Cruise Ships - Page 31 of 57 - Captain Greybeard

Back on board QM2 for a few days

Fascinating couple of days ahead on board Cunard's Queen Mary 2 with - among others - the current editor of one national newspaper and the distinguished ex-editor of two more. I suspect strong drink will be taken, in which case the memory banks will be erased and it will not be necessary to seek a super-injunction to maintain our privacy. I may even have a Sapphire Martini like the one in the little picture to the right, which captures me in uncharacteristic pose in the Commodore Club.. It's four years since I travelled on QM2 from Hong Kong to Dubai; [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-05-24T09:31:50+00:00 24 May 2011|Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Watch Dame Shirley name Adonia

If Helen of Troy had a face that launched a thousand ships, surely Shirley Bassey has a voice that could do the same. Yesterday, with some help from Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville, she named just one - P&O's Adonia. Helen would have been proud of her. After the traditional bottle-breaking ceremony in the afternoon sun - using Balfour Brut Rose, an English pink sparkling wine and a zip-wire - and a dinner menu which included lobster, smoked salmon, fillet of beef and a chocolate dessert, Dame Shirley returned to the stage after dusk to introduce a spectacular firework display. [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:06+00:00 22 May 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Disney’s newest nightclub at sea will be a London underground fantasy

The team of imagineers working alongside the welders and fabricators at the Meyer-Werft shipyard in Germany are proof that when Disney build a cruise ship, they do it differently. Yesterday they disclosed some of the differences that will set their next new ship apart from its supposedly identical twin sister. Disney Fantasy will be launched next March, and follows the introduction of Disney Dream this January. Both carry up to 4,000 passengers; each has a sleek pointed bow and elegant twin funnels. They both feature the AquaDuck, a shipboard water coaster. Inside, things are going to be tweaked and changed, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:06+00:00 20 May 2011|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Bankrupt cruise line rescued

Billionaire Philip Anschutz, who owns David Beckham's LA Galaxy football team, and whose AEG company rents London's O2 Arena for about £1.5 million a year, has bought a bankrupt cruise line. A subsidiary of his Anschutz Corp has agreed to pay $39 million (£25 million) for Windstar Cruises, which was placed in administration at the beginning of April. The line operates three motorised yachts with computer-controlled sails; the four-masted Wind Star and Wind Spirit each carry 148 passengers, while the five-masted Wind Surf (above) - the biggest sailing yacht in the world - accommodates 312. The ships sail in the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:06+00:00 19 May 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Is it farewell to Lorraine as P&O welcomes its latest cruise ship?

When Dame Shirley Bassey names P&O's newest ship, Adonia, in Southampton next Saturday, she will open a new chapter in the life of a vessel which has already seen several changes in its short life. It may also be the end of a fascinating book for another grand old lady. In June 2007, Lorraine Arzt was godmother when the ship was re-named Royal Princess in Portofino harbour, Italy. She had been living almost permanently on board Princess cruise ships for the whole of the decade. The picture above shows her with Micky Arison (left), chief executive of Carnival Corporation which [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:07+00:00 12 May 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

New-look Grand Princess nearly here

It took 1,400 workers 24 days for the drydock transformation which has rejuvenated cruise ship Grand Princess. Now the 3,100-passenger vessel - minus its distinctive "shopping trolley" handle - is heading back to the UK for another season of cruises from Southampton. A video diary introduced by British cruise director Martyn Moss followed the progress of the refit, including the mammoth 10-hour operation to remove SkyWalkers nightclub. The ship's atrium was rebuilt to create a new Piazza, the casino, shops, wedding chapel and Horizon Court restaurant were completely remodelled and updated, and seven new suites were created. "This drydock has [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:07+00:00 10 May 2011|Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Carnival’s Magic is no illusion

The ship's name is Magic and the main attraction in its 1,350-seat Showtime Theatre is Las Vegas illusionist Jason Byrne. Fitting, then, that there was plenty of magic around for the naming ceremony of Carnival's newest cruise ship yesterday in Venice. Borrowing an illusion from the "Destination: Unknown" show, Carnival president Gerry Cahill arrived on stage in a red helicopter, and Byrne produced a rose for godmother Lindsey Wilkerson before conjuring up the bottle of Champagne which would be smashed to name the vessel. Wilkerson is a young cancer survivor who was treated at the pioneering St Jude Children's Research [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-05-02T11:48:00+00:00 2 May 2011|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Arab turmoil gives Spirit time off for dry dock and a fresh coat of paint

When Spirit of Adventure docks in Civitavecchia on Friday morning, 350 passengers will troop off to board coaches for Rome airport to fly home, or perhaps to spend a few more days' holiday in the Eternal City. For once, there will not be a procession of coaches bringing a new shipload eager to start a new cruise. The scheduled 14-night Relics of Rome cruise has been cancelled. It would have taken passengers on excursions to the magnificent amphitheatres of Leptis Magna in Libya and El Djem in Tunisia, plus the ports of Annaba and Bejaia in Algeria before spending a [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-04-27T09:17:02+00:00 27 April 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

A quiet night in Mykonos? No fear

Overnight stays in port are the next big thing for cruise ships, if Carnival UK's David Dingle and Azamara's Larry Pimentel are to be believed. They have both spoken of the advantages of "slow cruising" - more time ashore for passengers, and opportunities for the companies to save fuel and money. Captain David Warden-Owen certainly made the most of Spirit of Adventure's relaxing stay in the Peloponese port of Nafplio and commented next morning how pleasant it had been to enjoy an undisturbed night's sleep without the constant throb of the ship's engines. We'll be having another night alongside tonight, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-04-24T15:07:46+00:00 24 April 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Is this our ferry in Havana?

Prepare for some updates from my cruise on board Spirit of Adventure in the Greek islands. I have been on board almost a week since joining the ship in Istanbul last Friday, and some account of what we have been up to is overdue. But first, let me relate an astonishing series of coincidences. As regular readers will know, just a few weeks ago I was in Cuba on board Saga Pearl II - the ship which next year will be re-named Quest for Adventure and will replace Spirit in this sub-brand of Saga Cruises. On Wednesday, Spirit was berthed [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-04-22T09:22:58+00:00 22 April 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments