The oven is called the Glory Hole and is 1,120 degrees Centigrad. Fine on a cool, overcast day in the Med, not so much fun when the outside temperature is a sticky 80 degrees.
Managing director Giulio Libutti attributed the bookings surge to the fact the call centre is open longer and also on Sundays for the first time.
Apparently a lot of bookings are coming in for MSC Lirica, which is sailing the Baltic from Dover next summer, and the giant MSC Fantasia, which is being named in Naples on December 18.
This is the ship with the much-anticipated VIP Yacht Club - a separate area of the ship where top-paying passengers will enjoy butler service in their cabins, have a private swimming pool and observation lounge with bar.
]]>In a letter to travel agents, managing director Nigel Esdale says they will stop taking bookings for the Freedom dining restaurant so diners really do have freedom to turn up and dine when they want - hopefully getting a table straight away - the Beach House self-service will become an informal dining venue with waiter service and sunloungers will be placed on deck 19, in an area previously devoted only to the bungee trampolines and Cirque Ventura.
"We will retain the bungee trampolines which have been a real hit with passengers aged from 8 to 84. And we will continue to offer the Cirque Ventura circus skills school teaching the art of juggling, tightrope and stilt walking."
In addition, new furniture, including a reclining chair, will be put on cabin balconies, to help alleviate demand for loungers on the open deck.
I reported in my cruise column in the Telegraph on the problems of Freedom dining I encountered when I was on board and spoke to people who were fed up with the morning rush to grab a sunlounger so it's good news that all these things are now being addressed.
]]>I wrote a little on this for the next TW Cruise, due out soon, but since then the brochure has come out bearing more information and some magnificent itineraries that will take you around India, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and South Africa.
VoD's ship Discovery takes its time as it cruises through all these places so there's lots of time ashore. Anyone with the time and money could put some of these itineraries back to back and have an ultimate round-the-world trip.
OK, you won't make it to Australia so it's not quite RTW, but at least you would see the world as you went instead of spending endless days at sea, as is the norm on a standard world cruise.
There is no single supplement on a number of cabins and guaranteed no fuel surcharge on all bookings. All the cruises will have guest lecturers on board to add some insights into the places being visited.
VoD says it has switched to Asia to give passengers who have done Antarctica something new for winter 09/10. Makes sense. I cruised Antarctica with Voyages and much as I loved it, it's not something I would do twice with the same cruise line as I'd like to see how others cope with the harsh environment down there.
On my cruise, most of the passengers agreed they had done Antarctica and would not go back. After all, it's not cheap and makes more sense for them to spend their money seeing new places and cultures.
]]>Dubai is planning to match last week's fond farewell at the south coast port with an equally big welcome when the ship arrives in the emirate on November 26.
QE2 will be met at The World islands by a flotilla of local yachts, boats and leisure craft led by a Royal Navy frigate, and there's an open invitation to anyone with a boat to register and be part of the welcome.
QE2 is to be transformed into a luxury floating hotel off the trunk of Palm Jumeirah by new Nakheel, which is also planning to open a heritage museum displaying artefacts from the ship and of local maritime history.
Great for anyone who happens to be in Dubai, but what about past passengers left without their favourite ship to cruise on? I offered some QE2 alternatives in a piece in the Telegraph. Let me know if you have any other suggestions.
]]>The oven is called the Glory Hole and is 1,120 degrees Centigrad. Fine on a cool, overcast day in the Med, not so much fun when the outside temperature is a sticky 80 degrees.
Last time I saw Celebrity Solstice, it was about to leave the shipyard in Germany and was full of bubble wrap and cardboard boxes. All that has now gone, leaving behind a classy-looking ship with some special touches.
My favourite has to be the solarium, pictured here, which has smart loungers and a few of these wonderful giant chairs.
The bottom picture shows some of the comfy loungers on the Solstice Deck, an exclusive area on deck 16 where only those who can be bothered to walk will find. It will either be empty because no once can be bothered; more likely though, there will be some battle royales as passengers grab their place in the sun and refuse to shift for the rest of the day.
Because just as the rest of the industry starts to feel the crunch, White Star Cruises, the luxury cruise arm of WEXAS - The Travellers Club, reports record sales figures in October.
The on-line company sells only five and six-star cruiselines - the likes of Crystal Cruise, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, SeaDream Yacht Club, Swan Hellenic and Peter Deilmann - and says its average sales price is a whopping £5,500 per person.
