Cruise Lines

The Portunus Club is dead, long live the P&O Cruises Peninsular Club.

That's the name of their new loyalty scheme launching in April 2012.

It has six tiers instead of three, all named after oceans and seas of the world - Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean and Caribbean, and the more exclusive Baltic and Ligurian - and comes with a range of benefits depending on your tier.

They include discounts of up to 10%, a complimentary drink as the ship sets sail, a pressing service and discounted laundry. Early embarkation, an exclusive travel insurance offer, early booking offers and early cabin access are also up for grabs for P&O regulars.

Portunus Club members earn 10 points for every night spent on board a P&O ship. These will be tallied up and transferred to the Peninsular scheme in April 2012.

Carol Marlow, P&O Cruises' MD, said passengers told her they wanted a more exclusive club. So that's what they have been given, especially those in the top echelons of P&O-dom.

To get to Baltic or Ligurian level passengers must have more than 2,500 points and have spent more than 80 nights on one of P&O ships within the three years before the qualifying cruise.

I think they call them crew.

After all the history and culture of Cuba - of which more another time; I still have to tell you about Trinidad and Santiago de Cuba but it will be better when I can post pictures - it was time for some fun in Jamaica.

And what could be more fun than climbing a waterfall?

Climbing through the water at Dunn's River Falls, just outside Ocho Rios, really is the ultimate in touristy things to do, but it was great fun - much better than I had expected.

You start at the beach, hold hands with the people either side of you, and climb up over boulders through the ranging water. And it really was raging in some places. I had visions of being swept away a couple of times.

Happily you do most of it without holding hands as it's much easier not being pulled by other people. In all, the climb must have taken at least an hour.

Only six people, including me, from Saga Pearl II were adventurous to give it as go - all female, by the way - and two gave up soon after we started, so just four entrepid Saga souls made it to the top. Plus about 20 Brits and Canadians who were in our group.

By the time we finished I was soaked as I had done one of the rock slides and gone right under water, but still Milton, our guide, asked for a tip. Not quite sure where he thought my money was given I was wearing only a bikini and very soggy t-shirt. Luckily someone else from the group was nearby and lent me a few dollars.

But then all started to go wrong. Dragon lady, which was my name for our guide that day, was hassling us to get back to the mini buses as we were late.

Of course we were. It was Jamaica so it took ages for anything to start and the three ladies with me, who must have been in their late 60s/early 70s, were hardly going to sprint up the waterfall. They were brilliant for going up at all.

Dragon lady, who by now had lost all pretence of her "no problem this is Jamaica" attitude, hassled us back to the bus, then got huffy when I said I was going to change out of my wet clothes. The driver said, no problem. Just sit on your towel.

In soaking wet clothes for a two-hour drive back to the ship in Port Antonio? No way.

So I ended up getting changed in the car park, much to the annoyance of dragon lady, who even came to chivvy me along when I was half-dressed.

Not quite what you expect from a Saga cruise.

Or it wouldn't have been had I not endured being hassled the day before in Santiago - and all so we were not a few minutes late getting back for lunch on the ship.

Next stop is Curacao, where I am going on a tour to some caves. Let's hope it doesn't happen there or I really will start to get a complex.

When Dan Hanrahan, Celebrity Cruises' president and CEO, was in London at the end of last month to talk about all the Solsticisation of their older ships, one name was missing from the presentation.

Celebrity Century.

So what's happening to Century, apart from the fact you are sending it off to Australia later this year, I asked.

Good question, Dan replied, claiming he didn't know but reminding me that Century's sister ship Celebrity Mercury is moving to TUI Cruises, another brand in the Royal Caribbean Cruises' stable, this year.

Now comes that the 2,850-passenger Celebrity Solstice is replacing Celebrity Century, which holds 1,814 passengers, in Australia in 2012/13.

Celebrity Solstice was the first of the stylish new-generation ships Celebrity launched that has a grass lawn on the top deck and lots of speciality restaurants.

By moving a bigger ship Down Under - and just a year after returning there - Celebrity is following a growing trend among cruise lines including P&O and Princess to increase their tonnage in Australia.

It's because the region is seen as the next big growth market for cruising.

But I ask again, what is happening to Celebrity Century? For some reason the word TUI springs to mind

My old friend Grand Princess - it was the ship I got married on - was moored at the entrance to the harbour as Saga Pearl II sailed into Curacao on Thursday.

Unless Grand follows us to Aruba, it'll be the last time I see the ship before it goes for a major facelift in the Bahamas that includes adding a pizzeria and new steak and seafood restaurant, and removing the rear spoiler, where they have the nightclub.

The new-look Grand arrives in Southampton on May 21, ready to start a summer and autumn season of cruises to the Med and Northern Europe.

Royal Caribbean International's Grandeur of the Seas - which will be sailing the Med from Palma de Mallorca this summer - followed us into the harbour and we moored just behind Freewinds, a cruise ship operated by US company Majestic Cruise Lines.

Grand holds 2,500 passengers, Grandeur 2,446, Freewinds about 360, while Saga Pearl II has about 420 on board, so between them, the four ships brought about 6,000 people to the island on one day.

No wonder our guide Elmer and all the Curacao locals were in such a happy mood.

Some people collect t-shirts when they travel, others pick up fridge magnets. I like to collect beers.

Not to bring home, you understand, but there's nothing I like better than to find a nice bar with a view, order the local brew and sit and watch the world go by.

On this cruise on Saga Pearl II, I've had Cristal beer in Cuba, Red Stripe in Jamaica and, well, Amstel in Curacao because it is the local brew - just like in Holland.

I should not have been surprised given the island is the Netherlands in miniature - the delightful gabled houses, the Dutch official language, the government, the education, even the rain (which was torrential at times). All that's missing are dykes and Edam cheese, although I'd have probably found it had I looked.

The island is not exactly teeming with things to do and places to see. As I've seen the city before, I did a trip to the Hato Caves, about 30 minutes from the capital, Willemstad, where there are stalactites and stalagmites, but in half an hour we'd seen them.

"We call that column the cathedral because it looks like a cathedral," the guide at the caves said, flashing her torch and setting the tone for the rest of the tour. That was when we could understand her. I'm sure most of the time she was speaking Papiamento, the unofficial local language.

Historically the island is hardly degree course stuff. The Dutch came in search of salt in 1634, found a deep harbour - it's the seventh deepest in the world - where they could hide their ships and decided to stay.

Napoleon came along at the end of the 1780s, took over the island for the French, but after about 15 years they were kicked out by the British at the request of the Dutch.

"Britannia ruled the waves," Elmer, our guide, noted to the delight of my fellow Saga passengers, some of whom probably remember when we did.

The Dutch then bought the island back and that's how it's been ever since. It's relatively crime-free and very prosperous as it has a huge oil refinary.

But what it lacks in sights and history, it makes up for in looks. Sailing into the harbour, past the colourful gabled houses and through the only floating swing bridge in the world that is still operating, is a real treat.

So is sitting by the waterside having an Amstel beer and yummy chicken wings courtesy of the Iguana Cafe and Gerry, a lovely guy from Suriname in South America, who decided to share his lunch with me.

It's a hard life but someone has to do it!

Southampton had to pull out all the stops - and ladies of a certain age who direct you around the terminals - in January when a record six ships were in port.

Now comes news that P&O Cruises is celebrating its 175th birthday on July 3 next year by bringing all seven ships to the port on the same day.

It will be the first time in history the entire fleet has been in Southampton on the same day.

"It will be quite a challenge," Doug Morrison, Southampton port director admitted in what must be the understatement of the year, given the port has just four passenger terminals.

A fifth one has been approved but it won't be ready until 2013.

Doug tells me they can moor two ships where that terminal will be - it's by a warehouse where they unload fruit - and another one beyond the Mayflower terminal. The problem is checking passengers in. Most likely, that will be done at a local hotel.

