All the latest cruise news from the man in the know

Iron Lady is pushing the boat out

The last time my path crossed with that of Maggie Thatcher was on board Cunard's QE2, when she attended a Royal reception to mark the ship's 40th birthday, and I'm not convinced she's the best marketing tool for cruises. Others may think differently, and both Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery are linking the release of the biopic The Iron Lady to their formidable line-up of guest speakers. Former Foreign Secretary Douglas (now Lord) Hurd, who served in Maggie's Cabinet, will be travelling on board the newly-refurbished Minerva for a 15-night cruise in the Adriatic. As he was in office [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 14 January 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Entertainment, Cruise News|0 Comments

Eight passengers dead, 4,200 take to lifeboats as cruise ship hits rocks

This dramatic picture shows cruise ship Costa Concordia aground on rocks off the Italian island of Giglio after almost ramming the lighthouse at the end of the pier. About 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew were evacuated by lifeboats, although local media reports said dozens of passengers jumped into the sea. Eight were reported dead, including a man in his 70s who suffered a heart attack in the water. Several people were injured in the accident, two of them seriously, and the local mayor said he feared further casualties as it was proving difficult to rescue the last passengers. Helicopters with [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 14 January 2012|Cruise News|2 Comments

On board Disney’s newest ship

My report from Disney Fantasy will be available soon. There are far more differences from sister ship Disney Dream than I expected - some of them minor tweaks made with the benefit of experience of operating the earlier ship, some of them changes to take account of the fact Fantasy will be operating longer seven-day itineraries than Dream. In the meantime, here's a teaser picture taken up on Deck 12.

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 12 January 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

Adonia back on course for S America

A rapidly-scheduled drydock for what P&O would only describe as "essential repairs" was completed a day early this week, allowing the ship an extra 24 hours preparation before setting off on an 87-night voyage around South America. The post-Christmas cruise from Naples for 700 passengers was cancelled in order for the work to be done. While P&O refused to go into detail, speculation ranged from faulty stabilisers to an oil leak, possibly caused by a rope getting wrapped around a propeller shaft. There were no signs of trouble when I was on board the 11-year-old ship in November, and whatever [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 12 January 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|2 Comments

Fred bags bowls title on BBC

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines will be featuring regularly on BBC television in the next few days as the World Indoor Bowls Championships reach their final stages. The company has entered into a sponsorship deal with championship hosts Potters Leisure Resort in Norfolk, which has committed more than £3 million in sponsorship and prize money since 1999. This year's event begins tomorrow, January 13, and live TV coverage will be broadcast by the BBC from January 23 to 29. The sponsorship deal is a partnership with Potters' new specialist company No Fly Cruising, which is working with Fred Olsen to provide [...]

By John Honeywell| 2012-01-12T15:21:05+00:00 12 January 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

Work in progress as cruise ships are given a New Year transformation

You can keep your New Year resolutions - they'll be history in a week or two anyway. I'm more interested in New Year restorations, re-fits and refurbs, especially when I look around and see how many cruise ships are sitting in dry docks around the world, with construction workers crawling all over them. Millions of pounds are being spent on upgrading the ships, and no detail is too small or too large - whether it's installing flat-screen TVs in cabins, cutting holes in decks to construct an atrium, or as I saw recently on Royal Caribbean's Splendour of the Seas, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 6 January 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Book it, pack it, float off . . .

Comedian Peter Kay got it right when it came to organising holidays abroad. "Booked it, packed it, ****ed off," was the line, and never mind that he was talking about Teletext rather than the Internet - that was a few years ago. Now there is growing evidence that online bookings are growing in importance for cruise lines, according to research carried out by deal-checker website Travelzoo. Although the cruise sector is traditionally led by travel agent bookings, the findings show that 38 per cent of consumers now book their cruise holidays exclusively online, an increase of 20 per cent on [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 4 January 2012|Cruise Deals, Cruise News|0 Comments

Going overboard as Titanic fever begins to go on … and on and on

There is little doubt that we are all going to be engulfed with Titanic fever over the next few months, as the centenary of the liner's sinking approaches. Memorial cruises, films and exhibitions are all being prepared for the great event which will capture our attention before the arrival of distractions such as The Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics. Director James Cameron has had 300 production artists working for more than a year on converting his 1997 film into 3D ready for re-release on April 6 - at an estimated cost of £12 million. I still have difficulty [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 2 January 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Running start for the New Year

While I have been relaxing at home over Christmas, eating and drinking almost as much as if I had been on a cruise, others have been somewhat busier. In Southampton, for example, port workers are preparing for a hectic couple of weeks during which 13 ships - most of them setting out on world voyages - will bring about £32.5 million of business to the city. Five ships from P&O, three from Fred Olsen and two each from Cunard and Saga, not to mention a regular turnaround for Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas, will see more than 40,000 passengers [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 1 January 2012|Cruise News|0 Comments

New cruise line orders two ships and a Christmas mystery is still unsolved

The world of cruising had an interesting Christmas, and will now be looking forward to a healthy and prosperous New Year. There was a surprise Christmas present in the shape of two new ships to be built for a new cruise line. The award-winning Viking River Cruises is taking to the seas and has placed an order for two 41,000-ton vessels, each capable of carrying 888 passengers, to be delivered in 2014 and 2015. Construction on the first is expected to start in September and the ships are expected to operate mainly in the Mediterranean. Small by today's standards at [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:57+00:00 28 December 2011|Cruise News|3 Comments