Just to prove things are good, White Star has produced a 60-page on-line brochure featuring 15 of the world's top-rated cruiselines. General manager Scott Anderson calls it "informative, inspirational and independent".
No, I don't entirely follow the logic either. If a company is so happily crunch-busting, why spend time and effort creating such a masterpiece? But no matter. It's refreshing to have good news while all around is recession. Long may the luxury guys carry on cruising.
The over-55s specialist has found that the grey market is not half so concerned about the current economic downturn as bright young things saddled with debt.
Research by web analyst Hitwise found that almost 60% of vistors to cruise websites are aged over 55. More importantly for the trade, its report says they are more likely to book through a travel agency than direct with the cruise company.
"UK internet visits to cruise websites, which typically peak in December, increased by 8.2% between September 2007 and September 2008."
Hitwise figures also show that in the three months ended October 25 2008, the Caribbean was the most searched-for cruise destination in the UK, while Norway was the most popular destination. During September, P&O Cruises was the most visited cruise website in the UK, receiving one in every 10 visits to the category.
Naturally there is a reason why Grand UK is giving us this info. It has just launched its 2009 summer cruise programme featuring cruises from the UK on Fred Olsen Cruise Lines and Transocean Tours, which operates sailings on Marco Polo from Tilbury.
Grand UK Holidays sales director Harold Burke said retired holidaymakers are less affected by mortgage rate rises and their kids have left home. They're also accustomed to taking several breaks a year and can travel in term times.
]]>"We are not immune to the effects of the economy but we have not yet seen a downturn, and our experience is mirrored in these statistics."
Rather than dropping the supplement altogether, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is offering passengers who have paid the surcharge a refund if the price of oil is on average less than £40 per barrel in the calendar month before their departure.
The rebate will be offered for cruises after January 1 2009. As with other lines, money will be given back as on-board credit rather than a cash.
So after a day at home on Sunday and a day at World Travel Market yesterday, today I'm flying back out to Miami.
We've a two-day cruise before the naming so I'll be keeping you posted here and in Travel Weekly on how things are looking.
]]>There were some great acts on Crown and the ones on Princess Cruises' new ship Ruby Princess were just as good. Here are acrobats Vitalli and Dani doing their muscle-man stuff and comedy juggler Nick Pike doing his thing on a unicycle with a little help from a passenger. All good, honest fun you can dip in and out of, which I much prefer to the big production shows
with mediocre singers and dancers who take themselves so seriously.
The real tour lasts about two and a half hours and takes you to all kinds of places you never knew you wanted to visit - the ship's laundry, print shop, medical centre and photo lab. We didn't get to stop at these but all necks were craning as we walked past tantalising open doors. We really did want to visit them after all.
What we did get to do was climb into the funnel - no I didn't know what that was all about either, but look at a picture of a Princess ship and focus on the grill on which the logo is mounted; I was behind there. The pictures below were taken inside of the funnel, the bottom one looking out through the grill.
We went up to deck 18, but there are ladders right up to deck 21, 60 metres above sea level. No, was the short answer when I asked it we could go to the top.
Then we went down to the engine control room, the heart and soul of the ship, according to chief technical officer Robin Sutherland, who gave us a fascinating insight into the ship's engines, propulsion and the hi-tech waste water systems.
Yes I know it sounds nurdish, but it was really interesting - and I loved the idiot's guide to waste on the computer, which had a picture of a toilet to denote black water and a sink to illustrate grey.
Last stop was the food stores, where about 150 tons of eats and drinks is kept - that's just per cruise - and from whence comes the necessary bits to create around 20,000 meals a day.
Paying passengers will also visit the galley, where they will be served champagne, caviar and canapes and be presented with a chef's coat, go back stage at the theatre and have bubbly and strawberries on the Bridge, and their picture taken with the Captain.
All that for a cool $150 per person, which sounds a lot but as only 12 people per cruise will get to do it, I reckon passengers will snap it up, if only because it is so exclusive.
After all, how many people do you know who have been in a cruise ship's funnel? The folks at home can't help but be impressed.
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This is my favourite - The Sanctuary, an adults-only area at the top of the ship where Serenity Stewards (yes, that's really what they are called) are on hand to look after you.
And here's the Movies under the Stars area. You can just make out the picture ... a repeat of the 1970's US TV show Love Boat, the show that put the romance into Princess.
The big pool-side screen is used to show sporting events, rock concerts and films through the day but it realy comes into its own at night, when you can tuck up under a blanket and nibble away at popcorn while enjoying your favourite flicks.
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