Some 15,000 passengers are expected to disembark P&O's seven ships when they arrive in Southampton on the morning of July 3, with another 15,000 embarking that afternoon.

Factor in hundreds of sightseers - it will be quite spectacular after all - and I'm guessing it won't be the best day to be on the road in Southampton.

All seven ships will then cruise out of the port in convoy, heading out on special anniversary voyages to destinations including the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean and Baltic.

The fleet line-up includes the 710-passenger Adonia, which joins P&O from sister company Princess Cruises in May after being named in Southampton by Dame Shirley Bassey, and Oriana, which is being transformed into an adult-only ship during a refit in November.

Among changes, they are replacing the kids' club with more cabins, adding a Ocean Grill, which will be serving dishes created by Marco Pierre White, and updating the spa.

Next year promises to be quite a year for Southampton as one month before the P&O event, Cunard will be celebrating when its three Queens meet in the port for the first time.

The Three Queens Event, on June 5, during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend, is very timely given Cunard's royal connections - the Queen named Queen Elizabeth at a gala celebration in Southampton last October.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has relaunched its ArtsClub programme of themed cruises under the name Vistas, promising more talks and VIP guest speakers including BBC cameraman Martin Saunders, who filmed the mountain gorillas in Rwanda with David Attenborough.

Themed cruises lined up under the Vistas programme include Agatha Christie, the history of weather, wine-tasting, sporting personalities and the royal family. Lectures are free to attend, but there is a charge for the wine-tasting.

Other speakers include former England cricketer Mike Cowan, David Thomas, the Crown Jeweller from 1991 until 2007, and climate change expert Professor Henry Hutchinson.

With less than two weeks until the Telegraph Cruise Show opens at Olympia's Grand Hall in London, I do hope you've remembered to put the date in your diary and buy your ticket.

Every cruise lines you know - and some you've probably never heard of - will be there, dispensing brochures, advice, help and guidance as you plan your next cruise. You'll be able to find out about exploration, family, river and luxury cruising, hear from celebrity speakers and pick up not-to-be-missed show-only offers.

Yours truly will also be there, taking part in panels and moderating sessions in Theatre One on Saturday and Sunday with Jonathan Beaumont from the Travel Channel.

At 2pm I'm giving a talk on what's new in cruising this year in the Telegraph's Cruise Forum and I'll be around afterwards to answer questions so do come along if there's anything you want to ask - or even just to say hello.

The show is on Saturday March 26 from 10am to 5pm and on Sunday March 27 from 10am to 4pm. Tickets cost £6 in advance and £10 on the door.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Britain's finances might be shot to pieces, swingeing cuts to government spending might be on the way, kids might be rioting about university fees.

But none of that is going to stop Britons cruising, it seems.

A record 1.62 million Brits took a cruise in 2010, latest figures from the Passenger Shipping Association show.

That's a 6% increase on 2009 and more than double the figure recorded in 2001.

It puts the UK on course to reach an expected 1.7 million this year and two million by 2014, according to the PSA.

Of course, the PSA counts each passenger as an individual, but some of those 1.62 million cruising Brits will have taken two, maybe even three cruises in a year.

We'll know more about repeat passenger numbers when all the 2010 stats are released in May during an agents' three-day UK Cruise Convention in Southampton.

Other figures from the PSA show:

- Cruising now accounts for 11.7% of the overseas package holiday market, up from 10.6% in 2009. It's an incredible figure when you consider that in 1997, less than 3% of package holidays booked were cruises.

- Cruising from the UK is still growing, with 653,000 Brits choosing to sail from a home port. That's 10% more than in 2009.

- Flycruises were up 3% to 968,000.

- The Mediterranean continues to be the most popular place to cruise, with 43% of Brits choosing to cruise there - an 18% increase on 2009. Northern Europe stayed second favourite, ahead of the Caribbean in third place.

Princess Cruises has managed to lose two ships called Royal Princess to sister line P&O but that's not put them off trying again.

