Back from my cruise to Vietnam on Silver Shadow and there's lots to catch up on - pictures from my journey, and plenty of news on the cruise front. In the meantime, to keep you wanting more, here's a UNESCO video of the imperial palace complex in Hué. Follow this link to see another spectacular video of Ha Long Bay. They both make me want to go back again right now.
When I heard that Voyages of Discovery's new cruise ship was to be christened by Miranda, I had visions of the galumphing comedienne Miranda Hart, whose sense of humour is something of an acquired taste. I need not have worried. Turns out that the godmother of Voyager, to be named in Portsmouth on December 4, is actually Miranda Krestovnikoff, a TV presenter and naturalist who also plays the flute. A regular member of the team on the BBC series, Coast, she is currentlty working on a new exploration book, titled Beach. She was chosen "in recognition of her passion for [...]
They're not have too much luck at Saga Cruises at the moment. Venerable flagship Saga Ruby, almost 12 months away from retirement, couldn't make it back to Southampton at the weekend, and was held up in Portugal for emergency repairs. The ship was scheduled to go into dry-dock in Germany this week for a £4 million refurbishment, which will keep her in service until her farewell cruise next December. But a mysterious engine problem meant passengers were flown home from Porto on Friday. The ship remained there until Saturday afternoon when it set off at reduced speed for Bremerhaven. In [...]
The classic lines of venerable cruise ship Marco Polo are a world away from those of modern ships. Built in 1965 as Aleksandr Pushkin it now sails from UK ports for Cruise & Maritime Voyages. That curving, ice-strengthened hull is obvious enough when the ship is at sea, and it's even more apparent at the moment, as the vessel is in drydock in Antwerp for her biennial overhaul. There's not a bulbous bow in sight as Marco Polo stands proudly on her blocks, being prepared for a winter season cruising to the Caribbean, the Amazon, and the Canaries. Before then, [...]
There's no excuse for including this video on a blog about cruise ships - except it's from Korea, a country I visited on Diamond Princess earlier this year. But these irresistable dancing robots were one of the hits of the opening day of World Travel Market 2012 at London's ExCel Centre yesterday. I'm sure there are more professional videos around than the one I captured with my Blackberry, but enjoy! The cruise industry seems to ignore the event - I met plenty of river cruise operators yesterday but none of the ocean-going giants was represented. Travel Weekly editor Lucy Huxley [...]
Gleaming white under lowering grey skies, Voyages of Discovery's new ship has arrived at Portland in Dorset for the final stages of a refit which seems to have been going on for months. During its four weeks alongside, the ship - formerly Alexander von Humboldt - will have cabins and restaurants spruced up by Northern Ireland-based fitters Mivan. At the beginning of next month, the ship will arrive in its new home of Portsmouth, and on December 4 will officially be renamed Voyager - although the new name is already painted proudly across the bow. Its maiden voyage for VoD [...]
Cruise lines love to boast about what they have on board their ships that might be better than their rivals. They trumpet every innovation and little extra. By contrast some of the best things about Crystal Serenity, as I discovered during my 12 days on board, are the things it does NOT have. For example . . . 1. No announcements: Captain John Økland broadcast a daily message from the bridge at 9.00 am each morning. But passengers having a lie-in were allowed to sleep on undisturbed. The message is played on the PA in the ship's public rooms, but [...]
Come with me on a journey into space. No, not an inter-planetary adventure on one of Richard Branson's rockets. I'm talking about my cruise on Crystal Serenity. For the most striking thing about this ship has been the amount of space available for its 1,070 passengers. In the cabins - in my case, a penthouse - in the restaurants and bars, on the open decks. Just everywhere. Not once since we left Athens 10 days ago have I felt that I was hemmed in or crowded by my fellow passengers. By way of comparison, P&O's Oriana is almost identical in [...]
Cruise ship Ventura is back in the Bay of Biscay today, with crew and P&O officials no doubt hoping the weather will be kinder than during the ship's last crossing, when a substantial crack opened up in one of the upper decks. Passengers who were on board and saw sections of deck cordoned off have expressed their surprise at the extent of the damage and the speed of the repairs, which were carried out while the ship was in Southampton on Friday. One, who supplied these pictures, says: "I happened to talk to the deputy captain who at the time [...]
What is the cause of a two-inch-wide crack which opened up in the deck of P&O cruise ship, necessitating urgent repairs on its return to Southampton yesterday? Passengers on board the four-and-a-half-year-old ship took to Twitter, Facebook and cruise bulletin boards to report the incident, with some suggesting that rough seas during a crossing of the notorious Bay of Biscay were responsible for the damage. A gap opened up across the starboard side of Deck 16, directly below the Laguna Pool deck, leaving a number of glass panes loose. The area was immediately taped off, and some reports said passengers [...]