Cruise News

Expedition cruise ship Clipper Odyssey arrived in Dublin today, still bearing the scars of an embarrassing encounter with a concrete pier at the weekend. The 120-passenger ship crashed into the jetty at Fort George in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on arrival in the city on Saturday morning. The concrete pier at the former British army base has recently been refurbished and Odyssey is the only major passenger vessel scheduled to use its facilities this year. Most cruise ships visiting Derry use the port of Greencastle, 20 miles away, or Lisahally, five miles from the centre. A statement from the Port and [...]

THIS IS AN EXTENDED VERSION OF CAPTAIN GREYBEARD'S COLUMN FROM TODAY'S PRINT EDITION OF THE DAILY MIRROR Towels on deckchairs; not just a hangover from package holidays, it's one of the most complained-about aspects of cruise ship life. John Heald, star cruise director on the world's newest cruise ship, has announced a solution. Crew on the 4,600-passenger Carnival Breeze patrol the pool deck, placing timed stickers on chairs that have been reserved with towels, books, or other passenger items. If the seat is still unoccupied 40 minutes later, the items are removed and taken to the towel station by the [...]

It's an all-too-familiar situation for many cruise passengers. The cocktail hour has just passed, and maybe one-too-many glasses has been downed at the end of a long and tiring day on an excursion ashore. The dinner table beckons, but just look at that spectacular sunset! Must take a picture. Your camera is back in the cabin but no worries, you've got a mobile phone in your pocket. Dash to the ship's rail, switch to camera mode, press the button, and . . . splash. The iPhone is not your phone any more; Davy Jones says "That's my phone" and adds [...]

A dinner menu from Titanic sold for a remarkable £45,000 as more than 400 items of memorabilia were auctioned at the weekend; with public interest heightened by this year's centenary, many prices were way above expectations. A document signed by the "Unsinkable Molly Brown" and other survivors, calling for Captain Arthur Rostron and his crew on board rescue ship Carpathia to be rewarded for their valour went to an American buyer for £35,000 at the sale held by Henry Aldridge and Son at Devizes, Wiltshire Also for sale was the gold medal awarded to Second Officer James Bisset as a [...]

New cruise ship Royal Princess will have a British captain at the controls when it is launched next June. Tony Draper, who has also served with Cunard and P&O, will be leading a team of senior officers with more than 100 years of combined experience. Draper is originally from Scotland and now lives in Cornwall with his wife Joanna and young daughter Alysia. He and Joanna first met when he was second officer aboard Island Princess, onr of the original Love Boats. He began his sea-going career with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service, the civilian-manned supply and logistics division of [...]