Captain Greybeard

Tall ship cruising is getting bigger. Star Clippers’ newest square-rigged vessel launching at the end of 2017 is to be named Flying Clipper. The five-masted barque, carrying 300 passengers and 150 crew, will be the world’s largest ship of its kind. The ship, under construction at a yard in Croatia, will surpass the line’s current flagship, Royal Clipper, which carries 227 passengers, and its smaller sisters, the 170-passenger Star Flyer and Star Flyer. Star Clippers, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year,  is run by Swedish yachtsman and entrepreneur Mikael Krafft, who is based in Monte Carlo. Flying Clipper will have [...]

Faced with growing opposition to the number of cruise ships visiting Venice - ‘the Queen of the Adriatic’ - a group of cities that have each been acclaimed as ‘Venice of the North’ will take part in a contest to choose an alternative destination. The Italian city is one of the most popular destinations for Mediterranean cruises but in recent years protesters have been campaigning to keep ships out in order to prevent damage to the precarious foundations of historic buildings. Local officials have imposed bans on the biggest cruise ships, and then rescinded them - causing confusion for operators [...]

Viking Ocean Cruises’ newest ship, Viking Sea, will be christened in London. The ceremony will take place when the ship is at anchor at Greenwich on May 5. The identity of the vessel’s godmother is yet to be revealed. Sister ship Viking Star was named in Bergen last year, with the city’s mayor doing the honours. A lavish concert featuring Norwegian singing stars, and a spectacular firework display, brought the day’s events to a close. The 930-passenger Viking Sea is the second of six almost identical ocean ships being built for the company that dominates European river cruising. The third, Viking [...]

Carnival Corporation’s ‘impact travel’ brand Fathom has finally been given the all-clear to cruise from Miami to Cuba. Authorisation was granted by the US authorities last July but it is only this week, with President Obama’s historic visit to Havana, that agreement was reached with the island’s Castro regime. The deal was signed today (Monday) and the first cruise on board Adonia - formerly of the UK’s P&O brand - will depart on May 1. Other non-US-based cruise lines have been able to visit Cuba despite the trade embargo imposed more than 50 years ago, but Fathom will be the [...]

Cruising is taking off again in the UK. After a couple of years of standstill, 2015 brought a record 1,789,000 passengers from Britain and Ireland – a nine per cent increase on the year before, and the biggest rise in seven years. Pushed in part by the debut of P&O Cruises' 3,600-passenger Britannia (above) the number of passengers starting their cruise from a UK port increased to 840,000, a 12 per cent increase. Fly-cruise passengers reached 949,000, up by 4.9 per cent. The figures were announced as the cruise industry gathered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the Seatrade Cruise Global [...]

There really is no stopping Edie Rodriguez and Crystal Cruises. Just months after the successful launch of Crystal Yacht Cruises' 62-guest Crystal Esprit, the “World’s Most Awarded Luxury Cruise Line” has announced it will build a Polar class megayacht. Measuring 600 feet (183 meters) long and carrying 200 passengers, the 25,000 gross ton new build Crystal Endeavor will be the largest and most spacious megayacht afloat. Construction begins in May and the ship will carry its first passengers in August 2018. Endeavor will be the first purpose-built Polar Code compliant yacht in the world with a PC6 Polar Class designation, [...]

Cruise & Maritime Voyages must find a special woman to take charge of the christening of their latest ship next June. The vessel, which will be re-named Columbus, already has an illustrious history and an impressive list of godmothers. Launched in 1989, the ship was originally christened Star Princess by actress Audrey Hepburn. In 1997 the vessel was transferred to P&O Cruises to replace the much-loved Canberra. Following a refit at the Harland & Wollff yard in Belfast, she was re-named Arcadia by Betty Boothroyd, who was Speaker of the House of Commons. Fast forward to 2003 when Arcadia was [...]

Harmony of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, has begun three days of sea trials. The 1,188-ft ship left the STX yard in St Nazaire shortly after 2.00 pm today for three days of tests in the Bay of Biscay. There are 500 technicians and crew on board, including three pilots who have been trained on simulators. The ship, a slightly bigger sister to Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, will be put through manoeuvres designed to check its handling, speed, propulsion, and turning capacity. As the chart (courtesy of Marine Traffic) [...]