They have decided to call their new ship, launching in spring 2013, Royal Princess. But at 141,000 tons and with capacity for 3,600 passengers, it's a bit of a giant compared to its RP predecessors.

Royal Princess number two, which is about to become P&O's Adonia, is just 30,200 tons and holds 710 passengers.

Royal Princess number three will have a glass-bottomed SeaWalk on the top deck that extends 28 feet beyond the ship's starboard side that you can walk around to get views of the water 128 feet below.

On the port side, which you can see in this picture, a new cantilevered SeaView Bar has the same sea views but you can admire the waves with a cocktail in your hand, which seems a much more attractive proposition to me.

A new top-deck adults-only pool will be surrounded by seven private cabanas that Princess says appear to be floating on the water. Sound fabulous, but having seen the video I reckon you need a very vivid imagination!

There are two other pools with deck space in between that's for lounging in the sun by day and becomes an outdoor dance club at night.

Naturally, Royal Princess will have all Princess Cruises' signature features - lots of balconies (all outside cabins will have one), a Movies under the Stars screen, an adult-only Sanctuary and a piazza-style atrium, the latter all bigger and better than what's gone before.

A sister ship to Royal Princess will be launched in spring 2014.

* For those you still wondering, the first Royal Princess became Artemis for P&O Cruises. That ship is leaving the fleet in April, just before Royal number two, renamed Adonia, joins.

You know you're getting old when over-60's darling Fred Olsen starts talking about your favourite singers and bands.

David Bowie, Ronnie Wood, Elton John.

No they are not performing on a Fred ship (that would be just too unreal) but they are turning 65 in 2012 - just the right age to enjoy the special package the cruise line is launching for anyone celebrating this milestone birthday on one of their ships next year.

The package includes £50 onboard spending credit, a reprint newspaper from their date of birth (where available), a celebration breakfast for two and complimentary pre-dinner cocktails for two.

You'll also be included in a prize draw, with a chance to win 65 days of free cruising.

To be celebrating your 65th birthday next year, you'll have been born in 1947. Fred Olsen tells me:

• There was still post-war rationing
• India gained independence and civil war broke out on the sub-continent
• The CIA was launched
• Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey
• The Dead Sea Scrolls were found

All that and David Jones, the man who would be Aladdin Sane and Ziggy Stardust, was born

It was quite a year.

The first tidbits of information about Saga Cruises' new ship are starting to filter out.

It's to be called Saga Sapphire - a name voted for by Saga Cruises' Britannia Club members - and its inaugural cruise will be from Southampton on March 26 2012.

I have it on good authority that that means it will be going south but the itinerary has yet to be released.

Saga Sapphire is currently sailing as Bleu de France for Croisieres de France, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises.

Once Saga get its mitts on it in November 2012, the 37,301-ton ship will undergo a multi-million pound refurbishment - shipyard yet to be confirmed - before joining Saga.

All I know so far is that capacity will be reduced from 1,158 passengers to 706 and the kids' club will go as there is not much call for that in a ship for the over-50s.

I'm told more information is on the way so watch this space.

River cruise company Uniworld is moving in on the Mekong after chartering Pandaw River Cruises' new 60-passenger vessel River Saigon.

The one-week cruises, sailing between Kampong Cham in Cambodia and My Tho in Vietnam, start in early January 2012 and will be packaged into a 14-night cruise holiday that includes time in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Uniworld is joining what is becoming a crowded market. AMA Waterways launched Mekong river cruises on La Marguerite in September 2009 and was so impressed with sales that it ordered a second boat to sail the river.

Called AmaLotus, it launches in September and will also be sold by Ama's sister company APT.

Viking River Cruises has already moved in. They launched Mekong itineraries in January this year after chartering the 66-passenger Tonle from Pandaw.

They are currently offering double discounts of up to £1,000 per person if you book one of next year's 16-day Magnificent Mekong cruise-holidays, which includes seven nights on the river, before June 30 2011.

