Cruise Lines

I might have given the impression in my last blog that Antoine, my first guide in Syria, was not much good. That is something of an understatement.

He was one of those people who knew his stuff - knew too much for your average passenger to be honest - but didn't have the English to explain it properly.

He would point to columns and explain they used to have statues of "guts" on them. He meant "gods". Of course! Trouble is, by the time you had worked that out, you had missed the next thing he was talking about.

No matter. It was not enough to spoil the two-day excursion from Tartous, first visiting Crac des Chevaliers, then driving to Palmyra, where we stayed overnight. Next day we had a tour of the ruins there, before the three-hour drive back to Aegean Odyssey, the one ship owned by Voyages to Antiquity.

My information on both places is patchy, even though I was trying so hard to follow what Antoine was saying, but the salient point about Crac is that was a Crusader castle, built over a 150-year period on top of a hill (hence Mohammed's trials and tribulations with the coach).

It is a stunning place, especially when you consider there were no cranes, lorries or other mod-cons to move the stones around back in the 11th century.

We saw the kitchens, ovens, dining room, cistern and food stores, the latter with four-metre-wide walls. Antoine said they could store enough food and water to withstand a five-year siege.

But that was never put to the test, although the castle was besieged three times. The last time, in 1271, because the Mamelukes broke through and took over the castle.

Palmyra, the City of Palms, is much older, dating back to the 3rd century BC and built on the crossroads of the caravan roads so it was very prosperous. At one end there was the Baal Temple with what Antoine called a "centuries" (turned out it was the sanctuary or inner sanctum where only priests and kings could enter to make sacrifices).

Below the temple, there was the city - or at least the 10% that has been excavated - with its triumphal arch, baths, magnificent original colonnaded street, below, agora (market) and theatre, where they hold concerts.

We also went inside a tower tomb, which had four floors, each with about 20 slots that in turn each held about seven or eight bodies, and a very ornate underground tomb owned by members of the Three Brothers' Tribe.

Back at the ship, one passenger told me he refused to tip Mohammed after our two-day expedition because he had the nerve to drive while talking on his mobile. Something the Brits never do, of course.

After all his hard work too. It made me embarrassed to be British.

Before leaving for Crac des Chevaliers, I decided to do the half-day tour to Saladin's Castle on day three in Syria, when Aegean Odyssey was moored in Latakia, so I would have time to see the ship in the afternoon.

The alternative was another three-hour drive, this time to Aleppo, with another three hours to get back, which did not greatly appeal. And not just to me. After our Palmyra marathon, quite a few passengers decided against Aleppo and put their name down for Saladin's Castle, just 40km from the port.

It was a brilliant decision. The castle is more of a ruin than Crac, but it was fantastic - peaceful and quiet, as I only saw the 18 passengers who came in our coach, and there was no sign of the hawkers who had driven us mad at Palmyra and Crac.

They were there every time you turned around, selling postcards, garish jewellery and 1950's-style table clothes. It might have been bearable if they were selling something good, but mostly it was stuff they would have to pay me to take away.

Although it's called Saladin's Castle, it was actually another Crusader stronghold, created by blasting the gap out of the rock, above (of course it wasn't a road then). On the right was the village, on the left the castle. The drawbridge went across the top of that pillar, above, 22 metres high, so once it was pulled up the place was impregnable. Or so they thought.

They hadn't reckoned on Saladin. When he attacked, he sent the majority of his troops to the entrance, drawing the knights away from the lower castle, where the rest of Saladin's troops got over the wall and took the fortification. That was in 1182.

It was the end of the Crusaders in Syria and also marks then end of my Aegean Odyssey sojourn in the region. Tonight we cruise to Limassol, Cyprus, from where I am flying home, snow willing.

Some thoughts on the ship will follow.

As I expected, now the launch of Allure of the Seas is out of the way, Royal Caribbean Cruises has turned its attention to matters matrimonial.

It has announced it is to screen the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29 on all 40 Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises ships.

Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas will be in Le Havre, on a three-night mini-cruise from Southampton, and will show the wedding in Studio B, the big Pyramid Lounge and 1,320-seat theatre.

Celebrity Eclipse will be in Southampton, on a turnaround day, so embarking passenger can watch the event in the theatre before setting sail on a four-night cruise to Cork in Ireland.

There'll be champagne and flag waving. Of course. All the cruise lines will be doing that.

But what about my idea of a street party in Indie's Royal Promenade? None of the others can do that.

After years of putting off single people with swingeing supplements, often charging lone passengers double the per person fare to make up for the fact there is only one person in the cabin, cruise lines are finally recognising they'd rather like to have people cruising alone on board.

Who would not want to attract additional passengers when times are tough financially?

Not only have they been reducing their single supplements - MSC Cruises is the latest to follow the trend, cutting from 80% to 50%, which is not ideal but it is a start - but cruise lines are now actually putting single cabins on their ships.

On their modern ships that is. So finally there is also a recognition that not all single people are aged 55-plus and wanting to cruise with the likes of Fred Olsen, Saga and Swan Hellenic.

