Cruise Ships

Cruise ship Thomson Celebration will be leaving the Red Sea and Egypt behind this week - not because of the country's recent troubles, but because it is scheduled to reposition to the Mediterranean. Events have forced some changes to the itinerary. The Foreign Office still advises against excursions to Cairo, so after leaving Sharm el Sheikh on Thursday, the ship will head directly for the Suez Canal instead of calling at Port Sokhna. A stop at Alexandria has also been abandoned. The updated itinerary now includes visits to Limassol in Cyprus, the Greek island of Rhodes, and Athens. Instead of [...]

There's a sizeable contingent of Chinese passengers on board Brilliance of the Seas this week, frantically taking pictures and videos of each other at every turn, determinedly taking over the tables and fruit machines in Casino Royale, and enthusiastically celebrating their New Year at a special party in the Colony Club. The 897 Brits out of a total passenger count of 2,110 are the biggest national group, but the 402 from Hong Kong and mainland China comfortably outnumber the 195 Germans - usually second in the headcount, according to Captain Henrik Loft Sorensen. Not surprisingly, only 55 brave Americans have [...]

The distinctive red funnel of the liner Queen Elizabeth 2 still stands proudly - if a little incongruously - in Dubai's Port Rashid. It rose through the mist and dust as I arrived at the port last Monday, although much of the ship was concealed behind huge heaps of stone and rubble on the quayside. It was almost as if Nakheel, who bought the ship for $50 million, and had ambitious plans to spend millions more converting it into a luxury hotel, had grown ashamed of the vessel and their ownership of it. As Rob Lightbody, of The QE2 Story [...]