Your guide to news from cruise destinations around the world

Your guide to the latest news and updates from cruise destinations and ports of call around the world. Mediterranean, Europe, Caribbean, Alaska, South America, south-east Asia, Australasia, Arctic, Antarctica, Middle East. Southampton, Barcelona, Rome, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Barbados, Panama, Norway, Dubai, Bahamas, Abu Dhabi, Sydney, Auckland, Wellington, Baltic, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Marseille, Athens, Greece, Venice, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, Naples, Santorini, Mykonos, Le Havre, Amsterdam, Bruges, Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Kirkwall, Bergen, Svalbard, Iceland, Reykjavik, Costa Rica, Dominica, Puerto Rico, New York, Vancouver, Seattle, Skagway, Juneau, China, Shanghai, Singapore, Myanmar, Thailand,

Drink a toast in Crystal glasses

You probably thought a booze cruise was a ferry crossing from Dover to Calais to stock up with cheap drinks from Carrefour or Auchan. Or perhaps you had a two-nighter from to Zeebrugge in mind - packed with stags and hens who staggered off the gangway in Southampton or Tilbury bleary-eyed and nursing sore heads. Well think again. Luxury cruise operator Crystal is taking the concept to a whole new level. It has put together a selection of excursions throughout Europe this summer to satisfy the thirstiest throats and the keenest palates. Passengers from Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony will [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:31+00:00 11 June 2013|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Entertainment|0 Comments

Britain cruises to new record

The number of cruise ship departures form UK ports is expected to increase by three per cent this year, with regional destinations gaining business as well as familiar ports such as Southampton and Dover. Figures compiled by CruiseBritain also show a rapid growth in the popularity of round-Britain cruises - the number will rise by 12 per cent to 120 departures this year, and is up a remarkable 70 per cent since 2010. The total number of cruises departing from British shores will be 868, and they include voyages to New England and South America, as well as the more [...]

By John Honeywell| 2013-06-06T10:55:15+00:00 6 June 2013|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Sharks can earn a cruise discount

Some of the most awe-inspiring television in the past few weeks has been a nature documentary series shown only on BBC Scotland, although it was available south of the Border on the iPlayer and on Sky Channel 951. With a voice-over by Ewan McGregor and stirring shots of sea eagles and otters, rutting stags and basking sharks, HEBRIDES: Islands on the Edge has been an absolute feast. Those sharks could get you a discount on a visit to the region - just mention them when booking a cruise with Majestic Line to get £250 cash-back. The marine juggernauts - the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:31+00:00 4 June 2013|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Lobsters force cruise cancellation

There can't be many places on the planet where travel is more strictly regulated than the Galapágos Islands. Even so, it comes as a surprise to discover that a ship has been forced to cancel two cruises as punishment for carrying frozen lobster tails on board. Celebrity Xpedition fell foul of the national park authority's strict rules during a regular inspection. Park wardens who came on board in March found 12 kilograms of lobster tails and some octopus stored on the ship at a time when the fishing season for these species was closed. Celebrity says the lobsters "were purchased [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:31+00:00 1 June 2013|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Food & Drink, Cruise News|0 Comments

Plan now to take a cruise to follow the sun, and then watch it disappear

Unless you happen to be one of the 49,000 residents of the Faroe Islands, your best chance of getting a good view of the solar eclipse in March 2015 will be from the decks of a cruise ship. The event, on March 20, will be the last total eclipse visible in Europe until August 2026 - but only a small part of Europe will get to see it. Cruise lines have been quick to schedule voyages to take passengers to view the eclipse - it could get quite crowded in that small patch of the north Atlantic. At that time [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:31+00:00 1 June 2013|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

QM2 marks a maiden anniversary

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 arrives in New York tomorrow, 77 years to the day that the original Queen Mary made her maiden visit to the Big Apple in 1936. Many things have changed in the intervening years, not least the fare for a crossing from Southampton. Passengers travelling in third-class accommodation on Queen Mary paid £8 10 shillings (£18.50) for the privilege. An inside cabin on QM2 this week was £1,199. A Main Deck suite in 1936 would have cost £102 per passenger; the Balmoral duplex suite on QM2 was a mere £9,016 - but did come with its own [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:32+00:00 31 May 2013|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|3 Comments

Have a whale of a time in Norway

One of the most magical excursions I have ever undertaken was a whale-watching safari in northern Norway. It was November and snowing almost continuously; there were only a few hours of daylight. Travelling by a Hurtigruten ship from Tromsø to a Lofoten Islands hotel converted from fishermen's huts, I togged up in warm, protective clothing and joined a converted trawler to sail back towards the mainland and Tysfjord, where killer whales gathered each year. We saw a group of whales engaged in their trademark carousel feeding - where they round up a shoal of herring into a whirling ball and [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:33+00:00 22 May 2013|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Brighter Brilliance off to the Baltic

The spectacular Russian port of St Petersburg welcomes Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas tomorrow (Tuesday) for the first of eight scheduled visits this summer. The 2,112-passenger ship arrived in the Essex port of Harwich last week fresh from a £20 million revitalization. The 11-year-old vessel has been brought it up to date with the addition of many of the features which are now taken for granted on newer ships. There's a 220-square foot LED cinema screen above the main pool as well as new flat-screen TVs in every cabin, wi-fi access throughout the ship and an interactive touch-screen information [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:33+00:00 20 May 2013|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Beaucoup de godparents for the newest bateau in Bordeaux

When children are christened, they usually have a two godparents. Ships have to make do with just a godmother - or so I thought until Friday. CroisiEurope's newest vessel, MS Cyrano de Bergerac, had both a godfather and a godmother to swing a bottle of Champagne against its hull - not to mention a pair of "godparents of honours" in reserve. The 180-passenger boat was named at a quayside in the centre of Bordeaux, from where it will operate regular cruises along the Garonnne and Dordogne rivers and the Gironde estuary. Bordeaux's mayor, Alain Juppé, a former prime minister of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:33+00:00 19 May 2013|Cruise Destinations|0 Comments

Bobbing along in the Bay

From the print edition of the Daily Mirror, May 11, 2013 Capt Greybeard meets Capt Haddock and Snowy on the Île de Ré Bay of Biscay. Three little words that strike terror into the heart of sailors and landlubbers alike. The storm-tossed seas are a barrier that must be crossed on a cruise from Southampton or Dover to the warm waters of the Mediterranean or the Canaries. Quickly, before it turns round and bites. Its location between France and Spain attracts winds which follow the Gulf Stream across the Atlantic, and the shallow seabed exaggerates wave motion - all of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T15:59:33+00:00 11 May 2013|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|0 Comments