The singles accommodation trend was started this year by P&O Cruises, which put 18 single cabins on new ship Azura, and taken to Epic proportions by Norwegian Cruise Line, which has 128 Studio cabins on Norwegian Epic, all for single people and all with no supplement.

Kevin Sheehan, NCL's CEO, has already indicated Epic-er and Epic-est, my moniker for the two new ships the cruise line has ordered, will also have studio cabins.

Then, during a seminar on board new ship Allure of the Seas, Adam Goldstein, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, revealed they want a slice of the singles action.

He said they are looking to put single cabins on older ships such as Radiance of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas, which are both due for "revitalizing".

There are still plenty of cruise lines that are not singles-friendly but at least it's going in the right direction.

My top 10 of the best cruise lines for people travelling alone has just been published in TW Cruise, a quarterly supplement sent out with trade paper Travel Weekly.

I've posted it in full for you below.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
What's on offer: Fred Olsen has 188 single cabins - a mix of inside, ocean view and balcony rooms - across its four ships, with 64 on Balmoral, 40 on Braemar, 42 on Boudicca and 42 on Black Watch. There are singles cocktails parties where soloists can meet others travelling alone. All cruises have gentlemen hosts - and there's one lady host - to dance with the single passengers.
What's the supplement? Single people pay a small premium on the per person price for the equivalent twin-share cabin. If they opt for a twin cabin, there's a 100% supplement.

Norwegian Cruise Line
What's on offer: New ship Norwegian Epic has 128 single Studio cabins. All are inside and measure just 100 square feet, which means there's only room for a bed, shower and toilet, but soloists have private access to a Studio Lounge with TVs and a bar where they can meet other single passengers. There's also a white board where they can leave messages and hook up with others to go ashore.
What's the supplement? There isn't one for the Studios on Norwegian Epic. The single supplement on all NCL's other ships is 100%.

Spirit of Adventure
What's on offer: Their ship, Spirit of Adventure, has 54 single cabins, ranging from insides to junior suites. On-board activities are perfect for singles to join, and include lectures, painting classes and quizzes. Excursions are included in the price so they can go ashore with others without worrying about the budget. Open seating dining in the evening means singles can mingle with ease.
What's the supplement? Up to 50%, but it is waived on selected cruises.

P&O Cruises
What's on offer: New ship Azura, launched in April, has 18 single cabins - six inside and 12 with an oceanview. They have one "oversized" single bed and ensuite facilities. On board there are singles coffee mornings. Arcadia and Artemis (Adonia from May 2011) are designated adult-only ships and are a better bet for anyone travelling alone than the line's family-friendly ships.
What's the supplement? There isn't one on Azura, but passengers pay more for the single cabins than the per person price for a twin-share cabin to reflect the size. On P&O's other ships, single supplements range from 60% to 80%.

Voyages to Antiquity
What's on offer: Aegean Odyssey has 16 single cabins - a mix of insides, outsides and two with balconies. They also offer twin-share cabins to single passengers on selected sailings. On board, there are singles parties if there are enough passengers travelling alone - UK managing director David Yellow said "enough" means 25-30, which is usually how many soloists are on each cruise. Shore excursions are included and there are lectures and open dining.
What's the supplement? 15%, but they waive it on selected cruises. Single passengers who book a twin-share cabins pay a 25%-75% supplement depending on cabin grade.

Swan Hellenic
What's on offer: Minerva, their ship, has nine single cabins, all inside, but its size - it holds around 320 passengers - and their discovery-style cruising, with included excursions, so there's no need to worry about going ashore alone, lectures and singles get-togethers, is well suited to people travelling alone. Some twin cabins might be made available for single passengers.
What's the supplement? 20%-30% more for a single cabin than the per person price for an equivalent twin-share cabin. For single occupancy in a twin cabin the supplement is from 15% to 80%.

Hebridean Island Cruises
What's on offer: Hebridean Princess is small and intimate, which makes it perfect for older lone cruisers. The ship holds just 49 passengers and has 10 single cabins - three inside and seven with an ocean view. At dinner, an officer hosts a table for single passengers. The included excursions and drinks make for a convivial atmosphere ideal for soloists.
What's the supplement? Single cabins cost from about £225 per day more than the twin-share equivalent.

Hurtigruten
What's on offer: Hurtigruten ships don't have single cabins but the cruise line has no single supplements on its winter Norwegian coastal cruises and tactical no supplement offers for its exploration voyages. The latter work well for people on their own as the ship, Fram, is small and cruises off-the-beaten track, which makes for greater camaraderie. Shore excursions are part of the experience, and included in Antarctica, and there are lectures, which work for everyone, on sea days.
What's the supplement? From mid-October to mid-April, for the Northern Lights and coastal cruises, there's no single supplement. Summer supplements start from £236 per person for the coastal voyages.

Costa Cruises
What's on offer: Costa ships don't have single cabins, but it cut its flat-rate 80% single supplement last year to lure more lone travellers on board. There are no specific activities for singles, but there are 4D cinemas and golf and driving simulators they can play around on. Dinner is served on allocated tables in two sittings so hopefully they'll make friends with their table mates.
What's the supplement? From 30%. The earlier the booking, the lower the supplement.

