Captain Greybeard - Page 127 of 209 - Your expert guide to cruise ships and cruise holidays

What’s the reality of getting the cruise message across on TV?

An item on the BBC breakfast news this morning claimed that today was the busiest of the year for holiday bookings, as people wake up to the fact that Christmas is over, and it's time to start making plans for travel in 2011. The cruise companies all have their new advertising campaigns and their special offers lined up, and will be looking forward to achieving, or even beating, the forecast increase of eight per cent in UK passengers booking a holiday at sea. The Passenger Shipping Association expects that 2011 will see 1.77 million Brits taking a cruise - an [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:13+00:00 29 December 2010|Cruise News|6 Comments

Merry Christmas from the Captain

If I was lucky enough to be on a cruise ship right now, I could be relaxing somewhere warm, relishing the fact that I was being waited on hand and foot, enjoying sumptuous meals prepared by a battalion of chefs, and making the most of the fact that I had nothing more strenuous to do than drag myself from the bar to the theatre, back to the bar and on to my cabin. Instead, I'm at home, where the snow that melts slightly each day is frozen solid again next morning. Every spare moment of the last couple of days [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:13+00:00 24 December 2010|Cruise News|1 Comment

Haunted cabins and butter sculptures fascinate Joanne on QM2 crossing

There was a second writer who caught my eye while on board a ship this year. After David Nobbs I discovered Joanne Harris, the author of 15 books including Chocolat and Runemarks, was at sea. Not exactly on a cruise, however. She travelled on a Transatlantic crossing aboard Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2, spent a week in New York, and then sailed back to Southampton talking and Tweeting all the way. On the westbound journey she was part of a literary double act, and appeared to love her new environment from the first minute. "My stateroom has orchids, Champagne and [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:13+00:00 23 December 2010|Cruise Entertainment|3 Comments

At sea with an author: The fall and rise of a regular cruise passenger

PART ONE OF A MINI-SERIES He didn't get where he is today by travelling steerage. David Nobbs, creator of Reginald Perrin and a host of other memorable comedy characters, is a big fan of cruising - though I wouldn't have guessed it from the first message from him that I spotted on Twitter. "On the cruise we saw some amazing ruins. In fact I helped two of them in to dinner," he wrote during a trip to the Mediterranean with P&O. And not everything went according to plan when travelling, if another message was to be believed. "Manana still rules [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:13+00:00 22 December 2010|Cruise News|0 Comments

A world of difference for P&O

There's a subtle change of tack in the next advertising campaign from P&O, hitting UK television screens two days after Christmas. Targeting customers who may well be heading for the shops and the January sales, a 40-second commercial will urge them to "discover a different world" instead of pushing the line "There's a world out there." Philip Price, head of brand marketing, says: "We can trace our roots back to 1837, and our passengers are the latest in a long line of explorers who have discovered a different world with P&O Cruises, so we felt it fitting to create our [...]

By John Honeywell| 2010-12-22T06:35:34+00:00 22 December 2010|Cruise Deals, Cruise News|0 Comments

Too hot for a Brazilian cruise

Transport links throughout the UK and much of Europe are crippled by the big freeze. Heathrow and Gatwick struggle to clear their runways, and queues snake round the streets of London as passengers hope to stake their claim to a seat on a Eurostar train to Paris. (I'd love to hear John Heald's take on that, by the way, but I digress). Spare a thought, then, for the unfortunate people who had hoped to be spending their Christmas cruising the South American coast on board MSC Musica. The seven-day voyage, which was due to depart from Rio de Janeiro on [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:13+00:00 21 December 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Cheers! All-in drinks for just £49

Christmas really is a magical time of year, isn't it? How else can you explain the generous offers cruise lines are desperate to make in order to get us to book holidays with them next summer? Royal Caribbean has been giving away free flights to whisk you to their ships in the Mediterranean, and although I might have my reservations about the reference to tips in P&O's promotion, there's no doubting the bargain fares on offer. Other lines all have their different tricks to distract us from the Christmas shopping and peeling the sprouts and to think instead about lazy [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:13+00:00 21 December 2010|Cruise Deals, Cruise News|1 Comment

Confusion over tipping the crew

It's all very well for P&O to promote the value for money they say their cruises provide, but should they be doing it at the expense of their crew? Even without the savings on offer in the company's winter sale, the all-inclusive experience on board - including meals and entertainment - represents a holiday bargain. Throw in discounts of up to £2,500 and on-board credit of up to £1,000 per couple and it's almost irresistible. Who would disagree with MD Carol Marlow when she says: "Today's consumer expects to get excellent value for money, and this is especially pertinent when [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:13+00:00 21 December 2010|Cruise Deals|4 Comments

Snowy scenes at sea

Cunard president Peter Shanks joked last week that giant wing mirrors had been fitted to the bridge of Queen Victoria, ready for Inger Olsen, the first woman captain in the company's history. He should have brought a snow plough on board, judging by this picture taken at the weekend during the ship's Christmas Markets cruise to Amsterdam and Zeebrugge. Or perhaps he is planning to turn the Pavilion Pool into an ice skating rink. Fred Olsen's Black Watch led Victoria back into Southampton this morning with inveterate cruise fan Patricia Dempsey on board. She refused to allow the wintry weather [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:13+00:00 20 December 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Beat these cruise fares for value

If you still think cruising is expensive or exclusive, think again. Look at these prices per night for voyages early next year, and see if you could match them at a land-based hotel, resort, or apartment complex. And don't forget the figures include all-inclusive accommodation with as many meals per day as you can eat, entertainment, and flights (where necessary). £50 No-fly cruise from Southampton to the Mediterranean on board Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas, the largest cruise ship sailing from the UK. Itinerary includes Portugal, Mallorca, Barcelona, Florence, Rome, Naples, Cagliari, Gibraltar and Seville. Fares for the January [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 18 December 2010|Cruise Deals|0 Comments