Captain Greybeard

Pacific Princess, the smallest ship in Princess Cruises’ 17-strong fleet, is heading for the UK after completing a multi-million pound renovation. The two-week dry dock in the Grand Bahama shipyard gave the 670-passenger vessel modernised guest areas, four renovated dining venues, 178,000 square feet of new carpet and the Princess livery on her hull. All 336 staterooms now include the line's signature Princess luxury beds and linens, as well as new carpeting, headboards, draperies, lighting and USB ports. Sleeper sofas have been placed in suite staterooms, providing the option for additional berths. The ship’s atrium has been upgraded with a [...]

EXCLUSIVE: Television’s love affair with cruises and cruising people is blossoming – with two familiar series being readied for a return to our screens next year. Princess Cruises announced tonight [Thursday] that a third six-part series of The Cruise is being filmed on board the 3,560-passenger Royal Princess in the Mediterranean this summer. And if that wasn’t enough, a three-part series is to be shot on board 2,600-passenger Star Princess in Alaska, before the film crew returns to Royal Princess in November for a special three-parter in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, singer and TV presenter Jane McDonald is in the middle [...]

There’s a new cruise line branching out from the oceans to rivers. Fred Olsen’s new European venture announced today puts them alongside people like Crystal Cruises and those – like Viking and Scenic – who are taking the journey in the opposite direction. Despite its Norwegian heritage, Fred Olsen cruises are as English as a warm country pub on a winter’s day and it is promising that cruises on board the 156-passenger Brabant, will be just as welcoming. Itineraries, from five nights to 25, will operate on the Danube, Rhine, Main and Moselle. A total of 30 departures are scheduled [...]

What happens if you invest £34 million, some large sections of steel and a very big crane into a cruise ship refurbishment? Cunard’s Queen Victoria gets a whole new set of suites and a profile that looks more like her younger sister, Queen Elizabeth. During a four-week dry dock in Palermo, Sicily, Victoria is literally being carved up to enable the addition of a new stern section containing extra cabins and an extended Lido pool deck. Britannia Club accommodation – already a popular feature of sister ships Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth – is being added, along with a [...]

Crystal Mozart, the largest river cruise vessel in Europe, is about to get some serious competition. Rival luxury operator AmaWaterways is building AmaMagna, which will be the second double-width passenger ship on the Danube. AmaMagna will have 98 standard cabins, most of them larger than 300 square feet. There will be four extra-large suites and one Owner’s Suite. Additional amenities include a heated swimming pool on the sun deck, with whirlpool bath and a swim-up bar, plus a large spa area including a fitness room large enough for group classes. Passenger capacity will be 194 and the ship has several [...]