Cruise Ships - Page 45 of 57 - Captain Greybeard

It’s the end of my Adventure

Spirit of Adventure docked in the Mumbai yesterday, at the end of a two-week cruise through Africa's Red Sea and across the Indian Ocean. Many of the passengers are staying on for another three weeks, and are today en route to Kochi (or Cochin) in southern India at the start of a Christmas cruise of Dragons and Temples which will take them to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Java, Bali and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. Christmas Day will be spent at sea between Langkawi and Singapore. I left the ship on Thursday when the ship arrived in Salalah in the south of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:34+00:00 14 December 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Princess ship switches to P&O

Good news today for those passengers regretting the forthcoming departure of adults-only ship Artemis from P&O's fleet. Managing director Carol Marlow has announced the introduction of a new ship in May 2011, a vessel carrying just 710 passengers and suitable for visiting destinations off the beaten track. Well, not exactly a new ship because the vessel, which will be called Adonia, is presently sailing as the Royal Princess, and was originally built in 2001 for the now-defunct Renaissance cruise line. More than 75 per cent of her 355 cabins have balconies and before entering service with P&O the ship will [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:35+00:00 9 December 2009|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Come on pirates, we’re ready

As Spirit of Adventure sails closer to the Gulf of Aden, the "P"-word (for pirates) - which cruise director Neil Horrocks has been trying to avoid for a week - has finally become an accepted part of conversation. This afternoon, Captain Frank Allica gave a 45-minute talk in the Sirocco Lounge. On most cruises, it would have mostly been about his life in the Australian navy, the times when, as a gunnery officer he fired thousands of five-inch rounds at Viet Cong defences, and of his brushes with the Duke of Edinburgh and the Princess Royal. A packed audience sat [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-12-07T18:02:14+00:00 7 December 2009|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Micky drives a hard bargain

There are signs of movement at last in the building of new cruise ships. Orders had dried up after the global economy fell off a cliff and shipyards in Italy and Finland have been looking around hungrily for new work to avoid having to lay off their workers. Carnival boss Micky Arison, almost as keen to keep pace with rivals Royal Caribbean as he is to strike a hard bargain, has been the first to blink, announcing a new £475 million ship to be built at Fincantieri's Monfalcone yard in Italy. The 130,000-ton vessel, carrying 3,690 passengers, will be a [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-12-03T10:23:30+00:00 3 December 2009|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Adventure ahead in the Red Sea

Complete change of scene for me tomorrow. After spending time on board two brand new ships in America in the past couple of weeks, I'm flying to Aqaba tomorrow to join Spirit of Adventure, the lovely little ship operated by Saga Cruises. We're going on a Red Sea adventure, and the itinerary has already had to be tweaked because of those pesky pirates in the Gulf of Aden. After a long day in Egypt on Wednesday, when I expect to take a trip to the Valley of the Kings, we shall be calling at a couple of ports which are [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-11-30T18:59:14+00:00 30 November 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

The biggest free show afloat?

OK, so we've been among the first to experience Oasis of the Seas, the biggest cruise ship in the world. We have sailed from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas and back in the sort of grey and rainy weather we could have expected in the English Channel. We have gasped at the breathless AquaShow, with its high divers and synchronised swimmers acting out an incomprehensibly dramatic pantomime through the medium of dance. We have wondered why a bar which rises and descends between the shopping mall of the Royal Promenade and the leafy Central Park should be in any way [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:35+00:00 29 November 2009|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

New Cunard Queen gets her name

The new Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth takes a step nearer completion as the letters of her famous name are welded onto the bow by a shipyard worker in Italy. The 90,400-ton ship, currently under construction at the Fincantieri yard near Trieste, will be floated out of dry dock early in 2010 and will make her maiden voyage in October after a lavish naming ceremony in Southampton. Cunard president and managing director Peter Shanks said: "It is an honour for any ship to bear the name Queen Elizabeth, and as I saw the famous name being welded to the bow, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:35+00:00 24 November 2009|Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Darcy dances to Azura debut

Ballerina Darcey Bussell, soon to join the judging panel on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, is to be godmother for the UK's newest cruise ship, Azura, P&O announced today. The £350-million ship, currently being built in Italy, will be named at a ceremony in Southampton on April 10 next year, in front of 1,200 invited guests. Two days later she will depart for her maiden voyage to the Mediterranean, carrying 3,100 passengers. Bussell, 40, was principal ballerina at the Royal Ballet until her retirement in 2006. She now lives with her husband and two daughters in Australia, and recently teamed up [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:35+00:00 22 November 2009|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Peek inside Oasis of the Seas

If you're wondering why there has been so much fuss about Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, which is welcoming its first guests this week, take a look at this cutaway drawing showing the innovative features on board. (Click on it to get a bigger version). Last night Rihanna performed a knock-out concert in the ship's open-air Aqua Theatre, and breakfast TV show Good Morning America was broadcast live from the ship today. I shall be flying to Fort Lauderdale on Monday and will be reporting from the ship from Tuesday, as we take a [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:35+00:00 20 November 2009|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Jane joins 7 Oasis godmothers

As the biggest ship in the world, it's no surprise that the Oasis of the Seas will need a total of seven godmothers to perform the naming ceremony in Florida at the end of this month. Or you could just say it's another opportunity for Royal Caribbean to push home the message that their new ship is divided into seven different neighbourhoods. Either way, it's a delight to see that there is one Brit among the seven, though the pleasure is somewhat marred by the fact that the official press release spells her name incorrectly. It's Jane Seymour, guys, not [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:35+00:00 19 November 2009|Cruise Ships|0 Comments