Cruise Ships

It will never float, but this unique model has been giving visitors at the Cruise Miami convention this week a sneak preview of the interiors of Cunard's new ship, Queen Elizabeth. So far, we've seen only artists' impressions, architectural drawings, and photographs of construction work at the Marghera shipyard near Trieste in Italy. But here's a chance to see the real thing, albeit in miniature, accurate to the last detail - apart from the fact that there are no passengers or crew to be seen. I wonder what Cunard president and managing director Peter Shanks (right) is saying to Guiseppe [...]

Saga Pearl II is scheduled to embark on her maiden voyage today, following a £20 million conversion and re-fit which was still not quite finished when I had a look round the ship yesterday. There might have been workmen beavering away at every turn, but Saga Travel boss Susan Hooper and Captain David Warden-Owen were confident that all would be ready for this afternoon, although there is no firework farewell planned, and the ship will head for the Norwegian fjords without fanfare. The conversion from MS Astoria, originally built in 1981, has been carried out over three months in dry-dock [...]

It was tight squeeze, but they made it; newly-built cruise ship Celebrity Eclipse reached the sea yesterday after a 26-mile journey along the River Ems in northern Germany. Ahead lie a few weeks of sea trials and the completion of finishing touches, before the 122,000-ton ship arrives in Southampton on April 20 for its launch celebrations and naming ceremony ahead of a summer of sailings from the UK. The river is more used to much smaller craft, and in order to cope with a ship the size of Eclipse, the water level has to be raised by closing a barrier [...]

A stormy weather forecast for northern Europe this weekend has caused a last-minute change of schedule for Celebrity Eclipse's departure from the Meyer-Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, on her first journey to the sea. The still-unfinished cruise ship will be guided by two tugs on the 26-mile journey - taken stern-first - down the River Ems to the North Sea. At some points there are only inches to spare as the 121-ft wide ship squeezes through locks, and the journey can only be taken when tide and wind conditions are perfect. The nine-hour conveyance was originally scheduled to take place [...]

Queen Victoria might even have been amused. Or perhaps she would have just blushed gently if she had seen the Cunard ship which carries her name bathed in pink today while berthed at Sydney's Circular Quay. The spectacular event was in aid of Australia's National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) who officially launched their 2010 fundraising target of $17 million at an event on board. Pink lights illuminated the entire ship from dusk. Peter Shanks, Cunard President and Managing Director, said: "Pink has become synonymous with the fight against breast cancer so we are delighted to offer NBCF the opportunity to [...]

I promised to bring you more pictures of Norwegian Epic being put through her paces in the Bay of Biscay during her sea trials, and here they are. The paintwork will be finished by the time the ship takes on her first passengers in June - but the shape will still be the same, and it's still no beauty. The superstructure of the ship is far from finished, but it wasn't the appearance that was being tested, but the 153,000-ton vessel's propulsion units and manouevrability. During the sea trials, 300 technicians and engineers from STX FRANCE SA, along with 30 [...]

It's not the best picture in the world, but the weather in France today, when Norwegian Epic left the shipyard for its first sea trials, was about as bright as Ashley Cole. The 153,000-ton ship is being put through its paces with about 300 workers from STX Europe and 30 staff from Norwegian Cruise Lines on board. Captain Trygve Vorrenon will be on the bridge as the giant cruise ship is taken up to full speed, brought to crash stops and made to make sharp turns - all to make sure it will handle comfortably when it takes on its [...]