Cruise News

When Celebrity Cruises decided to base their newest ship, Eclipse, in the UK for the summer, they added a few tweaks to the menu to appeal to British passengers, and took the bold step (for an American cruise company) of providing kettles in the cabins. Readers with long memories may recall that when I was on board for the naming ceremony in April, I was disappointed to discover that, although teabags and milk cartons were provided, there was no coffee available. Acting UK managing director Jo Rzymowska told me that coffee was available from room service - although as it [...]

Luxury cruise ship MS Deutschland, crippled yesterday after fire broke out in the engine room, is now being towed to Bergen, where engineers will assess the damage. A spokesman for Peter Deilmann, the ship's owner, said that the blaze was quickly brought under control, and that bulkhead doors prevented it from spreading to other parts of the ship. Passengers evacuated from the vessel spent last night in the Quality Hotel, Eidfjord, just yards from where the ship was moored. Now, instead of sailing to Hamburg, they are being taken to Bergen and Oslo for flights home. The ship's next cruise, [...]

An engine room fire has forced the evacuation of more than 600 passengers and crew from the cruise ship Deutschland. The luxury 22,500-ton ship was in port at Eidfjord, Norway, when the blaze broke out today. Per Fjeld, spokesman for the Norwegian rescue services, said there were no reports of injuries among the 364 passengers and 241 crew. He added that although it had not spread from the engine room, the fire was not yet under control. "It is still too hot. We first must get the temperatures in the surrounding areas down. "We are using pumps and hoses to [...]

The growing popularity of cruise holidays - forecast to rise another seven per cent in new figures released this week - should come as no surprise to families and couples who have already taken a holiday at sea. The food, facilities, entertainment, and above all, value for money offered on a cruise ship beats almost anything on land, and I am amazed that - despite its rapid and continued expansion - cruising still attracts only one in 10 people booking a package holiday. Speaking at last night's launch of The Cruise Review, at the National Geographic Store in London's Regent [...]

A seven-night cruise from Venice was already the holiday of a lifetime for a British family who had saved for a special treat to celebrate Michael Klopocinski's recovery from a heart attack. And it became even more special when a £15 bingo ticket won them an upgrade to the luxurious Royal Suite, complete with grand piano, two balconies, a whirlpool bath and its own bar. Michael, 59, and his wife Maureen, 54, from Blackburn, Lancashire had saved £1,300 for the cruise on Royal Caribbean's Splendour of the Seas, and invited Maureen's father Harry Kinney, 80, and niece Kate Grant, 36, [...]

Back home after 10 days in the Norwegian fjords, and there's plenty of news to catch up on from the world of cruising. Royal Caribbean have started to crank up the publicity machine for Allure of the Seas, sister ship to the giant Oasis of the Seas, which will debut in Fort Lauderdale in November. Hot on the heels of the announcement that the main production show on board will be Chicago - matching Hairspray: The Musical on Oasis - comes news that Allure's 5,400 passengers will be able to enjoy 3-D movies in the ship's Amber Theatre. The technology [...]