united kingdom cruise News

According to a P&O Cruises announcement the cruise line will be broadcasting the BBC World News coverage of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee commemorations live on the 5th June 2012.

Nearly 500 guests explored Derry on Wednesday morning after their cruise liner docked at Lisahally during its maiden journey.

The 33,819 ton, 706 passenger Saga Sapphire finally departed from Southampton on Sunday on its way to the Baltic after its maiden journey was delayed because of technical hitches that took longer than anticipated to sort out.

It’s barely 12 months since Portsmouth International Port has opened its doors, but things couldn’t have been going better. The port is, in fact, getting ready for the arrival of no less than 18 cruise liners in May, in what is no doubt going to be a record month for this southern coastal dock.

On the 3rd of July this year, when P&O celebrates its 175 anniversary and all seven of the line’s ships gather in Southampton to take part in the celebrations, they will be reviewed by Anne, the Princess Royal.

Travel agents were the lucky first guests to board Costa Cruises brand new flagship, the Fascinosa, when she embarked on a mini-cruise on Sunday.

Royal Caribbean says in a press release that a third cruise ship will sail from the UK in the summer of next year – which represents a record ex-Britain deployment for the company. The 2,112-passenger, 90,090-ton Brilliance of the Seas will spend the summertime cruising from Harwich after a major revamp in May 2013.

Oceania Cruises says in a press release that, with immediate effect, all flights will be included in the cruise price for UK passengers.

A newly released study has examined the links between health, happiness and the seaside. Researchers came to the conclusion that being by the sea can enhance well being – showing there is at least some truth in the words of the well-known song “Oh we do like to be beside the seaside.”

Greenwich, a borough near central London, will boast a huge cruise-liner terminal – as soon as the authorities give the development the go-ahead.

With the Olympic Games around the corner and the peak cruise season in the Northern Hemisphere approaching at the same time, some of us might experience a conflict of interests: should I embark on a relaxing cruise holiday or stay at home and watch the Olympics on television?

Portland, UK is getting ready for the coming cruise season as visits by cruise ships begin with a bang at the start of May. The first exciting visit of the season will be that of Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas.

For those who would like to enjoy the British summer to the full, yet mix it with a visit to some historical sites, Swan Hellenic has just the answer: a 14-night Treasures of the British Isles cruise that has been developed in collaboration with the National Trust.

Swan Hellenic has announced its 2013/14 cruise programme during which the company’s flagship, the 350-passenger Minerva, will visit no less than 16 new destinations. In total, the cruise liner will cruise to 184 international ports during the 2013/14 cruise season.

Owners of the Titanic Memorial Cruise claim a huge spike in visits to its website soon after the screening of Julian Fellowes’ short television series Titanic on ITV on Sunday night.

There will now be an additional highlight to Cunard's Three Queen's Diamond Jubilee Event: the world renowned Red Arrows will join forces with the company to make the 5th June celebrations even more special.

A ferry might not be a cruise liner – although some of them get converted to cruise liners as we have recently reported. For many of us though, they are the first contact with the seafaring world and from here many people go on to become avid cruise lovers – or not, depending on that very first experience they have with a ferry.

The release of the 3D version of James Cameron’s movie Titanic and the beginning of a new four-part weekly television series called Titanic on ITV on the 25th March no doubt stimulated renewed interest in the golden era of cruising.

MSC Cruises recently announced a new regional fights programme. Passengers planning to cruise with MSC Fantasia, MSC Splendida and MSC Musica can fly from Leeds Bradford, Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool, Belfast and Newcastle at special rates from March to October 2012.

The UK’s 50 cruise ports are handling more passengers than ever before – according to figures released on Monday. More than 100 cruise liners docked at UK ports last year – an increase of more than 6% over 2010.

In 2012 Fred Olsen Cruise Line with give everyone in Scotland – and those with close ties to Scotland – an opportunity to embark on a whole array of regional cruise holidays from Scottish ports.