Cruise and Maritime Voyages
What's on offer: The cruise line can be expensive for single passengers but its small ships, no-fly cruises and single cabins are attractive for older people travelling alone who want to cruise from the UK, and their budget prices help to keep fares down anyway. In all Marco Polo has 15 single cabins, while Ocean Countess has 17 cabins for lone travellers.
What's the supplement? Single passengers pay up to double the per person rate for a twin-share cabin.

Fred Olsen is offering a new dining option from January - but not quite the takeaway service fellow blogger Captain Greybeard wrote about.

Rather, they will be giving anyone who wants an escape from the main dining room the option to have a four-course evening meal served in their cabin.

Currently called "Nights in with Fred", although thankfully this is due to change, the concept is being trialled on Balmoral and Black Watch, on cruises of more than 21 days, and will be rolled out across the fleet if it is successful.

The "night in" menu will be more extensive than is currently available from room service - Thai, Indian, Chinese, Spanish, French, Mexican and English pub food has been mentioned - and includes wine. The in-cabin dining will be free; you'll have to pay for wine, as usual.

Fred reckons it will appeal to people who have spent a long day ashore and want a quiet evening in their cabin watching a DVD or have an early start the next day.

I reckon it will appeal to people on long cruises who want a break from sitting with the same people at the same table night after night.

Before my cruise on Allure of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship just launched by Royal Caribbean International, I mentioned I had been allocated a balcony cabin overlooking Central Park and was concerned about a lack of privacy.

I have to admit it wasn't quite as bad as I had feared, mainly because the people on the other side of the park kept their net curtains closed. Yes, I have to admit I was the one with them wide open all the time so I could look out (otherwise what is the point of having a window?).

So guess that makes me the snooper!

I was just grateful I was not looking out over the Boardwalk, which was so noisy, what with the music from the carousel, Johnny Rockets and Rita's Cantina.

What am I saying? At 8am on the first morning, about 30 crew members were taking part in a sort of bootcamp exercise, with all the "motivational" shouting that goes with it, just below my cabin. I am an early riser so it wasn't a rude awakening, but I'm not sure other people on holiday would be quite so forgiving.

So my advice? Stick with the oceanview balconies. They are private, quiet and you get to see the sea. Not the most exciting view in the world, but I have developed a new love for it.

My report on Allure of the Seas was published in the Telegraph Travel section last Saturday, along with a round up of the five biggest cruise ships after Allure and sister Oasis of the Seas.

In case you missed it, you can read it here. 

Ultra-luxury cruise line Seabourn is dropping its "Yachts of" prefix because it reckons it is too confusing.

People think it means the ship must be pretty basic, with OK food and minimal service, the cruise line's Irene Lui tells Seatrade Insider.

I can understand that. Rightly or wrongly, a yacht for most people is a small vessel with a sail or two that hardy seafarer-types go racing around the world in.

However, SeaDream Yacht Club and, until now, Seabourn, use the word to mean a small luxury cruise ship.

In April 2009, I visited the shipyard in Italy where Seabourn Odyssey, the first of three new 32,000-ton vessels the cruise line had ordered, was nearing completion.

I asked Pamela Conover, president and CEO, if a ship that big could really still be termed a yacht. Absolutely, she said. It was all to do with the personal service, the food, the style.

What a difference 20 months makes.

Crystal Cruises (020 7287 9040) is throwing in a free upgrade to British Airways World Traveller Plus if you book an Alaska cruise for May and June next year by January 31 2010

If you book a cruise for July or August, you'll get free economy flights.

Bit of a no-brainer isn't it?

It'll be the first time the cruise line has been back to Alaska since 2005. It is offering 12-night cruises from San Francisco on Crystal Symphony that visit Vancouver, Juneau, Skagway and Glacier Bay, and cruise the "Inside Passage".

Prices start from £3,550 per person including the flights, transfers, soft drinks and water, plus $500 per person on-board credit.

Hot on the heels of my blog about cruising for singles, ultra-budget line Louis Cruises tells me there are no single supplements on any of its Med cruises on the 1,790-passenger Louis Majesty this winter if you book by December 31 2010.

Not that you'll break the bank if you have to pay the supplement. Prices start from £329 per person for an eight-night cruise from Genoa (or you can board in Marseilles if you wish), saving the princely sum of £164.50.

You can put that towards the cost of the flight and transfers, which are not included in the price.

Island Escape's planned three-week dry-dock in October has turned into a five-month stay because more work needs to be done to the ship.

Thomson Cruises, which owns the Island Cruises brand, has not detailed what is being done, but in a statement said the scheduled maintenance work, being carried out in Lisbon, will "take longer to complete" than originally planned.

Island Escape should have been sailing seven-night Canary Island cruises this winter. A spokeswoman said two cruises had to be cancelled at the start of the season but they are now being operated by Thomson Spirit, which was available as it is normally laid up over winter.

Once Island Escape emerges from dry-dock in February, it will take over the Canary Island cruises and Thomson Spirit will relocate to Limassol in Cyprus, for a series of seven-night Pharaohs and the Promised Land cruises visiting Alanya in Turkey, Alexandria and Port Said in Egypt and Ashdod and Haifa in Israel.

These run through March and April 2011, with prices from £799 per person including flights and transfers.

