Captain Greybeard

It has not even achieved hurricane status, but Tropical Storm Isaac is bringing chaos to the Caribbean and causing widespread disruption to cruise schedules. Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the island of Cuba have all been hit by flooding and now Florida is bracing itself for the arrival of heavy weather. On the east coast the ports of Miami and Port Everglades have been closed, as has Tampa on the Gulf coast. They are not expected to re-open before Monday at the earliest. Allure of the Seas, the biggest cruise ship in the world, should have been turning round in [...]

THIS IS AN EXTENDED VERSION OF CAPTAIN GREYBEARD'S COLUMN FROM TODAY'S PRINT EDITION OF THE DAILY MIRROR Here comes the sun: Allure of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship, will be the venue for a giant Beatles tribute next March. Sailing from Fort Lauderdale to the Caribbean, the 5,400-passenger ship will host entertainment by Billy J Kramer - for whom Lennon and McCartney wrote several hits in the '60s - and Joey Molland, once a member of Badfinger who were signed to the Apple Records label. Also taking part will be Mark Hudson, who has produced records for Ringo [...]

Have you heard the one about the Irishman who took legal action after being upset by a comedian on a cruise ship? P&O contested the action but now, according to The Guardian's Northerner blog, they have reached an out-of-court settlement. John Wolfe, a 74-year-old retired builder from Dublin, first complained about the "offensive jokes" after a world cruise on board Oriana. He said two comedians stereotyped Irish people and left him feeling deeply humiliated. He and his wife were mollified by being given £1,000 compensation, and in 2008 set out on a cruise to the Caribbean on board Artemis, happy [...]

AUGUST 20 UPDATE: Now on another round-Britain cruise with an identical itinerary, Lirica has moved Friday's (August 24) planned call at Oban to the port of Greenock and the more sheltered waters of the Clyde. The weather forecast for Friday suggested that tendering ashore at Oban would be uncomfortable to say the least, if not impossible. High winds in south-west Ireland yesterday put paid to a cruise ship's planned visit to Cobh - the last port of call made by Titanic on her ill-fated maiden voyage. The town, near Cork, has a museum commemorating the ill-fated liner's visit and the [...]

The island of Giglio - which feared its appeal as a tourist attraction would suffer as a result of the Costa Concordia disaster - has received an unexpected boost in visitor numbers from day trippers who want to see the wreckage. Tourists are flocking in from the mainland port of Santo Stefano, paying 10 Euros each for the 10-mile crossing. The ferry passes within yards of the stricken cruise ship at the entrance to the island's harbour. The local mayor, Sergio Ortelli, said: "There has been a rise in the number of tourists coming for the day, with curious people [...]

When EuroMillions lottery winners Adrian and Gillian Bayford have finished giving away money to friends and family, they'll want to start thinking about getting away from it all for a while. They have already talked about a rail trip through the Canadian Rockies, and I'm sure they will thoroughly enjoy their scenic ride on the Rocky Mountaineer. But that will be over in a matter of days, even allowing for an overnight stop on the bizarre surroundings of remote Kamloops, self-styled "tournament capital of the world." Time to plan a rather longer break - and what better than a world [...]