Three new ships christened in the UK
The world’s biggest cruise ship, the new Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas operates from Southampton for summer 2008 and 2009, and arrived in Southampton on April 25. It will be named on April 30 - not by a celeb, but by Elizabeth Hill from Chesterfield in Derbyshire, an ordinary person who has been picked for her extraordinary work with children and young people.
P&O’s new Ventura 'superliner' was christened by TV and film star Helen Mirren in Southampton on April 16. This new ship is designed for the British market and will make regular sailings from Southampton. Noddy and Mr Bump will take to the seas on Ventura and the other P&O family-friendly ships. First sailing was Friday 18 April.
MSC new ship Poesia was christened by Sophia Loren in Dover on April 5 – the first MSC ship inaugurated outside Italy. It was the first time MSC Cruises has launched a ship outside Italy. Guests included singer Andrea Bocelli, actress Sophia Loren and pop star KT Tunstall. Its maiden voyage went from Dover to Venice.
NCL is basing two ships in the UK for 2008, Norwegian Jade which has been moved from Hawaii and Norwegian Jewel. Both offer a huge choice of dining options in NCL's 'dine when you like' 'Freestyle Cruising'. Cruises start from Dover or Southampton.
Sea Princess will also operate UK sailings from Southampton, and and the 110,000 ton Carnival Splendor is also based in the UK for summer 2008, cruising from Dover.
Other debut ships in 2008
Holland America’s new 115,000 ton Eurodam makes its maiden voyage in July. Read more about Eurodam in the Eurodam Blog. And save 10% on Eurodam cruise prices through www.cruisesonline.co.uk
The new Celebrity Solstice sets sail in December 2008. This 2850 passenger ship is the first of its type for Celebrity. It will present an industry first on the top deck of the ship: real, growing grass set in an innovative new country club environment known as “The Lawn Club.”And save 9% on Celebrity Solstice cruise prices through www.cruisesonline.co.uk
New Brochures Launched
NCL Freestyle Cruising Preview brochure 2008/2009 is out now and you can save up to £200 per stateroom with great Early Booking Discounts plus 10% extra discount from Cruises Online. Meanwhile sail away with a FREE five-category stateroom upgrade or even a Mini-Suite - offer ends on 30 April 2008.
Celebrity Cruises European 2009/10 itineraries are on sale now with a best ever early booking offer up to £400 off per stateroom, plus save 9% on Celebrity Cruises prices through www.cruisesonline.co.uk
On sale from 21 April are
P & O Cruises Euromed 2009 departures up to and including 31 May 2009 plus Princess Cruises Mediterranean 2009 programme,
Ocean Village and Ocean Village Two Mediterranean 2009 programme and
Cunard Line Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria Aug 08–Dec 09 departures.
Other Cruise News
May 2008 sees the ever-popular Braemar enter dry dock for refurbishment and lengthening. Returning to service in July, the ship will have improved facilities but the same intimate feel that is customary on all Fred. Olsen cruises.
HM The Queen will make a farewell visit to Queen Elizabeth 2 in Southampton, on Monday 2 June. QE2 has traveled over 5.6 million nautical miles, more than any ship ever, has carried over 2.5 million guests, has completed 25 World Cruises, and has crossed the Atlantic 802 times. She leaves Cunard service in November 2008.
Holland America Line celebrates its 135th anniversary this month. The company that grew from a cargo and passenger line to a full-fledged cruise operator has carried more than 10m passengers from Europe to the New World and on vacations around the globe.
Cunard's Queen Victoria will be spending the 2009 summer and autumn travelling from her homeport of Southampton to the Mediterranean, the Baltic, Norway and Iceland. There will be a total of 18 Maiden Calls to places as diverse as Reykjavik, Boston and Quebec City.
Celebrating her 5th anniversary year in 2009 Queen Mary 2 will mark this occasion with her first ever round-British Isles voyage. Queen Mary 2’s Transatlantic season in 2009 offers even more variety with the introduction of a new Boston crossing and a selection of no-fly roundtrip voyages to the US.
Carnival Cruises have announced an expanded season of Baltic cruises for Summer 2009. 2,974-passenger Carnival Liberty will offer 13 sailings from Dover from May 9 – August 25.
New worldwide destinatons for experienced cruisers
With regular cruisers running out of new destinations, Costa Cruises have come to the rescue with a new set of cruise itineraries.
There are week-long cruises from Dubai to locations in that area including Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.
Costa has also developed cruises between Hong Kong and Singapore with a number of calls at Saigon and exciting locations in Vietnam. Some cruises include China and Japan or Borneo and the Philippines.
Contact Blue Water Holidays Cruises Online for information and to book at discount prices. |
