Captain Greybeard

That's the trouble with going away on a cruise . . . I've been so busy visiting the impressive sights on my Red Sea cruise and enjoying the delights of Thomson Celebration, that I haven't had time to keep up with breaking news from the cruise ship world. But I'm back in the UK (after enduring the nightmare that is Sharm el Sheikh international airport - but more of that later) so here's a quick round-up. The biggest news in many ways is that Norwegian Epic, to be launched in July and which will be sailing Caribbean cruises for 10 [...]

Wondering where to go on your next cruise? Looking for advice from the experts on which ship to choose? Then put a date in your diary for the Cruise Travel Show on March 27 and 28 at London's Olympia. The organisers seem to have learned from the mistakes made at last year's event at the difficult-to-reach ExCel Centre, where exhibitors had little on offer aside from brochures and interactive TV screens. This time around, Royal Caribbean are erecting a rock climbing wall just like the ones on their bigger ships. Fred Olsen are bringing along a golf simulator, and there [...]

When Celebrity Eclipse is launched in Southampton in April, UK passengers - who will make up 76 per cent of the total during the summer - will find a number of tweaks have been made to the facilities to accommodate British tastes. The Sky Lounge, an elegant bar at the bow, will become the Sky Pub, with appropriate beers on draught and in bottles - but only on two or three nights a week. There will be a dartboard, too, despite health and safety concerns about sharp points - which have never been a worry for Cunard and P&O. In [...]