All the latest cruise news from the man in the know

Cruise Dubai plans to expand

It's just under a year since the Dubai Cruise Terminal building (above) was officially opened. Its operators claim it can handle three ships and up to 7,000 passengers at a time, although I did raise the question a couple of weeks ago as to why arrivals and departures can't be spread across the week. In any case, passengers embarking Brilliance of the Seas were being checked in at a glorified marquee - even if it does have a terrazzo-tiled floor - while Costa Deliziosa and Luminosa's passengers were handled in the main building. They will need even more space at [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 15 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Splendor looking splendid again

After weeks of repair work, cruise ship Carnival Splendor - crippled by an engine room fire in November - has left its repair dock in San Francisco. Final tests of its new generator and fire prevention systems will be carried out this week, ready for it to return to action, carrying passengers on a cruise from Long Beach to the Mexican Riviera, on Sunday. Back on board is senior cruise director John Heald, who did so much to keep 3,500 passengers calm during the days immediately following the fire, when the ship was adrift without power and while it was [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 15 February 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Thomson changes Egypt cruise

Cruise ship Thomson Celebration will be leaving the Red Sea and Egypt behind this week - not because of the country's recent troubles, but because it is scheduled to reposition to the Mediterranean. Events have forced some changes to the itinerary. The Foreign Office still advises against excursions to Cairo, so after leaving Sharm el Sheikh on Thursday, the ship will head directly for the Suez Canal instead of calling at Port Sokhna. A stop at Alexandria has also been abandoned. The updated itinerary now includes visits to Limassol in Cyprus, the Greek island of Rhodes, and Athens. Instead of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 14 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|2 Comments

Cruise boss squashes port’s plan to impose a levy on passengers

The cruise industry brings millions of pounds of revenue to the port of Southampton every year. Passengers stay in local hotels, hire local taxis, and shop in the city's stores. Ships pay a fortune to tie up at the cruise terminals and countless local businesses and suppliers benefit from dealing with the ships. According to one estimate, each ship call is worth £1.5 million, and this year there will be a total of 360 visits to the port. As the Americans say: "You do the math." So you'd think the city council would be grateful, and do everything in its [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-02-14T14:13:50+00:00 14 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Harbour plan is just Eyewash

More and more British ports are hoping to attract cruise ships bringing thousands of passengers to visit their local attractions and spend thousands in their shops. I recently reported on the success of Ilfracombe in north Devon, and this week Poole Harbour announced plans for a £25 million marina development which will include a cruise ship berth. But the latest scheme to catch my eye must surely be a joke. I had to check the date when I saw this image of the 150,000-ton Queen Mary 2, pride of the Cunard fleet, squeezed into a harbour alongside fishing vessels and [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 11 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

You were right all along, Steve

Back in December, one of my fellow cruise journalists in the UK broke an exclusive story with the news that a refit of the Grand Princess would see the removal of the ship's signature "shopping trolley" handle at the stern. His spies told him the Skywalkers nightclub, 150-ft above sea level, was to be dismantled when the ship entered dry dock because the cost of maintaining the structure far outweighed the revenue it generated. Apart from which, passengers complained that it blocked the sun from the open deck below, and others derided it because they felt it was an ugly [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 10 February 2011|Cruise News|6 Comments

Shopping spree for luxury cruisers? Not in a month of Whitsundays

Consistently nominated as the world's best cruise ship, MS Europa is the pinnacle of luxury and the only vessel to be awarded a five-star plus rating by the fastidious Douglas Ward of the Berlitz Guide - a feat achieved every year since 2000. The flagship of Hapag-Lloyd's exclusive fleet, it carries 408 pampered guests, each of them travelling in a spacious suite with separate living and sleeping areas, and almost all with a private balcony. No poky inside cabins here - except for the crew. Most of the passengers are German, although the ship provides menus, documentation and guides in [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 10 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|1 Comment

When charity begins on a cruise

With P&O cruise ship Aurora well into its round the world voyage, executive purser James Cusick recently led a group of passengers on an excursion by steam train to the Juanico Winery in Uruguay. As he recounts in his blog, following a journey hauled by a 101-year-old locomotive built by Beyer Peacock in Manchester, and in carriages built in Holland in 1925, they enjoyed a feast of barbecued beef, lamb and sausages. Meanwhile, another group was visiting an orphanage in Montevideo, run by SOS Children's Village, the world's largest charity for abandoned children. It was part of a new initiative [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 9 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|1 Comment

New sign of cruising’s popularity

There's another distinct group of passengers on Brilliance of the Seas this week, apart from the various contingents of 39 different nationalities. A party of 185 is here with Deaf World Travel UK on a cruise to celebrate the organisation's 20th anniversary. They have brought with them four sign language interpreters who travel on the ship's excursions passing on what the tour guides have to say and who are on duty at the side of the stage during the evening entertainment in the theatre. They have also assisted in cruise director Gordon Whatman's morning TV show which is broadcast throughout [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 6 February 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Kung hei fat choy from Brilliance

There's a sizeable contingent of Chinese passengers on board Brilliance of the Seas this week, frantically taking pictures and videos of each other at every turn, determinedly taking over the tables and fruit machines in Casino Royale, and enthusiastically celebrating their New Year at a special party in the Colony Club. The 897 Brits out of a total passenger count of 2,110 are the biggest national group, but the 402 from Hong Kong and mainland China comfortably outnumber the 195 Germans - usually second in the headcount, according to Captain Henrik Loft Sorensen. Not surprisingly, only 55 brave Americans have [...]