Apparently River Saigon was going to be called Saigon Pandaw, but was renamed to be more in keeping with the rest of Uniworld's fleet (they also have a River Beatrice, River Ambassador, River Countess and so on). It will have 30 cabins, all 160 square feet and with an outside sitting area.

I suspect it won't look anything like new river cruise boat Antoinette, left, which Uniworld is launching this weekend in Amsterdam.

I'm going over today, to attend the naming ceremony on Saturday (and an ultra-mini cruise) and am really looking forward to seeing this vessel, which seriously reminds me - from this picture anyway - of something from the court of French king Louis XV.

I'll let you know if I change my mind after seeing the real thing.

Antoinette is one of at least seven river cruise vessels launching this year - Viking, Scenic Tours, Avalon Waterways and Ama have the others - and will be sailing eight-day Castles on the Rhine cruises between Amsterdam and Basel.

Dates and prices for Uniworld's Mekong cruises are not yet available.

At first glance, river cruising and the elaborate décor of 18th-century France might not appear to have much in common.

But what if you are called Antoinette, have parents who own a river cruise company and are building a new boat that they are not only naming after you but letting you do the interior design as well?

Antoinette, to explain, is the daughter of Stanley and Beatrice Tollman, who own the Travel Corporation, parent company of Uniworld, Red Carnation Hotels and coach holiday operators Insight, Trafalgar and Contiki.

With a name like that, when asked to design the interiors what else could she come up with than something that looks straight out of the court of Versailles.

Everywhere. It oozes Versailles in the ornate bedrooms with their heavy drapes, the chairs in the dining room and lounge, which resembles a French salon, the mosaics in the restaurant, even the carpet in the cinema.

Antoinette - Toni for short - was also Godmother of the ship; in her naming speech she explained that it all started when her family bought this chandelier when the famed Tavern on the Green in New York's Central Park closed down.

That gave her the idea for the vessel's two-deck-high atrium; her name, the same as the French queen who lost her head, gave her the idea for the Versailles' theme.

"It's 18th-century France in the 21st century, with flat-screen TVs and marble bathrooms," she told the journalists, travel agents and VIPs during the rather bizarre naming ceremony on a cold but sunny day in Amsterdam.

For one thing, it was the first I've attended where the guest list has included dogs - four of them, flown across from the US in the Tollman's private jet with mother, father, various sons and daughters, their husbands, wives and children, two butlers, a personal assistant, dog minder and more.

For another the ceremony was also back to front. The band played, Uniworld president Guy Young said a few words, Toni talked about the décor, love and dedication that was put into Antoinette, blessed the ship and cut the chord to smash the bottle.

"Does that often happen," she asked when it gave a little thud but didn't break. She looked so dismayed I didn't like to mention bad luck, especially I was already living in trepidation as one of the mirrors in my bathroom was cracked.

Happily, someone on deck rushed to her aid, smashed the bottle, so we all cheered and started to walk back to the ship, thinking it was all over and anxious to get to the promised Champagne waiting in the lounge.

How wrong we were. Folk from the shipyard, harbour board and city of Amsterdam then had to have their five minutes of fame at the microphone before handing over pressies to Toni and the captain.

The ship was officially handed over, when the shipyard flag was lowered and Uniworld's was raised.

Finally Ingrid, the cruise manager, spoke the magic words. "You are now invited to go on board for the Champagne reception."

You've never seen people move so fast!

I honestly wasn't sure if I'd like the décor on Uniworld's new vessel Antoinette - like it as in want to spend a lot of time in it.

It is very heavy; certainly not the light, bright look that more and more ship designers are going for.

Having been on for three nights, for the naming and a short cruise over the IJselmeer to Hoorn (a man from there named Cape Horn apparently) I am in two minds.

When I joined Antoinette in Amsterdam, it was moored right up against River Queen, another of Uniworld's boats, and it was right outside my window. What with the heavy upholstery and lack of light, my cabin was like the black hole of Calcutta.

