JUST two days in to our first ever cruise and my wife is already picking up the nautical language. As I walk off to get my third plateful from the cold meats buffet in P&O Azura’s Verona restaurant, she calls after me in a salty seadog voice: “Avast behind!” Very funny. But all this wonderful food isn’t going to eat itself, you know. A pal who’s an old hand at cruising says life on board a ship revolves around an itinerary. And don’t I just know it. Full English breakfast at 9am. Lunch about one-ish. High tea at 4pm. Drinks and an aperitif at 6pm. Three-course dinner around 8.30pm. Nightcap in one of the bars afterwards. And that doesn’t factor in the mid-morning snack and those post-lunch-pre-tea drinks and nibbles either. Carry on like this for a week and I’ll probably find myself heaving to, long before the Azura has to . . . I am really flinging myself into this cruising lark and … [Read more...] about Caribbean cruise is a feast of fun, food and adventure
Cruise
From QE2 to the Symphony: 50 years of elegance on the high seas
Lifestyle / Travel by Bill Gibb May 7, 2019, 12:01 am Sign up to our Weekly newsletter It was built in Scotland and shared with the world. It’s 50 years since the QE2, which had been forged on the slipways of the River Clyde, made its maiden voyage. New York was the destination, and thousands of well-wishers gathered in the port of Southampton to bid her “bon voyage”. Crowds gathered in the Big Apple, too, to see the grand lady dock in America. It was the first of 1,400 voyages the QE2 would make, sailing six million nautical miles and welcoming 2.5 million passengers. Having completed 25 tours around the world for Cunard, she finally retired to Dubai as a prestigious hotel attraction. Stepping on board was the height of seaborne elegance for so many, but the past half-century has seen the cruising market change beyond all recognition. At just under 1,000ft long, 170ft high and capable of taking about 1,800 passengers, the QE2 is dwarfed by the … [Read more...] about From QE2 to the Symphony: 50 years of elegance on the high seas
TripAdvisor expands into cruises with new section
TripAdvisor has today announced the launch a new subsection called TripAdvisor Cruises where users can read and write cruise reviews. The new page also includes a ‘Ship-tinerary’ section where users can select a ship to see details, reviews, photos and itineraries of the potential cruise. Users will also be able to compare prices of the cruises through the platform – which already offers the same service for restaurants, flights, hotels and activities in cities across the world. The new section will cater to the masses of TripAdvisor users who are already cruise lovers, with a 2018 survey stating that of the half-billion monthly TripAdvisor users, 32 per cent have already been on a cruise while 44 per cent would like to go on a cruise. Bryan Saltzburg, president of TripAdvisor Flights, Cruise & Car said in a statement: “We know our community demands the best options while travelling, and by adding awe-inspiring cruises to our platform, … [Read more...] about TripAdvisor expands into cruises with new section
Why a cruise remains the best-value way to see the Caribbean
It was 2.30pm on a blissful Monday afternoon. The water was warm, the rum punch was flowing, and I’d just swum through a school of blue fish mimicking the movement and direction of a sea turtle that accompanied me in the waters off Tortola in the British Virgin Isles. I’d just spent the past hour talking to Derrick, who had been guarding a government-owned hotel that was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017. “The ships started coming back three months ago and Tortola is rebuilding. It’s great to see the island coming to life again.” Quite. The draw of the Caribbean is clear for sun-starved Londoners: lush green forests, white-sand beaches and those trademark clear waters combine to make it an enticing prospect. And the best-value way to see as much of it as possible is on a cruise — for two weeks it works out at just over £100 a night full board. The Caribbean is where more than a third of all cruise ships are … [Read more...] about Why a cruise remains the best-value way to see the Caribbean
This $11,000-A-Night Luxury Cruise Liner Suite Features A $200,000 Bed
A luxury cruise liner has created an over-the-top $11,000-a-night suite which measures twice the size of an average American home and comes with a custom-made $200,000 bed and en-suite spa. Seven Seas Splendor has pulled back the curtain on its Regent Suite, a palatial apartment that spans 4,443 square feet — 20 times the size of an average cruise ship stateroom, or nearly twice as large as the average American home. Like the sounds of it? You’ll have to wait until at least 2021, as the $11,000-a-night cabin is already sold-out for the 2020 inaugural sailings. The suite centerpiece, meanwhile, is a $200,000 Vividus bed, custom-made by four master artisans at the Hästens workshop in Köping, Sweden. Easily the “most luxurious bed at sea,” it’s made with a pinewood frame, steel springs, layers of flax, horsetail hair, cotton and wool batting. Moreover, the bed required 300 hours of labor and 18 months to complete. How else do you up the ante in … [Read more...] about This $11,000-A-Night Luxury Cruise Liner Suite Features A $200,000 Bed