Cruise Destinations

The town of Lerwick, in the Shetland Isles, Britain’s most northerly port, has grown from a fishing village to a bustling base for servicing North Sea oil rigs. It is also growing in popularity as a cruise ship destination, and this summer will welcome its 1,000th passenger liner. A total of 45 ship visits are scheduled between May and September and 11 vessels will be making their maiden call. Costa Magica, carrying more than 2,600 passengers, will become the largest ship to sail into the port when it arrives on July 20 for the first of two visits. The record [...]

The popular image of a Saga cruise may be one of gin-soaked retired colonels slumbering between hands of bridge, and elderly widows sipping Earl Grey tea while waiting for the next embroidery class. The reality is somewhat different. They might not be in the first flush of youth, but Saga passengers are among the most adventurous at sea. If you find that difficult to believe, then Thursday’s entry from the Saga Ruby’s Captain’s blog should convince you. Capt Philip Rentell describes a day in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Yes, the war-torn West African state a world away from the comforts of [...]

As well as being the latest hotspot cruise destination, Dubai must be one of the biggest building sites on the planet. So it comes as a bit of a surprise to realise that facilities for passengers embarking on and disembarking from cruise ships in Port Rashid are rudimentary to say the least. Though thinking back, I recall that there was nothing more than a couple of marquees on the quayside when I disembarked from the Queen Mary 2 in Dubai last year. Costa Cruises have two ships operating out of the port this winter, and they will be joined by [...]

Tourism has yet to make a big mark on St Vincent, largest island in the Grenadines. But with its modern, though modest, cruise terminal, and with a new airport due to open in 2011, it will surely catch up with its busier neighbours. Leaping dolphins welcomed the Ventura to the port of Kingstown this morning, and after breakfast 12 of us clambered aboard a much smaller vessel, the Sea Breeze, in search of more of these delightful creatures. With the help of amiable skipper Hal Daize and his hydrophone, we were not disappointed. During the four-hour excursion, we saw countless [...]

Up with the lark yesterday morning, after another late night in the casino, but the early start was well worth it. The Ventura had arrived at Dominica, a lush, mountainous island whose lofty volcanic peaks are covered in tropical forests. After a short minibus ride from the tiny capital, Roseau, along a tortuous road built in the 18th century by slave labour, and past grapefruit and avocado trees, we arrived at the rain forest aerial tram, for a cable car journey through the jungle. The round-trip journey took us from the base station, 1,900 feet above sea level, through the [...]