One can’t help but wonder whether the good citizens of Belfast have a macabre obsession with the Titanic. If one takes into account the tragic fate of the cruise liner it perhaps seems a little bit odd to remain so proud of it that you would actually build a £90 million visitor centre to give visitors a peak inside the ship that hit an iceberg a century ago this year.

Four stars from the Strictly Come Dancing series – Ian Waite, Natalie Lowe, Pasha Kovalev and Katya Virshillas – will be taken through their paces by P&O Cruises on a special Strictly cruise in May this year.

While it is not quite summer yet and going on a summer cruise might still not be the best option for the next month or two, this is the perfect time of the year to go to a cruise show to find out about everything that is happening in the world of cruising.

MTN has introduced an improved version of its MTN Worldwide TV service to crew and passengers on board cruise ships. The company delivers specific cruise content and entertainment programming to devices that are Wi-Fi enabled such as tablets, laptops and smart-phones.

Those readers who are in their fifties or older will no doubt still remember the very popular television series from the seventies The Love Boat. The adventures of the crew members and their passengers kept millions of viewers around the world glued to their television sets night after night.

Figures released by the Passenger Shipping Association (PSA) show that nearly 700,000 Britons embarked on their very first cruise in 2011 – and that many of them departed from a UK port.

While Carnival Cruise Line will target the UK cruise market next year and also deploy two ships in Europe, this is not only because Europeans have started warming up to the brand, but also to fill a gap in the market that was created when Ocean Village ceased to operate.

This time it was the turn of Royal Caribbean to announce plans to operate a cruise ship from the UK. The ship in question is Adventure of the Seas. She will operate out of Southampton from May 2013. Her sister ship, Independence of the Seas, will continue sailing from Southampton for the fourth year in a row next summer.

Princess Cruises has taken the unprecedented decision to auction the first ticket onboard the brand new Royal Princess for charity. The ship’s inaugural journey will commence on the 16th of June, 2013.

Swan Hellenic’s Minerva has returned to service after undergoing a multi-million pound revamp. It arrived in Portsmouth on the 2nd March – ready to embark on a quasi-inaugural journey to the Canary Islands.

Fred Olsen Cruises has released a brochure in which the company lists no less than 57 pre-launch cruises for the 2013/14 season.

This year you have the chance to make Mother’s Day an unforgettable experience for your mother by treating her to a cruise on board Voyages of Discovery or Swan Hellenic – for as little as £999 per person sharing.

Voyages of Discovery is offering their guests the once in a lifetime opportunity to become part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee flotilla in June 2012.

It will no doubt be rather crowded in Southampton on the 3rd July when all seven of P&O’s ships will be anchored there to commemorate the cruise line’s 175th anniversary.

On Wednesday Celebrity Cruises gave cruise lovers a sneak preview of its exciting itineraries for the 2013 summer season. The company’s CEO and President, Dan Hanrahan, was speaking at a press conference in London. He revealed that Celebrity Infinity will, for the first time, join Celebrity Eclipse next year to offer luxury cruise holidays from the United Kingdom.

If you are one of the key workers at the Olympic Games in London this summer, you will probably already be aware of the good news that Fred Olsen’s Braemar has been chartered to provide accommodation for you and your colleagues.

When Michelin-star chef Paul Rankin presented a series of gastronomic showcases onboard MSC Splendida a week ago, this proved to be very popular with guests.

British cruise lovers have just received more exciting news: they will get the first opportunity to take a cruise on board the new Royal Princess when she makes her inaugural cruise next summer. The ship is currently being built in Italy.

February is of course carnival time in Rio de Janeiro, with the largest street party in the world about to hit that city. Here in the United Kingdom we have news about a Carnival of a different nature: Carnival Cruise Lines has announced it will bring back a cruise liner to the UK in 2013. This will be the first time since 2008.

Princess Cruises waited until Valentine’s Day to unveil the inaugural season itineraries of its much-awaited Royal Princess. The ship will make its debut in June 2013. The company also simultaneously provided more information about the new ship’s features.

