Cruise News

More details are emerging of what the QE2’s new owners are planning to do to the ship before she re-emerges as a floating hotel in Dubai. Nakheel Hotels, who paid $50 million to buy the liner from Cunard, have plans which will prolong the vessel’s life for another 50 years. At the Seatrade Middle East Cruise conference, Manfred Urspringer, boss of the newly formed Nakheel subsidiary QE2 Enterprises, said: “QE2’s arrival in Dubai is not the end for the most famous liner in the world, but a new beginning.

It hardly seems a year ago that I watched aghast as the Duchess of Cornwall failed to break the bottle of Champagne when she launched Cunard’s Queen Victoria. But it was, and the liner is now celebrating her first birthday. Since that star-studded celebration, with not only Charles and Camilla, but also Derek Jacobi and Katherine Jenkins, the ship has sailed 111,828 miles, made 222 port calls and carried 54,827 guests. The ship will spend the day in her home port of Southampton before sailing off to the Caribbean for Christmas, and then setting out on a 95-night world cruise [...]

Arcadia, which was the largest ship in the P&O fleet until Ventura launched this year, is undergoing a major re-fit in preparation for her maiden 101-night Grand Voyage in January. A whole new section of 34 staterooms with private balconies has been added to the aft of the ship, which is in dock at the Lloydwerft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany. The amount of deck space around the Aquarius pool will be increased, and a larger bar is being built. Other work being carried out includes the installation of a 30-seat boutique cinema, and more room for the photo gallery. The [...]

While I was admiring Oceania’s Regatta across the harbour in Castries, St Lucia today, her sister ship Nautica was fending off pirates in the Gulf of Aden, according to Seatrade Insider. Eight shots were fired from one of two small skiffs which pursued the cruise ship, although the pirates never got closer than 300 metres. None of the shots hit the ship, according to Oceania president Bob Binder. The incident began at 9.28 am local time, and was over within no more than seven minutes, as Nautica, under the command of Capt Jurica Brajcic, took evasive action and powered up [...]

Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 should be making good speed on her first Transatlantic crossing after a wash and brush up in dry dock. Her hull has received a new coat of slippery silicone paint – it took 35,000 litres to do the job – and her four propulsion pods received a service. Passengers will also find wi-fi connectivity for laptop computers in the cabins, and mobile phones can now be connected via satellite from anywhere in the world. Mobiles will not work in the restaurants, the Royal Court Theatre, the Illuminations planetarium, or the Queens Room ballroom. Thank goodness some [...]

The family-friendly Ventura has had a “challenging

Prince Philip confided a long-held ambition today - he's always wanted to sail across the Atlantic on board the QE2. But it is an dream he will never realise. He was speaking at a farewell lunch for the Cunard liner which tonight sailed out of Southampton for the 726th and final time, en route to retirement in Dubai. The Duke of Edinburgh said he had never managed to find the time to do the crossing, and joked: "At least I'll get to have lunch on board." Prince Philip was in good form. Ships like the QE2, he said, could sometimes [...]