The winter 2011/12 Canary Island cruises will be on Thomson Destiny, which is staying in Europe instead of moving to the Caribbean, and Island Escape will be sailing two new cruises from Limassol, visiting Israel, Egypt and Turkey.

The cruises - Escape to the East and Sun and Sights - will run on alternate weeks in November and December 2011 only with prices from £649 per person including flights and transfers.

Between January and April 2012, the ship will be laid up, before resuming seven-night Western Mediterranean sailings from Palma.

I've always thought the glass-blowing workshop on the lawn on Celebrity Cruises' Solstice-class ships was the weakest feature on what are otherwise pretty faultless vessels.

You've got this lawn on a cruise ship. Incredible. And what can you do? Something that is one step up from watching paint dry, certainly after the first time you've seen it.

It seems Celebrity finally agrees with me.

On their next new ship, Celebrity Silhouette, launching next July, the gaffers (the name for people who blow glass) are being blown out and replaced by a couple of new places to eat, an art studio, eight cabanas, hammocks and a couple of these funky Adirondack chairs.

That's more like it.

The Lawn Club Grill will have hands-on cooking lessons with the chef (pizzas and the like) at lunchtime and grill-your-own dinners (or you can get the chef to do it) in the evening.

The Patio, below, will be open for breakfast and lunch, a nice casual area with views of the lawn and of the sea.

There'll be painting, mixology and other classes in The Art Studio, and wi-fi and picnic baskets for the folk in the cabanas.

The changes will also be on Celebrity Reflection, the fifth and last Solstice-class ship on order, which is due out in November 2012.

The Lawn Club is not the only thing changing on both ships.

* Michael's Club will be serving more than 50 beers and holding classes on how to pick the right beer glass and pout the perfect pint.

* The Hideaway, a new hi-tech area where you can curl up with your Apple goodies, replaces the Team Earth environmental awareness exhibition.

* Celebrity Silhouette is to get 17 more cabins - six in Concierge Class, eight with an ocean view and three insides, giving it 1,443 vs 1,426 on the other Solstice-class ships.

* Celebrity Reflection is to get a whole extra accommodation deck. It'll have 34 big new AquaClass suites, eight Sky Suites, 19 Concierge-class balcony cabins and 11 inside rooms, giving it a total 1,515 cabins.

To cope with the capacity increase - 3,030 passengers based on double occupancy vs 2,850 on Silhouette's already-launched sister ships - there'll be more loungers around the pool and more seats in the theatre, self-service and dining outlets.

Celebrity Reflection will also weigh an extra 4,000 tons and be one metre wider.

Noble Caledonia has sent me news of an additional cruise to Antarctica it is selling for next year.

Roughly the same time as footage of Clelia II battlilng over the Drake Passage reached me. It reminded me of when I rocked and rolled to the White Continent on Discovery, owned by Voyages of Discovery, a few years ago.

Noble Caledonia's 22-night voyage, from November 11-December 3 2011, is on German cruise line Hapag-Lloyd's 160-passenger expedition ship Bremen, and is designated "international", which means programmes, menus, lectures and expeditions ashore are guaranteed to be in English as well as German.

You'll visit the Falkland Islands and South Georgia before reaching the Antarctic Peninsula.

Prices start from £6,995 per person including flights, two nights' bed and breakfast in Buenos Aires, 18 nights crusing on Bremen and all gratuities. There is no single supplement for category 5 cabins.

And now, just when I've whetted your appetite for Antactica, here is poor old Clelia II, soon to be Orion II for Aussie exploration line Orion Expedition Cruises, pitching about in 100mph winds and waves of up to 40 feet high.

The report says waves broke a window, causing electrical problems that knocked out the ship's communications channel.

I believe the other ship you see is National Geographic Explorer, owned by Lindblad, which was in the area and able to provide some communication equipment after the storm had eased.

Before you look, I have to tell you that although the cruise I did to Antarctica was awful - not quite as bad as this but I endured 36 hours of being tossed about like a cork - it was so worth it. And the Passage was like a mill pond on the way home. So it can behave itself.

While cruise lines including Cunard and P&O Cruises are showing the Royal Wedding from the comfort of their ships, the poor passengers booked to sail with Cruise and Maritime Voyages on April 29 will have to put up with watching it on big screens in the salubrious surroundings of the departure terminals at Hull and Tilbury.

That will have the people queuing up to go on the two cruises they have departing that day.

Given CMV has smallish ships - Marco Polo sailing from Tilbury, Ocean Countess from Hull, each with room for about 800 passengers - you'd think they would pull out all the stops and get people on early to watch Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot at Westminster Abbey on a big screen in one of the lounges.

But I guess that'll cost money. So instead, the best they are offering are "advanced" plans for Royal Banquet.

What do you reckon - a finger buffet with fizzy wine?

Viking River Cruises is to start selling Nile cruises next year.

Details are being finalised, but they will be selling two Movenpick river cruise boats - the Royal Lotus, which sails on the Nile, and Prince Abbas, which sails on Lake Nasser.

Can't help thinking Discover Egypt, part of All Leisure Group, the company that owns Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery, would have been a better partner as they have Nile river boats called Royal Viking and Viking Princess!