On 5th June 2012 Cunard Line will be celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a one-of-a-kind Cunard Royal Rendezvous. This is of course the last day of the Jubilee celebrations.

Silversea Expeditions is still busy with its offensive to try and get more cruise reservations from British travel agents. Conrad Combrink, the company’s director, has been visiting travel agents across the UK the past week. He says sales of cruise expeditions were going well, but that there was still plenty of scope for improvement.

Liverpool cruise fans will no doubt be very happy to hear that Fred Olsen cruise line will be back in the city during the spring and summer of next year. A wide variety of worldwide itineraries will be on offer between April and August next year.

P&O Oriana was welcomed back at Southampton port recently after she spent a month in the dry dock. During this period she was refurbished and transformed into an adults-only ship. In the process she also received 26 additional cabins and a brand new Marco Pierre White restaurant called Ocean Grill – a concept that has proved hugely popular onboard P&O Adonia.

MSC Cruises will no longer use Antony Worrall Thompson next month to perform a series of culinary demonstrations aboard their cruise liner MSC Splendida.

Southampton is celebrating this week after news that Liverpool’s plans to convert itself into a turnaround cruise terminal have suffered a serious setback.

Tenacious, the tall ship that has been designed and built to be manned by a mixed crew of disabled people and able-bodied staff, will definitely partake in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the 3rd June 2012 to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

There’s little doubt that 2012 will be a good year for British cruise lovers, as an increasing number of cruise lines choose to base themselves in the United Kingdom, some of them offering special cruises to tie in with the upcoming Queen’s Jubilee.

P&O Ferries has announced that it will soon take delivery of its second new ship, the Spirit of France. The €180 million ship will be handed over at a ceremony taking place at the STX Europe Shipyard, which is located in Rauma, Finland. The ceremony is planned for Tuesday, the 24th January 2012.

P&O Cruises has announced that it has commissioned a special book to celebrate 175 years in the maritime business.

Undoubtedly we are going to be virtually engulfed with Titanic fever over the next couple of months as the centenary of the ill-fated cruise liner’s sinking gets closer.

The latest research carried out by entertainment and travel experts Travelzoo shows that the internet is becoming increasingly important in the world of cruise holidays.

The Southampton economy will receive a boost of at least £10 million from no less than four P&O world cruises departing from here within the first two weeks of January 2012. More than 6,000 passengers will use the cruise terminal during this period.

While most of us probably spent Christmas and New Year at home or at a holiday resort, eating and drinking as if the world would really end in 2012, others had to work to prepare for the new year.

MSC Cruises will, for the first time ever, send ships to Dublin and Cork this year. There will be no less than four different itineraries during August and September 2012.

This year Fred Olsen Cruise Lines will offer cruise lovers three cruises with the special topic of antiques. All three cruises will feature antique experts from the Antiques Road Show on BBC Television. These experts will share their passion and knowledge with guests who are interested in the subject.

A British, Bristol-based cruise company is offering two cruises that will celebrate the 15th April anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The two cruises are going to follow the route that the ill-fated ship took. These two Titanic anniversary cruises are also sparking another type of related tour from another travel company. The Russian built submarine that was sunk will be part of a summer 2012 tour. The travel company is offering a chance to explore the wreckage of the submarine, with the trip costing £37,000.

Strictly Come Dancing has, in the past, offered make up, clothing, fitness DVDs, and even novels. Now the successful BBC TV series is providing some themed cruises. BBC will make an announcement soon with regards to a tour operator and a deal wherein members of the public can come to the shows that are run by professional dancers. There will also be judges. These themed cruises are happening on actual ships, meaning that dancers and judges will be going to a variety of destinations, with the cruise line soon to be announced.

The advent of sea cruise ships forever changed the history of passenger cruises. Riverboat cruises were popular in earlier centuries because it was one of the quicker means of transportation. With no cars, people had to take trains, riverboats or wagons along the journey path. When it became easier to drive and also fly to all sorts of locations, riverboat cruises became less important for transportation.

