Captain Greybeard - Page 121 of 209 - Your expert guide to cruise ships and cruise holidays

Princess changes in pictures

As a postscript to yesterday's confirmation of the structural changes to Grand Princess, here's a before and after look at that controversial "shopping trolley handle" at the stern. Or rather after and before, so you can see the new version first. Passengers sailing from the UK will be among the first to enjoy the new facilities on board. Princess Cruises say one reason for demolishing the structure is to reduce the ship's weight, and thereby save fuel, so there's no truth in any rumours that it was designed like the wing on a Formula One racing car to improve cornering [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 11 February 2011|Cruise Ships|2 Comments

You were right all along, Steve

Back in December, one of my fellow cruise journalists in the UK broke an exclusive story with the news that a refit of the Grand Princess would see the removal of the ship's signature "shopping trolley" handle at the stern. His spies told him the Skywalkers nightclub, 150-ft above sea level, was to be dismantled when the ship entered dry dock because the cost of maintaining the structure far outweighed the revenue it generated. Apart from which, passengers complained that it blocked the sun from the open deck below, and others derided it because they felt it was an ugly [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 10 February 2011|Cruise News|6 Comments

Shopping spree for luxury cruisers? Not in a month of Whitsundays

Consistently nominated as the world's best cruise ship, MS Europa is the pinnacle of luxury and the only vessel to be awarded a five-star plus rating by the fastidious Douglas Ward of the Berlitz Guide - a feat achieved every year since 2000. The flagship of Hapag-Lloyd's exclusive fleet, it carries 408 pampered guests, each of them travelling in a spacious suite with separate living and sleeping areas, and almost all with a private balcony. No poky inside cabins here - except for the crew. Most of the passengers are German, although the ship provides menus, documentation and guides in [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 10 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|1 Comment

When charity begins on a cruise

With P&O cruise ship Aurora well into its round the world voyage, executive purser James Cusick recently led a group of passengers on an excursion by steam train to the Juanico Winery in Uruguay. As he recounts in his blog, following a journey hauled by a 101-year-old locomotive built by Beyer Peacock in Manchester, and in carriages built in Holland in 1925, they enjoyed a feast of barbecued beef, lamb and sausages. Meanwhile, another group was visiting an orphanage in Montevideo, run by SOS Children's Village, the world's largest charity for abandoned children. It was part of a new initiative [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 9 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|1 Comment

Unforgettable view from the top

For the last full day of its week-long cruise in the Arabian Gulf, Brilliance of the Seas was back in Port Rashid, Abu Dhabi, tied up at the quayside with Costa Deliziosa and, by afternoon, Costa Luminosa. Quite why the itineraries bring all three ships together at the same time, potentially straining the limited resources of the cruise terminal, I am not entirely sure. But it's a bonanza for local tour buses and taxi drivers, with about 7,000 passengers all arriving at once, and another 7,000 coming in the next day to join a new cruise. Dubai's newest attraction is [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 8 February 2011|Cruise Destinations|1 Comment

New sign of cruising’s popularity

There's another distinct group of passengers on Brilliance of the Seas this week, apart from the various contingents of 39 different nationalities. A party of 185 is here with Deaf World Travel UK on a cruise to celebrate the organisation's 20th anniversary. They have brought with them four sign language interpreters who travel on the ship's excursions passing on what the tour guides have to say and who are on duty at the side of the stage during the evening entertainment in the theatre. They have also assisted in cruise director Gordon Whatman's morning TV show which is broadcast throughout [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 6 February 2011|Cruise News|0 Comments

Faster, higher, crazier with Ferrari

That was breathtaking ! I've been driven round the streets of Maranello by Fernando Alonso, and taken Nigel Mansell's seat to compete around Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit - all on fast-moving simulators. I have taken part in a roller coaster duel in the Fiorano GT Challenge, and most exciting of all, conquered Formula Rossa, the fastest roller coaster in the world. That's me in the centre of the picture, directly above the pillar. All in four action-packed hours at Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi - which is surprisingly not offered as an excursion from Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas. [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:10+00:00 5 February 2011|Cruise Destinations|1 Comment

Little meets Large in mid-Atlantic

Only two ships in the world are entitled to bear the initials RMS, denoting that they carry Royal Mail. One is the RMS St Helena, which carries 1,800 tons of cargo and up to 128 passengers and is an essential part of the supply line for the remote island of the same name in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The other is the RMS Queen Mary 2, at 1,132 ft more than three times as long, and carrying up to 3.056 passengers. The two ships met this week when QM2 sailed past the island during her 2011 world voyage. [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:11+00:00 4 February 2011|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Kung hei fat choy from Brilliance

There's a sizeable contingent of Chinese passengers on board Brilliance of the Seas this week, frantically taking pictures and videos of each other at every turn, determinedly taking over the tables and fruit machines in Casino Royale, and enthusiastically celebrating their New Year at a special party in the Colony Club. The 897 Brits out of a total passenger count of 2,110 are the biggest national group, but the 402 from Hong Kong and mainland China comfortably outnumber the 195 Germans - usually second in the headcount, according to Captain Henrik Loft Sorensen. Not surprisingly, only 55 brave Americans have [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:11+00:00 4 February 2011|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Is the QE2 pining for home?

The distinctive red funnel of the liner Queen Elizabeth 2 still stands proudly - if a little incongruously - in Dubai's Port Rashid. It rose through the mist and dust as I arrived at the port last Monday, although much of the ship was concealed behind huge heaps of stone and rubble on the quayside. It was almost as if Nakheel, who bought the ship for $50 million, and had ambitious plans to spend millions more converting it into a luxury hotel, had grown ashamed of the vessel and their ownership of it. As Rob Lightbody, of The QE2 Story [...]