Cruise Ships - Page 22 of 57 - Captain Greybeard

Viking ship deal switched to Italy

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has pulled off a coup by snatching a deal to build two cruise ships from rivals STX France. The two luxury vessels, with a capacity of just under 1,000 passengers, have been ordered by Viking Ocean Cruises, whose sister river cruise outfit has just launched four new boats. Viking originally announced the deal with STX just before Christmas, but it appears financing arrangements broke down, at which point the state-owned Italian company stepped in with an offer they couldn't refuse. Yet only two weeks ago, a Fincantieri spokesman was strongly denying rumours they had intervened to take [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 19 April 2012|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Escape to be an all-inclusive ship

Cheap-and-cheerful cruise ship Island Escape will be even more affordable next year - from March all food, drinks, tips and service will be included in the fare. Sailing from Palma, Majorca, and Limassol in Cyprus, Island Escape will be introducing 10 new ports of call into her itineraries, visiting Kusadasi in Turkey, Cagliari in Sardinia, Piraeus (for Athens), Corfu, Katakolon and Mykonos in Greece, Calvi in Corsica, Ibiza in Spain, Nice and St Raphael in France. The majority of the new ports will be visited on the new 13-night Temples and Tavernas itinerary, while the remainder will be part of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 18 April 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

The last word on Titanic tragedy

My final postscript (for now) on the Titanic arrived today in the post today, in the shape of John Maxtone-Graham's latest book Titanic Tragedy: A New Look At The Lost Liner. By coincidence, the maritime historian (top left) - described as "the dean" in his publisher's blurb - arrived in the UK today together with his wife Mary aboard cruise ship Grand Princess which docked at Greenock, on the Clyde, this morning. There are some fascinating insights within the book's 235 pages, including rare interviews with survivors. Among them is Violet Jessop (below left), a stewardess whose life at sea [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 17 April 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Rescue on the way for passengers stranded aboard expedition ship

A rescue ship is expected to reach the island of South Georgia on Wednesday to collect passengers on board a Polar expedition vessel stranded by engine problems. The 114-passenger Plancius, on a 38-day voyage which should have taken it from the Argentinian port of Ushuaia to the Antarctic and then on to the Cape Verde islands, lost power on April 9. Mechanical failure has left it capable of a maximum of 4.5 knots in calm seas instead of its normal operating speed of 10-12 knots. The ship took shelter at anchor off Grytviken, South Georgia, 850 miles south-east of the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 16 April 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Smoky start to Saga maiden cruise

The thick black clouds billowing from the funnel of Saga Sapphire (after about 25 seconds) as the ship pulled away from the quayside at the start of her inaugural voyage do not, I am assured, presage the engine failure which has brought the cruise to a premature end. Indeed, there's no such smoke apparent in the second video, which shows the vessel's spectacular arrival at El Ferrol in northern Spain two days later - looking resplendent in her new livery with a light blue funnel instead of the familiar buff colour of her sister ships. But I have also realised [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 15 April 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Engine problems force Saga Sapphire to abandon maiden cruise

Engine problems have forced cruise ship Saga Sapphire to abandon its maiden voyage. The vessel is in harbour at Valencia, Spain, awaiting repairs and passengers will be flown home to the UK on Monday. The new flagship of Saga Cruises' fleet should have been returning to Southampton next Wednesday (April 18) at the end of an inaugural cruise which was delayed by a week because its multi-million pound refit overran, but passengers due to join the next voyage have now been told they will be flown to Marseille on April 25. Plans for a gala welcome in Lisbon tomorrow (Sunday) [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 14 April 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|19 Comments

Romantica shows off her new look

The tranquility of Good Friday morning in Valletta was shattered by the arrival of cruise ship Costa Fortuna - whose name never ceases to amuse me - exchanging whistle blasts with sister ship Costa neoRomantica, which had berthed in the spectacular Grand Harbour a couple of hours earlier. Little Minerva sat peacefully between them, saying nothing. But it was interesting to see the substantial changes made to Romantica during its recent £75 million refit. Two half-deck extensions had been built at the forward end of the ship, originally launched in 1992, adding 111 new cabins and increasing passenger capacity from [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:51+00:00 11 April 2012|Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Titanic memorial back on course

One hundred years ago today, relatives stood on the quayside at Southampton to wave farewell to some of the city's 538 residents who were doomed never to return from the Titanic's maiden voyage. Today their descendants gathered at the same spot to place wreaths on the water and observe a minute's silence before marching through the streets alongside schoolchildren who were carrying pictures of the crew members. They finished up at the new SeaCity museum, where Olympic oarsman James Cracknell cut the ribbon to declare it officially open, assisted by William and Henry Ward, aged eight and six, whose great [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:51+00:00 10 April 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Minerva works her magic on me

As the Roman goddess of medicine and magic, crafts and poetry, weaving and wisdom, Minerva is almost the perfect name for a cruise ship. Arguably it would be good to add travel to the list, but Mercury got there first. Minerva the cruise ship is now refreshed after a multi-million pound refit, and it was appropriately to Italy that I flew last week to spend a few days on board - embarking in Naples and sailing to Sorrento and Palermo before visiting the magnificent Roman amphitheatre at El Djem in Tunisia and then disembarking in Malta. But it's not the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:51+00:00 10 April 2012|Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Thomson ships go Platinum

Thomson Cruises plans to spend millions of pounds on modernising two of its ships, putting them on a par with the four-star hotels in its Platinum Collection. Thomson Dream, built in 1986 and carrying 1,506 passengers, will be first to get the treatment. Cabins will be re-furnished and supplied with flat-screen televisions and tea and coffee-making facilities. Bars and restaurants will be up-graded and décor throughout the ship will be brighter and more contemporary. A suite of treatment rooms is to be added to the spa. Platinum-rated hotels must attain a 90 per cent "good" or "excellent" customer rating - [...]

By John Honeywell| 2012-04-06T10:04:42+00:00 6 April 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment