Cruise Lines

Interesting letter in Travel Weekly this week about gratuities, which always manage to raise a few heckles among the British cruising fraternity. Why? Well as the letter says, a tip is supposed to a reward for good service. Ah yes. But not where cruising is concerned.

On a cruise, the gratuity is an extra cost dressed up as a tip to save cruise lines having to pay crew higher wages, which they don't want to do as it would mean having to charge more for the cruise itself.

How else can you explain the fact that Royal Caribbean International allows passengers to pre-pay their gratuity? So you are rewarding service before you have even stepped onto a ship. Make sense of that. Or that Costa Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line have replaced gratuities with compulsory service charges?

Other lines automatically add the gratuity to your on-board account and you can ask for it to be taken off or for the amount to be reduced, but it takes a hard person to dare look so mean.

Cruise lines argue that putting the tip on the bill is for passengers own good. Saves them having to find lots of extra cash at the end of a holiday - and it is a lot. From about £30 per person per week, which is £120 if you are travelling with the family. So they have a point.

But it would be a stronger point if they asked when passengers check in,"would you like us to add the £5 a day gratuity to your cruise account?" - and then explain the reasons. I suspect there is the likelihood too many would say no, which is not what the cruise lines want.

I have heard a prominent cruise line CEO say he would love to remove gratuities and pay crew more (OK, not his exact words, but it's what he meant) if other lines did the same, but he wasn't going to put himself at a competitive disadvantage. Understandable.

The big question is why the Brits - and the Spanish also, I am told - dislike tipping so much. Cruise lines say we are mean, embarrassed, not sure how much to tip (which is why they tell us).

I think it's more that we dislike being told what to do. Get the Brits on a package holiday and they will follow their tour leader over a cliff, but when it comes to money they want to think for themselves, tip because they want to, because they feel have had good service.

There is also something not quite fair - or British! - about going up to a bar to get a drink and having to tip for the pleasure.

There are ways to escape tipping. It's not the done thing on a luxury line - affluent cruisers don't want to be troubled by anything so common as money! - but then you pay a lot for the privilege.

At the other end of the scale, cruise lines like Island Cruises, Ocean Village and Thomson Cruises, aimed squarely at the Brits, have got it right by taking tipping out the equation.But I bet many passengers also leave something for their cabin steward/ess or favourite barman as a genuine thank you. It would be interesting to find out.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises president Mark Conroy reckons world cruising is becoming more popular because people are simply taking their offices globetrotting as well.

Regent now has Wi Fi on all its ships so guests can now work whilst on a long voyage. This allows access to the rest of the world at their convenience. Regent Seven Seas Society Silver and above members are offered complementary Wi Fi so they can communicate via the internet for as long as they please with no extra charge.

 

Work your way around the world - but without the backpack. What a fantastic concept. No wonder Conroy also reports that world cruising is a growing sector of Regent's market - so much so that they are offering more long voyages in 2009 to meet demand.

Other interesting world cruise facts from Regent:

* 20% of Regent's world cruise bookings come from the UK.

* 70% of world cruisers are repeat customers.

* a 116-night all-inclusive world cruise with six-star Regent (with all drinks, alternative dining and tips covered) costs less than a 105-night non-inclusive cruise (non of the above covered) on Cunard's five-star Queen Victoria - £291 per person per day against £296.

Who says they can't afford luxury?

Airline cutbacks in response to the soaring price of fuel is causing major headaches for US cruisers, a USA Today Cruise Log Blog reports.

The soaring price of oil has forced airlines to make some drastic moves in recent weeks, including cutting back service, raising fares and adding new baggage fees. And that's causing major headaches for cruisers who rely on airplanes to get to ships.

Be interesting to hear if agents over here are finding similar problems. Another good reason to cruise from the UK, I think.

Not only was there a free excursion for everyone on the ship during my voyage - it's called an Exclusively Seabourn event and there's one per cruise (ours was into the Sicilian countryside, to taste olive oil and wine) - but a welcoming committee of crew for when you get back.

True, this costs a lot on paper, but it can work out cheaper than lesser-starred cruiselines when you take into account the fact that all drinks and gratuities are included ... and that includes in the spa, where you pay the cost of the treatment and that's it.

Even more impressive, after a lovely massage this morning, I didn't have to fend off the usual hard sell for anti-ageing, anti-stress or anti-anything-else products that I neither need not want.

It's not all rosy in the Seabourn garden though. I've got a lovely big shower but the actual shower head is so far in one corner I can't actually get under it, and my so-called French balcony is big enough to stand on...Just. And hit bad weather in one of these tiny 8,000-ton yachts, as we did last night, and you know all about it - at least I and many of the other passengers did.

But all these negatives are why Seabourn is building bigger ships. Will it ruin the Seabourn style, where I exit my cabin to be greeted by name by my stewardess, not just as ma'am.

Let's hope not, or we'll all just have to keep taking the pills - literally!

My stint on Swan Hellenic's Minerva is just about to end, mainly due to other commitments and partly because the guys in head office were concerned that if I stayed on to Kirkwall and we hit bad weather, the ship would not be able to get in to the port.

Result? Minerva would head off to Norway - it's next stop after Scotland - with me on board when I was supposed to be elsewhere.

But they hadn't factored in Captain John Moulds. "I'd have got you in," he told me over dinner yesterday evening, after telling me that bad weather is no obstacle for him when it comes to landing passengers in Antarctica - the most unfriendly climate in the world.

Somehow I really think he would.

Interesting e-mail from Joe in response to my column a couple of weeks ago in the Telegraph looking at whether the cruising bubble can continue in view of the credit crunch and ever-rising fuel surcharges.

Swan Hellenic are now writing to passengers who are sailing in 2009, promising no surcharges if they pay in full by July 2008. They state possible surcharge figures of £20+ a day.......

Clever how the surcharge has become a tool to get clients to book and pay for their cruises asap. Clouds and silver linings spring to mind.

What a difference an upgrade makes. This is a standard cabin on Viking River Cruises' Viking Surkov. See where the pole is? That's where the wall of the cabin used to be.

During last winter's upgrade, two standard cabins were knocked into one to at least give some space to swing a cat. The bathrooms were enlarged so there is now a separate sink and shower.

At the same time, two deluxe cabins have been made into three. Which no doubt explains why I also have a pole. I did wonder. Even more odd, I have a door that opens into a wall. A bit alarming when you forget....

Mine is a deluxe cabin, but quite compact, and I managed to cause upset in the Viking family by saying I found the décor a bit drab. Heavy brown curtains combined with dark bedspread (it did help to keep the net curtains open to let in the light, but meant passing passengers also got a clear view in).

"You find it drab because you are too young for this cruise," I was told.

As I had preceeded my Viking Russian river cruise with a stint on Swan Hellenic (average age 70) I'm getting used to being told I'm too young.