Moving into Egypt seems a strange move given the Nile is such a crowded market, but Viking says they have just trialled Nile cruise sales in Germany and the US and there seems to be demand so they thought they'd dip a toe in the water, so to speak, over here.

Prince Abbas is also sold through Elegant River Cruises, which is owned by Titan HiTours, as part of a 12-day itinerary combining Lake Nasser with a Nile cruise on Uniworld's River Tosca.

Swan Hellenic says its new no-fly cruises from Portsmouth next summer are selling quickly.

That's despite its passengers having to mix with the smelly lorry drivers and young layabouts bemoaned by Lord Sterling.

Which just proves the old saying, there is no such thing as bad publicity. Question is, was the comment a clear case of foot-in-mouth by the good Lord or a neat publicity stunt, as I suspected at the time.

Swan tells me the first departure, a round-Britain cruise departing June 22 2011, is almost sold out and demand is strong for the other voyages - to the Baltic, Norwegian fjords and Iceland.

The headlines are full of news about the nightmare passengers endured on Brilliance of the Seas off Alexandria last weekend.

So what better moment for Norwegian Cruise Line to announce it is keeping two ships in the Mediterranean year-round in winter 2012/13.

Because after what Royal Caribbean has termed "a serious incident" on Brilliance, we'll all be flocking to cruise in the Med in winter!

Bad weather can strike anywhere of course - the Drake Passage is notorious and everyone goes over the Bay of Biscay braced for the worst - but off Egypt? Seems even the captain of Brilliance was caught unawares by that one.

So now the cruise line is giving passengers a full refund for their cruise. An extraordinary precedent that other cruise lines are not happy about.

NCL's decision to put a second ship in the Med is part of the biggest European deployment in the company's history - four ships in summer, two in winter.

* Norwegian Epic is back for a second summer season sailing seven-night cruises from Barcelona between April 29 and October 14 2012. There will also be a four-day cruise departing on April 25 2012.

* Norwegian Spirit makes its European debut, sailing 12-day voyages between Barcelona and Venice through the summer and from Barcelona to the Canary Islands between November 2012 and April 2013.

* Norwegian Jade will be based in Venice, offering alternating seven-day cruises to the Greek Isles and to Greece and Turkey, each with different ports of call so these can be combined into a 14-night voyage. Between October 2012 and April 2013, Norwegian Jade will be based at Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, sailing 10 and 11-night cruises to Egypt, Israel, Greece and Turkey.

* Norwegian Sun will be based in Copenhagen for a summer series of nine-day Baltic Capitals cruises. It will also be offering one 14-night cruise to Iceland, the Norwegian fjords and Faroe Islands on September 16 2012.

Would you choose to cruise in the Mediterranean in winter? Share your thoughts below.

Five officers serving on Holland America Line's Veendam paid tribute to comrades who died during the Falklands War between Britain and Argentina when the ship visited the island last month.

Captain Peter Harris, chief engineer Thomas Mahon, S.E.H. Officer Derek Williams, culinary operations manager Craig Oakes and facility manager David Hay served on ships in the Royal and Merchant Navy during the war.

A service was held at the war memorial in Stanley, erected to honour those who perished during the war, and a Remembrance Day service was also held onboard the ship. Funds collected from the Poppy campaign were donated to the Stanley Branch Legion.

Why would you go on a cruise to Alaska?

a) To be slimed during a Nickelodeon game show on Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Jewel, which is making its Alaska debut in summer 2012?

b) To listen to author, lecturer and naturalist Terry Breen talk about the 49th state on a cruise next summer as Oceania Cruises makes its Alaska debut with the 684-passenger Regatta as you marvel at the wildlife, soaring landscapes, glaciers and untamed wilderness.

Put it another way, why would you spend a fortune taking the kids to Alaska just so they can get covered in green slime?

OK, I'm being a bit facetious, but I am intrigued to know how many people choose a particular cruise because of the on-board lecturers.

I can imagine quite a few being keen to join star of screen and bush David Bellamy, who is lecturing on a Star Flyer cruise from Costa Rica in December 2011.

And clearly Fred Olsen thinks the on-board offering can make a difference as it has just relaunched its ArtsClub, which features lectures and excursions on special-interest topics such as painting, antiques, wine-tasting, history and music.

The relaunched version promises more lectures and linked excursions. There will be a new website - the old one is here - and brochure, all planned to launch in March.

Do you choose a cruise because of the on-board lecturers or special-interest activities? Tell us what you think below.

Four days after spa giant Steiner announced it had finalised a deal to buy Onboard Spa Co, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines says it is taking the running of its ships' spas in-house.

Could they have made their dislike of Steiner any more apparent?

It'll be interesting to see whether other cruise lines that used Onboard Spa also look for an alternative to Steiner, which has earned a bad reputation among cruisers for pushy therapists looking to earn commission from selling overpriced lotions and potions.

You go in for a relaxing massage, only to be bombarded by sales talk that has left several people I have met stressed out and several hundred dollars lighter.

