Captain Greybeard - Page 111 of 209 - Your expert guide to cruise ships and cruise holidays

Passengers injured as cruise ship is rocked by blast in Gibraltar fuel tank

Picture: PANORAMA UPDATE: Twelve passengers on board one of the biggest cruise ships in the world were injured when an explosion in a fuel storage tank rocked the port of Gibraltar. Independence of the Seas, carrying more than 4,000 passengers, felt the full force of the explosion, according to reports on Gibraltar Radio. The ship made an emergency departure, pulling up its gangways and moving further out at sea. The cruise terminal on the North Mole was immediately evacuated and two passengers were left behind. Dense black smoke billowed from the blazing oil tank after the blast, which was felt [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:06+00:00 31 May 2011|Cruise News|13 Comments

Titanic’s launch remembered

It has always struck me as odd that Titanic has been responsible for attracting thousands of passengers to the glamour of cruising - never more so than the day I spent in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where many of the victims are buried, with Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet's love affair playing on a ship's outdoor cinema screen. But there is no denying the lasting appeal of the ship and the story of its doomed maiden voyage. And it remains true that many cruise ships still strive to recreate the grandeur of its bygone era. RMS Titanic was launched down [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:06+00:00 31 May 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Olympic Dream is shattered

When luxury cruise ship SeaDream I was berthed alongside HMS Belfast at Tower Bridge a few weeks ago, there were hopes that its sister, SeaDream II, would be in the Thames next year for the London Olympics. A yacht broker I spoke to was confident he would be able to agree a charter on behalf of a wealthy fashion magnate who planned to use the 112-passenger vessel to provide accommodation for friends and business associates during the Games. The deal appears to have fallen through, because Travel Weekly reports today that SeaDream's planned visits to the UK and the Norwegian [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:06+00:00 31 May 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Tea at sea – and what a Grand place to relax with a refreshing cuppa

What a difference a couple of months and 24 days in dry-dock can make! Grand Princess, once the biggest cruise ship in the world, was looking a little tired and in need of some TLC when I saw her in Aruba at the beginning of March. A world away from the sparkling vessel I took a quick look around in Southampton at the weekend. Shorn of its trademark "shopping trolley handle" at the stern, and upgraded with new restaurants and other features which have proved popular among passengers on her younger sisters, Grand is like new again. A new Piazza [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:06+00:00 30 May 2011|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

RNLI rescue woman from cruise ship

One passenger's planned week-long cruise to the Norwegian fjords lasted no more than a few hours before she had to be rescued by lifeboat after falling and breaking a leg. The 79-year-old woman had sailed from Southampton on Cunard's Queen Victoria on Sunday afternoon. At 8.25 pm the RNLI at Newhaven lauched their Severn-class vessel to make a rendezvous with the 90,000-ton ship in the English Channel. The doctor on board and coastguards believed the woman was too frail to be airlifted ashore so she was transferred from the ship with her 85-year-old husband and taken to the Royal Sussex [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-05-30T15:03:11+00:00 30 May 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Tight squeeze in Stavanger

When the cruise ships Grand Princess and P&O's Azura were together in port at Southampton on Saturday there was plenty of room for both - and Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas as well. Azura was embarking 3,000 passengers at Ocean Terminal, while a mile away at the Mayflower Terminal the newly-refurbished Grand Princess was welcoming another 2,600 or so. Today the two ships - and their passengers - are jostling for space in the Norwegian port of Stavanger (above). I hope the cloudy skies are not putting people off taking a boat trip along Lysefjord to see the spectacular [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:06+00:00 30 May 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|2 Comments

The Cruise News in full

This is a fuller version of the Cruise News column which appeared in the Daily Mirror published Saturday May 28 It was a pleasure to renew acquaintance with an old friend this weekend, albeit very briefly, as I sailed on Cunard's Queen Mary 2 to Hamburg. The latest volcanic ash cloud was threatening briefly to throw airports into chaos but I was able to sail through check-in and security at Southampton's Ocean Terminal - it can't have taken more than 10 minutes from kerb to cabin. I was half expecting to find parts of the ship looking tired and shabby [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-05-29T09:44:34+00:00 29 May 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

New drama as cruise ship is detained in Southampton by coastguards

Cruise ship MSC Opera, which suffered an electrical failure and blackout in the Baltic two weeks ago, has been detained in Southampton after a safety inspection by surveyors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The 1,800-passenger ship, built in 2004, underwent repairs in the Polish port of Gdynia after the breakdown on May 14 off the coast of Gotland. It arrived in Southampton on Wednesday and is due to resume service today, taking passengers on an eight-night cruise to the Norwegian fjords. A statement from the MCA said " Various defects were found which meant that the ship was not [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:06+00:00 27 May 2011|Cruise News|3 Comments

There’s no place for Liverpool in Fred. Olsen’s new cruise schedules

While cruising from and around the UK continues to enjoy an unprecedented surge in popularity, one port looks like losing out. Even Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, a stalwart for many years, is about to give Liverpool the cold shoulder. Launching the company's new 2012-13 brochure at a reception in London yesterday evening, Marketing Director Nigel Lingard made a particular point of listing the departure points to be used by his four ships - all of which will be based in the UK year-round from next summer. In addition to Balmoral sailing from Southampton and Braemar and Black Watch from Dover, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-05-27T12:41:56+00:00 27 May 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

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