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,

Arcadia to sail from UK to Alaska

Porters at Southampton's cruise terminal had better start getting into training - they'll be doing some particularly heavy lifting come April 2011 when P&O's Arcadia sets out on a 72-night voyage to Alaska and back. With ports of call as far apart as New York and Los Angeles, and as diverse as St Lucia and Skagway, passengers making the full round-trip will need to pack a double wardrobe of clothes each - and that means a whole lot of suitcases. The grand voyage will be the first time since 1970 that it has been possible to sail from the UK [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:36+00:00 9 November 2009|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

The best cruise ship destinations: from fjords to Granada

It came as little surprise to me that - for the third time - the Norwegian fjords have been voted the world's best travel destination, in a survey organised by National Geographic Traveller magazine. When I was there on board Cunard's Queen Victoria in July, I was just as as impressed as when I visited a few years ago during the maiden season of P&O's Arcadia. The scenery is stunning, and there's an endless variety of mountains and views, waterfalls and glaciers, from Hardangerfjord to Sognefjord, from Alesund to Trondheim, Tromso and beyond. This survey is no popularity contest. The [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:36+00:00 27 October 2009|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

This week’s top cruise deals

P&O's Ventura sets out from Southampton on October 23 to spend winter in the Caribbean and berths are still available on the 15-night crossing, which calls at Tenerife - then St Lucia, St Maarten, St Thomas and Antigua. Balcony cabin fares from £1,299pp, with flights back from Barbados. Go to gillscruise.com or call 0845 658 2323. Sister ship Oceana makes a similar journey from Southampton on October 30. She heads for Madeira before crossing to Antigua, Tortola, St Maarten and St Lucia and Barbados. Balcony cabin fares for the 15-night trip from £1,219. Go to gillscruise.com or call 0845 460 [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:36+00:00 16 October 2009|Cruise Deals, Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

QM2 on birthday lap of honour

Here in the office, we have an unofficial group called The Society for Unsustainable Facts, to which members get "elected" when they start telling tales which are dubious at best, and quite often, downright nonsense. I'm thinking of nominating Cunard for membership, for their claim that the round-Britain cruise which Queen Mary 2 sets out on tomorrow from Southampton marks the ship's fifth birthday. The Cunard flagship is said to be celebrating the anniversary with a maiden call at Liverpool next Tuesday, October 20. Strange, that, when you consider the ship made its maiden voyage in January 2004. There will [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-10-14T12:15:49+00:00 14 October 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Thomson Dream heads for Cuba

President Obama has been hinting that he may be about to bring an end to America's long-standing trade embargo with Cuba, but there's no sign yet that US-based cruise lines are about to be allowed to add the island to their Caribbean itineraries. So hats off to Britain's Thomson Cruises, who have announced that their new ship, Thomson Dream, will be paying regular visits to Havana from December 2010. The 1,500-passenger vessel, currently sailing as Costa Europa, joins the Thomson fleet in April and will be sailing in the Mediterranean during the summer. A dry-dock refit will precede the ship's [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-10-09T00:28:36+00:00 9 October 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|5 Comments

Clinton shows he is the frog prince

If you have just spent millions of dollars on new facilities at your private resort on the Caribbean island of Haiti, then it's only natural that you want to show it off. Royal Caribbean bosses Richard Fain and Adam Goldstein were particularly pleased that the guest of honour they showed round Labadee at the weekend was former US president Bill Clinton, now a UN envoy to Haiti. So delighted in fact, that they both wrote about the visit on their blogs. The company has recently upgraded the popular resort - which caters exclusively for cruise ship passengers - with new [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:37+00:00 6 October 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Musical treat in the fjords

Here's an interesting package - I'm surprised it's not been done before. Hurtigruten, who operate the fleet of Norwegian Coastal Voyages ships, have put together a special cruise combining a winter exploration of the magnificent fjord landscapes and classical music concerts. On January 4, MV Trollfjord will become a musical stage as she sails from Tromso to Oslo, with concerts on board, and culminating in a performance at Oslo's newly-built opera house. With luck, there will also be a light show, courtesy of the Aurora Borealis. Tromso is inside the Arctic Circle, and its long winter nights are perfect for [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:37+00:00 30 September 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Entertainment|1 Comment

Mum, can we go to Iceland?

Buy today’s Daily Mirror for a National Cruise Week special. There’s my report on Queen Victoria’s cruise to Iceland and Norway, Anton Antonowicz returning to the UK on board Queen Mary 2 after two years working in New York, and Mark Ellis sailing from Southampton to the Med on Grand Princess. The articles are also available at www.mirror.co.uk It’s not just mums who go to Iceland to save money. More than anywhere else, the country has been hit by the credit crunch, with its financial assets disappearing like glaciers in a global meltdown. Should be good value for a holiday [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:37+00:00 26 September 2009|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Vintage experiences for a beginner

Stepping ashore in Spain and Portugal, Blackbeard samples a selection of Spirit of Adventure's port excursions, all included in the fare Various factors prevented me boarding a cruise ship up until now, the main aversion being a feeling that it wasn't really the best way to see a city. After a week at sea, my opinion has changed. There is no other way of sampling so many places, so conveniently, in such a short space of time, in such comfort for such a relatively small amount of money. You might not get the opportunity to fully drink in a city [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:38+00:00 12 September 2009|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Basking around in Bilbao

Here's the second of this week's reports from First Officer Blackbeard. It only covers his first day in Bilbao, so he's got some catching up to do on his later excursions to Santiago de Compostela and the Douro River. When I mentioned to people that I would be flying out to Bilbao to join the Spirit of Adventure, the standard response, "Oh, you must go to the Guggenheim." And they are completely right; it is a magnificent, sparkling, modernist masterpiece and no-one should take a trip to the city without paying a visit. But it's not the only reason to [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:38+00:00 3 September 2009|Cruise Destinations|1 Comment