The River Mersey Cruise Terminal decision is on hold for Liverpool due to the government stepping in.

Strictly Come Dancing might be over on your local television channel – at least for another year, but with P&O Cruises you will soon be able to meet one of the judges and a number of contestants in person while you sail the seven seas.

The great Irish exodus began in the 1840s and lasted for many decades afterwards. More than two and a half million Irish individuals eventually emigrated through the Queenstown harbour near Cork – nowadays called Cobh.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has announced that one of its ships will be based at Harwich International Port in 2013, from where it will embark on turnaround cruises.

P&O Cruises says a strong increase in demand for ex-UK cruise holidays has encouraged it to add no less than seven new cruise itineraries for 2012 – all of which departs and ends right here in the United Kingdom.

Although the name “Hamilton” – the ship’s new port of registry – may now be emblazoned on the hull of Cunard Line’s flagship Queen Mary 2, in the Grand Lobby there is a new reminder of the ship’s British heritage: a large portrait of the Queen.

For the new Titanic Belfast exhibition, the 12 days of Christmas have already started. Ticket sales opened on the 11th of December. Everyone who buys tickets between now and Christmas Eve will get a 5% discount on admission and they will also be entered into a prize draw for tickets to the MTV concert that takes place on the Titanic slipway just after the winter.

Carnival Cruise Lines is on the verge of launching a major ad campaign in the UK market. The company’s new Managing Director, Adolfo Perez, recently talked to Lee Hayhurst of TravelWeekly about the cruise line’s other plans to improve its public profile.

MSC Cruises (UK and Ireland) must be doing something right. That is if we look at the huge success the cruise line is enjoying lately. The company has experienced virtually unparalleled growth in October and November – in fact bookings are up by more than 70% compared to the same time last year.

It is still not too late to arrange a Christmas party on board your favourite cruise liner, pick up some duty-free vodka or gin for less than £10 a litre and do some final Christmas shopping.

At the Kyle of Lochalsh station in the Scottish North-west is an Atlantic-class inshore life boat that will soon be called Spirit of Fred Olsen.

A recent study of the holiday habits of Britons over the age of 40 to find out how many countries they have visited showed that cruisers regularly see more countries than non-cruisers. The study polled more than 2,000 Britons.

An independent online travel agent has recently conducted research into the holiday habits of the average UK citizen. According to its findings, a third of under 30s in the UK have never been on anything other than a beach holiday. No ski holidays, no city breaks and certainly no cruise holidays for these guys and girls.

How long the ongoing war of words between Southampton and Liverpool over the latter’s plans for a turnaround cruise terminal will last is difficult to know. Just as it looked as if the storm had died down, a new flurry erupts.

The name Robert Ballard might not mean much to the average cruise lover, until he or she is reminded that Dr Ballard was the man who discovered the wreck of the Titanic.

Both Oriana and Oceana will use Southampton as a home base throughout the winter of 2012/13, thereby effectively doubling P&O Cruises’ capacity in the region. Cruises will vary between two and 35 nights in duration.

Next time you see a cruise ship sailing out of Southampton port, do not make the mistake of thinking the passengers are on their way to a far off destination such as the Bahamas or Buenos Aires. They may, in fact, just be heading for Le Havre for the weekend.

The biggest UK-owned cruise company has signed up Blueberry Wave to take care of its communications planning and customer relationship management strategy.

We can now confirm the sad news that Cunard will soon no longer be registered in the UK. Soon the name Southampton will also no longer appear on the company’s lifeboats or be emblazoned across the sterns of their cruise ships. An era lasting 171 years has come to an end and within the next few months Queen Victoria, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth will bear the name of Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda.

Although the Cruise Show will be held in Glasgow for the first time during the next few days, some people are not all that happy with the state of the cruise industry in Scotland.

It is now nearly a year ago that the Queen was taken on a tour of the Cunard ship that carries her name. Afterwards, she smashed a bottle of wine against the ship’s hull, thereby christening her.

