Captain Greybeard - Page 143 of 209 - Your expert guide to cruise ships and cruise holidays

Glowing – and growing – with pride

On Allure of the Seas last week, Captain Hernan Zini made much of the fact that his vessel will claim the title of biggest cruise ship in the world - by all of 5 mm or three-tenths of an inch - from older sister Oasis. His boss, Royal Caribbean's chairman Richard Fain, has measurements on his mind as well, although in this case, he is referring to the crew rather than the ship. As the vessel is being prepared for her first sea trials this weekend, arrangements are being made to transport thousands of crew members to Finland by charter [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:22+00:00 8 September 2010|Cruise News|1 Comment

English accent for Italian cruising

Regular cruise travellers will be familiar with the collections of plaques, plates and other mementoes which ships gather whenever they make their maiden call at a port. Today was MSC Poesia's first visit to Southampton, en route from Europe to New York, and there were two plaques presented, one by the harbour authority, and another by the city's mayor, Carol Cunio. Southampton was keen to trumpet the fact that they have won MSC's business away from the rival port of Dover, and the cruise line used the opportunity to publicise MSC Opera's 2011sailings - there will be two to the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:22+00:00 8 September 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Mixed fortunes for shipyards

The Finnish shipyard where I saw Allure of the Seas nearing completion last week has a long and proud history of designing and building the biggest - and some of the most innovative - cruise ships the world has seen. But the STX yard at Turku is going to be a very different and much quieter place after Allure sails away, heading for Florida, on October 29. There are no other ships under construction in the yard; the giant dry dock is being used only to store Allure's lifeboats, and the fabrication sheds are filled with empty packing cases instead [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:22+00:00 7 September 2010|Cruise News|0 Comments

How I almost made it to Cape Horn

It will be some hours before the sun is over the yardarm. It has barely risen and the morning light still has a golden glow. I haven’t even had breakfast yet as I’ve been too busy getting acquainted with the penguins on Magdalena Island. But as I clamber out of the Zodiac inflatable and remove my lifejacket, there’s a waiter offering me a glass of Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky on the rocks. The whisky is 12 years old, the ice 1,000 years old and until yesterday part of a glacier. The heart-starter is a welcome addition to excursions from [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:22+00:00 6 September 2010|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Round-Britain cruises an education

Cruise ship Westerdam has been making waves in the past few weeks, garnering a succession of local paper headlines as it made its way round the British Isles. "Largest cruise ship yet for Portree" announced the Press and Journal when the vessel arrived at the Isle of Skye. "Terminal set for record week" proclaimed the Greenock Telegraph when Westerdam was one of seven ships to visit the port in as many days. When the 1,850-passenger ship arrived in Portland Harbour, Dorset - again setting a new record for the biggest passenger vessel to call at the port - tourism students [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:22+00:00 5 September 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Big savings on next year’s cruises

Today's top deal isn't for one cruise - it's for dozens of them. P&O have launched an early booking offer with the chance to save up to £1,500 on travel in 2011 on bookings made by the end of this month. The benefits don't stop there. As well as the fare discounts, passengers booking by September 30 can claim free parking or coach transfers on departures from Southampton, and on-board spending money of up to £375 per couple. Pay in full at the time of booking a round-trip cruise from Southampton to qualify for an additional five per cent discount. [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:22+00:00 4 September 2010|Cruise Deals|0 Comments

What makes Allure different?

They're sisters, and they have the same DNA, but the two biggest cruise ships in the world are not identical twins. As Allure of the Seas nears completion in a shipyard in Turku, Finland, I joined representatives of the world's media for an early preview, and discovered what makes her different from Oasis of the Seas. First surprise was a claim by Captain Hernan Zini that Allure is longer, and can rightly lay claim to the "biggest" title. The difference is not exactly great, or indeed noticeable. Oasis is officially 360 metres long, or 1,187 feet. Allure is 360 metres [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:22+00:00 2 September 2010|Cruise News|0 Comments

Cunard’s dreams come true at last

For months, the big bosses at Cunard Line have been tiptoeing around, desperate to be able to announce that the obvious person has agreed to name their newest ship. It's called Queen Elizabeth, so no prizes for guessing who that person should be. Such is the protocol for these things that they could not even ask until they knew the answer would be yes, because if Her Majesty had declined, they would have been unable to pass on to another member of the Royal Family. Finally today, with a fanfare of trumpets no less, came the announcement that the world [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:22+00:00 1 September 2010|Cruise News|3 Comments

The Allure of a billion-dollar baby

Cruise ships are more than just giant hunks of metal and glass. They have personalities. Some people even treat them like living, breathing beings. Take Richard Fain, for example. The chairman of Royal Caribbean has just flown home to America after a visit to a Finnish shipyard to check up on his latest billion-dollar baby, Allure of the Seas. From November the ship will share with its sister Oasis of the Seas - older by just a year - the title of biggest cruise ship in the world. Right now the finishing touches are being applied by hundreds of workers [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:22+00:00 31 August 2010|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

All you can eat – and even more – cruising on board Diamond Princess

They say that the bathroom scales never lie, but mine seem to have entered a whole new dimension since my return from the Diamond Princess cruise in Alaska. It’s no wonder really, considering the determination shown by maitre d’ Silvio Zampieri in getting me to sample just about every restaurant and every dish in my seven short days on the ship. He almost succeeded. From the Trident burger bar by Neptune’s pool to the Sterling steakhouse which takes over part of the Horizon Court buffet by night; from the Savoy dining room to Sabatini’s Italian restaurant, I was faced with [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:22+00:00 30 August 2010|Cruise Food & Drink|0 Comments