News

Top 10 cruise itineraries that stay in port overnight

Live like a local and make the most of your days ashore with cruise itineraries that stay in port overnight. There are cruise holidays, and then there are inclusive cruise holidays. There are port calls and then there are overnight stays. Saga Cruises has them all – and is stepping up the quality even further

September 2017

Sail with the world’s greatest living explorer

He was the first to reach both the North and South Poles by surface travel, is the oldest Briton ever to conquer Everest and has broken countless endurance records. But over the course of his two-night stay aboard Saga’s all-inclusive Jewels of the Canary Islands cruise, Sir Ranulph Fiennes will present himself firstly as raconteur,

September 2017

Star on board – Dean Andrews

Dean, 53, made his name as DS Ray Carling in Life on Mars and Robbie in Last Tango in Halifax. But his first love is singing, and he is a regular cabaret performer in The Limelight Club aboard P&O’s Britannia What is your first holiday memory? Going to Majorca and jumping off the rocks into

August 2017

Tauck’s Sweet sensation

US travel company Tauck is making waves on Europe’s rivers – and MS Sapphire’s new Scottish chef, Gavin Ness, has got everyone talking. Used to the very best, Tauck’s river cruise passengers aren’t easy to impress. But MS Sapphire offers them a double wow-factor – not just a brand-new look after a major refurbishment, but

July 2017

Secret bars and ‘ruin pubs’ on the banks of the Danube

When the ‘Iron Curtain’ fell across Europe in the late 1940s, the Danube became a river divided. Its infant waters flowed through democratic West Germany and Austria, yet this mighty waterway also coursed through Soviet satellite states Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine, along with the independent but communist-run Yugoslavia. In those latter countries,

July 2017

Scenic launches virtual reality tour

Scenic’s new virtual reality tour will give you the full Scenic Space-Ship experience before you get on board. Travel agents and guests can tour Scenic Diamond, which exclusively cruises the waterways of Bordeaux. After extensive renovations earlier in the year, Scenic Diamond was filmed in April this year. Scenic’s UK Brand Manager Nichola Absalom stated

July 2017

Queen Victoria’s £34 million refurbishment revealed

Cunard’s iconic ship Queen Victoria, made her much-anticipated return to Southampton this week, showing off an array of stunning new features following a £34 million refurbishment. First-look photography released today reveals the fruits of Cunard’s labour, from large enhancements to the subtle details, impeccable care and diligence has been taken to ensure passengers are greeted

June 2017

Queen Victoria’s refit in action

Take £34 million, some large sections of steel and a very big crane, and see how Cunard’s Queen Victoria’s profile is being changed into one 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

May 2017

Star on board – Gloria Hunniford

TV presenter Gloria loves to travel – especially when her grandchildren come too. What is your earliest holiday memory? Going to a caravan in Newcastle, County Down, even though we had to walk over a mile to the beach and five of us were crammed inside it. My mum hated it, but as kids we

April 2017

Star on board – Scott Grayson

Hotel services engineer Scott is a familiar face aboard ITV’s The Cruise… When did you join Princess? Three years ago. I was very excited but also very nervous. I’d come from the Navy, so going into a managerial role on a civilian vessel was quite daunting. My first ship was Sapphire Princess sailing around Asia,

April 2017

Alternatives to Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery

Voyages of Discovery is no more – and who knows what form Swan Hellenic will take when it reappears next year, following a last-minute rescue deal? These are tricky times if you like your cruises cultural – but there’s no cause for despair just yet. The collapse of All Leisure Group and the closure of Swan Hellenic

April 2017

The 10 Best Promenade Decks on the Sea

The old-fashioned promenade deck is making a comeback – and not before tim

March 2017

Silversea appoints its youngest ever captain

Silversea has appointed its youngest ever captain to lead the crew onboard Silver Muse, which launches next month. Captain Alessandro Zanello is half-Australian, half-Italian and 43 years old. He has been working with Silversea since 1999 and in that time has worked onboard all ships in the Silversea fleet. Silver Muse will be the second

March 2017

Confessions of a cruise-line lecturer

It takes a special kind of person to stand in front of a roomful of strangers and talk informatively about (almost) anything under the sun. So please give a big hand, ladies and gentlemen, to Mitchell Symons Nothing, nothing, and no. That’s how I answer the three most common questions when people discover that I

March 2017

Follow in Jane McDonald’s footsteps on Holland America Line

On tonight’s Channel 5 “Cruising with Jane McDonald” episode, she will be cruising the Alaskan Inside Passage onboard Holland America Line’s ms Nieuw Amsterdam. To cruise like McDonald, the Ms Nieuw Amsterdam offers 7-night cruises roundtrip Vancouver, visiting Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway, with a full day at Glacier Bay National Park prices from £819pp. The fly-ruise option is

March 2017

Jane McDonald discovers Uniworld in new TV series

Uniworld’s ship the S.S Maria Theresa features in episode three of the new series from Channel 5 ‘Cruising with Jane McDonald’. The programme sees McDonald cruise down the Danube on the Enchanting Danube itinerary. Throughout the series, she also boards a mega-cruise ship from Miami to the Caribbean with MSC, takes an intimate trip round the Inner Hebrides aboard a

February 2017