It's quite flattering really, but suggests a) that river cruising is only for oldies and b) that oldies only like drab. I don't buy either.

So full marks to Victoria Kennedy, the hotel and entertainment manager on Swan for livening up the cabins with white curtains with coloured flag motifs and a matching bed runner. As my cabin was small with only a small window to let in the light, it was a welcome bit of cheer, appreciated even by the oldies.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines' tours manager Tim Moore has sent me details of CareVacations, set up by Canadians Don and Susan, who saw an opportunity to open a business renting "special equipment" - oxygen, respiratory products, scooters, wheelchairs, walkers and the like - to cruise passengers.

Apparently the idea has gone down a storm in the US, where they are preferred supplier to all the major cruiselines, so now they have set up over here, shipping equipment to European cruisers.

In the States it's quite a common sight to see a person with portable oxygen shopping ... on cruise ships. They are not prepared to be confined to their homes, and neither should Europeans. Someone with impaired mobility may have their own equipment but it may be too large and too heavy for use on cruise ships. Renting lightweight equipment that is compliant with cruise lines' requirements, from CareVacations Ltd., is the answer.

Well they would say that, wouldn't they, but have to admit this sounds a clever idea. Wheelchair prices start at £99 for a week's cruise, £150 for a month, but you can pay £225 for an intriguingly-named newlife quiet concentrator.

Imagine if you could book these through your travel agent at the same time as your cruise? Just a thought...

Will people pay more to cruise on the giant 220,000-ton Oasis of the Seas just because it's got a Central Park, Boardwalk and all sorts of other amazing features?

Royal Caribbean's chairman and CEO Richard Fain has said it will carry a premium, cruise blogger Anne Campbell questions whether that is realistic when fuel prices are escalating, airlines are taking planes out of the air and experts are determined to talk us into a recession.

http://www.cybercruises.com/cruisecolumn_july7.htm

Of course, Oasis is not due out for another 18 months - the maiden voyage is December 12 2009 - by which time the economy might be on the mend. The question surely is, even if they can afford it, will people buy the principal of paying a premium for a big ship with lots of features?

My thoughts go to the many conversations I've had with passengers resistent to paying $15 or $20 each to dine in a speciality restaurant because food on a cruise is "supposed" to be included in the price and this paying lark is the cruise lines trying to "nickle and dime you".

The classic has to be the man who wrote in response to a piece I wrote in the Telegraph about Gary Rhodes' restaurant on P&O Cruises' Arcadia, saying the food was so bad he wasn't going to pay extra money to try it! I paraphrase, but you get the drift.

If anyone has any thoughts on Oasis and paying extra, I'd love to hear them. 

I have been picking up a few useful pointers on P&O Cruises' Ventura from Phil at the Cruise Village/Save 'n' Sail as he was on the ship in June and I am on later this month. Ventura, for those who have already forgotten, was launched in April and is the biggest in the P&O fleet, with lots of new-for-P&O stuff on board.

http://www.mycruiseblog.co.uk/

It all sounds pretty good, although he reckons the cover charge in The White Room is too high given the limited choice on the menu. I'll reserve comment on that issue, but I was surprised at the launch to discover that they have gone for flexible pricing in the speciality restaurants so people on shorter cruises pay more. I struggle to see how that can be justified, other than to the bean counters.

But what interested me most is his comment that Freedom dining is not working well because too many people book tables at their preferred sitting time each day so when radom diners turn up to eat, there is no room.

The turn-up-and-dine concept works very well on Princess Cruises (where it is called Anytime Dining) so I wonder what the problem is.

Could it simply be that Princess staff are more experienced at handling flexible dining because they've been doing it for so many years or because P&O people haven't got to grips with this idea of Freedom after so many years of being told when to eat and where to sit.

I just hope things are improving - and fast....

Catharine Hamm, a staffer on the Los Angeles Times, has a very tortuous style but finally manages to get around to answering a reader's travel dilemma. And it's a good response.

To book through a travel agent or not, that is the question.

Quoting Jay Rein, chief executive and president of US on-line travel agency Travelworm.com, she concludes that booking your cruise through an agent not only means you get the best choice of which line to choose, but also the best deals, whether that be upgrades of perks.

Hamm concludes:

If I set sail again, I'll use an agent, whether it's clicks or bricks, because, frankly, he or she (or it) will offer to help. And when was the last time anybody else in the travel industry bothered to do that?

Isn't it great to find someone on your side?

Thanks to Mike at Gill's Cruise for spotting the story about the Dorset couple hit with a fuel surcharge bill of £892 by Voyages of Discovery.

Multiply that up over the 700 or so passengers that Discovery holds and we are talking a nice little earner for Voyages.

No wonder they call the black stuff "liquid gold".

Travel Weekly US forecast that cuts were coming at Royal Caribbean International last week and now they have happened, according to a story on Travelmole.

It's a painful cut too - 400 shoreside jobs and the end of the Scholar Ship educational programme for college students to study abroad at sea - which is hoped to save $125 million a year.

CEO Richard Fain blamed soaring fuel costs, which are eroding too much of the line's profitability.

Bet the money men are rueing the day they placed an order to build the world's biggest cruiseship, especially with launch less than 18 months away.

A report in Travel Weekly US suggests the chill wind of the economic downturn is starting to blow around the cruise lines.

Johanna Jainchill's report talks of downsizing staff and budget cuts at Royal Caribbean in response to rising fuel costs and says sources say the line wants to trim the payroll by 10%.

RCCL's vice-president of corporate communications Lynn Martenstein admitted they are under pressure to control costs.

Like most companies today, we are redoubling our efforts to find savings, but we have not announced any specific actions.

Hot on the heels of news that Susan Hooper, managing director EMEA, is resigning one can't help putting two and two together and coming up with, well,  four.

I feel a definite reorganisation in the air.

The last day of my cruise on Ventura and I'm black and blue after finally plucking up courage to have a go on the bungee trampoline.

I thought it was just a matter of bouncing up and down with bungees attached, but it's exhausting and my arms feel like they've been pulled from their sockets.

Great fun though!

Anyway, I can tell we're nearing old Blighty because it's raining, the fog horn has been blaring and suitcases have started to appear in the corridors. And we're still on the Bay of Biscay!

We have opted for what P&O Cruises rather oddly calls "self-help" disembarkation, which basically means we get off with our own luggage tomorrow morning.

That means there's no rush to get packed and, more to the point, we don't have to kick our heels around the ship tomorrow morning, with 3,000 other people also kicking their heels, waiting for the grey ticket we were originally given to be called at 10.15am, after having been asked to vacate our cabin at 8am.

I do understand they have to clean the cabins before the next passengers arrive, but out by 8am is a bit of an end-of-holiday shocker, especially as most people have only been staggering up to breakfast these last few days at sea at 10am.

But it's a shame that none of the lines has managed to come up with a more civilised way to get rid of the passengers who've paid so they can get the next lot on to spend, spend, spend. 

Interesting comments this week on cruise.co.uk about the benefits or otherwise of dine-when-you-want options on cruise ships.

Is it working well? Tsang didn't think so after her experiences on P&O Cruises' Ventura and I have to agree, after a week on board, that the staff are struggling with the concept.

So many people are booking that half the dining room is blocked out for the evening, which means if you do get a table the room is often half empty. But passengers are still turning up at the door and being turned away. "I guess we should book as well, but it kind-of loses the point of being Freedom," one man on a neighbouring table told me a couple of nights ago.

One of the problems is that the ship is packed with families who want Freedom dining, but two out of the three dining rooms are set aside for fixed dining. It wasn't always like that. When the ship launched, two out of three were set aside for Freedom dining, but the older - I'm guessing - passengers on the maiden voyages wanted fixed, so it was switched around.

And no one thought to change again when the passenger profile changed.

One evening my partner and I eventually ended up sharing a table for 10 with, um, two other people. We did look very lonely, especially with empty tables around us. They said one couple they met had asked for Freedom dining and been told they couldn't have it; another couple requested fixed and, yes, you've guessed it. They were told they couldn't have it.

The dual system works for Princess Cruises so guess it's just early days for Ventura. Im sure they'll get it right - but sooner would be better if they want to stem the moans I've heard.

From October this year, P&O Cruises is banning smoking in all inside areas of Oceana, Ventura and adult-only Artemis. Smokers will still be able to light up on their cabin balconies and designated parts of the deck.

Not sure what that will do to the Exchange, the pub on Ventura, which is pretty empty at the best of times, either a) because it has no atmosphere, even with the band in there singing their hearts out or b) because you have to cut through the smoke to get in, which means it's a real no-go for non-smokers.

It also suffers from being way down on deck six, away from the fun lounges and bars.
 
Guess it could go either way.

Anyone cruising on Ventura post-October, let me know.

Delighted to see agents are getting behind my campaign for a better deal for singles through Cruisepricescompared.com, the deals at sea website just launched by Harley Van Straten.

Check out the Telegraph website and travel pages this weekend for more about singles and why cruising makes such a great holiday for lone travellers.

Who knows. We might just start to break down the walls of Jericho.

Delighted to see Cruiseprices is doing so well, by the way. Really seems to have taken off thanks to agents' support.

P&O Cruises has really fired up the nation's cruisers with its latest smoking policy if the comments that have been flooding into the Cruise.co.uk website are anything to go by.

As from October, smoking will be banned on all inside public areas on Ventura, Oceana and Artemis. Smokers will still be able to light up on selected areas of open deck and on their balconies.

Smokers are shouting "not fair"; non-smokers are rejoicing with a holier-than-thou attitude which has then also irritated the smokers....and so it goes round and round.

Having been in cabins just vacated by smokers. I am all for banning smoking in staterooms, and personally I don't like it when people smoke on the balcony next to mine, but otherwise I have to say I'm with the smokers on this one (and I write as an ex-smoker of many years now).

It seems very unfair not to provide a lounge/pub, call it what you will, where smokers can puff away in the company of like-minded puffers. Non-smokers don't have to go in and always have plenty of other lounge areas to ang out in so they can't really compain.

It's called let and let live - although that's probably not the best expression where cigarettes are concerned!

I reckon what really matters is that people who don't like smoke can get away from it (so I wonder therefore whether the balcony and open deck is the best place, given the wind carries smoke, the smell, etc, but guess time will tell).

easyCruise has bowed to popular demand and for 2009 will be including half-board accommodation and daily housekeeping in the price.

It's a far cry from the budget line Stelios set up, where everything was an extra once you had paid for your bed, but then he has had to backtrack on quite a lot - reopening inside cabins so passsengers have a window, cutting back on the orange, providing proper food on board, now including it in the price and cleaning cabins to boot. How very mainstream it has become.

Personally I find it reassuring that the bright young things he wants to attract want their rooms cleaned. Seven nights is a long time to wallow in your own muck, especially in Greece in high summer.

History doesn't relate whether sheets and towels will be changed over that time. I hope so. At least once - even if we are supposed to be environmentally friendly.

I remember a seven-night cruise in the Maldives many moons ago when neither was changed. They were so filthy could have walked off with us at the end of the week. I noticed the tour operator I booked with never offered the cruise again.

My cruise column on the Telegraph website this week touches on how expensive it is on board Fram. I compared it with Ventura, where you could get a 33cl bottle for £1.95, while here 40cl draft beer is more than £3.50. Not the end of the world but worth bearing in mind.

But the one thing that is really cheap is the internet - six hours for £20. And it works - as anyone reading my blogs will have realised.

I paid a hefty £40 for four hours on Ventura, which was all the more galling when ashore in Rome, Florence, et al, you could have an hour for one euro (about 80p). If you wanted longer the price came down!

Here in Greenland I haven't seen an internet café and if there was one I dread to think how much it would cost. Yesterday, ashore at our first big town (with tarmac roads, a supermarket and a pub), a bottle of beer was £6.

I hastened back to Fram!

I never really knew the correct time on Ventura. Reason? Every clock was wrong, some by five minutes, some by an hour, others by more still.

The problem was that passengers waiting by the lifts thought it a good joke to move the hands forwards or backwards. And yes, you could do that, I am reliably informed by someone close to me who shall remain nameless!

Not sure why the ones that were out of reach were so wrong.

But full marks to Hurtigruten. Fram, launched a year earlier has digital clocks on each deck that all show the correct time. Not so much fun, of course, but as my watch is invariably wrong at least I now know whether I am coming or going.

I see Ideal Cruising is selling a nine-night Canary Islands cruise from Barcelona on Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Jade this winter for just £510 per person - and that includes return flights from Gatwick.

I appreciate that this will be NCL's first winter cruising in the Med and Atlantic so they are testing the waters, so to speak, but it's hard to believe anyone can be making anything from that giveaway price.

Except the customer, of course, who is getting an absolute steal - especially as they can bag an outside cabin for just £92 per person more.

It's for a cruise departing December 12, which just happens to be my favourite day of the year (and not because it's when Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas is scheduled to set off on its maiden voyage) but is probably not a good time to try to get people thinking about a cruise given most minds are focused on turkey and tinsel.

Either that, or people are planning to escape the big day, in which case they won't want to be away just before as well.

Costa and MSC have made it work, so really there's no reason why NCL shouldn't - except, of course that the former appeal to the European market while NCL depends heavily on the Americans.

And why would Americans want to cruise over here in a warm-ish, if they're lucky, winter when they have sun, sea and sand on their Caribbean doorstep - and without forking out a fortune in airline fuel supplements.

Pre-Xmas blues or a deeper malaise? Only time will tell.

A report in Florida Today says sales for cruising remain strong in the US as Americans disillusioned with flying latch onto the idea of driving to a port to join a ship.

Terry Thornton, Carnival's vice president for marketing planning, said there is no end in sight for demand for Caribbean cruises, which the company bolsters through locating its ships at drive-to ports around the state of Florida. "The cruise industry is doing well because people are driving to their ports."

Many Brits have already discovered the joys of being able to pack the car and drive to Southampton, Dover or wherever to start their cruise. No airport security hassles, no delays. Just board the ship and you're on holiday.

The Passenger Shipping Association says a record 591,000 passengers cruised from the UK last year. As more people discover the benefits of sailing from the UK - and more ex-UK cruises are offered - that figure can only grow. I expect more records for 2008 and beyond.

My inbox is still being flooded by past passengers concerned about Discovery, the cruise ship operated by Voyages of Discovery, which has been suffering engine problems since March this year.

In a story I wrote for the Telegraph last week, managing director David Yellow admitted there had been problems but said they would be fixed by Friday (August 22).

A statement yesterday from Voyages of Discovery also seemed to show all was finally well with the ship - even if she was going a little slow!

'The MV Discovery is operating its published Baltic Explorer itinerary and is currently in Korsor, as scheduled. The vessel did transit the Kiel Canal yesterday (Monday 25 August) en route to Korsor. During its journey from Harwich to Korsor, MV Discovery averaged its planned speed of 14.5 knots and has made no changes to its designated ports of call.'

But I have also been sent a letter from one of the passengers on the cruise, received on boarding and signed by David Yellow, informing them a new part was delivered last week but the engineers have still not managed to fix the problem. Apparently another new part now needs to be manufactured.

This does mean Discovery will be operating on 3 engines during your cruise which is perfectly permissible and the ship can do so safely. However it does mean that Discovery will be operating at a slightly slower speed than when the itinerary was originally planned.

It might be permissible and safe, but the letter also says Discovery will be skipping Tallinn, which will be a great disappointment to many.

David Yellow told me the part delivered last week also had to be specially manufactured. If that hasn't worked, maybe it's time to either take the ship out of service until it is fixed or replace the current cruise programme with slow, short hops over to the continent, sold on the basis of being one engine short, until everything is up and running again.

Or maybe Voyages just needs to splash out on a new engine. Discovery is an old lady, does some sterling work each year in Antarctica and is obviously feeling a little tired.

Whichever option, it would be a lot fairer to the passengers.

Just as it was getting a real taste for flycruising, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has more than halved its flycruise programme for the next two years.

Instead of enjoying the Med sun in Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, next summer, Braemar will be in Dover, cruising to the Norwegian fjords, the Baltic and the Med. And instead of living it up in Miami, when it goes back to the Caribbean for winter 2009/10, it will be based back in Barbados.

Boudicca's 2009/1010 Caribbean season has also been cancelled. Instead the ship will be operating an extended pre-Christmas selection of cruises out of Portsmouth before relocating all the way to Southampton, for cruises to the Canary Islands, Med and a mammoth 28-night voyage to the Caribbean.

Marketing director Nigel Lingard blames the changes on the rising costs of fuel - rather unfortunate timing as prices have started to fall, and why then put in a costly (in fuel at least) cruise to the Caribbean? - but reading between the lines I wonder if there isn't also a feeling at Fred that they were going too far too fast in their bid to widen their client base beyond their traditional 65-plus market.

With the dramatic increase in fuel prices we have taken the decision to offer a more cost effective programme. This also gives us the opportunity to further widen the choice of ex-UK cruises for our traditional clientele.

What better message for agents to take into Cruise Week than that cruising is cheaper than 10 years ago? Especially now that everyone is reportedly looking a little closer at the pennies.

According to P&O Cruises, a two-week cruise in an ocean-view cabin this summer would have cost £1,579 per person. Ten years ago it would have cost £2,520.

But there's more. P&O's managing director Nigel Esdale has been doing some tantalising number crunching.

"The cumulative inflation rate between May 1998 and May 2008 is 32% [Office of National Statistics], so if cruise holidays had increased accordingly, then our prices should be more than double those in this summer's brochure. In actual fact, this year's prices are more than £900 cheaper per person, almost £2,000 cheaper for a couple than 10 years ago."

Everyone loves a deal and no one wants to miss out on having a holiday - especially in the UK's wet new world of global warming. With bargains like that, cruises should be flying off the shelves next week.

Another week, another cruise, this time on Princess Cruises' Crown Princess in the Baltic. It's a bit of déjà vu really as this is the ship on which P&O Cruises' Ventura was modelled and on which I cruised in July. One or two rooms are in different places, the speciality restaurants are different, things are charged in dollars and this ship has Movies under the Stars, but otherwise it's a home from home.

Tomorrow's Movie under the Stars is Narnia, which my daughter Ilana has already decided we'll watch. At 9.30pm. In the Baltic. I fear a sudden heatwave is out of the question so I've already earmarked my blankets. Lots of them!

I was thrilled to discover that our Captain is Andy Proctor, who married me (to my husband, that is) on Grand Princess back in 2004. That was in the Baltic too, on a day at sea sailing between Copenhagen and Stockholm, so it's quite a nostalgic trip for Ilana and I. Wonder if he'll remember me...?

Voyages of Discovery has been in touch after an earlier blog and asked me to point out that Discovery's call to Tallinn was not pulled and that the ship did stop there yesterday, as scheduled.

The letter from managing director David Yellow to the passengers said that the itinerary in Tallinn had been changed - the ship was in port for a couple of hours less than originally scheduled - not that the Tallinn stop had been cancelled.

I'm delighted to hear that was the case and my thanks to them for putting me right.

As promised, an update on the Piazza entertainment on Princess Cruises' Crown Princess. Following juggling Daniel's departure, we've had quick-change artist Yulana Plotvinova and magician Alex Lodge.

I've yet to have seen the latter at work - he does his magic up close so it depends on him coming to your table - but the oohs and ahhs from other passengers were impressive.

Plotvinova is great. She walks into a curtained closet in one outfit and emerges at the other end in another, or wraps herself in a cloak, then whisks it off to reveal - yes, another outfit. I was standing right in front of her, trying to take pictures, but it's impossible because it all happens so fast. And no, I couldn't see how it is done.

These "street" entertainers are very clever. Gives the atrium - sorry, Piazza - life and a reason to hang out there, rather than just passing through to admire the décor and eat the sticky buns they offer for breakfast in the International Cafe!

I looked at them earlier and wondered who would eat such unhealthy food for breakfast - sugar, icing, you name it, they are covered in it. And then along came the Americans!

This guy is Daniel Hochsteiner, from Germany, one of a band of entertainers who juggles three or so times a day in the piazza on Princess Cruises' Crown Princess.

The piazza, but the way, is the ship's atrium by another name because it is a place where you can buy coffees, teas or something stronger, snack on salads, cookies or cakes from the International Cafe - free in the day, charged in the evening (I'm not entirely sure why as the daytime food is so much nicer) - or just meet others and watch the entertainers. Much like an Italian piazza.
 
Oh - and it's also one of the best places for us laptop junkies to pick up wireless internet, which is why I'm spending a lot of time there.

Daniel was getting off the ship just after I took this picture. He's been on for a week, juggling hoops and tennis rackets, and now he's off to do the same on another cruise ship.

Rest assured, I'll be back down there to see who takes his place.

Which I was.

The Penthouse on Crystal Serenity is lovely. There's a walk-in wardrobe, large bathroom with two sinks, jacuzzi bath and separate shower, equipped with a flat-screen TV, DVD and CD. And of course there is Mahir, my butler.

But interestingly the Penthouse I had on Princess Cruises' Crown Princess last week was bigger.

It had a long balcony with two balcony doors, two TVs, a DVD, a walk-in wardrobe and the bathroom was spilt into two. A toilet and sink in one room, a jacuzzi bath and shower in another.

We didn't have a butler, but we did have the lovely Elmar, who greeted us each day with a chirpy good morning and managed to keep the room tidy despite the best efforts of my 14-year-old daughter to do otherwise.

"Have you noticed they have the name of our suite [Aruba] instead of the number on the signs in the corridor?" she asked excitedly the first day we were on board. I had to admit I hadn't, but it did explain why I spend ages looking at the sign trying to work out which direction to walk to get to 412.

It wasn't there. And then I realised I was standing almost right in front of the room.

Sometimes you can feel really stupid.

Is this a sign of the [hard] times - 10 nights Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Galaxy from £796 per person?

OK, it's for an inside cabin, but that's not even £80 a day for a brand that calls itself deluxe - less if you take out the cost of the return flight and transfers. Even the press release that announced the price admitted it was "out of this world".

Or does it just tell us that cruising the Med in the near depths of winter - this is for a November 14 departure - is really not that popular unless you happen to be Italian (Costa and MSC, which carry a majority of Italians, seem to be making it work for them).

What does this mean for Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line, about to embark on their first winter seasons in the Med? Only time will tell.

I had to smile at the headlines this weekend about all those Brits "stranded" abroad when XL went under. Stranded? Were they in Tristan da Cunha or St Helena, thousands of miles from anywhere in the middle of the South Atlantic ocean?

No, they were in some of the world's top holiday hotspots - you know. Those places served by numerous charter and scheduled airlines, all crammed with hotels which, let's face it, would have had plenty of availability because the people coming out on holiday were not going to arrive. How did we ever build an empire?

But checking into a hotel for a night or two would have cost money they didn't want to spend. Far better to have an uncomfortable 24 hours or so milling around an airport with thousands of others.

The irony is that if XL had levied a higher fuel supplement which better covered the rising cost of oil - maybe just another £1 per client - it might not have collapsed. But then XL clients would have shouted "foul". Just as they are now. But now they are "stranded" and many have lost everything.

My thoughts turned to the cruiselines, which increased their fuel supplements almost weekly in the spring as the price of oil went through the roof.

It was not popular, and I'm sure all people who cruise hope they will eventually go away, but it's something to do with financial management and covering your costs I believe. And the cruisers who have coughed up are getting the holiday they planned rather than a two-night break at Gatwick or Tenerife South.

I asked someone on Swan Hellenic if the fuel supplement would put them off booking a cruise in the future. No, he said, because it was a tiny amount compared to what he was paying for the holiday anyway. The voice of reason.

The collapse of XL could lead to an increase in dynamically-packaged holidays, according to Nigel Lingard, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines marketing director.

He told the Association of National Tourist Office Representatives/Passenger Shipping Association conference in London yesterday that cruiselines will struggle to find enough capacity to get passengers to their ships next year as a result of XL's demise.

XL was used by some cruiselines so they will have to find other aircraft to charter. We all use charter airlines as we have to get 2,000-3,000 passengers to our ships at once for our flycruises, and without XL there will be a tightening of capacity.

Lingard also said the prices being quoted by charter carriers have gone up since XL collapse and forecast a shift to more longer ex-UK cruises, in fact exactly what Fred is doing, to avoid having to fly people.

There will be problems for all, but ironically it could lead to more opportunities for agent to dynamically package holidays for their clients, selling cruise only and adding flights and pre and post-cruise hotels stays.

The price of oil might have dropped to below $100 a barrel, but cruiselines have no plans to drop of fuel surcharges.

USA Today quotes a Royal Caribbean spokesperson:

We continue to see considerable volatility in fuel price movements around the world and believe it would be premature to lower the supplement at this time," the company said in a statement.

Carnival Corporation spokesman Tim Gallagher says the company has no plans to get rid of the fuel supplements because the pump prices that cruise lines pay haven't come down as quickly as oil prices.

Our fuel prices for the ships don't drop nearly as fast as oil does, but they sure seem to go up every time there is a spike.

Reminds me of electricity prices, gas prices, oh yes, tax, food.... 

There is something for everyone a cruise ship, Lynn Narraway, UK managing director of Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland America Lines, told the ANTOR/PSA conference in London yesterday.

For her eight year old it's the swimming pool (a little galling, Narraway admits, as a pool could be anywhere); for her 10-year-old it's being able to sign herself in and out of the kids' club because it makes her feel very grown up.

This summer a friend of hers took her three-year-old on P&O Cruises' Ventura, which you will all remember is famed for having Noddy and a fabulous play area for kids.

So what did he like best? Going up and down in the lift.

At the meeting at Royal Caribbean HQ yesterday, it emerged that the grass on Celebrity Solstice is sitting on a bed on clay and limestone rather than "dirt", as the Americans call soil, to disuade any crawly things from taking up residence and avoid problems with customs people worried about the ship-born diseases. It will survive on the nutrients watered into it.

After many months of searching and trialing - they even had a patch of grass in the car park at HQ in Miami - they decided on a grass from Austria, which is reckoned to be tough enough to withstand hot Caribbean sun, Mediterranean summers, salty air and being stomped on by thousands of feet.

It was transported in refrigerated lorries from Austria to the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. Eighteen hours from "harvest" to being laid.

"Ice rinks on a ship? Now that was easy," said Harri Kulovaara, Royal Caribbean's executive vice-president maritime.

Kulovaara also revealed that when Royal Caribbean built Song of America (now Thomson Destiny), in 1982, the designers reckoned it was as big as a cruise ship could go. It was 37,773 tons and held 1,450 passengers. Oasis of the Seas, launching next year, is 225,000 tons and will hold 5,400 passengers.

Just goes to show you should never say never.

All the talk at a meeting at Royal Caribbean HQ in Addlestone, Weybridge, yesterday was about the new ships - Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Solstice and Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas.

But this wasn't the usual stuff about Central Park, Boardwalks and zipwires, but rather a day for the techies to find out some behind-the-scenes stuff about these ships.

