Captain Greybeard - Page 120 of 209 - Your expert guide to cruise ships and cruise holidays

Cruise Dubai plans to expand

It's just under a year since the Dubai Cruise Terminal building (above) was officially opened. Its operators claim it can handle three ships and up to 7,000 passengers at a time, although I did raise the question a couple of weeks ago as to why arrivals and departures can't be spread across the week. In any case, passengers embarking Brilliance of the Seas were being checked in at a glorified marquee - even if it does have a terrazzo-tiled floor - while Costa Deliziosa and Luminosa's passengers were handled in the main building. They will need even more space at [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 15 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Splendor looking splendid again

After weeks of repair work, cruise ship Carnival Splendor - crippled by an engine room fire in November - has left its repair dock in San Francisco. Final tests of its new generator and fire prevention systems will be carried out this week, ready for it to return to action, carrying passengers on a cruise from Long Beach to the Mexican Riviera, on Sunday. Back on board is senior cruise director John Heald, who did so much to keep 3,500 passengers calm during the days immediately following the fire, when the ship was adrift without power and while it was [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 15 February 2011|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Thomson changes Egypt cruise

Cruise ship Thomson Celebration will be leaving the Red Sea and Egypt behind this week - not because of the country's recent troubles, but because it is scheduled to reposition to the Mediterranean. Events have forced some changes to the itinerary. The Foreign Office still advises against excursions to Cairo, so after leaving Sharm el Sheikh on Thursday, the ship will head directly for the Suez Canal instead of calling at Port Sokhna. A stop at Alexandria has also been abandoned. The updated itinerary now includes visits to Limassol in Cyprus, the Greek island of Rhodes, and Athens. Instead of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 14 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|2 Comments

Hurtigruten’s stamp of tradition

It's not just Royal Mail ships Queen Mary 2 and St Helena which have an important role to play delivering the post. The Hurtigruten fleet which plies the Norwegian coast year-round delivers letters and parcels to remote communities, as well as taking passengers to see the sights, and sometimes the Northern Lights. The ships even sell their own stamps on board for travellers wanting to send postcards and letters home, carrying on a tradition which dates back 118 years. The stamps come in five designs showing iconic places along the coast including: Geirangerfjord, the Arctic Circle, Trolljord, North Cape, and [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 14 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Cruise boss squashes port’s plan to impose a levy on passengers

The cruise industry brings millions of pounds of revenue to the port of Southampton every year. Passengers stay in local hotels, hire local taxis, and shop in the city's stores. Ships pay a fortune to tie up at the cruise terminals and countless local businesses and suppliers benefit from dealing with the ships. According to one estimate, each ship call is worth £1.5 million, and this year there will be a total of 360 visits to the port. As the Americans say: "You do the math." So you'd think the city council would be grateful, and do everything in its [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-02-14T14:13:50+00:00 14 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Valentine’s Day – and adventurous couples choose to get married at sea

It's Valentine's Day, the most romantic time of the year. And for 15 couples, this week will see them getting married at sea, on board P&O cruise ships. Another five will be renewing their marriage vows in front of a ship's captain. Ventura seems to be the favourite for nuptials - today it will be at the Caribbean island of Bonaire, in the Netherlands Antilles, and will later be visiting Aruba, Jamaica and Grand Turk. The captain is going to have his hands full this week performing 10 wedding ceremonies and one renewal of vows, and the happy couples will [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 14 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Project Sunshine will be the next generation of cruise ships for Royal

The next generation of cruise ships for Royal Caribbean have taken a step off the drawing board, and will soon be under construction. The first of the ships, code-named Project Sunshine, will be delivered by autumn 2014, and the company has an option for a second, to be completed in spring 2015. The 4,100-passenger ships will be built at the family-owned Meyer Werft yard in Papenburg, Germany, which is also building ships for Disney, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean subsidiary Celebrity Cruises, and Carnival's Aida Cruises. The cost is calculated to be £590 million per ship. At 158,000 tons the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 12 February 2011|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Minnie brings luck for Fantasy

It's only three weeks since I stood on the quayside at Port Canaveral, Florida, as Jennifer Hudson - with a little help from Mickey Mouse - christened the Disney Dream. Today the keel was laid for sister ship Disney Fantasy, which will be sailing on its own maiden voyage at the end of March next year. And with Mickey busy back home, Minnie Mouse was on hand to help cruise line president Karl Holz place a lucky coin in the keel (above). Less than 14 months to build another vessel for 4,000 passengers? It hardly seems possible. And to be [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 11 February 2011|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Best cruise deals for singles

A cruise is the perfect holiday for solo travellers - safe, secure, and with every chance of making new friends among the other singles on board. There's one big disadvantage which prevents many people taking the plunge - the swingeing supplements which in some cases mean having to pay as much for a twin cabin as a couple would. Now one of Britain's biggest cruise travel agents has come to the rescue with a selection of cruise deals which have low supplements, and in some cases no supplement at all. For example, a seven-night cruise on MSC Lirica, from Genoa [...]

By John Honeywell| 2011-02-11T19:08:36+00:00 11 February 2011|Cruise Deals|0 Comments

Harbour plan is just Eyewash

More and more British ports are hoping to attract cruise ships bringing thousands of passengers to visit their local attractions and spend thousands in their shops. I recently reported on the success of Ilfracombe in north Devon, and this week Poole Harbour announced plans for a £25 million marina development which will include a cruise ship berth. But the latest scheme to catch my eye must surely be a joke. I had to check the date when I saw this image of the 150,000-ton Queen Mary 2, pride of the Cunard fleet, squeezed into a harbour alongside fishing vessels and [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 11 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments