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,

I’m one in a million today

Queen Elizabeth arrives in Lisbon today, and as luck would have it there's a group of English travel writers in town this weekend, so I will be joining them for a quick look round. A visit to the city's oceanarium - that's got to be bigger than an aquarium, right? - and to a restaurant part-owned by John Malkovich are on the schedule. I'm here at an opportune time. Figures released at the Seatrade Med convention this week in Cannes show that cruise visitors to Portugal are expected to reach a record one million this year. Numbers had already reached [...]

By John Honeywell| 2010-12-04T08:11:25+00:00 4 December 2010|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Follow me on Queen Elizabeth

Parts of Britain have had the heaviest November snow in living memory. Temperatures continue to fall faster than house prices. Time for me to escape. I'm off in search of the sun, though I'll have to cross the Bay of Biscay first. This afternoon I'll be submitting to the security checks at Southampton's Ocean Terminal and boarding Cunard's shiny new Queen Elizabeth (above) to sail to Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, calling at Vigo, Lisbon and Cadiz on the way. It's the same itinerary as the ship's maiden voyage which departed seven weeks ago, and the first time Capt [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 1 December 2010|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Brits go for luxury option on Allure

British passengers booking cruises on Allure of the Seas are not afraid to splash out on their holidays - most of them are paying at least £30 a night on top of the basic fare in order to travel in a balcony cabin. In fact two-thirds of those flying from the UK to Florida during the next few weeks to join the ship in Fort Lauderdale for week-long cruises to the Caribbean are choosing to travel in cabins with a balcony, or in de luxe and suite staterooms, say Royal Caribbean. The most expensive suites can cost as much as [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:15+00:00 19 November 2010|Cruise Destinations|1 Comment

Will Falmouth be ready in time?

Following recent reports that cruise ships had cancelled calls at the unfinished new terminal at Falmouth, Jamaica, the island's tourism minister is claiming the facility will be ready to open in January. But Edmund Bartlett's promise, made in an interview with USA Today's Gene Sloan, is far from a confident prediction. "The inclement weather of the last few months has put us back a bit, but the construction work has been going fairly well and we're hoping to have it substantially ready by January." Fingers crossed then. Bartlett says the terminal, designed to accommodate Oasis and Allure of the Seas [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:15+00:00 19 November 2010|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Going Dutch on a Transatlantic run

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 will have competition on the Transatlantic run next summer. Holland America's Rotterdam is to make two sailings which ironically will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the transition from operating line voyages to becoming a cruise company. The 60,000-ton ship, capable of travelling at 25 knots, will be throttled back during the nine-day voyage leaving its home port of Rotterdam on July 3 and sailing to New York via Southampton. On the return crossing the ship will stop at Cobh in southern Ireland - known as Queenstown when Titanic made its final call there in 1912. Anouncing [...]

By John Honeywell| 2010-11-17T23:16:23+00:00 17 November 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Battle of the beards?

Captain Greybeard is obviously proud of his facial hair, but he can't compete with eco-warrior David Bellamy (left), who will be escorting a group of UK passengers on a week-long cruise to Costa Rica and Nicaragua in December 2011. The cruise, on the 170-passenger tall ship Star Flyer, will visit some of the world's most pristine rainforest and beautiful beaches. The week-long voyage from Puerto Caldera along the Pacific costs of Nicaragua and Costa Rica calls at the surf resort of San Juan del Sur; the half-moon bay of Playas del Coco, with spectacular wildlife; National Park Santa Rosa, famed [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:15+00:00 17 November 2010|Cruise Deals, Cruise Destinations, Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

Robbery forces cruise switch

The attack on cruise passengers in St Kitts at the weekend must have been scary. Armed raiders blocked a road with a fallen tree and ambushed a tour bus carrying 16 adults and a child from the Celebrity Mercury. They boarded the bus and forced the tourists at gunpoint to hand over money, jewellery, cameras and mobile phones. No-one was hurt, and within hours police arrested four suspects in pre-dawn raids after a tip-off from other islanders. A police statement said the robbery was unprecedented. "Last year, over 500,000 cruise passengers safely disembarked in St. Kitts to enjoy the many [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:15+00:00 17 November 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Egypt invests to improve cruising

Whether it's a for a river cruise on the Nile or a Red Sea voyage on an ocean-going ship, Egypt can be a memorable destination. The Pyramids of Giza, the temples of Luxor, Karnak and Abu Simbel, and the tombs of the Valley of Kings are all spectacular sights, but sadly visits to Egypt can provide memories of a different kind. The middle reaches of the Nile can get crowded, and mooring can often mean tying up alongside a gaggle of other boats - all of which have to be negotiated before passengers can step ashore. Safaga, the Red Sea [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:17+00:00 9 November 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Passengers and crew to the rescue

Following yesterday's news about the aid given by the crew of P&O's Oceana to the people of St Lucia, I have been sent some heart-warming pictures from Holland America's Noordam. The second cruise ship to return to Castries after Hurricane Tomas hit the island, Noordam provided 45,000 gallons of drinking water and 15,000 lbs of food, including beef, rice, sugar, vegetables and flour to help the relief effort. Passengers chipped in by donating $3,300 (about £2,100) in cash, and crew gave bottled water and food from their own stocks A group of 19 orphans from the Holy Family children's home [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:17+00:00 9 November 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

First cruise ships return to St Lucia

The first cruise ships have returned to the Caribbean island of St Lucia following the devastation caused by hurricane Tomas. P&O's Oceana arrived in Castries yesterday, closely followed by Holland America's Noordam. Oceana's captain, Mark Symonds, was met by Prime Minister Stephenson King and tourism minister Allen Chastanet as he presented donations to the local Red Cross, including two pallets of mineral water, biscuits, mattresses and furniture. The Prime Minister reported that Tomas has destroyed the island's entire banana crop, and "wiped out" agriculture. The town of Soufriere was the hardest hit and roads to the town in the south [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:17+00:00 8 November 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|1 Comment