About the wonders of non-toxic silicon paint on the hull, for instance, how they will be using waste heat from the engines to heat water, how common rail diesel engines have been fitted as they are more efficient and reduce emissions, how air-conditioning and lighting is cleverer, so it uses less energy and so helps the environment.

The air-con changes mean there will be a 25%-30% improvement in energy efficiency (personally I would just turn it down - or is it up? - so passengers don't freeze, but maybe that's too simple) while lighting-related energy consumption will fall 40%.

We learned that Solstice has 500 square metres of solar panels, which will provide enough energy to power the passenger lifts - all the jokes about being stuck in the lift when the sun goes behind a cloud illustrates why they won't actually be used for that purpose!

We also learned that the pipes sticking out of the funnel on Oasis are telescopic, allowing them to disappear inside the funnel to allow the ship under low bridges.

True, you don't get that many bridges in the ocean, but without this cute mechanism the ship couldn't get out of the Baltic - it is being built in Finland - or into New York.

Cue more jokes .... but I'll leave you to work that one out for yourselves.

With no sign of an end to the dispute between Norwegian Cruise Line and Aker Yards over the building/cost of its 150,000-ton F3 ships, comes another misery for NCL.

Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines has failed to dot the i's and cross the t's in the purchase of Norwegian Dream. The sale was supposed to go through on Monday but Louis apparently decided against splashing out $218 million for the ship because the charter business it was planning for the vessel did not materialise.

As well as operating its own cruises, Louis charters ships to other lines, including Thomson Cruises. It's not so unlikely that one of those others - or indeed Thomson - has decided against increasing capacity at a time when people are concerned about their bank balances.

Louis is saying nothing; likewise NCL, which will be no surprise to anyone who has been following the F3 saga. Leaving everyone to speculate and rumour.

Star Cruises, which owns half of NCL has told brokers to put Norwegian Dream back on the market, but brokers reckon it's a terrible time to be selling a ship.

I don't know. I had a meeting Tuesday with the guys from Fred Olsen Cruise Lines and casually mentioned the ship sale had fallen through. "Don't tell Mr Olsen," came the urgent reply. New-to-Fred ship Balmoral used to be Norwegian Crown, so they obviouly fear he has a penchant for ex-NCL stock.

But what with Balmoral and the newly-stretched Braemar, the FO team feels they have more than enough extra capacity to fill for a while!

As a friend has just remarked apropos of the Island Cruises news.

No wonder Louis Cruises decided against buying Norwegian Dream. They probably intended to charter it to Thomson Cruises to replace the Emerald. But now Thomson is getting Island Escape it doesn't need another ship.

Sad to see that instead of positioning Carnival Liberty in Dover for the 2009 summer season, to operate a series of Baltic voyages, Carnival Cruise Lines has decided to leave the ship Stateside.

The line only launched its Baltic cruises this year, starting with the magnificent naming ceremony on Carnival Splendor and a most enjoyable three-night cruise to Amsterdam.

The official line is that the bosses fear continued economic uncertainty and high air costs will deter the Americans from flying to Europe. The same reason given for pulling Carnival Freedom's 2009 Mediterranean season earlier this year.

That could be true. But what about the Brits? We don't have to fly anywhere to get to Dover.

As I reported in the Telegraph recently, though, Carnival was selling next summer's 12-night Baltic cruises for £699 per person - less than £60 a day. Month ahead of sailing. It doesn't suggest the cruises have been flying off the shelves.

Any Brits booked on the cancelled Liberty cruises will get a full refund, but the UK team is also scouting around trying to find alternative voyages on another line in the Carnival group. Passengers can also rebook on Carnival Dream, the line's new big ship, due out of the yard in September and scheduled to operate a few Med cruises before going to the Caribbean.

Unless they are about to be cancelled as well.

P&O Cruises next new ship will be called Azura.

The keel for the vessel was laid today. The ship will be floated out in summer 2009 and delivered to P&O in spring 2010. That's barely 18 months for a 3,100-passenger cruise ship to grow from a lump of metal into a vessel setting off on its maiden voyage. I don't know how many keel-layings and new ships I've seen, but I still find it amazing.

I was among a small group of British journalists supposed to be at the keel-laying ceremony today at Fincantieri's Monfalcone shipyard in Trieste, Italy, but the event was called off last week because of the tragic death of a worker on the Ruby Princess.

Azura's first section laid weighs 650 tons and is made up of six pre-manufactured blocks ready-fitted with piping. In all, 50 sections and several interconnecting steel blocks will be used to build the ship.

There have been hints that Azura will not follow sister ship Ventura down the big-for-families route, but for now all speculation remains just that. The next news bulletin is on November 25.

With oil hitting $70 a barrel from its $150 summer high, cruise lines are starting to remove those dreaded supplements.

Carnival Corp was one of the first to announce it was axing surcharges across its brands on all new bookings made after October 31 for 2010 sailings.

Now Royal Caribbean has followed suit. Passengers booking a cruise with Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises or Azamara Cruises after November 10, for a holiday departing on or after January 1 2010, will not pay a surcharge.

Those with 2009 sailings might even get a refund, in the form of an on-board credit, if oil prices stay low, but what is the chance of that when the oil-producing nations have already decided to cut back production to push up the price?

Just in case, there are some very complicated price mechanisms in place to determine who might get what if the price goes down or stays level. If anyone actually understands them, I reckon they should be rewarded with a free cruise.

Carnival has also negated any cause for celebration by announcing price rises effective from, you've guessed it, October 31. It's a clever move. The whole world hates the S word, so just swallow up the supplement in the price. I have no doubt others will soon follow suit. Will they be as honest? Only time will tell.

Travel Pulse reports USB cruise industry analyst Robin Farley has revised 2009 and 2010 yield estimates and is now forecasting a 3% decline for 2009 and a flat year for 2010.

October has reportedly been a very challenging month so far and as a result cruise lines have become more aggressive with 2009 promotions, starting them earlier than normal given the macroeconomic environment.

It's certainly true there are a lot of deals out there. Yesterday I reported Ocean Village is giving away Caribbean cruises, now I've got this from six-star SeaDream Yacht Club - seven nights in the Caribbean for £2,795, departing January 31. That's a straight 50% price cut and includes flights and transfers, an overnight stay in Antigua before the cruise, alcohol and soft drinks and gratuities.

It's on offer from BA-way Cruise. To book, call 0208 248 2355.

The Seattle Times concludes the cruise sector is facing rougher seas after a Cruise Lines International Association report showed the number of North Americans cruising last year grew by just 1%.

The CLIA says 12.6 million people took cruises worldwide last year, 4.7% more than the previous year, and that in the first half of this year numbers grew 5.8%.

But the 2007 CLIA Economic Study also says North Americans contributed just 1% of that growth as economic woes - falling house prices, rising unemployment and reduced airline capacity - made many think twice about a cruise holiday.