Royal Caribbean has decided not to go the same route as market leader Carnival Cruises as far as cutting agents’ commissions is concerned – at least not for 2012.

The Passenger Shipping Association says that more UK citizens are choosing cruises that depart from a UK port than in previous years.

If you love cruising but you prefer cruise destinations that are a little bit off the beaten track, you should undoubtedly drop in at the Scandinavia Show 2011 being held this weekend at London’s Earls Court.

More and more Brits tend to be starting their ocean cruise holiday from a port within the UK than in the past, according to figures from the Passenger Shipping Association.

Scotland is to host the biggest cruise show ever in the UK next month as The Cruise Show arrives in Glasgow and Birmingham. This will also be the first cruise show ever to be held in Scotland.

The development company created to regenerate the economy of Liverpool has been in secret talks to provide a final resting place for the QE2 on Merseyside.

The charismatic founder of Orion Expedition Cruises, Sarina Bratton, breezed into Britain last week for her yearly meeting with travel agents and an assortment of industry representatives to outline what the company has in store for 2012.

Cunard Line’s cruise ships have been flying the UK flag for 171 years. Even after the company was taken over by the American Carnival Corporation 13 years ago its ships were still registered in the UK and they sailed under the British flag.

The good people of Scarborough got a closer look at the biggest cruise liner in the world as she cruised along the East coast recently.

When one watches the many cruise liners leaving Southampton packed with happy holidaymakers, one might easily make the mistake of thinking that the cruise lines are making a killing and that cruise prices are still way too expensive and should come down.

On Saturday night Grand Princes slowly sailed down Southampton Water. As soon as she came out of the Solent, the cruise ship’s captain steered her in a south-south-west direction.

Southampton’s port will be bursting at its seams over the next couple of days as the city’s waterfront experiences one of the busiest periods of 2011.

It seems that Thomson Cruises are quite serious about combining the entertainment and cruising industries. Not only has it just launched Showboaters (a talent competition) on Sky One, the company has also decided to set up stage schools for its star-struck younger supporters on board its ships.

When the £350 million Cunard cruise liner Queen Elizabeth visited the port of Liverpool a few days ago, it provided renewed momentum to the city’s drive to have its cruise port declared a turnaround cruise terminal. At the moment Liverpool is not allowed to serve as an embarkation or disembarkation point for cruises.

Silversea Cruises has decided to move its reservation system back to its London offices. At the same time the company has launched a recruitment drive to sell tickets for its UK, Middle East and European cruises.

On the 7th September Southampton had the honour of being the first UK port ever to host two Silversea ships at the same time. The ships in question were Silver Cloud and Silver Whisper.

The latest voice in the growing choir of opposition against Liverpool’s plans to become a turnaround cruise destination is that of the Dover District Chamber of Commerce.

In the latest salvo in the Liverpool cruise terminal war, the UK Cruise Port Alliance (UKCPA) claims that up to £80 million a year could be stripped from the Welsh economy if plans to convert Liverpool into a turnaround port go ahead.

We have more than once raised the question on these pages whether bigger is necessarily better when it comes to the world of cruise ships. Are floating cities like Allure of the Seas really better, or does a small luxury ship like the Hebridean Princess with its 30 cabins provide a “better” cruise experience?

While the Liverpool Cruise Terminal awaits the government’s final decision on whether it will be allowed to host cruise turnarounds, the port is enjoying unparalleled growth in the number of cruise ships docking there. In 2012 the port will, for the first time, see more than 20 cruise liners visiting.

At least two river cruise companies operating on the Thames will offer a special Olympic service during next year’s Olympic Games in the UK. This is aimed at helping passengers who want to attend the events at Greenwich.

The UK port of Dover is going to help the Taiwanese port of Keelung to develop its potential as a cruise destination. This was confirmed on Wednesday by Dover port officials after they signed an agreement with the Taiwanese port.

Viking River Cruises has announced that the company will acquire two new river cruisers next year – the Aegir and the Embla.

