Captain Greybeard - Page 197 of 209 - Your expert guide to cruise ships and cruise holidays

Eurodam: I have found Paradise

It has been a week since I returned from my Caribbean cruise on Eurodam, plenty of time to reflect on what the ship had to offer. So what's the verdict? I had not sailed with Holland America before, but I can report that they are now my second favourite cruise line. Although Eurodam is HAL's biggest ship, it is a manageable size, on a par with Cunard's Queen Victoria, and P&O's Arcadia. As I wrote during the voyage, the ship handles its 2,100 passengers admirably, and there was never a moment when it felt over-crowded. There's a wraparound Promenade deck [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:46+00:00 16 March 2009|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

A friendly guide to life at sea

How best to occupy spare time when not at sea? One way is by reading about cruising, or planning the next voyage. And a useful friend for doing that arrived in the post this morning. The April/May issue of Cruise International dropped through the letter-box, and I began devouring its 100 pages immediately. Launched only in December, the glossy mag is essential reading for veteran sailors and cruise virgins alike. The latest issue includes a fascinating look at life on board the Queen Mary 2 by Gary Buchanan, and a glorious account of a river cruise on the Rhone by [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-03-13T16:33:06+00:00 13 March 2009|Cruise News|0 Comments

Sneak preview of Queen Elizabeth

Images of Cunard's new liner have been leaked on the internet ahead of next week's official announcement. Queen Elizabeth will be presented to the media and travel trade by the company's president, Carol Marlow, on Tuesday. However, one travel agent jumped the gun and posted pictures on their website. They were swiftly removed, but not before an enterprising member of an online cruise community grabbed them, and presented them alongside similar views of sister ship Queen Victoria. I have borrowed an impression of Elizabeth's main dining room, shown above, and I will have more after the official announcement on Tuesday [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:46+00:00 12 March 2009|Cruise Ships|2 Comments

No escape from the Hamiltons

Pity those poor passengers on P&O's Aurora. It's bad enough that they were stuck in Auckland for five days and have had to miss four ports of call. They have escaped from New Zealand, but there's no escape from the next treat in store. Disgraced Tory MP Neil Hamilton and his battleaxe wife Christine are on board, eager and ready to leap onto the stage of the ship's Curzon theatre to "entertain." With the ship on a high speed dash across the Pacific to San Francisco, and only one stop along the way, there's nowhere for the passengers to hide.

By John Honeywell| 2009-03-12T21:57:34+00:00 12 March 2009|Cruise Gossip|0 Comments

Aurora is finally on her way

Propulsion problems finally repaired, Aurora left Auckland just after 5.00 pm local time today, and is now racing across the Pacific. Despite cancelling calls in Tahiti, she will be a day late arriving in San Francisco, and is now scheduled to arrive there on March 24. There will be one brief stop on the 6,500-mile journey - at Honolulu - for re-fuelling and to take on provisions and fresh water. Many of the 1,700 passengers will be leaving the ship in San Francisco, and P&O will be re-arranging their flights home. Similar changes will have to be made for passengers [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-03-12T10:38:16+00:00 12 March 2009|Cruise News|0 Comments

Aurora still stranded in Auckland

More bad news for Aurora. The P&O ship has still not left Auckland, New Zealand, and the forecast is that she will arrive in San Francisco, her next change-over port, a day late. The ship suffered a propulsion failure shortly after leaving Sydney, Australia at the beginning of the month, and limped across the Tasman Sea at half speed. A team of engineers from Germany was flown in to carry out repairs to a damaged thrust bearing, and passengers have had five days to explore all that Auckland has to offer, while drinking for free in the ship's bars. Two [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:46+00:00 12 March 2009|Cruise News|0 Comments

Rocking the boat

I was fascinated to read reports today that James Taylor will be performing two concerts during a Transatlantic crossing from New York to Southampton on Cunard's Queen Mary 2 in June . . . fascinated because I first reported the story here on February 4

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:46+00:00 11 March 2009|Cruise News|0 Comments

Disney’s Dream is no Fantasy

I thought I was dreaming when I heard the familiar strains of "When You Wish Upon A Star" blasting across the harbour in Charlotte Amalie, on the island of St Thomas last week. Then I realised it was the sound of the whistle on the Disney Magic cruise ship (above), leaving its berth at Havensight. There are currently two classically-proportioned twin-funnelled Disney cruise ships, the Magic and the Wonder, each carrying 1,750 passengers - and a host of Disney's favourite characters. They will soon be joined by two more, which will be 50 per cent bigger, and carrying 2,500 passengers [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:46+00:00 11 March 2009|Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Book now for best cruise bargains

Has there ever been a better time to book a cruise? I don't think so. Cruise lines and travel agents, with extra capacity to fill and fearing the effects of the recession, have been offering never-to-be-repeated prices. Some customers, determined to have a holiday no matter what, have been cutting their spending on clothes or nights out to make sure they can still pay for their week or fortnight at sea. Others, suddenly realising that the ever-falling interest rates have cut their monthly mortgage payments dramatically, have discovered that they can afford a cruise after all. Which is why Royal [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:46+00:00 10 March 2009|Cruise Deals|2 Comments

Epic name, impressive ship?

My dictionary gives one definition of the word "epic" as meaning "of heroic or impressive proportions." Whether that applies to Norwegian Epic, the giant of a cruise ship now being built in France for Norwegian Cruise Lines, I'll leave for you to decide. Anyway, here she is, in all her glory. I can't help feeling they naval architects have gone over the top on this one. She promises to be different inside as well. Here's an artist's impression of one of the luxury cabins, complete with wavy walls. The 150,000-ton Epic will carry 4,200 passengers and NCL claims the new [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:46+00:00 9 March 2009|Cruise Ships|3 Comments