Cruise News

There can't have been many football fans who were shocked this morning when the news finally came through that Liverpool and manager Roy Hodgson were parting company. But one man who appears to have been taken by surprise is Kenny Dalglish, who is taking over the team until the end of the season. The Anfield legend was enjoying a working holiday in the Gulf as a guest host with 290 passengers on board the ultra-luxury cruise ship Silver Wind. He had to pack his bags quickly today in order to jump ship in Bahrain and catch a flight back to [...]

Cruise ships are being targeted by drug traffickers to smuggle cocaine from South America to Britain and mainland Europe, according to a warning issued by the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the UK Border Agency. They say there is growing evidence that gangs are placing couriers on board ships, and also attempting to corrupt crewmembers, in order to bring in "multi-kilo loads" of drugs. The warning was issued as eight eastern Europeans are to be sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court today after being convicted of attempting to bring 35kg of cocaine ashore from MSC Orchestra when it arrived in Dover [...]

A waiter from a British cruise ship has been shot during a visit to Philipsburg, on the Caribbean island of St Maarten. Gahadhar Pradhan, who works on P&O's Aurora, was pistol-whipped over the head during an attempted mugging, and then shot in the buttocks. The attack happened in the red light district of Sucker Garden and the victim was walking from Carolina's Bar to the Seaman's Beach Club. One report describes the bars as "adult entertainment clubs" while another says they are brothels. A resident from a nearby apartment block found Pradhan lying on the ground calling for help. She [...]

Here's a story that combines two of my greatest obsessions: cruise ships and the best television series ever. OK, The Wire doesn't actually get a mention, but if I say the report involves drugs and Baltimore, you should see where I'm going on this. Three crew members from Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas have been charged with attempting to smuggle heroin and cocaine from the Dominican Republic. Court papers say the men, 35-year-old Gavin Excell and 27-year-old kitchen workers John Swart Garth and Kishurn Neptune, planned to sell the drugs to two women from Virginia who they arranged to [...]

An item on the BBC breakfast news this morning claimed that today was the busiest of the year for holiday bookings, as people wake up to the fact that Christmas is over, and it's time to start making plans for travel in 2011. The cruise companies all have their new advertising campaigns and their special offers lined up, and will be looking forward to achieving, or even beating, the forecast increase of eight per cent in UK passengers booking a holiday at sea. The Passenger Shipping Association expects that 2011 will see 1.77 million Brits taking a cruise - an [...]