday's Daily Mirror: Not content with launching talent contest Showboaters, which debuts on Sky One on Tuesday, Thomson Cruises is now setting up an on-board stage school for its younger passengers. Star-struck children who can't get enough of the X-Factor and Strictly will be able to enrol for [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 11 September 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Entertainment, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

What makes Adonia wonderful

Before bringing you up-to-date with this week's activities, I ought to return to Adonia briefly. Having written about some of the destinations on the visit to Norway, it's time to talk about the ship itself. My own opinions are best summed up by the Captain, David Perkins. A generously-built man, he is a Carnival UK veteran and has commanded Cunard's QE2 and the largest ships in P&O's fleet before taking over at the help of it's smallest. As far as he is concerned - and I agree wholeheartedly - it's pretty much the perfect sized cruise ship. Big enough to [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:01+00:00 7 September 2011|Cruise Ships|1 Comment