Seatrade Insider says Steiner is now on P&O Cruises' ships and is in talks with other Onboard cruise line customers, including Thomson Cruises, Saga Cruises, Voyages to Antiquity, Voyages of Discovery, Swan Hellenic and Cunard (on the Queens Victoria and Elizabeth; Canyon Ranch is on Queen Mary 2).

Fred Olsen must have been expecting the Steiner/Onboard deal for a while, as it has already recruited a team of therapists, who will be offering all the usual treatments. They said 2011 prices will be kept at 2010 levels.

Starting April 2011, St Peter Line will be operating a twice-weekly ferry between Stockholm and St Petersburg.

The 25-hour journey will be on the Princess Anastasia, until recently known as Pride of Bilbao, sailing between Portsmouth and Bilbao in Spain for P&O Ferries.

P&O closed the route in September 2010, handed the ferry back to owner Irish Continental Group, which sold it to St Peter Line, a Cypriot company.

It's a happy homecoming for the ship, which was built in Turku, Finland, and once sailed as Olympia between Stockholm and Helsinki for Viking Line.

All very interesting, but what really mostly caught my eye is that passengers arriving in St Petersburg on Princess Anastasia will be able to stay in the city for up to 72 hours without getting a Russian visa.

It's the second such visa-free ferry service - in April 2010, St Peter Line started a visa-free ferry service between Helsinki and St Petersburg.

So why can't the same courtesy be extended to cruise passengers, who are mostly only in the city for 48 hours?

At the moment, if you arrive in St Petersburg on a cruise you either have to go ashore on a ship's tour, which means you are covered by their visa, or jump through hoops to get your own. It's do-able but a pain.

Could it be that none of the cruise lines has asked the Russian authorities if their passengers could get special dispensation where visa are concerned?

After all, it's in their interest to sell as many very highly-priced tours as possible - and they do, with many passengers taking morning, afternoon and evening excursions at £100 or more a time - so why rock the boat (excuse the pun)?

When I was there in May this year on Saga's Saga Pearl II, I had a private car for eight hours - driver and guide - which cost an eye-watering £400.

True, I had an unforgettable and very poignant trip to Tsarskoye Selo, out of the city, to see the Alexander Palace, home of the last tsar Nicholas II and the place where he and his family were imprisoned immediately after his abdication in 1917, and I would have struggled to do that alone.

But left to my own devices I could have taken the metro into the city centre for 22 rubles, which is less than US$1.

Clearly the Russians are also making a fortune out of the tours, but they could do like many other countries and protect any lost income by selling visas on arrival.

And actually I don't think there would be much loss because frankly I can't see many cruise passengers going off alone (the Cyrillic alphabet and a weird fear about Russians would put a lot off). But for those who would love to enjoy this fabulous city alone - me! - it would be fantastic.

Prime Minister Putin, please take note.

....but only if you cruise from the UK!

Cruise lines that offer no-fly cruises from the UK could never have bought the kind of advertising they have had in the past eight months.

Flights grounded by the volcanic ash cloud back in May and now by snow just as everyone wanted to get away for Christmas.

I can almost see the likes of P&O Cruises, Cunard and Cruise and Maritime Voyages rubbing their hands with glee and saying (in hag-like tones because after all, it is the pantomime season) "we told you it was better to cruise from the UK".

I know you still have to battle through snow to get to your departure port, and this weekend roads have been particularly bad, and there is a chance of bad weather on the Bay of Biscay.

But the ports of Dover and Portsmouth kindly informed me this morning that the English Channel hasn't frozen so cruises are departing as planned.

And a couple of days rocking and rolling on the way to the Med, Canary Islands or even the Caribbean has surely got to beat night after cold night camped out on the floor at Heathrow Airport.

The Passenger Shipping Association estimates that 710,000 Brits will take a no-fly cruise in 2011, 55,000 more than in 2010. Given the chaos that now reigns, I suspect there could be even more.

It's a little late to think about a Christmas cruise, but if your holiday plans have just been buried under a snow drift why not cheer yourself up with a New Year no-fly cruise instead.

Iglu (020 8544 6447) tells me they have availability on Royal Caribbean International's Independence of the Seas, cruising from Southampton to the Med on January 8 or 26, and on February 13, with prices from £719 per person for 18 nights.

Iglu also has space on Fred Olsen's Boudicca, sailing from Southampton to the Caribbean, up the Amazon to Manaus and back to the UK. It departs on January 30 and prices start from £2,399 per person for 30 nights.

Cruise Thomas Cook (0800 916 6070) has a 14-night cruise from Southampton to the Canary Islands, also on Boudicca, departing on January 16. Prices from £974 per person for an outside cabin.

I had to smile at this.

Eric Goldring, owner of US-based Goldring Travel, fears Silversea is compromising its all-inclusive product by charging passengers on its newest cruise ship Silver Spirit $18 to rent a soft porn movie.

"I am not so concerned about the type of movie, but the fact that Silversea is charging for it.

"When does finding ways to charge (extra cost dining, extra cost saki, extra cost unrequested charity donations, etc) begin to degrade the product of Silversea?"

He says he does not believe charging for movies - blue or otherwise - is appropriate.

Maybe not, but if he blew his principles (ahem!) I'm guessing he would be smiling too.

