Ports of call include Stavanger, Eidfjord – from where I’ll be checking up on the election result on Friday morning – Kristiansund, Alesund (pictured above when I visited last year aboard Queen Victoria), Olden and Bergen. We return to Dover on May 14.

I will be updating this blog daily from the ship – internet access permitting (and there can sometimes be problems with satellite coverage in the narrow fjords) – and I’ll be doing my best to keep up with any cruise news as it happens. Stay tuned.

Nieuw Amsterdam’s naming will take place in Venice on July 4, and she will be the 11th HAL ship since 1929 to be launched by a member of the Dutch royal family. Sister ship Eurodam was named by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 2008.

Built to a similar design, Queen Elizabeth will be launched in Southampton in October, and there can be only one person appropriate for the job of pronouncing the words “I name this ship . . . “

Her Majesty the Queen launched Cunard’s flagship, Queen Mary 2, in January 2004, but as yet there is no confirmation that she has agreed to do the same for her own namesake – or even that she has been invited.

Cunard spokesman Eric Flounders said gnomically: “How can we say we are waiting for her to confirm something we haven’t said we have asked?”

But surely HM is not pacing the carpets at Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace, muttering to her aides and wondering when she’s going to get the call, or indeed who else would have the temerity to do the job if she’s not asked.

Maritime tradition dictates that ships are named by women, who become the vessel’s godmother, and Cunard more than anyone value traditions, and do their utmost to uphold them.

There will at least be another royal link for their new ship – I understand that the Queen’s nephew, furniture designer Viscount Linley, is involved in creating and supplying items for the vessel. Further details are expected to be announced next month.

Like Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who launched Cunard’s Queen Victoria in 2007, Princess Maxima is the wife of an heir to the throne. The daughter of an Argentinian politician, she married Prince Willem-Alexander in 2002.

Azura
• Cruising to the Central and Western Mediterranean, Baltic, Norwegian Fjords, Iceland, Western Europe and Caribbean
• Sailing 17 ex-UK cruises from April 2011 to October 2011 and 11 Caribbean fly cruises from October 2011 to March 2012
• Cruises range from a four night cruise break to Azura’s inaugural 15 night Icelandic cruise
• Overnight calls in Venice and St. Petersburg
• Prices starting from £599 for a seven night cruise break in April 2011

Oceana
• Cruising to the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, Norwegian Fjords, Atlantic Islands, Western Europe, Caribbean and USA
• Sailing 31 ex-UK cruises from March 2011 to March 2012
• Cruises range from a two night party cruise to a 24 night Eastern Mediterranean cruise
• New ports of call – Ashdod and Haifa, Israel, and Oporto, Portugal
• First time offering year-round cruises from the UK
• Prices starting from £199 for a two night party cruise in May, September or October 2011 and £1,099 for a 14 night Mediterranean cruise in April or November 2011

Arcadia
• Cruising to the Eastern, Western and Central Mediterranean, round Britain, Baltic, Canada and USA, Alaska, Caribbean and Atlantic Islands
• Sailing 13 ex-UK cruises from March 2011 to January 2012
• Cruises range from a 13 night round Britain cruise to a 72 night Grand Alaska Adventure
• Eight new sectors available on the Grand Alaska Adventure, ranging from 10 to 28 nights
• New Ports of call – Liverpool and Oporto, Portugal
• Overnight calls in San Francisco, New York, Quebec and St. Petersburg
• Prices starting from £1,049 for a 12 night Atlantic Islands cruise in November 2011 and £1,149 for a 14 night Western Mediterranean cruise in April 2011.

Oriana
• Cruising to the Western and Central Mediterranean, Baltic, Caribbean, Western Europe and Atlantic Islands
• Sailing 20 ex-UK cruises from March 2011 to January 2012
• Cruises range from a two night party cruise to 34 night Caribbean cruise, roundtrip from Southampton
• New ports of call – Koper, Slovenia, Oporto, Portugal, Ravenna and Salerno, Italy
• Overnight calls in New Orleans, Venice and St. Petersburg
• Prices starting from £199 for a two night party cruise in June or December 2011, and £3,049 for a 34 night ex-Southampton no-fly Caribbean cruise in September 2011

Aurora
• Cruising to the Western and Central Mediterranean, Atlantic Islands, Black Sea, Baltic, Norwegian Fjords, Greenland, Caribbean, Canada and USA
• Sailing 16 ex-UK cruises from April 2011 to January 2012
• Cruises range from a two night party cruise to a 24-night Canada & New England cruise, roundtrip from Southampton
• New Ports of call – Catania, Italy, and Oporto, Portugal
• Overnight calls in New York, Quebec and St. Petersburg
• Prices starting from £199 for a two night party cruise in November 2011 and £2,299 for a 21 night Black Sea cruise in August 2011

Ventura
• Cruising to the Western and Central Mediterranean, Norwegian Fjords, Atlantic Islands, Caribbean and Western Europe
• Sailing 21 ex-UK cruises from March 2011 to October 2011 and 11 Caribbean fly cruises from October 2011 to March 2012
• Cruises range from a two night party cruise to a 17 night Central Mediterranean cruise
• Overnight call in Venice
• Prices starting from £599 for a seven night cruise break in April 2011 and £1,199 for a 14 night Caribbean fly-cruise in December 2011

More details at the P & O website.

