Cruise News

It’s hardly surprising that the author most famous for a book called Fear of Flying would prefer to travel by sea. And that is exactly what Erica Jong will be doing from June 13 when she sails from Southampton to New York on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. She is among a host of literary luminaries lined up to give lectures on this year’s transatlantic crossings – though it’s clear that most of them are aimed at an American audience. Nevertheless, a great opportunity for British passengers to add to their knowledge while relaxing at sea en route to the States. [...]

A gang caught trying to smuggle £1.75 million of cocaine into Britain on a cruise ship was jailed today for a total of 48 years. The three women and a man strapped packages of drugs to their bodies with shrink-wrap and tape and tried to hide it under baggy clothing as the ship returned to Southampton from a three-week cruise to the Caribbean. They had picked up the 20kg of drugs – the biggest haul ever from a British cruise ship – when Arcadia called at the island of St Lucia. Calvin Hilton, 41, from Manchester; Natalie Quinn, 26, from [...]

Five years ago today, Queen Mary 2 set off from Southampton on her maiden voyage. Now, 750,000 miles later, the Cunard flagship is celebrating her birthday in the Caribbean. Since the retirement of the QE2, she is the fastest passenger ship afloat, and has made 104 Atlantic crossings, and called at 115 ports in 45 countries. Belated birthday celebrations will be held later this year when QM2 makes a lap of honour around Britain. Leaving Southampton on October 10, the eight-day voyage will call at Rosyth, Greenock, Liverpool, Cork and Cherbourg. Fares start at £987 for an inside cabin. The [...]

All 153 passengers were safely evacuated from a Norwegian Coastal Voyages ship which ran aground just 25 feet from its berth in Trondheim yesterday. Richard With, one of the Hurtigruten ships which runs a weekly ferry service between Bergen and Kirkenes, was caught by a gust of wind as it was docking. The ship's propellor hit rocks and the vessel started taking water. Rescue services laid ladders from the shore to the ship and the passengers and crew were able to crawl to safety. No-one was injured. Dramatic pictures of the incident were taken by local amateur photographer Arve Johnsen. [...]

The effects of the credit crunch are showing in Carnival’s latest set of financial figures. The biggest cruise company in the world, which also owns Cunard, P&O, Princess, Costa and Holland America, says its income of $2.3 billion for the year is 4.2 per cent down on 2007. Income in the fourth quarter was $371 million, up 3.6 per cent on the previous year, but the figure was boosted by the $31 million gained from the sale of Cunard’s QE2 to Dubai. Despite a reduction in fares, bookings for next year are below the numbers achieved a year ago. CEO [...]

After months of expensive wrangling, Norwegian Cruise Lines has come to an agreement with shipbuilders STX Europe over a £1.5 billion order for new ships. NCL originally ordered two revolutionary ships to be built to their F3 (for Freedom) design. At 150,000 tons each, and with capacity for 4,200 passengers, they were to be the biggest and most innovative vessels in their fleet. The first keel was laid at STX’s yard at St Nazaire in April, and during the summer NCL gradually released design details, including their “wavy-wall