Cruise Gossip

Passengers who travel on cruise ships like Swan Hellenic's Minerva are an adventurous lot by nature. Many of them could say "been there, done that" every time you stuck a pin into a spinning globe. Blindfolded. They choose to sail on the vessel because it takes them to destinations off the beaten track, and the entertainment on board is more likely to be a lecture on Grecian urns or Roman ruins than a re-run of Andrew Lloyd Webber's greatest hits. Their intestinal fortitude is hilariously illustrated in a little tale from Jane Archer, who has been mixing with these hardy [...]

When it comes to cruises, my friend Steve Read at Sky Travel usually knows what he's talking about - he spends more time at sea than a ship's cat. For the next two weeks, however, he will not have a clue where he's going to be from one day to the next - he will be in board the Saga Ruby for Captain Philip Rentell's third annual mystery cruise. The only things passengers could be sure of when they booked this voyage was that they would be visiting 10 ports of call in at least four different countries, and at [...]

Transatlantic cruises are one of the best ways to relax ever discovered, and the great thing about sailing to America is that because of the time difference, five days of the voyage can be 25 hours long. Whether you choose to use that extra time to sleep or to party, it's up to you, but either way it's heavenly. And there's no jet-lag. The downside comes when travelling in the opposite direction, and it's at this time of year that a flotilla of cruise ships is making its way from the Caribbean to spend the summer in the Mediterranean and [...]

Imagine the disappointment if you had a holiday booked at a beach resort in Mexico next week. The newspapers and TV bulletins are full of reports about swine flu and pictures of travellers arriving at airports with blue face masks over their mouths and noses. The world's health experts are advising against all non-essential travel to Mexico and your holiday is ruined. No time to find new flights to another destination. No certainty you'll get your money back or that the insurance will cough up to cover your losses. The holiday you have been dreaming about and looking forward to [...]

That foot-high model of the QE2's funnel, complete with Commodore Ron Warwick's autograph, which was being offered on ebay has sold for a remarkable £250.50. I wouldn't be surprised to see it for sale again at some point, because the American buyer seems to be a regular dealer in classic cruise ship objects and ephemera. And if anyone else managed to liberate one of the funnels from the Dubai charity dinner where they were used as table centerpieces, then it might not be long before another appears on ebay.