All the latest cruise news from the man in the know

When glaciers attack . . .

It's a hazardous business sightseeing in Alaska, as this video of a small tourist boat almost being swamped as it came too close for comfort to a calving glacier demonstrates. The shrieks and howls of excitement from passengers as a wall of of ice falls into the sea turn to panic as a mini-tsunami rocks the boat, causing one woman to fall and break her leg. The boat was carrying sightseers in Alaska's Tracy Arm Fjord where the twin Sawyer Glacier's reach the sea. ►Elsewhere in Alaska, the body of a 67-year-old passenger from cruise ship Disney Wonder has been [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:03+00:00 9 August 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

New cruise confirmed – and new coffee bar rumoured – for QM2

Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2 will be going into dry dock in November for a bit of a freshen up, but the bean counters in head office must have been twisting some arms at the shipyard because they are now expecting to complete the work in little over a week. Which means there's now time to squeeze in an extra four-night cruise at the beginning of December. Leaving Southampton on December 8, the ship will visit Le Havre in France and Zeebrugge in Belgium - perfect for some continental Christmas shopping. Entertainment will be provided during the voyage by Brit [...]

By John Honeywell| 2015-04-12T21:13:32+00:00 5 August 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|2 Comments

Azura’s Al (and celebrity pals) are taking Herbie back to Monte Carlo

Today is a special day for Al Clinton. After months at sea - he works as wine host and sommelier in the Glass House wine bar on board P&O cruise ship Azura - he is going on leave, and as soon as he could get off the ship when it docked in Southampton, he was off like a rocket to his home and family on Merseyside. "You won't see me for dust," he wrote on Facebook. Al is a man with an obsession, and today is his first chance to see his new baby in all its shining glory. The [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:03+00:00 5 August 2011|Cruise News|1 Comment

Cruise terminal battle turns nasty

Competition from Liverpool is being blamed for the decision to put plans for a £30 million fifth cruise terminal at Southampton on hold for at least a year. The Government's decision to open up consultation on Liverpool's plans to expand its own terminal - built with help from public money - has brought cries of "foul" from the south coast city, one of the busiest cruise ports in Europe. Southampton port director Doug Morrison told his local paper, the Daily Echo: "When the competition is not fair you have to ask why you would invest another £30 million. If the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:03+00:00 4 August 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Titanic voyages selling out

TV success story Downton Abbey, about to return to our screens for a second series, began with the heir to the estate being lost with RMS Titanic. So it's appropriate that writer Julian Fellowes should have turned to the liner's sinking for his next drama. To be screened next April, the centenary of the disaster, and with a cast including Celia Imrie, Linus Roache and Sophia Winkleman, it will concentrate on the third class steerage passengers and crew rather than the rich and famous among the 1,500 who lost their lives.. The four-part mini-series is unlikely to lean on the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:03+00:00 3 August 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Charity begins on two wheels

Inspired, I hope, by my brother (above left) and his 4,400-mile cycle ride around the coast of the UK, Cunard president Peter Shanks (right) is preparing for a charity bike ride of his own. Just a little shorter though - Peter is joining friends of the Prince's Trust - which Cunard supports throughout the year - on a 47-mile ride from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle. I'm not sure what roads they are taking, as the direct route is only about half that, and the 26 mile 385 yards distance of a marathon race is precisely that because it was [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:03+00:00 29 July 2011|Cruise News|1 Comment

Fain’s misfortune brings bargains

If Royal Caribbean chairman Richard Fain (left) was looking a little distracted at last week's christening of his latest cruise ship, Celebrity Silhouette, all became clear yesterday when the company released its latest financial figures. It owned up to an accounting error which reduced its full-year profit expectations, and despite disclosing increased revenue, saw its share price fall by six per cent. "There is not a soul here, including myself, who doesn't regret the error," Fain told analysts. Royal Caribbean, whose brands include Celebrity, Azamara Club Cruises, German line TUI and the Spanish Pullmantur, had earnings of $93.5 million (£57 [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:03+00:00 28 July 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Busman’s holiday on QM2 for Carol

Two years after leaving Cunard to take charge of sister cruise line P&O, Carol Marlow has been back on board flagship Queen Mary 2, taking her mother on a week-long holiday to the Norwegian fjords. But when you've been the president of the company there's little opportunity to relax, and her successor, Peter Shanks, persuaded Carol to write a guest blog at WeAreCunard.com In return, she and her mother received an invitation to dine with recently-appointed Commodore Christopher Rynd and his wife Julie, but not before she spent a rough day in the North Sea touring the ship and meeting [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:03+00:00 27 July 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Is it time for Sale of the Century?

Royal Caribbean chairman and CEO Richard Fain reacted in horror when I suggested to him at the weekend that it might almost be time for the 16-year-old cruise ship Celebrity Century to leave the fleet. Celebrity president Dan Hanrahan assured me that he was looking at itineraries for 2012 and 2013 which included the 1,750-passenger ship and his boss, who took a while to grasp the significance of my question: "When can I write the headline 'Sale of the Century'?" also said the company was staying loyal to the veteran vessel. But I'm still not convinced, especially after reading that [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-07-27T22:05:30+00:00 27 July 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Warm welcome for Prinsendam

Holland America's Prinsendam has been making a big impression on a round-Britain cruise, and was particularly welcome at the north Devon town of Ilfracombe, which had been disappointed in May when sister ship Rotterdam had to cancel a call because of rough weather. The sun wasn't shining on Friday, but local dignitaries and the town crier put on a warm welcome for the 700 passengers, mostly from America, Canada and New Zealand, who came ashore by tender. Maureen Brixius, from Florida, returning from an excursion to Exmoor, said: "We loved it; what's not to like? Even with the rain it [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:03+00:00 27 July 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|1 Comment