View image

These pictures of the cabin, above, were taken at 3.30pm when it was broad daylight outside. I certainly didn't want to spend time in it.

Not great.

But when we set sail and the sun came shining through the window it was a completely different room. It was lighter and altogether more appealing. For seven nights? Absolutely I'd like it - it really is so very different - but always keeping my fingers crossed that my side of the ship was never moored to another boat.

The beds are super-soft and the bathroom is sumptuous, with gorgeous fluffy towels. Just a shame the floor floods big time every time I shower because there is only a very small seal - not up to the job - to hold back the tide.

Antoinette has gone back to the shipyard as it is very unfinished in places and there's time to do something about that as the first paying passengers don't come on until March 27.

I imagine flooding bathrooms is one of the things they will try to rectify, as well as filling nail heads and hopefully fixing the cracked mirror in my bathroom and getting the bedside lights to work.

I don't have a balcony, but I have a large floor-to-ceiling window that opens half way from the top down. And all I have to do is push a button for it to happen.

Very nice but I'm not convinced it's better than having the traditional French windows opening to a Juliette balcony (that is one you can't stand on).

It's also not as unique as they say as I have been on another river cruise boat with a window that opened half way before. The difference was that the window was smaller and I had to open it manually.

In the suites, there is a French window and a piece of room that looks like a balcony with a wooden floor instead of the carpet and then the half-opening window. It's a sort of balcony lookalike as it's totally enclosed on the top.

What was different on Antoinette was the Leopard Bar, a great venue on the sun deck that was rocking with a live singer and late-night revellers after dinner on Saturday, the plush cinema, which I believe is a first on a river cruise boat, and the gorgeous spa pool, in a room with floor-to-ceiling glass windows so you get the warmth and the view - and there are cushioned loungers to make it perfect.

The same cushioned loungers are on the top deck which is a very luxurious touch.

There are also two massage rooms - or at least there will be when the vessel is finally finished (at the moment one is being used as a store room, as is the small gym).

I had a one-hour full body massage courtesy of Ionela from Romania and it was lovely. There were no price lists but she tells me it's roughly €1 per minute so the treatments are not cheap but at least she didn't waste time as they do in the big spas, asking daft questions ("have you had a massage before?" "have you tried these [expensive] products?") and arranging the room to look beautiful, so I felt I got my money's worth.

Importantly, the food and service on Antoinette was first class and definitely lived up to Uniworld's five-star claim. One waiter in the dining room quickly remembered I liked sparkling water, another waiter fetched the Pinot Grigio white wine when he saw me.

I've was also impressed at how easily the chef was able to provide alternative meals - and really tasty ones at that - because I couldn't eat the fish dishes (usually there is a choice but we had two celebration fixed menus).

"It's easy to claim five-star but not so easy to deliver," Toni Tollman said.

Surely no river cruise operator would do that. Would they?

Antoinette will be sailing a seven-night Castles of the Rhine cruise between Amsterdam and Basel starting on March 27. Click here for more information.

After years of telling me their passengers don't want all-inclusive cruising, Crystal Cruises is going all-inclusive.

From spring 2012, alcohol on Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony will be included in the cruise price (soft drinks and bottled water already are), as will gratuities for waiters, bar staff and room stewards, and butlers where applicable.

A lot of travel agent friends have told me they won't sell Crystal because they charge for alcohol and until this year had fixed two-seating dining.

"People paying that much money don't want to be told when to eat"

Well that's changed as well - an open-dining option was introduced this year - so now Crystal is no longer the odd-one out in the six-star market and can take its rightful place alongside other ultra-luxury cruise lines.

It's great news because it so deserves to be there.

It's also so much simpler than the half-way house they have now, where they charge for booze but hand out $1,000 per person on-board cruise credit to help pay for it.

How much simpler not to charge in the first place.

I'm told the cruise credit will go completely - it'll be missed because you could also put it towards spa treatments, shore excursions and the uber-swish Vintage Room, which you can book for private parties and where they hold $1,000 a head dining experiences - but it's not yet clear what will happen to the free flights offer (there are free flights for many cruises this year).

