Your guide to news from cruise destinations around the world

Your guide to the latest news and updates from cruise destinations and ports of call around the world. Mediterranean, Europe, Caribbean, Alaska, South America, south-east Asia, Australasia, Arctic, Antarctica, Middle East. Southampton, Barcelona, Rome, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Barbados, Panama, Norway, Dubai, Bahamas, Abu Dhabi, Sydney, Auckland, Wellington, Baltic, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Marseille, Athens, Greece, Venice, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, Naples, Santorini, Mykonos, Le Havre, Amsterdam, Bruges, Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Kirkwall, Bergen, Svalbard, Iceland, Reykjavik, Costa Rica, Dominica, Puerto Rico, New York, Vancouver, Seattle, Skagway, Juneau, China, Shanghai, Singapore, Myanmar, Thailand,

Havana in a haze of cigar smoke, Hemingway and club Tropicana

The world's leading cigar dealers gathered in Havana this week - they were arriving by the coach-load for a function at the Hotel Nacional as I sipped my umpteenth Mojito of the day. And even to an ex-smoker of 10 months' standing, the aroma of cigars and cigar smoke has been pleasantly pervasive during my first few days in Cuba. The highlight of day one was a tour of the H. Upmann factory where I followed every process of the manufacture of cigars from the moment tobacco leaves arrive in bundles to be sorted and weighed, through further refinements and [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 26 February 2011|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Read all about my next cruise

For the next two weeks I will be cruising in the Caribbean. I'm flying to Havana and during the first few days of the cruise will be visiting Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. Americans are still waiting for their government to lift the trade embargo which has restricted travel to the island since the 1960s, and only a few ships visit - none of them from the American giants like Carnival or Royal Caribbean Recently Fred Olsen based Braemar there for a couple of winter seasons, and Thomson Dream is sailing cruises which visit Havana this year, although will not [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-02-21T21:34:26+00:00 21 February 2011|Cruise Destinations|2 Comments

Bahrain cruise visits cancelled

More cruise ship calls are being disrupted by the spread of unrest in the Arab region. Following demonstrations in Bahrain, which led to the deaths of four protestors. Costa has amended the itineraries of its cruises on Deliziosa and Luminosa, affecting about 4,500 passengers. The ships will this weekend spend an extra day in Dubai. Next week the changes may involve an additional overnight in Muscat or Abu Dhabi, says Costa Crociere, whose spokesperson added: "Costa Cruises will resume calling at Bahrain only when the relevant international authorities and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have declared stability, and safety [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 18 February 2011|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Cruise Dubai plans to expand

It's just under a year since the Dubai Cruise Terminal building (above) was officially opened. Its operators claim it can handle three ships and up to 7,000 passengers at a time, although I did raise the question a couple of weeks ago as to why arrivals and departures can't be spread across the week. In any case, passengers embarking Brilliance of the Seas were being checked in at a glorified marquee - even if it does have a terrazzo-tiled floor - while Costa Deliziosa and Luminosa's passengers were handled in the main building. They will need even more space at [...]

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

Thomson changes Egypt cruise

Cruise ship Thomson Celebration will be leaving the Red Sea and Egypt behind this week - not because of the country's recent troubles, but because it is scheduled to reposition to the Mediterranean. Events have forced some changes to the itinerary. The Foreign Office still advises against excursions to Cairo, so after leaving Sharm el Sheikh on Thursday, the ship will head directly for the Suez Canal instead of calling at Port Sokhna. A stop at Alexandria has also been abandoned. The updated itinerary now includes visits to Limassol in Cyprus, the Greek island of Rhodes, and Athens. Instead of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 14 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|2 Comments

Hurtigruten’s stamp of tradition

It's not just Royal Mail ships Queen Mary 2 and St Helena which have an important role to play delivering the post. The Hurtigruten fleet which plies the Norwegian coast year-round delivers letters and parcels to remote communities, as well as taking passengers to see the sights, and sometimes the Northern Lights. The ships even sell their own stamps on board for travellers wanting to send postcards and letters home, carrying on a tradition which dates back 118 years. The stamps come in five designs showing iconic places along the coast including: Geirangerfjord, the Arctic Circle, Trolljord, North Cape, and [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 14 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Cruise boss squashes port’s plan to impose a levy on passengers

The cruise industry brings millions of pounds of revenue to the port of Southampton every year. Passengers stay in local hotels, hire local taxis, and shop in the city's stores. Ships pay a fortune to tie up at the cruise terminals and countless local businesses and suppliers benefit from dealing with the ships. According to one estimate, each ship call is worth £1.5 million, and this year there will be a total of 360 visits to the port. As the Americans say: "You do the math." So you'd think the city council would be grateful, and do everything in its [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-02-14T14:13:50+00:00 14 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Valentine’s Day – and adventurous couples choose to get married at sea

It's Valentine's Day, the most romantic time of the year. And for 15 couples, this week will see them getting married at sea, on board P&O cruise ships. Another five will be renewing their marriage vows in front of a ship's captain. Ventura seems to be the favourite for nuptials - today it will be at the Caribbean island of Bonaire, in the Netherlands Antilles, and will later be visiting Aruba, Jamaica and Grand Turk. The captain is going to have his hands full this week performing 10 wedding ceremonies and one renewal of vows, and the happy couples will [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 14 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Harbour plan is just Eyewash

More and more British ports are hoping to attract cruise ships bringing thousands of passengers to visit their local attractions and spend thousands in their shops. I recently reported on the success of Ilfracombe in north Devon, and this week Poole Harbour announced plans for a £25 million marina development which will include a cruise ship berth. But the latest scheme to catch my eye must surely be a joke. I had to check the date when I saw this image of the 150,000-ton Queen Mary 2, pride of the Cunard fleet, squeezed into a harbour alongside fishing vessels and [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 11 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Shopping spree for luxury cruisers? Not in a month of Whitsundays

Consistently nominated as the world's best cruise ship, MS Europa is the pinnacle of luxury and the only vessel to be awarded a five-star plus rating by the fastidious Douglas Ward of the Berlitz Guide - a feat achieved every year since 2000. The flagship of Hapag-Lloyd's exclusive fleet, it carries 408 pampered guests, each of them travelling in a spacious suite with separate living and sleeping areas, and almost all with a private balcony. No poky inside cabins here - except for the crew. Most of the passengers are German, although the ship provides menus, documentation and guides in [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 10 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|1 Comment