Queen Elizabeth
• Based in her home port of Southampton, a Maiden Season of 22 voyages from five- to 24-nights from £499 per person.
• Five short five-night voyages to give access to aspiring Cunard guests and a taste of the most notable ship to come into service in 2010.
• Voyages from Southampton feature the Fjords, the Baltic, the British Isles, the Mediterranean, USA / Canada and the Caribbean.
• Four ‘Maiden Voyages’ to the Baltic, Around the British Isles, the Fjords and USA / Canada with a total of 52 maiden calls in her first season.

Queen Victoria
• 23 voyages from seven- to 22-nights from just £799 per person.
• Strong Southampton programme from April to August with the best of the Canaries, the Mediterranean, the Baltic and the Fjords.
• Fly-voyages to the Mediterranean with eight voyages for 12-nights sailing out of Venice, Rome and Athens from £1,349 per person.
• A 15-night Caribbean voyage from Venice to Fort Lauderdale from £1,999 per person.
• A 14 night Christmas voyage from Los Angeles taking in the best of Hawaii from £2,699 per person

Queen Mary 2
• 21 Transatlantic voyages between Southampton and New York; most crossings are now seven nights in duration – from £899 per person.
• The only way to visit famous cities in the USA and Canada from the UK with no flying and as much luggage as you like
• 11 roundtrip Southampton departures to Europe and the Caribbean from two- to 29- nights from £399 per person.
• A repeat of the popular ‘Around the British Isles’ voyage, eight-nights from £999 per person.

More details at Cunard’s website.

Adults-only Adonia – a replacement for Artemis – will be based in the Mediterranean from October next year, offering six fly-cruises departing from Savona, Athens, Trieste and Naples.

Cunard’s Queen Victoria will operate eight Mediterranean fly-cruises visiting up to nine different ports over 12 nights, from Venice, Rome and Athens.

Thanks to her smaller size, Adonia will be able to visit some smaller ports of call not available to larger ships in the company’s seven-strong fleet. The new ports on P&O’s itineraries are a welcome introduction as many popular destinations are at risk of becoming overcrowded with passengers from the growing numbers of cruise ships in Europe. They include Bourgas in Bulgaria; Flekkefjord, Norway; Foynes, Ireland; Jersey in the Channel Islands; Koper, Slovenia; Sassnitz, Germany; Savona, Italy; and Zadar, Croatia.

The 710-passenger ship, currently sailing as Royal Princess, will initially sail cruises from Southampton between May and October next year, from seven to 26 nights to the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. There will also be a round-Britain voyage.

Old favourite Oceana will sail a total of 31 ex-UK cruises year-round, departing from Southampton between October 2011 and April 2012 to the Western and Eastern Mediterranean, Canary Islands and the Caribbean and US.

“Some people don’t want to fly for various reasons, so with Azura in the Caribbean in winter we had the opportunity to try ex-UK cruises year round,” said P&O managing director Carol Marlow. “It gives us the option to offer more variety for people.”

The company’s largest ever sailing programme sees the first full year of cruising for 3,100-passenger ship Azura, which will be launched in Southampton by ballerina Darcey Bussell next month. Azura will sail 17 ex-UK cruises from April to October 2011 and 11 Caribbean fly cruises from October 2011 to March 2012.

Azura cruises range from a four night cruise break to an inaugural 15-night Icelandic cruise. The ship will also make overnight calls in Venice and St Petersburg.

Marlow said: “This is our biggest ever programme launch, with 156 cruise holidays to 270 destinations in 90 countries. More people will spend more time with us next year than ever before.

“The introduction of Mediterranean fly-cruising is an exciting step forward for P&O Cruises, and one that we know will make many of our existing passengers very happy. We listen to our customers and always try to give them what they want.

“At the same time, we hope this will attract new customers who have previously chosen a holiday in a Mediterranean resort.

“Our passengers particularly love the way we tailor everything to their British needs; the way we actually celebrate being on a ship, with the officers and crew making this a real nautical experience. They also love the way that a cruise with us is a special occasion that they will remember for a long time to come.”

Early bookings discounts of up to £800 per couple for a 14-night cruise apply to bookings made before June 30. Free car parking is offered on all Southampton departures of seven nights or more. On board spending money of between £50 and £250 per cabin is available for cruises of four nights or more.