Forget the white stuff outside, I'm being snowed under by emails offering so many deals and discounts you'd think it's Christmas.

Here are some of the best.

Bah humbug
Oceania Cruises has kindly sent a Season's Greetings e-Christmas card, but diluted the message by adding a link to a page on their website offering discounts of up to 61% and $1,000 on-board credit. Marketing gone mad, but an offer you can't refuse!

Booze cruise
Thomson Cruises has all-inclusive upgrades for £49 per person on seven-night cruises from Palma on Thomson Dream and Thomson Destiny if you book by January 31 2011. If you book a winter 2011/12 cruise on Thomson Destiny or Thomson Spirit by April 2011 you'll get a free all-inclusive upgrade.

And so to bed
Princess Cruises has free upgrades from an oceanview to a balcony cabin on Grand, Ruby and Star Princess cruises from the UK and in the Mediterranean, on Caribbean Princess in the Caribbean and on Coral Princess in Alaska. Book by January 31.

Spend, spend, spend
P&O Cruises has savings of up to £2,500 per couple, as well as £1,000 on-board spending money, on selected cruises booked before January 31 2011. Shuttle buses, where provided, are now free and P&O is going overboard (sorry!) to tell the world how cheap their booze is.

Bah humbug (again)
Holland America Line is jumping on the ash cloud and airline strikes bandwagon to promote its no-fly cruises from Dover next year. And why not? Perfect time given all this snow chaos. But hey guys. Is free car parking at Dover really the best bit of Xmas cheer you could rustle up? Scrooge would be proud of you. It's not even available if you only book an inside cabin.

Love is in the air
Full marks to Norwegian Cruise Line for thinking outside the stocking and coming up with an Epic Valentine's Day deal - seven nights on Norwegian Epic in the Caribbean from £1,079 per person including flights. The ship will be decorated with heart-shaped ice sculptures, there'll be a special Valentine's menu in the Le Bistro and they promise I can dance the night away to a selection on love songs.

Sounds great. Now all I need is someone to go with.

It's been three whirlwind weeks since I got back from my cruise on Voyages to Antiquity's 378-passenger Aegean Odyssey.

During the cruise I posted blogs about our calls at Syria and Lebanon, which were fabulous despite the poor guide in Syria, so it's well past time to give you a few thoughts about the ship.

I had a lovely spacious cabin with a walk-in wardrobe and big bathroom - bath, shower and, amazingly, a toilet that flushed rather than vacuumed - and a generous supply of quality shampoos, conditioners, lotions and shower gel.

The bed was comfy, there was a small balcony and Cidi, my room steward, was charming, but the room was very spartan, as indeed is much of the rest of the ship (the pic to the right is the reception).

There were no pictures on the wall, very little furniture but one morning, while lying in bed, I did spot a TV on the wall opposite.

I say "spot" because it was so small relative to the size of the room and the distance from the bed, I hadn't noticed it before. And other than on the bed, there was nowhere to sit and watch it, which rendered it rather useless. It was anyway; apparently none of the TVs were getting a signal.

Mine was the last cruise of the 2010 season - the key thing that sets VtoA apart from the competition is that they cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean only and are sensible enough not to try cruising there in winter.

That means a) there is no chance of hitting bad weather and b) they have time to put the ship in dry-dock so any problems can be ironed out.

As a priority, they need to get the smoke stack sorted. Ever since they launched in May 2010, passengers have been complaining about soot falling from the stack, but they have been unable to get the problem fixed.

Just look at this picture of Aegean Odyssey arriving into Beirut, belching smoke and with a blackened stack. No wonder a lot of the loungers on the top deck were spotted with soot. Just unfortunate they chose white seat covers!

VtoA also desperately needs to install wi-fi. I am told they are putting it in during the dry-dock, but seriously wonder why it wasn't installed during the initial major refit given the type of people they want to attract.

Namely highly-educated folk aged 55-plus who travel with laptops and want to keep in touch on-line.

If I'd had £1 for every passenger who came up to me in the hotel we stayed in overnight in Palmyra who wished they had also brought their laptop when they saw I was on-line on mine, I could have covered the cost of my air fare.

Well maybe not, but you get the idea.

There is an internet café on the ship, and the satellite signal was excellent, but its six terminals were in constant use. I do hope they can do something about the deafening air-conditioning in there.

But more importantly they need to address the poor food and sloppy service, which was commented on by many passengers I spoke to, both Brits and Americans, some hardened cruisers, others trying a holiday at sea for the first time.

Service howlers included seating me without a menu, forgetting to take my order, giving me a wine glass but having to be asked again to pour wine in it (free wine with dinner is one of their selling points, but you have to constantly ask for it), having to wait 20 minutes for service in an almost-empty bar.

The good news is that all things that can easily be put right (the smoke stack might not be easy, but I'm sure it can be fixed). A change of catering company, more training for the crew, wi-fi and some decoration on the walls.

The people I spoke to who were disappointed with the ship loved the destinations and shore excursions, and want to cruise again with VtoA because of the interesting places they visit.

I'm with them. I'd certainly cruise with them again for the destinations.

I just hope the powers that be spend the money necessary to make sure that when we do all go back, we can sit outside without getting covered in soot and enjoy a drink that's been served promptly while discussing how fabulous the food and crew are.

P&O Cruises is launching a new TV ad on December  27 with the strap line "discover a different world".

Philip Price, who heads up their brand marketing, says their passengers are "the latest in a long line of explorers who have discovered a different world with P&O Cruises".

Another missive I have received talks of their ships being a "home from home".

When I did a sector of a world cruise a while back I became pally with an ex-journalist, still a good friend, doing the whole circumnavigation. I think he got off the ship twice in 80 days.

Some explorer. He was cruising with P&O so he could be with other people while also being "at home".

The TV campaign is on for four weeks.

That's it from me for a few days.

Have a great Christmas and here's to a year of Happy Cruising!

My thanks to Martina from representation company TravelTradeUK for getting in touch with news of the Stella Australis, a new ship in the Cruceros Australis fleet.

The ship, which has just 100 cabins, all with fabulous panoramic windows, is sailing three and four-night cruises between Punta Arenas in Chile and Ushuiaia in Argentina.

Not something you'd fly half way around the world to do on its own I admit, but a magical add-on to a longer holiday in South America.

You are at the end of the world, in one of the last great wildernesses, where you will land at Cape Horn if weather permits, go ashore in Wulaia Bay, where Charles Darwin landed on January 23 1833, explore waterfalls and glaciers from inflatable Zodiacs, see penguins on a visit to Magdalena Island.

A three-night cruise from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas starts from $840 per person based double occupancy.

The Stella Australis, which set off on its maiden cruise on December 18, looks fabulous. You can see pictures here. Look at those windows in the cabins. I can just see myself, lying in bed, watching the scenery go by.

You can also read about the adventures of fellow blogger Captain Greybeard, who cruised on Via Australis, another ship in the fleet, here.

The Royal Wedding could be caught in the firing line as union bosses try to line up several days of discontent in spring - specifically the working days between the Easter weekend and the ceremony on April 29.

British Airways and London Underground are among companies set to be hit, which could make trying to get anywhere a pain.

Strikes me (no pun intended) a cruise is definitely the place to be that week - and on into the May Day bank holiday on May 2.

Why not? (Royal Caribbean International©)

Cunard, P&O Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises have announced they will be showing Prince William and Kate Middleton saying "I do" live on the day as well as promising Champagne celebrations.

I reckon any of their ships will be a far more comfortable place to watch the big event than fighting off the crowds in London. Especially if the crowds are in a bad mood because the trains aren't working properly.

You can check back to past blogs to see where P&O's ships and Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas will be.

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 will be somewhere in the Atlantic between New York and Southampton, Queen Victoria will be at sea in the Med, Queen Elizabeth will be en route for Southampton.

Around 100 Brits due to fly out to join Thomson Dream in Jamaica this morning had their New Year's cruise cancelled last night because of air-conditioning problems in 50 cabins.

Thomson Cruises said individual air handling units were damaged during the recent freezing conditions in Hamburg, where the ship was in dry-dock, affecting a limited number of cabins in a specific area of the ship.

You have to feel sorry for Thomson. The ship has been plagued with problems since Thomson Cruises chartered it from Costa Cruises in April.

The dry-dock was supposed to cure all the ailments, including problems with the plumbing and air-con, that led to Dream's cruises turning in nightmares for many passengers earlier this year.

Instead, it has caused more problems.

Christmas hasn't helped. Thomson Cruises said replacements have been ordered, but they've been held up by extended delivery times due to the holidays.

Passengers in the affected cabins should have been joining a two-week cruise from Montego Bay in Jamaica to Bridgetown in Barbados via Havana in Cuba. A pretty neat itinerary.

In its place, they have been offered an alternative cruise, such as Thomson Destiny's one-week cruise from Dominican Republic on January 2, or a full refund and £200 per person as a "goodwill gesture".

Carnival Corp chief Micky Arison speculated during a recent earnings call that this winter's bad weather will have a positive impact on cruise sales, with winter-weary folk rushing to book a holiday in the sun.

Logic says that should also mean fares will start to go up.

But what has logic to do with anything? Cruisers tasted some unbelievable deals during the recession and with no end to talk of austerity measures in sight, I reckon they are going to be hanging on for the best deals.

There are certainly plenty of them around.

Uniworld, the river cruise company, has slashed up to £1,450 of the cost of a nine-night Prague/Rhine/Main cruise-and-stay holiday.

P&O Cruises has 12 nights in the Mediterranean at the end of March, sailing on Ventura from Southampton, from £998 per person - that's just £84 a night.

Holland America Line, which made it into the Bah Humbug list before Xmas for their paltry offer of free parking at Dover, has made amends with a seven-night cruise to Scandinavia on July 24 from just £15 a day.

OK, it's not quite that good. That price is for a third or fourth person sharing a cabin with two adults paying from £789 per person, but it's not to be sniffed at if you're looking for a summer getaway with the family.

The cruise lines might be hoping the cold weather and snow will lead to more bookings and therefore higher fares, as Johanna Jainchill speculates in USA Today's Cruise Log.

They can hope but I suspect it's one New Year's wish that won't come true.