All the latest cruise news from the man in the know

Book early for the best deals

It's August bank holiday weekend and already the cruise companies are doing their best to get us to put down our money and make bookings for next year. For P&O that means offering discounts of up to 20 per cent on cruise fares, and free travel to and from Southampton from anywhere in the UK on bookings made between September 1 and November 30. Free return flights to Southampton - and transfers from the airport to the docks - are available from Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester and Leeds-Bradford. Free coach travel is also available from departure points throughout the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 27 August 2011|Cruise Deals, Cruise News|0 Comments

Special homecoming for Magnus

Sailing into Lerwick harbour on board cruise ship Azamara Journey earlier this week was a special moment for staff captain Magnus Davidson. For 30-year-old Magnus was brought up in the Shetland capital, and it was the first time since he began his career at sea as a cadet that he has been able to sail into his home port. "This voyage, I've been to Monaco during the F1 Grand Prix, sailed through the Kiel Canal into the Baltic, visited the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and stayed overnight in Copenhagen during their Jazz Festival. Next trip, I'll head up the Amazon [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 25 August 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Hurricane Irene: UPDATE

Hurricane Irene is increasing in strength as it sweeps through the Caribbean, heading for the Bahamas. With winds now increased to 100 mph and gusting to 125 mph, the storm is expected to reach Turks and Caicos by tonight (Tuesday) and will be in the Bahamas tomorrow. The itineraries for seven Carnival cruises and four Royal Caribbean ships have been torn up and re-arranged to avoid the worst of the weather. Carnival Conquest, on a seven-night Bahamas and Florida cruise which left Galveston on Sunday, has turned to the western Caribean and now visits Costa Maya on Wednesday, Cozumel on [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 23 August 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|1 Comment

Carnival cruises are blown away

There's a certain irony in the fact that, just as Carnival has begun to reveal details of its newest cruise ship, Carnival Breeze, somewhat stronger winds are disrupting schedules in the Caribbean. Tropical storm Irene is expected to develop into a hurricane later today and is heading towards the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands - where a state of emergency has been declared - and the Bahamas. Carnival Miracle spent yesterday at sea instead of berthing at San Juan, Puerto Rico, will be at Grand Turk today instead of St Thomas, and is expected at Half Moon Cay [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 22 August 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Yes Micky, you ARE cool

My regular readers - and those who recognise the widget on the right of the screen - will know that as well as writing for the Mirror and specialist cruise magazines, Captain Greybeard is also an avid Tweeter. When Carnival blogger John Heald alerted me to the fact that his boss, multi-billionaire Micky Arison (above, left), had also joined Twitter, I had to become a follower. It would have been rude not to. The CEO of Carnival Corporation and owner of NBA team Miami Heat, Micky is rated by Forbes magazine as the 69th richest person in the world, with [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 19 August 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Lorraine gets her portrait back

P&O cruise ship Adonia will be waiting for me in Tromsø next week and I'll spend a week on board visiting the Norwegian ports of Andalsnes, Bergen and Farsund before returning to Southampton. Last time I was on the ship was in 2007 when it was being christened Royal Princess by a very special passenger, Lorraine Arzt, who spent many months living on board. Lorraine was Princess's most-travelled passenger, having spent thousands of days at sea since the death of husband Joe. I first met her on board Sea Princess during a 2006 voyage along America's eastern seaboard. Princess recovered [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 17 August 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Steve’s marathon effort at sea

The hardy few who pound the Promenade Deck during a cruise rarely rate a second glance from other passengers as they fight to keep their figures trim with a power walk or a steady jog. One man is hoping for more attention as he takes the opportunity of a few days at sea to run a marathon on a cruise ship. Steve Eaton (above, left), from Tamworth, Staffordshire, plans to complete the distance to raise funds for Help For Heroes, in memory of a soldier who was murdered last year. Steve, 57, has run 33 marathons, and is a friend [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 17 August 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Love Boat to get a makeover

Only weeks after disclosing multi-million pound losses, one of the UK's leading cruise lines is preparing for a major announcement. Far from being news about cutbacks or savings, it looks like All Leisure Holidays is planning to expand. The company operates three brands: Voyages of Discovery and its 710-passenger ship Discovery (above); Swan Hellenic, with the 352-passenger Minerva, and Hebridean Island Cruises and the 49-passenger Hebridean Princess. It has scheduled a briefing on September 1 when it is likely plans will be announced for the introduction of another vessel, the 500-passenger Alexander von Humboldt. All Leisure bought the vessel in [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 15 August 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Your best picture can win tickets to the cruise awards presentation gala

Swimming with dolphins, ziplining over the treetops and riding camels to the pyramids; dressing up for dinner or relaxing on the beach - all feature in the pictures entered for the Cruise Photo of the Year contest. The winner will receive a pair of tickets to attend the presentation of the first Cruise International Awards, to be held at the Soho Hotel in London on September 14, and almost 200 photographs have so far been put on display on the magazine's Facebook page. It's fascinating to see what people consider to be the "wow moment" that encapsulates all that is [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:02+00:00 12 August 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Strike puts paid to Palma’s Magic

No sooner has a Greek taxi drivers' strike ended, than new industrial action is making life difficult for cruise passengers in the Mediterranean. Striking coach drivers at Palma (above), on the island of Mallorca, have forced at least two ships, carrying about 7,000 passengers between them, to cancel visits to the island tomorrow. The industrial action, over a three per cent pay claim, is expected to continue until Sunday. Carnival Magic, on a nine-night cruise which began in Barcelona last Friday (August 5) has changed course for Marseille, where it had originally been expected on a day later. It will [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:03+00:00 11 August 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments