Captain Greybeard - Page 183 of 209 - Your expert guide to cruise ships and cruise holidays

Cold comfort in Iceland’s north

It was a busy Sunday for the northern Icelandic town of Akureyri. Not only was Cunard's Queen Victoria in the harbour, but in the morning there was also the Costa Magica, which was replaced in the afternoon by the much smaller MV Astor. Thousands of visiting passengers were drawn to the pedestrianised Hafnarstraeti shopping street determined to spend the last of their kroner before heading for Norway. Although, with a population of just 17,000, this is the second largest town in Iceland, and the so-called capital of the north, there were only about a half-dozen souvenir shops open, and people [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-07-13T17:05:11+00:00 13 July 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Entertainment|2 Comments

Strongman at Centre of the Earth

It's official. Captain Greybeard is strong enough to be an Icelandic fisherman, and he proved it by lifting a 54 kg stone on the beach at Djupalonssandur. OK, so there were two heavier stones which would have defeated me if I had tried to raise them, but at least I'm a half-carrier and not a weakling, which would have been my status had I managed only the lightest 23 kg stone. The beach is almost at the western tip of the Snaefellsnes peninsula, and its black lava shingle and sand is littered with the rusting remains of a Grimsby trawler, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:41+00:00 11 July 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

A sell-out for Cunard in Reykjavik

The sun beat down on Reykjavik today as hundreds of passengers from Cunard's Queen Victoria set out on excursions to the Blue Lagoon, the Gulfoss waterfall, the Geysir Stokkir and Iceland's other spectacular attractions. Yet more went on a whale-watching expedition, which had been the first of the 10 tours to sell out. In fact the sun had been beating down as our watches showed midnight the night before, although as we were about to put the clocks back an hour it was really only 11.00 pm. We're not quite inside the Arctic Circle, so we don't quite get to [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-07-10T18:07:44+00:00 10 July 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|2 Comments

Gannets make the most of cruise

It could be a sign of my advancing years, but I have been taking it easy on my first couple of days aboard Cunard's Queen Victoria. Not for me the opportunity to take a beginner's fencing class in the ballroom. Nor even a lesson in the cha cha. Two days at sea between Southampton and Reykjavik provide an excellent opportunity to relax and unwind ready for some hectic sight-seeing later, and even if the ship is having to rush to make up for a late departure on Tuesday, I have decided I'm going nowhere fast. Best bit so far is [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-07-09T16:29:35+00:00 9 July 2009|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Sailing north with Queen Victoria

Well the weather broke at just the right time, didn't it? Within the next few hours I will have finished packing and I'll be heading for Southampton to board Cunard's Queen Victoria for a cruise to Iceland and Norway. Check back here during the next two weeks for regular updates - on the ship and on the destinations. Or at least as regular as internet access will allow. I don't know about Iceland, but there are notorious satellite blackspots in the fjords. If you have any questions about cruising with Cunard, and sailing in Northern European waters, let me know [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-07-06T23:39:16+00:00 6 July 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Dream future for cruise ship Europa

The 1,506-passenger cruise ship Costa Europa is going to a new home - and getting a new name - from April next year, when the vessel will be chartered to Thomson Cruises. It will be re-named the Thomson Dream, and as the largest ship in the Thomson fleet, will sail seven-night Mediterranean cruises from Palma de Mallorca to Barcelona, Rome, Florence, and Tunis. The ship, originally built in 1986 as Homeric, was later stretched and became the Holland America Westerdam before being transferred to Italian line Costa in 2002. It will be sailing its final season for Costa this winter [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:41+00:00 6 July 2009|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|11 Comments

Cruise sales set new world record

Recession? What recession? Bookings for the 2011 world cruises with P&O and Cunard opened this week with record numbers putting their deposits down. On Wednesday, 2,044 people booked voyages from the two programmes, an increase of almost 50 per cent on the business done on the same day last year for the 2010 world voyages. P&O has its biggest-ever world voyage programme on offer, with Arcadia, Artemis, Aurora setting off from Southampton in January, and Oriana offering a rare opportunity to go round the world in the autumn. Arcadia will be heading west to the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-07-04T14:09:15+00:00 4 July 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Meantime, in Greenwich . . . Prinsendam

A short hop away from the office today - 15 minutes on the Docklands Light Railway - and I was at Greenwich Pier, ready to board the Prinsendam. The delightful Holland America cruise ship, carrying just 793 passengers, was in London at the start of a round-Britain voyage. As we waited for the tender, one of the passengers about to go on board, who had heard me telling security at the pier why I was there, turned to her husband and said "This gentleman's lucky, he's here for lunch." "Not at all, " I replied. "You're the lucky ones, you'll [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:41+00:00 3 July 2009|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Fanfare for the new Queen Elizabeth

After months of steel-cutting, welding and fabrication, the first block of Cunard's new liner, Queen Elizabeth, was lowered into dry-dock at the Monfalcone shipyard in north-east Italy this afternoon. Over the next few months, as the remaining sections of the hull are assembled, the 92,000-ton ship will take shape, ready to hit to the water for the first time when she is floated out in just six months' time. It will be October 2010 before the vessel, slightly larger than sister ship Queen Victoria, makes her maiden voyage - which sold out all 2,092 berths in a record 29 minutes. [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:41+00:00 2 July 2009|Cruise News|1 Comment

30 cruise passengers hurt in bus crash

Thirty passengers from the cruise ship Freedom of the Seas were injured when their amphibious tour bus ran off the road on the US Virgin Island of St Thomas yesterday. Most of the injuries were minor, but one person was detained overnight at the Schneider Regional Medical Centre with a suspected broken ankle. The passengers were among 47 tourists on £40-a-head Pirate Duck Adventure visiting Charlotte Amalie by road with and a water-borne tour of the harbour, Hassel Island and Water Island. The vehicle is adapted from a second world war DUKW amphibious truck. Similar vehicles run tourist excursions at [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:41+00:00 2 July 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|1 Comment