Captain Greybeard - Page 128 of 209 - Your expert guide to cruise ships and cruise holidays

Recipe for success on Allurodam

Even if I didn't know how to chop an onion properly, making delicious sweet potato soup with chef Molly Brandt on Allure of the Seas has given me a taste for cooking. Especially for cooking in a cruise ship galley. And I think I may have spotted my next opportunity. TV chef Valentine Warner will be hosting a series of demonstrations for passengers on Holland America's Eurodam during a voyage to the Norwegian Fjords and Scottish Highlands later this year. The 12-night cruise leaves from Dover on June 3 and Warner, who spent five years working in London's restaurant kitchens [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 16 December 2010|Cruise Food & Drink, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Disney’s dreaming of a white Xmas

Cruises on board brand new ship Disney Dream will be in the warm waters between Port Canaveral in Florida and the Bahamas. So these pictures of the vessel covered in snow will be a rarity. And unfortunately there's little chance the snow will still be there at Christmas. The 128,000-ton ship leaves Europe later this week, but photographer Kent Phillips caught these winter wonderland shots in Bremerhaven, Germany. There's a unique water-coaster circling the upper decks, but it looks like an ice rink would be more appropriate. Not sure who this character with the distinctive ears could be. Any suggestions?

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 16 December 2010|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

UK’s best cruise port plans expansion

Southampton is not the only British cruise port with expansion plans. Just a day after the announcement of its new £30 million terminal comes an announcement of planned development several hundred miles further north. Kirkwall, capital of the Orkney islands, is hoping to build on its selection as the UK's best port of call in this year's Cruise Critic Editor's Pick Awards and plans to spend £8 million improving its facilities for visiting ships. The town's Hatston Pier is to be extended from 250 yards to 415 yards, allowing some of the biggest ships in the world to tie up [...]

By John Honeywell| 2010-12-16T11:09:51+00:00 16 December 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

New cruise terminal for Southampton

Contrasting fortunes today for two British ports. While Liverpool businessmen are campaigning to restore the glory days when ocean-going liners moored in the centre of the city, Southampton announced it is to build a fifth cruise terminal (above), capable of handling some of the biggest ships in the world. The £30 million facility, expected to be operational by 2013, will welcome up to 4,000 passengers at a time during the summer, and will be used for importing tomatoes from the Canary Islands during the winter. It will be constructed between the City Terminal and the Mayflower Terminal, in the area [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 15 December 2010|Cruise News|4 Comments

Splendor not back until Februray

Repairs to Carnival Splendor, crippled by an engine room fire early last month, are taking longer than anticipated and some replacement parts are having to be manufactured from scratch. Five more voyages - the January 6, 23 and 30 and February 6 and 13 departures - have been cancelled and the ship is now scheduled to return to service on February 20. "We sincerely apologize to our guests for having to cancel these additional cruises," said Gerry Cahill, Carnival's president and CEO. "We know this is extremely disappointing for our guests and particularly disheartening for those who already had their [...]

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

Full refund for Brilliance passengers

I hope passengers thrown out of bed during the storm which hit Brilliance of the Seas were quick to grab their camcorders and iPhones to capture the events for posterity, because it is beginning to sound like it was even more dramatic than we first thought. Certainly enough for Royal Caribbean to pre-empt any claims for compensation by offering a full refund of the fare even though the 12-night cruise was more than half over by the time disaster struck at the weekend. After issuing a brief statement this morning referring to passengers suffering "minor injuries" and the ship sustaining [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 14 December 2010|Cruise News|3 Comments

Calm down dear, it’s only a cruise

A week-long cruise in the Western Isles of Scotland, on a converted fishing boat carrying just 11 passengers and four crew, was one of the highlights of my year. The scenery was superb and the food was fantastic; The Majestic Line, who operate two similar boats - Glen Tarsan (above) and Glen Massan - are clearly onto a winner. Next April a Winner will be onto them. Film director, restaurant critic, insurance salesman and all-round irritant Michael Winner has chartered one of the boats for a cruise with fiancee Geraldine Edwards. He says he saw an ad in Country Life [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 13 December 2010|Cruise News|0 Comments

30 hurt as storm batters Brilliance

Passengers were thrown from their beds when cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas ran into heavy weather in the Eastern Mediterranean yesterday. The ship was approaching Alexandria, in northern Egypt, when a violent storm forced it to roll several times. About 30 of the 2,100 passengers on board suffered minor injuries, some by treading on broken glass, after the incident at about 2.45 in the morning. Furniture was thrown around in cabins and throughout the ship, and the Christmas tree (above) in the ship's Centrum was toppled. Fitness equipment in the gym, tables in the casino, and displays in the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 13 December 2010|Cruise News|3 Comments

Top cruise deals for Christmas

Looking for a good deal? Here's this week's TOP CRUISES column from the travel pages of the Daily Mirror. Christmas under control? Presents all bought and wrapped, the turkey ordered from Tesco? Time to take it easy, then - and it's not too late to take a cruise before Santa pays a visit. Get into the festive spirit with a seven-night cruise on board P&O's Artemis from Southampton to Oslo, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Bruges, departing on Tuesday, December 14. You'll be home in plenty of time to start peeling the potatoes and the sprouts. Fares start at £502 per person [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 11 December 2010|Cruise Deals|1 Comment

Fred serves dinner in the cabin

Fred Olsen Cruises have announced more details of their new in-cabin dining service which I previewed a week ago. Thankfully, it's not going to be lumbered with the name "Nights in With Fred" but is being branded as "An Evening In." More than just room service, it will offer a full four-course meal of starter, salad, main course and dessert - all at no extra charge - and the option to add a bottle of wine, which will have to be paid for. The new service will be offered on Balmoral and Black Watch from January 5, when the ships [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 10 December 2010|Cruise Food & Drink|0 Comments