Thomson Cruises has at last confirmed that the company’s flagship, Thomson Dream, was the host of a brand new talent show called Showboaters filmed by Sky1 HD.

Titan Travel has launched its 2012 range of river cruises for independent cruise lovers. The three brand new itineraries are featured in a brochure with a refreshing new look and lots of pictures to show just how elegant a river cruise experience can be.

It has only been a couple of weeks since one of the United Kingdom’s major cruise lines posted losses of millions of pounds. Under these circumstances one would expect announcements of austerity measures and cutbacks. It came as quite a surprise, therefore, to hear that the company has expansion plans.

Since Gill’s Cruise Centre’s collapse in July there have been a large number of post-mortems. Few of them have, however, concentrated on the long-term implications of the collapse – something that could have serious implications for both travel agents and cruise passengers.

One of the country’s most important maritime festivals will be back in Liverpool in September. It will kick off in grand style with a maiden visit by none other than the brand new Queen Elizabeth cruise liner.

In a clear case of sour grapes Southampton is now blaming Liverpool for its decision to shelve plans for a new £30 million cruise terminal for at least a year.

The Daily Echo revealed today that Liverpool has already had plans for £23m drawn up for major upgrades to its existing cruise facilities. The redevelopment plans include a baggage and passenger handling facility and an additional vehicle bridge.

The cruise industry has become an important source of income for ports up and down the United Kingdom. It is not just the ports that benefit though – the local economies are also benefiting hugely.

The CEO and Chairman of Royal Caribbean, Richard Fain, sounded quite offended when veteran cruise journalist John Honeywell suggested to him this weekend that it was about time Celebrity Cruises retired the 16-year-old Celebrity Century.

As part of its maiden summer Baltic season Star Clippers will be sailing from Southampton with their full-rigged ship Star Flyer next year. The Star Flyer can carry 170 passengers in comfort and luxury. It will be the first time ever a Star Clipper ship enters British waters since the company’s launch in 1991.

The fact that Celebrity cruises, the premium brand of Royal Caribbean, decided to launch their latest ship, the Silhouette, in a German port raised some eyebrows and might have created some concern in British cruise circles.

Cruising in general is experiencing surprisingly strong growth in the current economic downturn. Even more than sea cruising, river cruising is going through unprecedented growth. Those who have experienced river cruising will tell you that there is nothing that can compare to the joys of seeing different landscapes unfold while you relax in a deck chair.

The opening of the Hindhead Tunnel will help a lot to make things easier for Fred Olsen passengers when the Boudicca commences her second season from this port on the 1st November.

It’s quite amazing (or amusing, depending which way you look at it) what some people take with them on a cruise. The following are only a few of a long list of “strange” items that have been confiscated from passengers who were boarding cruise ships in Southampton – supposedly for a cruise holiday and innocent fun in the sun: carpet knives, cut-throat razors, pink furry handcuffs and toy guns.

We Cruise, a new division of the P&P Associates group, has bought the assets of troubled Gill’s Cruise Centre.

Fred Olsen’s first two British Officer cadets recently qualified at the Warsash Maritime Academy. Mike Rodwell, Managing Director of the cruise line, had the following to say about this event: “It is very satisfying to sponsor two such ambitious young men and to see them progress and develop into fully fledged Officer Cadets. We wish them every success for the future.”

Saturday’s rainy weather was not particularly welcoming, but nevertheless the grand entrance of six cruise ships in one day was hailed as a huge success by the port authorities of Southampton – who say they could handle an additional cruise ship without too much trouble.

One of the largest and oldest cruise travel agents in the UK had to stop taking reservations after a disastrous week during which four of the country’s biggest cruise lines broke ties with the company because they were concerned about its financial affairs.

Although we will not have luxury yacht SeaDream in London to provide accommodation during the Olympic Games next year, at least one other cruise ship will be berthed in the city during 2012’s summer games.

