All the latest cruise news from the man in the know

Up the creek without any water

London - it's the greatest capital city in the world, right? The streets are paved with gold; there's history and celebrity lurking round every corner, and you're never far from a classy restaurant or a character-filled bar. And Greenwich, home of the National Maritime Museum, with a naval tradition stretching back for centuries. What better place could there be for a cruise ship to moor for a couple of days? Well practically anywhere if you need a splash of fresh water, as my friend Captain Albert Schoonderbeek discovered this week. His ship, Holland America's Prinsendam, was scheduled to arrive in [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:40+00:00 21 August 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|1 Comment

Singles cruises to Costa lot less

The high cost of a single supplement has long been a bone of contention for cruise passengers, even more so in recent years as fewer ships are designed to accommodate solo travellers. While the smaller expedition ships and lines such as Fred Olsen and Saga are equipped with single cabins, the newer, bigger ships are all about maximizing the use of space. On many sailings one person occupying a double cabin might have to pay double the fare for couples, especially annoying when cruise holidays are a popular choice for single travellers. That might be about to change. First P&O [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:40+00:00 19 August 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Cruises are blown off course

The first storms of the 2009 hurricane season are blowing through the Caribbean, disrupting cruise ship schedules. Tropical Storm Ana, downgraded to a tropical depression, soaked Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands over the weekend before heading to the Dominican Republic. Hurricane Bill is forecast to become a Category 3 storm by Wednesday, but is predicted to travel east of the Caribbean cruise destinations before reaching Bermuda next Saturday. Carnival Freedom, with 44 Britons among 3,500 passengers, left Fort Lauderdale on Saturday for an eight-day cruise - first scheduled stop San Juan, Puerto Rico. The itinerary was changed to take [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:40+00:00 17 August 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Another cruise line announced

Typical! You wait ages for a new cruise line to arrive, and then two come along at once. Hot on the heels of the announcement of Cruise and Maritime Voyages comes news of Voyages to Antiquity, a new venture set up by serial cruise line entrepreneur Gerry Herrod. The industry veteran, who set up Ocean Cruise Line in 1984 and Orient Lines in 1993, has bought the former Aegean I cruise ship in Greece and plans a major refit, adding balcony cabins and reducing the capacity of the 11,500-ton ship from 500 to 382, before launching the new operation in [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:40+00:00 15 August 2009|Cruise News|0 Comments

New UK cruise line sets sail

A new British cruise line will be sailing from the UK next year. Cruise and Maritime Voyages has chartered two ships, Marco Polo and Ocean Countess, to offer a traditional product to compete with established companies such as Voyages of Discovery, Fred Olsen and Saga. The 22,000-ton, 850-passenger Marco Polo, which was built in 1966 and is currently on charter to German company Transocean Tours, sets out on her first voyage in new livery from Tilbury on January 2 and during the winter will operate to South America and the Caribbean followed by a summer of cruises to Scandinavia, the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:40+00:00 13 August 2009|Cruise News|2 Comments

Bagging a cruise bargain: Is the glass half full or half empty?

Interesting to read from Jane Archer that the Crystal Serenity, which she is on board this week, is sailing less than half full. There are 550 passengers on board a truly luxury cruise ship which has a capacity of 1,070, and a crew of 655. This on a vessel which already has one of the highest passenger-space ratios in the business; luxury liner QE2 was almost exactly the same tonnage, yet carried 600 more passengers. Fares for Serenity's current 12-day voyage from Athens to Barcelona started at £3,500 per person, which included a £1,250 ($2,000) on-board credit per couple; the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:40+00:00 13 August 2009|Cruise Deals, Cruise News|3 Comments

What next for easyCruise future?

If I were a financial expert or, Heaven forbid, an accountant, I might be able to explain what's happening with easyCruise. The company, which operates the 574-passenger vessel in the Aegean Sea, has been bought by the Greek ferry company Hellenic Seaways for 9 million euros. But at the same time, easyEverything founder Sir Stelios Haji Iannou is reported to have bought a 5.5 per cent stake in Sea Star Capital, which is Hellenic's largest shareholder for . . . you've guessed it, 9 million euros. So has he, in effect, sold his own company to himself? Stelios founded EasyCruise [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:40+00:00 11 August 2009|Cruise News|0 Comments

Preview of Pearl’s maiden cruises

The brochure for Saga's 2010 cruises will be arriving through thousands of letterboxes this week, just days after the company had finally acquired a new ship to replace the much-loved Saga Rose. No surprise then that the cover is a picture of Saga Pearl II, formerly the Astoria, in her new livery, and of course there are full details of the voyages planned for the ship's inaugural season. The maiden voyage, leaving Southampton on March 15, will be to Norway and the Arctic Circle. Earlier in the year than most ships visit the fjords, many familiar excursions will not be [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:40+00:00 10 August 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

World Cup kicks out cruise ships

The South African government has called foul over plans to use cruise ships to provide accommodation at next year's football World Cup. German media tycoon Leo Kirch planned to charter two Holland America Line vessels, Westerdam and Noordam, and moor them as floating hotels at Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth during next summer's competition. The deal, reported to cost £9 million, would have provided 4,600 beds. However, the South African Tourism Ministry has now made clear that berthing rights for both ships were based on the proviso that the vessels brought tourists to the country. FIFA president Sepp Blatter [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:40+00:00 7 August 2009|Cruise News|1 Comment

Pearl will be Saga’s new gem

It's taken a while, and there have been some hiccups on the way, but Saga Cruises have finally got their hands on a new ship. The 18,500-ton Astoria will undergo a £14 million refit before her maiden voyage as Saga Pearl II next March. My exclusive picture (above) shows how the vessel will look in its new livery. The ship will replace Saga Rose, which will sail into retirement in October, and the company's efforts to buy it have been of epic proportions. The original plan was for it to become Quest for Adventure, a sister ship for Spirit of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:40+00:00 5 August 2009|Cruise News|0 Comments