All the latest cruise news from the man in the know

Dispatch from the sick bay

Captain Greybeard is sorry for the break in service. While the airwaves and blogosphere are buzzing with the latest cruise news, he is in the sick bay with a bout of mal de terre. He also apologises to anyone who was planning to meet him at this weekend's Cruise Show at London Olympia. He will be back as soon as possible.

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 23 March 2011|Cruise News|3 Comments

Back in the UK: that’s the Spirit

Another cruise line is adding ex-UK voyages to its itineraries. Following yesterday's Braemar announcement from Fred Olsen comes news that Thomson Spirit will be based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne from May to July 2012, and in Harwich during August and September. The 1,254-passenger ship will sail 15 cruises from the two ports to a total of 39 destinations in Iceland, Norway, and the Baltic. There will be a weekend break to Belgium and Holland, and an 11-night round-Britain cruise, calling at Guernsey, Dublin, the Isle of Man, Tobermory, the Orkneys, and Edinburgh. Commercial manager Phil Gardner said: "We have widened the portfolio [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 17 March 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Gem of a name for new Saga ship

Saga has confirmed that their new cruise ship will be called the Saga Sapphire. Currently sailing as the Bleu de France, it will undergo a multi-million pound makeover during the winter, and embarks on her maiden voyage from Southampton on March 26, 2012. The name is in line with those for smaller sister ships Saga Ruby and Saga Pearl II, and was the most popular choice among members of the line's Britannia Club for frequent cruisers. Quite rightly, they avoided tarnishing memories of the much-loved Saga Rose by adding a II (or even a 2) to the name of the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 17 March 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|2 Comments

Nile cruise operator is sunk

Nile cruise operator African Safari Club has ceased trading, a victim of the recent political turmoil in the country which has hit bookings. The company went under yesterday with 500 clients on river boats in Egypt and at its properties in Kenya. They are all expected to be able to complete their holidays, although most are expected to return to the UK next week. It is not known how many forward bookings are affected, but the number probably runs into thousands. A hastily-written and mis-spelt message (above) on the company's website last night said "SORRY . . . WE ARE [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 16 March 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Cost of air fares forces Braemar to abandon fly-cruises to the Caribbean

Rising air fares and the onerous cost of Air Passenger Duty (APD) are being blamed by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines for the withdrawal of Braemar from cruising in the Caribbean - which has done each winter since joining the fleet in 2001. After April next year the 927-passenger ship will cruise exclusively from UK ports, and the only fly-cruises in Olsen's brochure will be sectors of world voyages and other long itineraries. General sales manager Lol Nichols says: "This was not an easy decision to make, as our Caribbean fly-cruises have always been popular. "The wide choice of ex-UK ports [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 16 March 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|2 Comments

Win a cruise at the big show

With the latest figures showing that cruises have never been so popular, what better time to plan for the future than by visiting The CRUISE Show, which returns to London's Olympia on March 26 and 27? All the major cruise lines and lots of specialist operators will be there to offer inspiration, information and practical tips - and of course to persuade potential passengers to part with their money. They will even be giving cruises away: at least 20 holidays will be up for grabs in competitions exclusive to visitors to the show, and there will be countless special offers [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 15 March 2011|Cruise Entertainment, Cruise News|0 Comments

Take a walk on the wild side with the newest Royal Princess at sea

Royal Princess is dead, long live Royal Princess. The cruise ship which bears that name is leaving the Princess fleet and will re-emerge in May as P&O's Adonia. Today in Miami, the company announced details of the next ship to carry on the tradition, as construction work on the vessel began in an Italian shipyard. In contrast to the current Royal Princess, which is a mere 30,275 tons and carries just 710 passengers, the new ship will be 141,000 tons and will cater for 3,600 guests. It will be built to a new design, incorporating some surprising new features including [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 15 March 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Is the cruise boom unstoppable?

No need to worry about early-morning towels on the sun loungers just yet, but the latest statistics show that Germany is catching on to cruise holidays in a big way. Brits continue to lead the rest of Europe - taking a record 1.62 million cruises in 2010 - but while the UK market grew by six per cent in the year, the Germans leapt by 19 per cent to 1.2 million. The rapid and continued growth in the popularity of cruising contrasts with other sectors of the travel industry, and the latest domestic figures issued by the Passenger Shipping Association [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-03-15T11:31:31+00:00 15 March 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Portsmouth scents cruise victory

Not long now before the new cruise terminal opens for business at Portsmouth, part of a £16.5 million investment intended to poach some lucrative business from near-neighbour - and deadly rival - Southampton. The first passengers to use the new building - across the harbour from Nelson's HMS Victory - will have come a long way to do so; the classic ship MV Athena arrives on April 14 after a 39-night voyage from Fremantle in Western Australia. I hope they're not too sweaty after their journey, or they might upset Lord Sterling, who last year voiced his concern that passengers [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 14 March 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Cruise ships cancel Japan ports

With all ports in the country closed as a result of Friday's earthquake and the devastating tsunami, two cruise ships have been forced to cancel planned calls at Japanese ports. Cunard's Queen Mary 2, carrying almost 3,000 passengers on a round-the-world voyage, left Tokyo on Thursday and was due to be in Nagasaki today. It will instead head direct to Beijing in China where it will arrive on Monday. Separate arrangements will have to be made for a small group of passengers who were on an overland shore excursion to Osaka when the earthquake struck, and who were expecting to [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-03-12T16:45:45+00:00 12 March 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|9 Comments