Captain Greybeard - Page 162 of 209 - Your expert guide to cruise ships and cruise holidays

Celebrity Qsine menu adds fish and chips, but not as we know it

As good as their word, Celebrity Cruises are bringing "proper" fish and chips to their newest ship, Celebrity Eclipse, which will be sailing from the UK throughout the summer. Well, almost. I say "almost" because the Boddington's beer-battered fish won't look like the slabs of cod you and I get from the chippie every Friday; it will be "popcorn fish and chips" - made from cod, but in bite-sized balls, and only available as part of an innovative menu in the Qsine restaurant which was announced this week. A few weeks ago Celebrity CEO Dan Hanrahan came to London to [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:32+00:00 25 February 2010|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Journey to the end of the earth

Not sure I've chosen the best time to travel to Patagonia, what with a strike by French air traffic controllers threatening to disrupt my flight via Paris tonight, and the imminent start of drilling for oil off the Falklands raising tensions between Britain and Argentina. But that's where I'm heading now I'm back from a brief visit to Dubai. If I make it to Buenos Aires as planned, I'll bring you up to date before I set off to join a small cruise ship, Via Australis, for what promises to be a memorable journey to Cape Horn. Once I get [...]

By John Honeywell| 2010-02-24T15:28:02+00:00 24 February 2010|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

1,001 reasons to celebrate

The tourism chiefs of Dubai are clearly hoping that Costa Deliziosa - and other cruise ships following in her wake - are going to have a delicious effect on their business. How else to explain the last-minute decision by Crown Prince Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to attend Deliziosa's naming ceremony today, the first time any cruise ship has been named in an Arabian port. The smile on the face of Dubai Tourism's Hamad bin Mejren was matched only by the obvious delight of Costa CEO Pier Luigi Foschi. The royal presence brought its own problems, however, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:32+00:00 23 February 2010|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

On top of The World – and Queen Elizabeth 2 – in Dubai

Something different today: a blog from the air instead of the sea. I have just come back down to earth after a sensational flight-seeing tour over Dubai in a nine-seater seaplane. The Department of Tourism is making the most of the opportunity to market their destination to visitors who, like me, are here for the naming ceremony of cruise ship Costa Deliziosa tomorrow. And there can be no better way than the 40-minute flight taking in all the incredible sights of this 21st-century miracle springing up from the desert. Laid out below us were the man-made islands of The Palm [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:32+00:00 22 February 2010|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Balloons go up for Costa in Dubai

Panic over. I've found my passport so I'm on track to fly to Dubai tomorrow for the naming ceremony of Costa Deliziosa. It's the first time the Emirate has seen an event like this, and it looks like they are pulling out all the stops. The cruise ship arrives at Dubai's Port Rashid on its Grand Inaugural Cruise, and 2,000 passengers will be among the 3,000 guests at the celebrations on Tuesday, which promise a melange of Italian and Arabic culture. It's all due to start before dusk with hot air balloons and parachutes filling the skies - rather slower [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:32+00:00 20 February 2010|Cruise News|0 Comments

Top cruise deals of the week

Costa Serena is currently starring on TV in the behind-the-scenes documentary series Cruise Ship Diaries, showing on the National Geographic channel, and you could be on board next month. An 11-night cruise departs from Savona, in north-west Italy, on March 25, and calls at Barcelona, and Casablanca, before heading to the Canary Islands to visit Arrecife on Lanzarote, Santa Cruz on Tenerife, and Funchal, Madeira. Then it's on to Malaga and back to Savona. Fares from £549 per person for an inside cabin (flights extra). Go to www.costacruises.co.uk or call 0845 351 0552. Sailing from the UK, with no flights [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:32+00:00 20 February 2010|Cruise Deals|0 Comments

Queen Victoria is pretty in pink

Queen Victoria might even have been amused. Or perhaps she would have just blushed gently if she had seen the Cunard ship which carries her name bathed in pink today while berthed at Sydney's Circular Quay. The spectacular event was in aid of Australia's National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) who officially launched their 2010 fundraising target of $17 million at an event on board. Pink lights illuminated the entire ship from dusk. Peter Shanks, Cunard President and Managing Director, said: "Pink has become synonymous with the fight against breast cancer so we are delighted to offer NBCF the opportunity to [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:32+00:00 19 February 2010|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Celebrity beckons for Denise

Congratulations to Denise Wills, who has Tweeted her way to an unforgettable trip to preview cruise ship Celebrity Eclipse next month. Leisure centre receptionist Denise, from Polgooth, near St Austell in Cornwall, was chosen as the winner of a competition on Twitter judged by me and Kelly Ranson from the CruiseCritic.co.uk website. Denise's winning entry managed to sum up everything about the ship in less than 140 characters. "With Celebrity close to home, many places I will roam. With AquaSpa, Crush & a lawn at sea, I think Eclipse was designed for me!" A spokesman for Celebrity Cruises said the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:32+00:00 19 February 2010|Cruise Ships|3 Comments

Back in the iLife with Celebrity

As the Twitterati wait breathlessly to discover who has won a competition to win an unforgettable trip on board Celebrity Eclipse on its first journey to the sea, details are beginning to emerge of a few tweaks which will distinguish the ship from her sisters, Equinox and Solstice. First to be announced is that the ship will have possibly the most sophisticated internet centre afloat. More than just an internet cafe, the Celebrity iLounge, in partnership with Apple, will have iPods and MacBooks for sale, and a learning centre for passengers to brush up their computing skills and learn about [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:32+00:00 18 February 2010|Cruise News|0 Comments

New Princess ships on the way

It's taken a while to agree, but a deal was sealed today which will see two new ships built for Princess Cruises, sister line to the UK's P&O and Cunard. Owners Carnival Corporation have announced it has signed a memorandum of agreement - that's a deal to you and me - with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for the construction of two 3,600-passenger ships which will be the biggest in the Princess fleet. The financial details have not been directly announced, but Carnival say the ships will cost 155,000 euros per lower berth. My calculator tells me that adds up to 558 [...]

By John Honeywell| 2010-02-17T14:51:25+00:00 17 February 2010|Cruise News|0 Comments