The report notes that in 1995, around 11% of passengers on CLIA members cruises came from outside North America. This year to date, overseas passengers represent more than 20% of cruise passengers.

I couldn't help but smile at the story this week about the Thomson Celebration passengers who had a cruise to, well nowhere.

I don't think they saw the funny side. The ship was due to set off on a three-day cruise to Ireland when bad weather struck. The captain could have battled his way through the storms or settled for a couple days in Liverpool.

Very sensibly he chose the latter. Who on earth wants to spend three days being sick on the Irish Sea? But then, who wants to spend three days tied up at Liverpool docks?

Quite a few people, apparently. Everyone was free to go home - and incidentally would still get the 80% refund, offered in the form of vouchers to use against another Thomson cruise - but many decided to stay on board and eat, drink, enjoy the entertainment, even have a free bus trip into the city. In fact they had everything but Ireland and the seasickness.

Some have now cried foul because they are not getting a full refund. Thomson cited terms and conditions, said it was an insurance issue and that it was not obliged to give any refund at all. All to do with small print and why we are all urged to have travel insurance.

Mr and Mrs Scott, quoted in the Liverpool Echo, said it was "scandalous", especially as ferries were making the crossing and they were in a ship. Yes, but Thomson Celebration is not a very big ship. History doesn't relate if they stayed on board and enjoyed the hospitality anyway - or indeed whether they had any travel insurance to cover the £279 they had each splashed out on the break.

Personally I prefer the attitude of the couple from Crewe quoted by Cruise Critic.

"We are disappointed, but we know it couldn't be helped and at least there is good food, good entertainment and people were having fun."

Kelly Ranson, Cruise Critic's UK editor, just happened to be on the ship and wrote:

This seemed to sum up the attitude of the majority -- and although everyone was disappointed that they were not visit Cork or Dublin, the facilities and the attitude of the staff on the ship helped to make a good weekend away.

The interesting question is whether any will use their refund vouchers and have another go on Thomson cruise. Or is once enough? We'll never know.

It was nice to read on e-tid that no one will face the chop in the wake of Carnival UK's decision to axe Ocean Village.

A spokeswoman said the ships' crews will transfer to P&O Australia, while land-based staff will be needed at P&O Cruises and Cunard, which are both getting an extra ship in 2010.

P&O Cruises takes delivery of the 3,100-passenger Azura in spring 2010, with the new 2,100-passenger Queen Elizabeth joining Cunard in October that year.

"The 26 people who work shore-side on Ocean Village will be absorbed with this new capacity."

Norwegian Cruise Line has announced it will be axing fuel supplements on all bookings made after November 10 for cruises departing on or after January 1 2010.

There are also complicated rules to determine whether those already booked for cruises after that date will get a refund in the form of an onboard credit; likewise, for those who have booked a 2009 cruise.

After this year's roller-coaster oil ride, I can understand why NCL is cautious, but it does seem a little unfair that anyone who has booked early for 2010 - what the cruiselines want them to do, after all - is to be penalised for their eagerness.

There is a real danger these people will be so annoyed they'll join the ranks of the last-minute bookers and that is not good anytime, but especially not when times are tough.

It's an intriguing question, posed by Mark Tre in the Cruise Examiner, in a piece looking at the winners and losers in the cruise industry in the current financial crisis.

He reckons the big two - Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines - are best positioned to ride out the storm, but that question marks hang over Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises.

The big question about MSC is not only whether it will be able to survive a rapid expansion in a short number of years, but whether parent company Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world's second-largest container line, can survive in a diminishing market where freight rates are dropping every week.

NCL may be a stronger position, now being half-owned by Apollo Management as well as Star Cruises. But Apollo had had to follow through on a recent major acquisition in another market and has a full interest in Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises that it must also look after. There have also been reported disagreements between Apollo and NCL as to the future path that NCL should be taking, one of the reasons for the dispute over the F3s.

Can the two get together to take on the big two? Or would MSC fill a hole at Royal Caribbean and offer a counterpoint to Carnival's Costa?

This is not the best time for cruise lines to be on a spending spree - or is it? Desperate times can mean desperate deals.

Here's a different take on the fuel surcharge issue.

Rather than dropping the supplement altogether, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is offering passengers who have paid the surcharge a refund if the price of oil is on average less than £40 per barrel in the calendar month before their departure.

The rebate will be offered for cruises after January 1 2009. As with other lines, money will be given back as on-board credit rather than a cash.

First it was the oldies; now it seems it's the big spenders who will take the cruise industry through the recession.

Because just as the rest of the industry starts to feel the crunch, White Star Cruises, the luxury cruise arm of WEXAS - The Travellers Club, reports record sales figures in October.

The on-line company sells only five and six-star cruiselines - the likes of Crystal Cruise, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, SeaDream Yacht Club, Swan Hellenic and Peter Deilmann - and says its average sales price is a whopping £5,500 per person.

Just to prove things are good, White Star has produced a 60-page on-line brochure featuring 15 of the world's top-rated cruiselines. General manager Scott Anderson calls it "informative, inspirational and independent".

No, I don't entirely follow the logic either. If a company is so happily crunch-busting, why spend time and effort creating such a masterpiece? But no matter. It's refreshing to have good news while all around is recession. Long may the luxury guys carry on cruising.

Here's some interesting news from Grand UK Holidays that should help to banish some of the clouds hanging over the cruise industry.

The over-55s specialist has found that the grey market is not half so concerned about the current economic downturn as bright young things saddled with debt.

Research by web analyst Hitwise found that almost 60% of vistors to cruise websites are aged over 55. More importantly for the trade, its report says they are more likely to book through a travel agency than direct with the cruise company.

"UK internet visits to cruise websites, which typically peak in December, increased by 8.2% between September 2007 and September 2008."

Hitwise figures also show that in the three months ended October 25 2008, the Caribbean was the most searched-for cruise destination in the UK, while Norway was the most popular destination. During September, P&O Cruises was the most visited cruise website in the UK, receiving one in every 10 visits to the category.

Naturally there is a reason why Grand UK is giving us this info. It has just launched its 2009 summer cruise programme featuring cruises from the UK on Fred Olsen Cruise Lines and Transocean Tours, which operates sailings on Marco Polo from Tilbury.

Grand UK Holidays sales director Harold Burke said retired holidaymakers are less affected by mortgage rate rises and their kids have left home. They're also accustomed to taking several breaks a year and can travel in term times.

"We are not immune to the effects of the economy but we have not yet seen a downturn, and our experience is mirrored in these statistics."

Travelmole reports P&O Cruises is to make some changes to Ventura after admitting to facing "challenges" in the first summer season.

