Cruise Ships

For the thousands of passengers marking P&O's Grand Event this week, and the hundreds of thousands taking cruises on the line's ships throughout the year, the story of the company's 175-year history will make a great souvenir. Its 192 pages are packed with more than 300 fascinating pictures of life on board ships from the earliest - William Fawcett (above) - to today's fleet. Long-time favourite Canberra, which introduced many to cruising for the first time, delivered countless families to a new life in Australia, and came home rust-streaked from the Falklands War (below), also features prominently. And it is [...]

No, you're not actually seeing double - the picture shows Cunard sister ships Queen Victoria (left) and Queen Elizabeth together in the Norwegian fjords at the tiny port of Flåm, at the head of Norway's Aurlandsfjord. It's another occasion when a small shot at the top of this column would be inadequate, so click on the picture to see a bigger version. The 450 inhabitants of Flåm are used to being outnumbered by visiting cruise passengers, but although they welcome up to 500,000 a year from more than 150 ship visits they don't often get as many as the 4,200 [...]

After a sensible period for quiet reflection, it's safe to pick through some of the highlights - and a few lowlights - of last week's cruise on the brand new Carnival Breeze. Passengers who sailed the full round-trip will be disembarking in Barcelona today. I jumped ship at the weekend and flew home from Venice, although not, I hasten to add, because I could take no more of the lively party atmosphere. With Breeze's calmer decor and Fun Ship 2 innovations, not to mention the unblemished weather in the Mediterranean, I was having a great week. What was so good [...]

There's a breath of fresh air blowing through the Mediterranean, and it's called the Carnival Breeze, The newest fun ship, taking me from Barcelona to Venice on only its second-ever voyage, is packed with innovative features which will soon be introduced to the rest of Carnival's 24-strong fleet. OK, it's loud, it's brash, and it's very American, but that is apparently a popular choice for a growing number of British cruise passengers, especially those with young and growing families. Sadly for us, Breeze will leave the Med at the end of this summer to cross the Atlantic and set up [...]

As I said farewell to Celebrity Silhouette this morning in Civitavecchia, the ship was being joined in port by Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas, Norwegian Spirit, and Croisières de France's Horizon - itself the former Celebrity Horizon, and at one time Island Star. Had I been there a day earlier I would have seen Carnival's newest flagship Carnival Breeze, whose housekeeping staff laid on a surprise for the passengers on its inaugural voyage. Anyone venturing to the pool deck early in the morning to stake their claim for a sun lounger (against the rules and all known laws of [...]