Captain Greybeard - Page 200 of 209 - Your expert guide to cruise ships and cruise holidays

Take a cruise to the Moon

The middle of the ocean is a great place for star-gazing, although when amateur astronomer and popular P&O cruise director Leon de St Croix organises a session on deck, it’s often a guarantee of a cloudy night. NASA astronaut Walter Cunningham should expect some clear nights, however, when he joins Fred Olsen’s Black Watch for a 13-night cruise from Dover to the Canary Islands in April. Cunningham was the lunar module pilot on board Apollo 7, the first manned spacecraft in the Apollo missions. He spent 11 days in space in October 1968. Together with marine historian Dr Robert Cartwright, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-02-18T11:36:39+00:00 18 February 2009|Cruise Deals, Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

G’Day cobber – 17 times over

In early January a fleet of cruise ships set out on their annual round-the-world voyages. Some went west and through the Panama Canal to the Pacific. Others went south and rounded the Cape of Good Hope before entering the Indian Ocean, and the rest sailed through the Mediterranean and through the Suez Canal. Within the next couple of weeks, 17 of them will arrive at the magnificent Sydney Harbour. P&O’s Oriana was the first to tie up yesterday, and Amadea, run by German line Phoenix Reisen, sailed into port today. They will be followed by Cunard’s Queen Victoria, Tahitian Princess, [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-02-17T13:42:43+00:00 17 February 2009|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Boudicca takes on the north

Cruise lines frequently boast about the convenience of sailing from UK ports, and it cannot be denied that a departure from Southampton or Dover makes life a lot easier – no airport hassles, no luggage restrictions; just drive up to the terminal and your holiday begins. That’s fine of you are within easy reach of the south coast, but it’s not so simple if you live further afield. Scots and northerners are faced with either a long drive, an inconvenient rail journey, or an interminable trek by coach. Which is why it’s good news that Fred Olsen’s Boudicca will be [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:47+00:00 17 February 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Cruise Costa with Ryanair

Italian cruise line Costa is Europe’s biggest and busiest, carrying 1.2 million passengers on its fleet of 12 ships in 2008. Five more ships will be sailing under the yellow Costa funnel by 2012, three of them within the next 12 months. Up until now, the line has been a small player in the UK market, but that may be about to change with the announcement today that Costa is teaming up with Ryanair. Customers using the Ryanair website will be able to book Costa cruises from 50 departure ports throughout Europe, including Barcelona, Civitavecchia (for Rome), Marseille, Palermo, Savona [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-02-16T16:46:48+00:00 16 February 2009|Cruise Deals, Cruise News|0 Comments

What’s in a name?

When the Royal Yacht Britannia was retired, she found a new home at Leith, in Scotland, where thousands visit the ship every year. Soon the Britannia could find herself in Edinburgh Harbour and with a cruise terminal for a neighbour – without moving an inch. The multi-million pound development and proposed name change by Forth Ports is intended to make it clear to visitors from around the world that Leith is the gateway to Scotland’s capital city. American tourists are not known for their grasp of geography, and have been known to demand they be taken to Edinburgh rather than [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-02-16T12:38:35+00:00 16 February 2009|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Why not marry on a Love Boat?

It’s Valentine’s Day, and if thoughts are turning from a sweet little card, a romantic meal and a bottle of pink fizz, towards a proposal and a diamond ring, then what better than a wedding on a cruise ship? A record number of couples are choosing to marry at sea, and it can’t simply be because it’s an easy way to combine the ceremony with the honeymoon. There were three weddings today on Arcadia, which is currently cruising off southern Australia, and there were six during my two-week Caribbean cruise on Ventura last year. In 2008 a total of 371 [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:47+00:00 14 February 2009|Cruise Deals, Cruise News|0 Comments

Lady Steel is left all at sea

Captain Philip Rentell is not the only person on board the Saga Ruby writing a regular blog. Judy Steel, wife of Scottish politician Lord Steel, is sending back weekly reports to her local paper, the Selkirk Advertiser. This week, she reports that not everything has been going to plan. After leaving South Africa, the Steels were looking forward to visiting the islands of Reunion and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, and they were disappointed that a forecast of cyclones meant the ship would have to divert. An alternative plan to arrive in Madagascar a week earlier than originally scheduled was [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:47+00:00 13 February 2009|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|1 Comment

Falklands break passenger record

You know what it’s like. You wait all year for a cruise ship, then three come along all at once. That’s what happened in Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, last week. The Celebrity Infinity, the Norwegian Sun, and Spirit of Adventure were all in port on Friday, bringing more than 4,000 passengers to a town with a population of just over 2,000. The previous record number of visitors in a day was 3,779 in December 2007. Spirit of Adventure is small enough to enter the harbour, but the other two ships had to anchor off-shore. Spirit also hosted a very [...]

By John Honeywell| 2009-02-11T17:04:57+00:00 11 February 2009|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Pay up for a view from the bridge

Time was when an invitation from the captain to join him on the bridge was the highlight of a cruise, usually reserved for passengers in the most expensive suites, and those who had clocked up the most loyalty points or frequent-cruiser miles. Then, under the umbrella of security precautions, most shipping lines put a stop to the practice, and passengers could no longer stand by the wheel – or on today’s high-tech ships, joystick – and pretend to be in charge. Now bridge tours are coming back, as one stop on a behind-the-scenes tour of parts of a ship which [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:48+00:00 11 February 2009|Cruise News|0 Comments

Flintoff parties on cricket cruise

More on the luxury cricket cruise I wrote about yesterday – with the news that England players Freddie Flintoff and Steve Harmison spent the night on board Silver Shadow within hours of their second innings flop in the first Test. The cricket followers on the ship must have been delighted to have the stars join them for dinner, but grass-roots fans are disgusted that the pair did not get an early night ready for extra training the next day. It’s not the first time Flintoff has found himself in hot water during a West Indies tour. During the 2007 World [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:48+00:00 11 February 2009|Cruise Gossip|0 Comments