Captain Greybeard

At 220,000 tons, and carrying 5,400 passengers, Oasis of the Seas will be by far the biggest cruise ship in the world when construction work is completed and she carries passengers for the first time by the end of this year. Royal Caribbean’s latest giant will be a third as big again as their record-breaking Freedom class of ships. But rumours are sweeping the travel industry that there might not be enough money to pay for it. The gossip is based on the small print in a report filed by RCCL in which they detail their $6.5 billion dollar commitment [...]

It’s good to see Carnival’s blogger extraordinaire, John Heald, back in action doing the job he does best – working as cruise director. John, from Southend-on-Sea, and the top CD for the biggest cruise line in the world, is usually given the newest ships to take out, and will be on board the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream for her maiden voyage later this year. After a couple of months rest at home in England with his expectant wife, Heidi, and organising publicity events in America he is back at sea, on board the Carnival Valor. His daily blog, always a delight [...]

There will be some extra glamour on board Italian cruise ship MSC Orchestra when she sails to the Caribbean on March 21. Passengers will have more than the attractions of Cozumel, Grand Cayman and the Dominican Republic to entertain them when they leave Fort Lauderdale. For the ship will be the setting for the finals of the Miss Italia USA 2009 beauty pageant. Contestants have been selected during regional events throughout the United States to reach the Orchestra contest, and the winner will travel to the Lido de Jesolo in June to compete against 49 other beauties for the title [...]

Graham Hughes is a man with a mission. He has set himself the task of visiting every country in the world in one year – without flying or driving anywhere. He has to use public transport on land, and because his expedition is hoping to raise £1,000,000 for charity, he can’t exactly splash out when it comes to travelling over water. Finding himself stranded in St Thomas, in the US Virgin Isles, he was delighted to be offered a lift to the Dominican Republic on board the cruise ship Costa Fortuna. He could hardly believe his luck, and wrote in [...]

The grounding of an expedition ship in Antarctica has raised fresh fears about the safety of cruises in the region. The Ocean Nova, carrying 64 passengers and 41 crew, has been stranded on rocks near the Argentine research station at San Martin in Marguerite Bay since yesterday, and attempts to refloat the ship have been thwarted by high winds. The stranded passengers have now been transferred to Clipper Adventurer, a sister vessel also operated by Quark Expeditions, which is on its way to the port of Ushuaia in southern Argentina. A Quark spokesman said: "There is still no sign of [...]

Construction work on Celebrity’s second Solstice-class ship, the Equinox, is going so well that an extra eight-day cruise has been scheduled before the ship’s maiden voyage. The ship will be sailing from Southampton to the Norwegian fjords on July 31, ahead of the voyage from Southampton to Civitavecchia, departing on August 8. A third Solstice-class ship, the Eclipse, will be based in Britain from 2010. The 2,850-passenger vessels mark a step forward in luxury and cruise ship design. The Solstice has a real grass lawn on its top deck, and offers daily exhibitions of glass-blowing. Fares for the fjords sailing [...]