Molly McIntyre

A huge milestone was made today with the third Quantum class cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas. The first steel was cut which officially begins the construction process. The steel was cit at the Mayer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany which is also the same location where sister ship Anthem of the Seas is also currently being constructed. There was also a ceremony at the yard which is traditional when building cruise ships. This ceremony was extra special as Royal Caribbean also revealed the name of the 167,800 ton ship as Ovation of the Seas and will be the third in...

Lorraine Arzt travelled with Princess Cruises for over 5000 days which is almost 14 years solid at sea.  In her younger days most of it was done with her beloved husband Joe who passed away in 2002. She was an iconic legend amongst regular passengers and crew members alike who treated her as one of their own. After Joe died, and she returned to cruising, the Princess Cruises crew made sure she was never alone, often taking it in turns to sit with her. She even had her own embroidered cushion with "Lorraine" on it and always had a glass...

Cunards Queen Mary 2 arrived into Southampton Waters earlier this morning to a tumultuous welcome and was escorted by her Cunard counterparts, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. She will be celebrating her 10th anniversary with a special luncheon on board which will be attended by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and local dignitaries. Later this evening a 10 year old local boy, Todd Travers, will have the honour of setting off 10 minutes of fireworks at 10pm as all three ships make their way back out to sea. Photo Credit:James Morgan  

P&O have announced lots of details about their launch for 2015/16 cruises. Each itinerary in the brochure will be categorised after intensive customer feedback as either Gold, Silver or Bronze depending on it's appeal. In 2015/16 P & O will :- - sail 25 seas - cruise 662004 nautical miles - vist 81 ports in 61 countries - feature 211 cruises with 38 maiden calls Top 10 New Destinations for the fleet will be:- Sevastopol Fort William Gozo Frederikstad Bonifacio Jacksonville Haugesund Belem Killybegs Tobermory The fleet will have 65 overnight calls in 12 destinations including Manaus, Quebec, St Petersburg, Seville, Istanbul and Venice. Ocean will replace Ventura on the med/fly cruises whilst Azura is joined by Britannia...

Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Anthem of the Seas, which is due to be launched in May 2015, went on sale yesterday to the British public. Early indications are that she is a hit with us Brits, as agents needed fastest finger first to book their clients on her maiden cruises. With a variety of options from 3 nights to 16 nights, and prices from £399 per person to £1599 per person, there really is something for everyone. Her first sailing from her homeport of Southampton will be on 22nd April for an 8 night voyage taking in the delights of...

Royal Caribbean will shortly be announcing a Celebrity Chef to head up  a new venture on board Anthem of the Seas when she sails from Southampton next year. In information just released that chef will be one of the four below. - Heston Blumenthal - Gordon Ramsay - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Jamie Oliver While all of these chefs have so much to offer I firmly believe that in order to keep up with their innovative way of thinking the chef would need to be Heston Blumenthal so here I am putting my cards on the table. Watch this space..... and I will let you know as...

P & O have announced their much waited news today. The on sale dates for their new ship Britannia. She goes on sale for past passengers in Caribbean, Baltic and Ligurian tiers on the morning of 26th March and on general sale at 8am on 27th March. Itineraries range from 2, 7, 11, 12, 14 and 15 nights with destinations including Norwegian Fjords, Baltic, Western Mediterranean, Canaries and the British Isles plus a few short break cruises. Excitingly Britannia will be based in the Caribbean for winter from 23rd October 2015 until 12th March 2016. An initial peek at the prices...

Allure of the Seas has gone on sale today to members of its Crown & Anchor Club in the UK. Allure of the Seas is the biggest cruise ship in the world and beats its sister ship Oasis of the Seas by just 5cms in length! With prices starting from just £789 per person for a weeks cruise with no flights and from £1029 per person with flights it's looking like Royal Caribbean are going to have a storming day in sales. The ship goes on general release on 18th February and its eagerly awaited Quantum Class ship  Anthem of the Seas...

With the trial Of Captain Schettino, Captain of the Costa Concordia, safety has been paramount in everyones minds within the cruise industry, and it is interesting to see Carnival invest a total of $50 million for a new facility in the Netherlands. This purpose built facility will be built close to Almere and according to Bloomberg shows Carnival's commitment to training and safety with Simulator Maritime Training. The complex is to feature four engine rooms and bridge simulations. Carnival are also spending $700 million on other safety improvements such as fire prevention as well as increasing back up generator capacity on...