Cunard’s newest ship, Queen Elizabeth – to be launched in October – will be based in her home port of Southampton, sailing a maiden season of 22 voyages from five to 24 nights duration, to destinations including the Norwegian fjords, the Baltic Sea, around-Britain, the Mediterranean, Canada and New England, and the Caribbean.

Sister ship Queen Victoria will sail 23 voyages – the shortest of seven nights, the longest, 22. From April to August she will be sailing from Southampton to the Mediterranean, Baltic, the fjords and the Canaries. After her fly-cruise season, she will sail 15-night Caribbean cruise from Venice to Fort Lauderdale, Miami. Christmas 2011 will be spent on a 14-night voyage from Los Angeles to Hawaii costing from £2,699.

Flagship Queen Mary 2 is scheduled to undertake 21 seven-night Transatlantic crossings between Southampton and New York, with fares starting at £899.

Cunard President and Managing Director Peter Shanks said:”Three new ocean liners in just six years proves the demand for the Cunard brand from guests looking for the best in luxury cruising and the ability to experience a unique sense of heritage, history and tradition.

“With three liners in the fleet we can now offer a choice of all the best destinations. In 2011 we will be covering Europe, the Americas, Transatlantic, the Caribbean and with our world voyages – the world.”

A grand dinner in Melbourne for passengers on Queen Victoria’s world voyage was followed by an announcement that the line’s flagship Queen Mary 2 will spend an unprecedented 28 days in Australian waters in 2012, circumnavigating the continent in the process.

The voyage will be the longest period Queen Mary 2 has been based in any country outside her northern hemisphere home ports of Southampton and New York.

The ship will make maiden calls at Cairns, Darwin, Brisbane and Melbourne as well as visiting Sydney, Fremantle and Adelaide, generating more than £6 million of revenue for the Australian economy according to Ann Sherry, chief executive of Carnival Australia.

They certainly seem to enjoy their cruises Down Under – the industry estimates that one million Australians will take a cruise holiday by the year 2020. Not bad for a country with a population of just over 22 million, and ample justification for the decision to close down the UK line Ocean Village and transfer its two ships to P&O Australia.

The remainder of QM2′s 2012 world voyage itinerary has yet to be announced, and the Australia voyages will not be put on sale until later this year.

The ship, currently on this year’s world voyage, left Sydney on Monday and is today in Adelaide, while Queen Victoria has moved on to Hong Kong.

The dinner, for more than 500 passengers who have booked cabins for the entire three-and-a-half month QV round trip, was held appropriately enough at the National Gallery of Victoria.

And, of course, it was all rather grander than a shrimp barbie. Before dining on Tasmanian smoked salmon, Melbourne-grown asparagus and Australian fillet of beef, the guests were greeted by Aboriginal dancers, and then entertained by the Australian Boys Choir.

The West Australian (blog)

Full cruise liner sails into Fremantle
WA today
As the 90000-tonne luxury cruise liner Queen Victoria sailed into Fremantle Harbour in Western Australia for the first time on Sunday, the ship's captain, …
Royal reception for grand dame of cruisingPerthNow

all 3 news articles »

]]> http://www.cruisefan.net/2010/02/28/full-cruise-liner-sails-into-fremantle-wa-today/feed/ 0 http://www.cruisefan.net/2010/02/22/cruise-ships-visit-the-capital-wellington-city-council/ http://www.cruisefan.net/2010/02/22/cruise-ships-visit-the-capital-wellington-city-council/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:08:27 +0000 cruise ship - Google News

Cruise Ships Visit the Capital
Wellington City Council
Cruise ship season is in full swing. Thousands of people from the Queen Victoria were here last week, and the Orion arrived from Kaikoura yesterday, …

]]> http://www.cruisefan.net/2010/02/22/cruise-ships-visit-the-capital-wellington-city-council/feed/ 0 http://www.cruisefan.net/2010/02/19/queen-victoria-is-pretty-in-pink/ http://www.cruisefan.net/2010/02/19/queen-victoria-is-pretty-in-pink/#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:50:01 +0000 John Honeywell Queen Victoria might even have been amused. Or perhaps she would have just blushed gently if she had seen the Cunard ship which carries her name bathed in pink today while berthed at Sydney’s Circular Quay. The spectacular event was in aid of Australia’s National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) who officially launched their 2010 fundraising target of $17 million at an event on board. Pink lights illuminated the entire ship from dusk. Peter Shanks, Cunard President and Managing Director, said: “Pink has become synonymous with the fight against breast cancer so we are delighted to offer NBCF the opportunity to boost awareness of research and claim a world first by being the first to illuminate a liner in pink.”

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Cruise ship to turn pink for charity
Sydney Morning Herald
The Queen Victoria, one of the world's largest cruise ships, will turn pink while in Sydney Harbour, in aid of breast cancer research. …

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