Cruise Ships - Page 24 of 57 - Captain Greybeard

UK debut for the new Royal Princess

More exciting news for British cruise passengers - they will be the first to experience the new Royal Princess when the ship makes its debut next summer. Currently under construction in Italy, the 3,600-passenger vessel will sail two three-night preview cruises before embarking on its maiden voyage from Southampton on June 16, 2013. The maiden season cruises will see the 141,000-ton ship plying a route between Barcelona and Venice, on itineraries slightly different from those announced for Carnival Legend earlier today. After the advance sailings - round-trips to St Peter Port, Guernsey, leaving Southampton on June 10 and 13, Royal [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:54+00:00 14 February 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

QM2 becomes Queen of Hearts

Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2 became the Queen of Hearts when it arrived in Sydney, Australia, carrying a special marriage proposal. A giant banner bearing the message "Marry me Jess?" was festooned below the ship's funnel, and giant love hearts had also been applied to the ship - all to help make Valentine's Day extra special for 32-year-old Stefan Libon pop the question to girlfriend Jess McGarrity. "We've been together so long I really wanted to do something big to make the proposal memorable," said Stefan."When a friend who works with Cunard said they were looking for a way to [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:54+00:00 14 February 2012|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Carnival’s back in the UK

It's carnival time! Celebrations get under way around the world later this week, with the biggest street party in the world ready to rock Rio de Janeiro. Here in Britain, Carnival Cruise Lines have chosen today to announce it is bringing a ship back to the UK next year for the first time since 2008. Carnival Legend, which was christened by Dame Judi Dench (above) in 2002, will be based in Europe for 17 voyages between April and October 2013, visiting 34 ports in 18 countries. The 2,600-passenger ship will sail eight cruises from Dover to the Baltic, the Norwegian [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:54+00:00 14 February 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Wow! There’s so much to keep us busy during a restful day at sea

Seven days in the Caribbean on the biggest cruise ship in the world. Diary of a week on board Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas MONDAY: We are at sea for the first full day of this cruise, which will take us from Fort Lauderdale to Royal Caribbean's private resort of Labadee on the north coast of Haiti; on to the newly-developed port of Falmouth, in Jamaica, and then to Cozumerl, off the coast of Mexico. No need to rush then, and I took the chance of a lie-in to catch up on sleep lost during the previous couple of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:54+00:00 13 February 2012|Cruise Entertainment, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

New-look Minerva takes shape

The £10 million refit of Swan Hellenic's cruise ship Minerva is nearing completion - as Victor Lunn-Rockliffe's cartoon illustrates. The ship should be leaving dry-dock in Bremerhaven in two weeks' time, ready for what will almost be a maiden voyage leaving Portsmouth on March 2. The 15-day cruise to the Canaries has been sold out for months, with regular Swans eager to see the changes that have been made to their favourite ship. The list of improvements announced by managing director Colin Stone six months ago seemed substantial enough, including as it did the fitting of a new observation lounge, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:54+00:00 13 February 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Pictures fit for a Princess

It was an early morning in November, as the cruise ship Sea Princess arrived at Manhattan piers, that I took this picture of dawn over Manhattan. It's been tucked away on my computer hard disk since 2006, but I dragged it out this week in response to an appeal from Princess Cruises for passengers to submit pictures to be displayed in their newest ship. The line is looking for 1,000 images to adorn the corridors of Royal Princess, which is under construction in Italy and due to debut in May next year. The image judged the best, by a panel [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:55+00:00 3 February 2012|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Your favourite Disney Fantasies

Just a month from today Disney Fantasy, the newest cruise ship under the command of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, will be christened at Pier 88 in New York. If you want to see what the 148,000-ton ship has in store for its young fans, watch the video (above) to see the Top 5 activities - which don't even include the Aqua Duck water coaster circling the upper decks. After the kids have been tucked up in bed - or while they are being taken care of at their own clubs - there's plenty for mum and dad to do as [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:55+00:00 1 February 2012|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

How cruise ship Disney Fantasy will make a big splash in the Big Apple

My tour of Disney Fantasy allowed a peek behind closed doors and roped-off areas inside the ship, where contractors were hard at work applying the finishing touches. Outside, I saw evidence of some of the extra thought that had been put into planning the open deck space, because it wouldn't do to simply copy what had gone before. Fantasy is the fourth member of the Disney fleet, but the first to be built specifically with lazy days at sea in mind. Sister ship Disney Dream, launched last year, and the Magic and Wonder, completed in 1998 and 1989, frequently operate [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 14 January 2012|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

All set for a week on Allure

Frosty mornings and chilly days won't be worrying me next week - I'm flying to Florida today to spend a week cruising in the Caribbean. Virgin Atlantic will be whisking me to Miami, and after a night at the Sheraton Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale I'll be boarding the biggest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. I was on one of her short inaugural sailings in November 2010, but this is my first opportunity to see how the giant vessel copes with 6,000-plus passengers on board. The eastern Caribbean itinerary will take us to Royal's [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 14 January 2012|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Dinner show will be a big draw

Disney imagineer Bob Zalk with a cartoon character drawn by his wife, Diane One of the unique features of a Disney cruise is that there are three main dining rooms which families eat in each night - taking table companions and waiters with them. Like Disney Dream, the new ship Disney Fantasy has an Enchanted Garden restaurant, inspired by the palace of Versailles. The elegant Royal Court restaurant, with detailed design touches that incorporate Cinderella's glass slipper and Snow White's magic mirror, is the equivalent of the sister ship's Royal Palace. On both ships, the third selection is Animator's Palate, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:56+00:00 13 January 2012|Cruise Ships|0 Comments