Cruise Ships - Page 47 of 57 - Captain Greybeard

Strictly come cruising with Carol

There's been a flurry of announcements and press releases from P&O this week - recently-appointed boss Carol Marlow must be cracking the whip. The latest is to let the world know the cruise line is looking for - and I quote - "Britain's most twinkled-toed passengers," who will be chosen to dance at the naming ceremony for the line's newest ship, Azura, next April. Throughout the winter, couples aboard Arcadia, Artemis, Aurora, Oceana, Oriana and Ventura will be able to enter a Strictly Come Dancing competition and the 12 best will then compete for the final six places on April [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-10-23T17:20:07+00:00 23 October 2009|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Azura puts P&O history on show

Azura will be the newest ship in P&O's fleet when she sails on her maiden voyage next April, but the cruise line want to make sure she carries on the traditions of the company's 172-year history. They have appealed for travelers and collectors to find souvenirs, keepsakes and mementoes of past voyages so they can be put on display on Azura during her maiden season, and then exhibited as part of a traveling heritage display on the line's fleet of seven ships. Managing director Carol Marlow said: "P&O Cruises began in 1837 and is proud of its long and illustrious [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:36+00:00 22 October 2009|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Big, bigger, biggest at sea

In a matter of days Oasis of the Seas, the biggest cruise ship in the world, will be handed over to Royal Caribbean by the STX yard in Finland which has built the giant vessel. It will then cross the Atlantic for a spectacular inaugural celebration in Fort Lauderdale over Thanksgiving weekend, raising millions of dollars for the Make A Wish Foundation, a charity which makes dreams come true for children with life-threatening illnesses. Crew for the ship have been flying into Turku by the planeload this week - 95 per cent of those joining Oasis are transferring from other [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:36+00:00 21 October 2009|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Birthday fireworks for a Queen

Cunard president and managing director Peter Shanks has hijacked the blog written by Queen Mary 2's entertainment director, Alastair Greener, to report from his flagship's birthday cruise around the UK. He has sounded the ship's horn leaving Greenock, sailed up the Clyde towards his home town of Glasgow, and today took the QM2 up the Mersey to within sight of Cunard's former headquarters building, where the company was founded 170 years ago.. Peter writes: "We travelled right around the top of Scotland, through the Pentland Firth, past Scapa Flow, past the Old Man of Hoy - this coastline is rarely [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:36+00:00 20 October 2009|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Name change for peerless Prince

It was a sad sight. Even as guests were arriving for a farewell lunch on board the cruise ship Black Prince in Southampton today, workmen were busy painting over the Fred Olsen name on the superstructure. Earlier in the day her last passengers had gone ashore after an emotional final cruise to the Canaries. Within minutes of their departure, crew began to strip the vessel of its artwork, which belongs to the Olsen family, and many of the other fixtures and fittings. Within a week, the ship will set off for its new life sailing cruises in Venezuelan waters, as [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:36+00:00 16 October 2009|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Black Prince takes a final bow

Much-loved cruise ship Black Prince is on her way back to Britain for the very last time. The old girls farewell cruise to the Canaries ends tomorrow when she arrives at Southampton. Within a few hours, the last passengers will be disembarked, amid a flood of tears I've no doubt, and the ship will be prepared to sail to a new life, under a new name, Ola Esmeralda, in Venezuelan waters. The ship, built for Fred Olsen in 1996, started life as a passenger and cargo ship carrying tomatoes from the Canary islands and sailing as a car ferry to [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-10-15T00:29:01+00:00 15 October 2009|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

QM2 on birthday lap of honour

Here in the office, we have an unofficial group called The Society for Unsustainable Facts, to which members get "elected" when they start telling tales which are dubious at best, and quite often, downright nonsense. I'm thinking of nominating Cunard for membership, for their claim that the round-Britain cruise which Queen Mary 2 sets out on tomorrow from Southampton marks the ship's fifth birthday. The Cunard flagship is said to be celebrating the anniversary with a maiden call at Liverpool next Tuesday, October 20. Strange, that, when you consider the ship made its maiden voyage in January 2004. There will [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-10-14T12:15:49+00:00 14 October 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Watch Saga Ruby leave Manhattan

After her bumpy entrance to Pier 88 in Manhattan, the cruise ship Saga Ruby left New York yesterday evening for the short journey to Bayonne in New Jersey for emergency repairs. Watch this video of her stately passage across the Hudson River - it looks spectacular. If you look closely you can see the dent in the bow. Thanks to my friend Scott, who gets some great pictures and videos from the balcony of his apartment in New Jersey, although this one was shot from the river's edge. To see more of his superb videos, take a look at his [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:36+00:00 12 October 2009|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

New York bash delays Saga Ruby

An elegant old lady got a punch in the nose at the weekend - cruise ship Saga Ruby hit a concrete bollard while berthing in New York, and had to have emergency repairs to a hole in the bow before setting off back to the UK. The ship, which carries 660 passengers, was returning to Manhattan's Pier 88 after a two-week New World Adventure cruise to the north-eastern states of the US when the incident happened, with a pilot on the bridge. Sailing up the Hudson past the historic aircraft carrier USS Intrepid and the pensioned-off Concorde at Pier 86, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:36+00:00 12 October 2009|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Thomson Dream heads for Cuba

President Obama has been hinting that he may be about to bring an end to America's long-standing trade embargo with Cuba, but there's no sign yet that US-based cruise lines are about to be allowed to add the island to their Caribbean itineraries. So hats off to Britain's Thomson Cruises, who have announced that their new ship, Thomson Dream, will be paying regular visits to Havana from December 2010. The 1,500-passenger vessel, currently sailing as Costa Europa, joins the Thomson fleet in April and will be sailing in the Mediterranean during the summer. A dry-dock refit will precede the ship's [...]