Captain Greybeard

The news that Princess Maxima of the Netherlands is to name Holland America's latest cruise ship, Nieuw Amsterdam, has prompted further speculation about the plans for the naming ceremony of Cunard's Queen Elizabeth later this year. Nieuw Amsterdam's naming will take place in Venice on July 4, and she will be the 11th HAL ship since 1929 to be launched by a member of the Dutch royal family. Sister ship Eurodam was named by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 2008. Built to a similar design, Queen Elizabeth will be launched in Southampton in October, and there can be only [...]

All aboard! Celebrity Eclipse is on her way back to the UK carrying 2,200 holidaymakers who were stranded by the volcanic ash flight ban. Many of them can't believe their luck. Yesterday they were stuck in Spain, not knowing when they would be able to return home. Now they are travelling in five-star luxury, with free meals, on a brand new cruise ship which would normally cost more than £1,000 a week. Most of the holidaymakers boarding the £500 million ship in the northern port of Bilbao this morning had been brought by bus from the Costas. Others had been [...]

Usually, I try to avoid clichés like the plague, but on this occasion it seems entirely appropriate to use the one about every cloud having a silver lining. For the volcanic ash which has grounded aircraft over Europe for almost a week could turn out to be a welcome shot in the arm (oops, there goes another one) for the cruise industry. Travel agents are falling over themselves (sorry) to report a surge of enquiries about cruises, and not just from holidaymakers stranded abroad, or travellers who have seen their flight bookings cancelled. James Cole, director of SailFromUK.com, said: "We've [...]

A brand new cruise ship has cancelled the first leg of its inaugural celebrations in order to rescue British holidaymakers stranded in Spain by the volcano ash cloud. Celebrity Eclipse arrives in Southampton on Tuesday morning, and was expected to begin a week of celebrations, taking travel agents, loyal Celebrity passengers and media on overnight party trips in the English Channel. Instead, the 122,000-ton ship, capable of carrying more than 2,800 passengers in normal operation, will set off in the evening to sail to Bilbao, in northern Spain. Arriving in the early hours of Thursday morning, the vessel will embark [...]

As the flight chaos caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland reaches its fifth day, cruise lines are joining Royal Navy ships to bring holidaymakers home to the UK. Thomson Cruises announced this morning that Island Escape, currently in Funchal, will sail to Falmouth so that passengers can get home without flying. The ship will also carry 300 Thomson holidaymakers who had been staying in Madeira and whose flights have been cancelled. The ship, which can normally carry up to 1,710 passengers, is due in Falmouth on Friday. Passengers who had been due to fly to Tenerife, Gran Canaria or [...]