In January this year cruise lovers had the very special privilege of seeing six cruise liners meet in Southampton in one day – the first time in over fifty years this has happened. On that occasion Fred Olsen Cruises had two ships present: the Black Watch and the Balmoral.

We can now reveal that Liverpool has offered to pay back more than £5 million of the grants the city received. In return the port wants to be allowed to modify its cruise terminal so it can handle ship turnarounds.

The following story is about every cruise lover’s dream: to win a cruise holiday in a lottery. This is exactly what happened to Donald and Acquenella Gates of Covington recently. They were able to celebrate their 7th anniversary with a seven-day long Caribbean cruise on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship after winning a scratch card game offered by the Georgia Lottery.

Over the next couple of years several new vessels will be unveiled on Europe and the UK’s waterways as operators respond to the increasing demand for river cruise holidays.

Prince Edward’s wife, Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, will visit Southampton later this month. Sophie is, of course, the royal patron of Wessex Heartbeat, a charity based in the city.

Those who love a cruise holiday filled with style and ambience has just been offered the opportunity to add a touch of luxury to their next cruise – a chauffeur driven limousine will pick them up from their UK home and deliver them to the appropriate port or airport.

You might be someone who loves a cruise holiday but hates flying. Alternatively, you might simply savour the jealousy on your friends’ and family’s faces when they wave you off on your luxurious cruise holiday. Whatever the case, there are a multitude of cruises departing from UK ports in 2012 – everything from short Northern European breaks to round-the-world cruises.

The shipping minister announced on Tuesday that Liverpool’s second bid to get hold of a slice of the lucrative cruise trade will now be put out to consultation.

After a management restructure Trudy Redfern, the Managing Director of Silverseas Cruises, has decided to leave the company at end of June 2011.

As most of us know, the Royal Yacht Britannia has been retired. She has become a very popular tourist attraction at Leith docks. However, the Queen now has the job of finding a replacement ship to lead a 1000-strong flotilla on the Thames next year. This is expected to be a major highlight of the Royal lady’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012.

Luxury cruise company Crystal has acknowledged its initial prices were too high for the UK market. The company has now slashed its cruise prices in order to increase its customer base. This has resulted in bookings for 2011 to increase by 12% – but revenues have decreased by the same amount, indicating that they were not very successful in attracting new customers.

Liverpool has officially submitted a second controversial bid to get part of the lucrative “turnaround” cruise business Southampton currently enjoys.

Any festival can do with a couple of extra participants and Holyhead is no exception. The Newry Beach based festival will be boosted by no less than 3,000 cruise passengers this weekend when Crown Princess docks at the port.

Readers of Group Travel Organiser magazine have voted Fred Olsen Cruise Lines the “Best Cruise Line for Groups” in the Group Travel Awards 2011.

Is bigger necessarily better when it comes to cruise liners? This is a valid question and the debate will probably never be settled one way or the other. Some people love the variety and big-ship feel of a large cruise liner, while others prefer the more intimate ambiance of a smaller ship.

Recent research conducted by the Passenger Shipping Authority shows that a minimum of one out of every nine package holidays taken by Brits was a cruise holiday. More than 40% of these cruises departed from British ports.

The largest privately owned cruise liner in the world brought an inaugural visit to the North East on Friday.

Princess Cruises has started a new section on the company’s Facebook page where passengers can recount their experience on board one of the cruise line’s ships. Whether it was a meeting that turned into a romantic relationship, a milestone celebration, running into family or friends, interactions with crew members or discovering new places and meeting new people, you can use the space to tell the world about your favourite Princess experience.

After basing a ship in Southampton for the first time this year, Italian cruise giant MSC has promised that the company would remain in the city “for the long term.”

Not all of us are fortunate enough to enjoy a cruise on a luxury cruise ship. Although cruising has become relatively affordable lately, many of us still find it beyond our means. For those on a budget there is now the opportunity to at least have lunch on board one of these luxurious hotels of the sea.

River cruises are often dominating travel news nowadays. According to the UK’s Telegraph, river cruises have in fact become the “fastest growing sector in the UK cruise market.”

