Captain Greybeard - Page 129 of 209 - Your expert guide to cruise ships and cruise holidays

Mickey Mouse takes control

A dream came true for Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck yesterday when they took control of their new cruise ship - Disney Dream. Of course it could only happen once Karl Holz, president of Disney Cruise Line, had signed the cheque and handed it over to Bernard Meyer, of the Meyer-Werft shipyard in Germany, and both of them were keeping the numbers covered up (below) in case anyone was watching. The 128,000-ton ship was floated out of Meyer's Papenburg yard just over five weeks ago. It will remain in Bremerhaven for another week while additional crew members board, and supplies [...]

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

Victoria comes out of the water

While I was sailing to the Canaries on board Cunard's Queen Elizabeth during the last few days, sister ship Queen Victoria was in drydock in Hamburg, having a quick wash and brush-up. The ship is three years old and has travelled more than 343,000 nautical miles, so it's time to spruce up some of the interior furnishings and scrape the accumulated debris from her hull. Standing in for entertainment director Alastair Greener, deputy captain Andrew Hall has been blogging from the yard, and describes how preparations got under way as soon as the ship arrived in Southampton last week. " [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 9 December 2010|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Out goes glass and in comes grill as Celebrity cuts its hallowed turf

Real grass lawns are among the most distinctive features of the Celebrity Solstice-class cruise ships, and the turf has been as hallowed and as sacrosanct as anything at Wimbledon or Lord's. The Lawn Club includes space to lounge and picnic, and to play croquet or bocce ball, and until now any suggestion that it could be put to another use have been met with protestations of "over my dead body" from Celebrity president Dan Hanrahan and Royal Caribbean chairman Richard Fain. Well, there's been a change of heart, not least of which is the decision to do away with the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2010-12-09T13:26:43+00:00 9 December 2010|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

What’s in a (luxury) name?

Now I know Wikipedia is not the most reliable of sources when it comes to research - any more than WikiLeaks is the best place to look for an emergency plumber. But I go along with their assessment of yachts, luxury yachts, mega yachts (they are above 100 ft in length, apparently) and - best of all - super yachts (more than 200 ft). Luxury yachts are rich men's playthings. Their crews are likely to be as qualified in kitchen skills as they are in seamanship; and the vessels - which could cost more than a EuroMillions lottery roll-over winner [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 8 December 2010|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

EXCLUSIVE: Inger takes command of Victoria as Cunard’s first woman driver

Never let it be said that Cunard rush into things. It has taken 170 years for the shipping line to appoint its first woman captain. And even when she took command of Queen Victoria for the first time, there were no passengers on board, and she was only taking the ship from Southampton to Hamburg for a two-week refit in dry dock. But next Wednesday, Inger Olsen will set sail with a full complement of passengers for a five-night mini-cruise to Amsterdam, Zeebrugge and Le Havre, and for her second voyage in command will be taking the ship on a [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 8 December 2010|Cruise News|1 Comment

Rough seas ahead for new Queen

When Queen Elizabeth left Southampton several hours late on Wednesday, after waiting for a special train carrying 300 passengers from snowbound Scotland and the north of England, I speculated on Twitter that if it had been just 30 people, they may have missed the boat. As it turns out, I hit the nail on the head. Captain Chris Wells told guests at his cocktail party last night for passengers travelling in Grills class that there were indeed 30 passengers who failed to make it to the Ocean Terminal on time. Their attempts to catch up with the newest Cunard ship [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 5 December 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Entertainment|1 Comment

What happened when Captain Cook was let loose on Allure of the Seas

AS PROMISED, here's the full account of my adventures aboard Allure of the Seas, from today's Sunday Mirror. It was a simple task. All I had to do to start making smoked sweet potato soup to Molly Brandt's recipe was to dice half an onion, which had already been peeled and was waiting by the chopping board amid a sea of stainless steel. I am a master of the kitchen at home. I've made soup. I've diced onions. So I didn't wait to be shown how to do it by the star chef who has been given control of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 5 December 2010|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Take it away, Fred . . .

UK cruise line Fred Olsen is about to announce a new dining option, according to reports from the Seatrade Med convention in Cannes. Passengers will be able to order a "takeaway" meal to eat in their cabins. During longer cruises - of 21 days or more - and only on sea days, there will be a choice of Thai, Indian, Chinese, Spanish, French, Mexican and English pub food, and orders will have to be placed by 2.00pm for delivery between 7.00 and 8.30 pm. It actually sounds like what you and I - and a number of other cruise lines [...]

By John Honeywell| 2010-12-04T08:23:00+00:00 4 December 2010|Cruise Food & Drink|0 Comments

I’m one in a million today

Queen Elizabeth arrives in Lisbon today, and as luck would have it there's a group of English travel writers in town this weekend, so I will be joining them for a quick look round. A visit to the city's oceanarium - that's got to be bigger than an aquarium, right? - and to a restaurant part-owned by John Malkovich are on the schedule. I'm here at an opportune time. Figures released at the Seatrade Med convention this week in Cannes show that cruise visitors to Portugal are expected to reach a record one million this year. Numbers had already reached [...]

By John Honeywell| 2010-12-04T08:11:25+00:00 4 December 2010|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Top deals in the cruise sales

Cunard and P&O, the UK's top two cruise lines, are cutting each other's throats to capture passengers planning to travel next year. Both launched sales this week with cut-price fares and offers of on-board spending money. If you're not too busy baking the Christmas pud or shopping this weekend, check out these deals. Seven nights from £699 including a £50 per person discount. Departing from and returning to Southampton and calling in La Coruna, Bilbao, La Rochelle and Brest. Based on Ventura's April 22, 2011 departure. A 14 night cruise to the Mediterranean from £1,199 including a £200 per [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 4 December 2010|Cruise Deals|0 Comments