Captain Greybeard - Page 118 of 209 - Your expert guide to cruise ships and cruise holidays

Deals do the business for MSC

Italian cruise line MSC - which will have its 1,700-passenger ship Opera ship sailing from Southampton this summer - has seen a boom in UK bookings, which are up 80 per cent on a year ago. But the increase is more likely to be a result of the recent "Four Free Extras" promotion on its Mediterranean itineraries than a rush to sail no-fly cruises to northern Europe. Free flights from Heathrow or Gatwick, free transfers to the ship, free cabin upgrades, and "free" £50 on-board credit formed the package which proved so successful. Giulio Libutti, the company's UK and Ireland [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 11 March 2011|Cruise Deals, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Cruise ships on tsunami alert

Cruise ships in the Pacific are on tsunami alert after the devastation caused in Japan by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake earlier today, and the Japanese coastguard are reported to be searching for a vessel carrying 80 people which was washed away by the massive wave. Cunard's Queen Mary 2 left Tokyo yesterday (March 10) and is scheduled to berth in Nagasaki tomorrow, so is heading away from the worst-affected areas. A small group of passengers is ashore on an overland excursion to Osaka and a company spokesperson says they are all safe and accounted for. The official @cunardline Twitter feed posted [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 11 March 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|18 Comments

Cruises diverted from troubled ports

Continuing unrest in the Arab world is still causing havoc with cruise ship schedules. Costa Crociere has announced that all visits to Egypt, Tunisia and Israel have been scrapped for the remainder of 2011. The company, which is the biggest cruise operator in Europe, had already said Bahrain would be left out of its Persian Gulf itineraries for the remainder of the season. Costa Deliziosa and Costa Luminosa, based in Dubai until the beginning of next month, will instead spend an extra day in port at Muscat, Oman. The move has been welcomed by Robert McLean, principal of the National [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 10 March 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|3 Comments

Marco and Olly both provide food for thought as P&O re-models ships

It's good news that the transformation of P&O cruise ship Oriana into an adults-only vessel will include the introduction of a new restaurant overseen by Marco Pierre White. But I am disappointed that room has not yet been found for a Glass House wine bar on the lines of the one which Olly Smith launched last year on Azura. Marco's first ocean-going restaurant was the White Room on board the Ventura. His new Ocean Grill concept will debut on Adonia when the ship joins the fleet in May, and will also replace Gary Rhodes's restaurant on Arcadia next January. Ocean [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 9 March 2011|Cruise Food & Drink, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Jenny falls for the Allure of Love

The biggest cruise ship in the world, Allure of the Seas, is coming to be quite the film star. Not content with being the location for scenes from the forthcoming Adam Sandler move Jack and Jill, it is about to feature in a series of shorts including this one (above) starring Jenny McCarthy. The film, which is former Playboy model McCarthy's debut as a director, is a rom-com called The Allure of Love. The film, which is former Playboy model McCarthy's debut as a director, is called The Allure of Love and tells the story of two friends trying to [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 9 March 2011|Cruise Entertainment, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Prepare for the biggest party afloat

All seven of P&O's cruise ships will be gathered together in Southampton next year to mark the 175th anniversary of the company's creation. Quite how the UK's busiest cruise port will be able to cope with so many ships and passengers on one day is not clear - January this year saw the first time in decades that six liners were turned round in one day. It will be a bonanza for Southampton's hotels, shops and taxi drivers. There will be something like 14,500 passengers leaving the ships in the morning and a further 14,500 boarding in the afternoon. There's [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-03-08T15:41:38+00:00 8 March 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Death by chocolate on a cruise

Who doesn't love a mystery? Check out the books being read by passengers on their cruise ship sun loungers and a good three-quarters of them will be crime thrillers, whodunnits, and tales of girls with dragon tattoos. And there's a real-life mystery being enacted on Saga Pearl II right now as passengers try to get to the bottom of how one of them ended up with a severe black eye, and another two were put ashore to be flown home from Port Antonio, Jamaica. The real queen of crime writers was, of course, Agatha Christie, who will be the centre [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 5 March 2011|Cruise Entertainment, Cruise Food & Drink, Cruise News|0 Comments

Mystery of our neighbour in port

Saga Pearl II has had some interesting neighbours in the past couple of ports. In Oranjestad today, our 18,500-ton ship is moored almost in the shade of the SkyWalker nightclub on the 109,000-ton Grand Princess; the escalator which delivers passengers through a glass-roofed tube to the futuristic disco 150-ft above Grand's waterline is in sharp contrast to the three arthritic lifts slowly travelling between six decks on Pearl. There are 22 covered lifeboats hanging from the sides of Grand - beneath five decks of balcony cabins. Pearl has just eight boats - seven of them open - and only 20 [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 4 March 2011|Cruise Ships|4 Comments

Infernal nightmare in store among the eager cruise shoppers of Aruba

Dante's Inferno contained Nine Circles of Hell. If he were writing today - and managed to travel from his native Italy to the Caribbean - he might have added a tenth. Saga Pearl II is berthed in Oranjestad on Aruba, which although rather arid, has some beautiful beaches - presumably what originally drew visitors to the island. We are squeezed between Celebrity Milennium and Grand Princess, with Caribbean Princess further along the quay. Between them, the other cruise ships carry about 8,500 passengers and 3,300 crew - all of whom, it seemed, were trying to squeeze through the one gate [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-03-04T18:41:35+00:00 4 March 2011|Cruise Destinations|4 Comments

Too POSH to push for perks?

Cruise loyalty clubs - awarding the equivalent of airlines' frequent flyer miles to their regular customers - can be complex affairs with different tiers of membership and associated privileges which are jealously guarded by members. Discounted fares, early-booking opportunities, exclusive receptions with senior officers, free drinks at sailaway parties; even unlimited internet access and complimentary laundry are among the perks on offer, and woe betide anyone who meddles with them. P&O have taken the brave - or foolhardy - step of announcing a new Peninsular Club which will replace the existing Portunus Club from April next year. Out will go [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:09+00:00 2 March 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments