All the latest cruise news from the man in the know

It’s a winter in the Caribbean for Azura instead of cruising the world

It must have seemed like a good idea at the time . . . when P&O's itinerary planners were looking at their schedules for 2013 they saw an opportunity to increase the number of passengers they could send on world voyages by adding 3,100-passenger Azura to join Aurora, Arcadia and Adonia sailing marathon three-month cruises. The company even hired the Mahiki nightclub in London's West End - one-time hang-out of Princes William and Harry - to launch the brochure, with managing director Carol Marlow promising fares as low as £79 a day for cruises up to 106 nights long. But [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:55+00:00 26 January 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|3 Comments

AWT pulls out of cruise with MSC

Shamed chef Anthony Worrall-Thompson - cautioned by police after being caught shoplifting from his local Tesco supermarket - has withdrawn from guest appearances on MSC cruise ship Splendida. The TV chef will be replaced by Michelin-starred Paul Rankin who joins the ship in Barcelona on February 5. A statement on MSC's website said it was making the announcement "with regret," but made no mention of Worrall-Thompson's recent troubles. A spokesperson later added: "In the wake of the coverage which appeared in the media and Mr Thompson's own public announcement of his desire to seek appropriate treatment for his condition, we [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 26 January 2012|Cruise Entertainment, Cruise Food & Drink, Cruise News|0 Comments

Shipyard strikes delay Riviera debut

Striking shipyard workers in Genoa have forced Oceania Cruises to delay the maiden voyage of their newest ship, the 1,250-passenger Riviera. The debut, scheduled for April 24, has been pushed back to May 14. Plans for the elaborate naming ceremony, originally scheduled to take place in Monte Carlo, are still unclear. Two cruises have been cancelled; a 12-night sailing from Athens to Istanbul, and a 10-nighter from Istanbul to Venice. The new maiden voyage is a 10-night Pearls of the Adriatic cruise beginning in Venice and visiting Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Monemvasia, Crete, Santorini, Kusadasi, Mykonos and Athens. "We sincerely regret [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 26 January 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

Concordia: Arison must act now

Jim Walker is an American attorney specialising in representing passengers and crew members in legal actions against cruise lines. It's his job to think the worst of those cruise lines. We don't agree on much, and his opinions have been known to leave me almost speechless with rage. However, I have a begrudging admiration for his Cruise Law News blog which is well-written and informative, though in my view frequently biased and prejudiced. A few weeks ago, in a completely impartial moment, he included me in a list of his Top 12 cruise blogs for 2012. He surprised me a [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 24 January 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

Cruise ship rescues 3 from trimaran

Ruby Princess rescues boat adrift at sea from Anton Anderssen on Vimeo. Passengers on a cruise ship in the Bahamas watched enthralled last night as a rescue boat was launched to aid three sailors on a trimaran in the Bahamas. Ruby Princess - one of seven cruise ships in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday as I disembarked from Allure of the Seas - was diverted to the French sailing craft's aid. The vessel was adrift without power near Samana Cay, the largest uninhabited island in the Bahamas and believed by some to have been the site of Christopher Columbus's first landfall [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 24 January 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

Concordia: Time for some answers

As the confirmed death toll from the Costa Concordia tragedy reaches 16, and salvage experts begin the task of safely removing 2,400 tons of fuel oil from the ship, it's time to start looking for some answers from Costa and the cruise industry as a whole. Seemingly shocked by the scale of the disaster and the recklessness of Captain Schettino, they appear to have spent the past week avoiding some serious issues rather than confronting them. Where, for example, is Micky Arison, Chief Executive of the Carnival Corporation which owns Costa Crociere? With a personal fortune estimated at $5.9 billion [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 24 January 2012|Cruise News|4 Comments

Cruise ship caught up in latest tension over Falkland Islands

Surely it couldn't be the result of The Iron Lady reaching cinema screens, with Meryl Streep's uncanny portrayal of Margaret Thatcher reminding the world of the Prime Minister who took Britain to war against Argentina in defence of the Falkland Islands. And it is unlikely to be because Prince William will soon be on duty flying helicopters over the territory his uncle Andrew once fought for. For whatever reason tension in the region is rising again. With the 30th anniversary of the 1982 conflict approaching, London and Buenos Aires are engaged in increasingly bitter exchanges. Prime Minister David Cameron accused [...]

By John Honeywell| 2012-01-19T23:14:14+00:00 19 January 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

In safe hands with Captain Zini

Although I am cruising in the Western Caribbean this week aboard Allure of the Seas, I'll save reports of my experiences on the ship and our ports of call until later. But in light of the Costa Concordia disaster, it has been interesting to listen to our captain explaining the safety procedures which Royal Caribbean has in force on its ships. I spent an hour on the bridge this afternoon with Captain Hernan Zini (left) at the controls as Allure left Royal's private resort of Labadee, on the north coast of Haiti. There were no other ships in sight, and [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 18 January 2012|Cruise News|1 Comment

Will Costa put cruising on the rocks?

Those TV pictures of Costa Concordia lying precariously on its side off the rocky coast of Giglio and the scenes of chaos now emerging in video footage from rescued passengers are enough to send a chill through the heart of anyone who has ever taken a holiday on a cruise ship. The fact that it was the reckless act of a macho captain which led to the disaster goes some way to restoring faith in the on-board systems and equipment which are designed to prevent tragedies such as this. But what about customer faith in cruising itself? What effect will [...]

By John Honeywell| 2012-01-16T23:22:56+00:00 16 January 2012|Cruise News|2 Comments

The lessons that must be learned from Costa Concordia disaster

It's no wonder so-called shipping "experts" profess to be puzzled by the Costa Concordia disaster. A modern, well-equipped ship packed with the latest technology should not have run aground or struck an underwater rock, whether or not that rock was marked on the charts. Part of that rock is clear to see, embedded in the capsized hull (below), snapped off as the 114,500-ton cruise ship struck it while travelling at 15 knots. A lengthy tear in the steel plates of the hull give a clue as to why the vessel took on so much water and began to list so [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 15 January 2012|Cruise News|7 Comments