And indeed if they will continue to offer free flights, as they are doing on so many cruises this year.

Unfortunately the news that they are going all-inclusive came too late to be included in a 23-page ultra-luxury supplement I've written and which went to press on Monday.

Printers-willing, it will be available at the Cruise Show at Olympia this weekend and includes a review of Crystal Serenity so if you're coming along, do remember to pick up a copy. It'll be available on the Stowaway stand, A54.

Read and enjoy.

Balfour Brut Rosé from the Hush Heath Estate in Cranbrook, Kent, will be used to christen P&O Cruises' Adonia when it joins the fleet in May.

P&O says it's the first time a British sparkling wine has been used to name a ship. Dame Shirley Bassey has been chosen as godmother for the vessel so British is a bit of a theme for the ceremony, which will be held in Southampton.

Balfour Brut Rosé is grown from three classic Champagne varieties - Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay - and is said to be England's most exclusive pink fizz.

TV wine expert Olly Smith, who created The Glass House wine venue on P&O's Azura, is typically effervescent in his praise for the bubbly.

"Balfour Brut Rosé is a celebration in a bottle. Gloriously refreshing with invigorating zing and plenty of finely crafted tiny bubbles, this pink fizz is a glimpse of the first rate quality on our shores. Cheers!"

I just hope P&O has ordered a few extra bottles for the big day - May 21 - as I could so do with an invigorating zing!

Voyages of Discovery will be celebrating the Royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29 with an on-board street party.

Their ship, Discovery, will be visiting St Peter Port in Guernsey on the big day as part of a seven-night French and Spanish Sojourn cruise from Portsmouth.

I'm told party planning is still in progress but the wedding will be televised, the deck will be decorated and festivities will run through the day and into the evening, when there'll be a flag-waving show and possibly a wedding-themed dinner.

When pushed about what they will be doing to get everyone in the party spirit, I got this answer:

"There will also be some form of complimentary drinks and nibbles."

The cruise departs on April 23 and prices start from £499 per person.

Viking River Cruises is going to match its own record in 2012 by launching four new vessels in one year - a feat it achieved in 2001 and which it says no other river cruise company has matched.

The four sisters, Viking Freya, Viking Idun, Viking Njord and Viking Odin, dubbed Longboats by the company, will each have 95 cabins and capacity for 190 passengers.

They have been designed by Yran & Storbraaten - the team behind Disney Dream and Seabourn's new ships - and certainly take the Viking product up several notches.

Many of the cabins have balconies that are big enough to sit on and there are two spacious Explorer Suites with separate living and sleeping areas as well as wraparound verandas.

The Aquavit Terrace is a large lounge with floor-to-ceiling glass doors that open up to create an even larger all-weather indoor-outdoor venue; al-fresco dining areas on the upper deck mean more dining options.

And get this - an organic herb garden will be one of a range of on-board eco-friendly features.

You'll get an idea of the light and airy design from these pictures - talk about chalk and cheese compared to the heavy décor on Uniworld's Antoinette, which was launched last weekend - and also from the DVD on the Viking website.

The new vessels will be sailing company's four most-popular European river cruise itineraries - a 10-day Tulips & Windmills cruise round-trip from Amsterdam, an eight-day Romantic Danube voyage between Budapest and Nuremburg, a 15-day Grand European Tour between Amsterdam and Budapest and eight-day Danube Waltz, sailing between Passau and Budapest.

After a lot of thought, I have decided to focus on writing just one blog. So from now on, you'll need to visit the Cruise Show website to read my words of wisdom.

You can find it at this link:

http://blog.cruisingshow.co.uk/

You'll find it's the same mixture of news, thoughts and comments about the cruise industry, with useful reviews of ships when I am away.

There's a place to leave comments, good or bad. I'd be delighted to hear from as many of you as possible.

Many thanks for reading this over the years and I hope to see you at my new virtual home.