After carefully considering all the various angles, the Mayor of London has approved the building of the new Greenwich cruise terminal – in time for the 2012 Olympics. The terminal will be built at Enderby Wharf in Greenwich, which is 20 miles nearer to London than the current Tilbury terminal. It will be within walking distance of tourist attractions such as the Cutty Sark clipper ship and the Maritime Museum.

Not only will Avalon offer cruise lovers more “suite” options with three Suite Ships in 2012, the company is also ready to tempt holidaymakers with three new cruise ships and four new itineraries that include South East Asia and Egypt.

In a certain sense it is a little odd that the Titanic has attracted thousands of cruise lovers to the glamorous world of cruising. Recently there were even a couple of cruises that specifically visited Nova Scotia, where many of the victims were buried.

Despite cruise holidays becoming more and more popular by the day, at least one port seems to be losing favour with major cruise lines.

Stena Line is getting ready to help travellers in crossing the Irish Sea after the UK Met Office predicted a second ash cloud to reach the UK. If this happens, it will once again throw thousands of air passengers’ travel plans into complete chaos.

The growing UK cruise market has attracted the attention of the German cruise line Hapag Lloyd. The company’s CEO, Sebastian Ahrens, said at a function in London last night that the company would love to draw more UK passengers in future.

Passengers who booked cruise tours on a Windstar cruise ship need not fear: the new buyers will honour existing reservations. In fact, TAC Cruise LLC (owned by billionaire Philip Anshutz) plans to expand itineraries after buying the parent company Ambassador.

According to history Helen of Troy had a face that could launch a thousand ships. Shirley Bassey might not be able to compete with that, but the grand dame certainly has a voice that could give it a go. On Saturday she and Hugh Bonneville fortunately only had to name one: P&O’s latest addition to their fleet, the Adonia. She would have made Helen proud.

For many passengers on board the SS Antoinette it was their first trip on a river cruiser. For the SS Antoinette it was the first time she carried passengers. She is unofficially called the Super Ship Antoinette and her Captain will probably go spare if you refer to her as a “river boat”.

The relatively cold, cloudy weather did little to dampen the enthusiasm of Cobh residents as they welcomed the Costa Deliziosa to their town. The ship docked there on Tuesday after it sailed from Vigo in Spain. It is the second cruise ship in a week to dock at Cobh.

The 20,000-ton cruise ship Discovery became the first visitor of the season to the port of Douglas Bay in the Isle of Man on Saturday.

More than 600 travel agents recently attended the 5th yearly UK Cruise Convention. They will no doubt be happy to have heard that they still play a crucial role in the UK cruise market.

Despite the adverse economic conditions the world is going through at the moment, the cruise industry is defying all odds and growing by leaps and bounds. The industry has doubled in size over the past decade.

Clydeport has launched a new Cruise Glasgow website as part of a campaign to provide more information to both cruise passengers and cruise lines about the Greenock Ocean Terminal.

Both ferry and cruise passengers travelling to and from Portsmouth will be serviced by a brand new, eco-friendly terminal from this coming Easter. The new terminal replaces an older one which dated back to 1976.

The year 2010 was a great year for the UK cruise industry. It saw a number of new ships launched and major upgrades to some existing cruise ships. The latest of the new ships to be launched was Cunard’s new flagship, the Queen Elizabeth.

London Mayor Boris Johnson will soon make a ruling on the proposed London Cruise Terminal. If approved, building will start by the end of 2011 and the terminal is expected to be completed in two to five years.

Lerwick harbour will play host to a record number of cruise ships this year. This is of course the second year the Tall Ships race will take place here.

Will cruisers soon be able to embark on major world cruises from Liverpool? If the local town council has its way, this will certainly be the case. Whether it’s about to happen, we will have to wait and see.

No doubt Southampton benefits greatly from the large number of cruise ships docking at its port every year. Cruise passengers not only stay at city hotels, they also shop at local shops, eat at local restaurants and use local taxis.