Cruise News

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 [...]

Nobel Prize-winning schoolgirl activist Malala Yousafzai is to be the godmother of cruise ship Celebrity Edge. Celebrity Cruises has announced a two-year partnership with the Malala Fund whose mission is to secure safe, free quality education for every girl in the world. The 19-year-old Peace Prize winner who was shot by the Taliban, will christen the ship in Fort Lauderdale on December 18, 2018. Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, said Malala's dedication to girls’ education sets an example worth following. "Partnering with the Malala Fund was a natural fit as we share the same passion and commitment [...]

Choosing a cruise can be a complicated business. Faced with a bewildering number of options for vessel and destination, the hopeful holidaymaker could be forgiven for abandoning ship. That’s even before being given the chance to select a preferred cabin – something that rarely arises when booking a hotel room. Then there’s a decision to be made about who to book with – will a High Street travel agent, an online specialist, or direct through a cruise line offer the best value for money? The launch of CompareThatCruise.com this week [April 10] aims to provide a solution to those problems [...]

Cruise and Maritime Voyages has taken delivery of its new flagship Columbus as the former Ocean Village and Pacific Pearl completed a farewell voyage from Australia to Singapore. The 1,600-passenger vessel is now in the Sembcorp Marine Shipyard for the start of work to adapt her for the new operators.. Contractors will continue refurbishment and design changes during a re-positioning voyage that will bring the ship to the UK in June. More than 300 crew members and 100 specialist outfitters have already joined Columbus, which will remain in Singapore until April 19 in order to complete maritime formalities including re-classification and provisioning works before embarking [...]

Micky Arison, the chairman of Carnival Corporation, is one of the most powerful men in the cruise industry and owner of NBA team Miami Heat. But he is an intensely shy person who rarely allows any glimpses into his soul. On board his company’s newest ship – Majestic Princess – he made a rare exception, during which we learnt how Cunard's Queen Mary 2 might never have been built without a nudge from his daughter, and whether he might be ready to build more ships for Cunard. Micky took part in a partially scripted Q&A session with Carnival president Arnold Donald, [...]

EXCLUSIVE: Saga’s new cruise ship, due to debut in summer 2019, is to be called Spirit of Discovery. The name is a change of direction from the tradition of current vessels Saga Sapphire and Saga Pearl 2 and Saga Cruises chief executive Robin Shaw says the name reflects a transformation in the expectations of the over-50s specialist’s customers. “The idea of a cruise being for people to get a suntan, lie on a deckchair and eat lots of food is gone,” he said. “Our customers have a desire to explore and engage with new experiences, whether that’s destinations, culture, food [...]