In a letter to travel agents, managing director Nigel Esdale says they will stop taking bookings for the Freedom dining restaurant so diners really do have freedom to turn up and dine when they want - hopefully getting a table straight away - the Beach House self-service will become an informal dining venue with waiter service and sunloungers will be placed on deck 19, in an area previously devoted only to the bungee trampolines and Cirque Ventura.

"We will retain the bungee trampolines which have been a real hit with passengers aged from 8 to 84. And we will continue to offer the Cirque Ventura circus skills school teaching the art of juggling, tightrope and stilt walking."

In addition, new furniture, including a reclining chair, will be put on cabin balconies, to help alleviate demand for loungers on the open deck.

I reported in my cruise column in the Telegraph on the problems of Freedom dining I encountered when I was on board and spoke to people who were fed up with the morning rush to grab a sunlounger so it's good news that all these things are now being addressed.

QE2 might have left Southampton for the last time, but the old girl is not going to disappear from the headlines.

Dubai is planning to match last week's fond farewell at the south coast port with an equally big welcome when the ship arrives in the emirate on November 26.

QE2 will be met at The World islands by a flotilla of local yachts, boats and leisure craft led by a Royal Navy frigate, and there's an open invitation to anyone with a boat to register and be part of the welcome.

QE2 is to be transformed into a luxury floating hotel off the trunk of Palm Jumeirah by new Nakheel, which is also planning to open a heritage museum displaying artefacts from the ship and of local maritime history.

Great for anyone who happens to be in Dubai, but what about past passengers left without their favourite ship to cruise on? I offered some QE2 alternatives in a piece in the Telegraph. Let me know if you have any other suggestions.

Worrying story in Travel Agent Central of the tough time being faced by US travel agents because, as we all known, what happens over the Pond happens over here.

Of course it's inevitable that bookings will slow when recession hits and people are worried about money and jobs, but one agents says people are "scared" and admits she has very few new orders."Scared" is a different ball game.

On the positive side, cruise lines are coming in with bargains to try to encourage sales. The paper says Celebrity Cruises had a three-day Post-Election Sale-a-Bration. Clever, but not nearly as attractive as MSC's cruise for £1 offer.

Other lines are upping commission to get agents on side; others still are moving ships to local ports to try to capture demand. It's why Carnival president and CEO Gerry Cahill decided to pull out of Europe.

"Close-to-home cruise options...are clearly the preference of the vast majority of the mainstream vacation market right now."

Oasis of the Seas has such a lot of new things on board to thrill and excite passengers that the ship had to be the size it is just to hold them all, explains Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines chairman and chief executive officer Richard Fain.

Speaking at the float out of the ship, in a snow-covered shipyard in Turku, Finland, he said Oasis is one-third traditional Royal Caribbean, one-third evolutionary and one-third revolutionary.

The traditional is, for instance the Schooner Bar, which can be found on other Royal Caribbean ships. The evolution is the Royal Promenade, which is twice the width of the promenades on other ships, and will twist and turn instead of running in a straight line. The revolution is Central Park, a huge open area in the middle of the ship that will have real trees and shrubs, the loft suites, the Aquatheatre, zipwire and more.

"I know size is what everyone focuses on, but we didn't set out to build the world's biggest ship. Oasis is big because we decide what we want to put in and than wrap a ship around it. We don't just take rooms from other ships and make them bigger, but we add more, to give passengers the opportunity to do things they never would have thought of doing on a ship."

Fain revealed that he initially thought putting a rock-climbing wall on the Voyager-class ships was a really stupid idea, but went along with it because it was the least stupid idea he was presented with at the time. He now jokes that it was one of the best ideas he ever had ("that's one of the benefits of being chairman!").

Oasis of the Seas is now 65% ready. Its first sea trial is scheduled for June, with a second one in September.

It will weigh 225,000 tons (this is the shipyard's figure, which keen readers will notice is another 5,000 on the tonnage previously quoted), which makes it more than twice as heavy as an aircraft carrier, and carry 5,400 passengers.

Inside, there will be 5,000km of electric cable, 250km of pipes, 100,000 electric points, 90,000 square metres of carpet, 8,000 square metres of windows and there will be 2,300 metric tons of water in the pools. In all, it will be made up of about 500,000 individual parts.

Now Oasis of the Seas is out of the dry dock, the yard can start work on sister ship Allure of the Seas. The keel-laying is on December 2, with delivery slated for late autumn 2010.

Cruise Critic reports that Fred Olsen is considering pulling its Liverpool departures because of the scrapyard scenery and "abysmal" facilities its passengers have to put up with at Langton Docks.

Thomson Cruises has already voted with its fleet and decided not to offer cruises from Liverpool after a trial run this summer.

The problem? Cruises that start and end in Liverpool have to use Langton Docks, while cruiselines just visiting for the day get to use the shiny new terminal.

The reason? The powers that be managed to build the new terminal that doesn't have the customs and baggage-handling facilities needed for turnaround days, when one set of passengers disembarks and the next lot comes on.

The result? Huge loss of potential earnings to the city.

How clever was that?

When it is a taster cruise from Cruise Thomas Cook. These tasters are a benefit for anyone who joins the retailer's new Cruise Club and explained as follows:

"For those who want to sample a life at sea for real, taster cruises are available for The Cruise Club members to book for a small fee. Once on board members will be given the opportunity to sample a menu and view a selection of cabins to help decide if a cruise is right for them. If it is, when they book, the fee will be refunded."

Wow. What a fab offer. You can go on a short cruise and "sample life at sea" - and the cost is refunded if you then book another cruise?

Er, no. It's actually a ship visit, a meal on board and a tour of the cabins.

Nothing new there then.

Princess Cruises must be cock-a-hoop about Cruise Thomas Cook's new cruise report.

The Love Boat line puts a lots of store on romance and now it transpires they were right, with nearly two-thirds of the 5,000 Brits polled by the cruise retailer revealing that a cruise helps to put the spark back in their relationships.

More than half of those surveyed said tables for two at dinner get them in a romantic mood, while 30% said dining on their cabin balcony gets them in the mood (good news for Princess, which has Anytime dining for passengers who want a romantic table for two and balcony dining for lovers who prefer a little privacy).

Just under a quarter said a Champagne breakfast worked magic in the romance department, while one in four said they'd like to get married on a cruise ship (yes, Princess can help there as well, with its weddings at sea performed by the captain). The findings are just a few of the facts to emerge from Cruise Thomas Cook's first cruise report.

* 70% would like to see a full-scale West End or Broadway musicals (with West End and Broadway quality performers, I would hope, but history doesn't relate).

* 57% wanted a total ban on smoking.

* 44% would love a branch of Marks & Spencer and Boots on a cruise ship (why go away if you want to take the high street with you, I wonder?)

* 45% of female cruisers buy new undies before setting off on a cruise (hopefully they are cruising with their loved ones, although again history does not relate).

* 65% prefer organised shore excursions to exploring alone.

It's all good fun stuff, but the really important thing for agents and cruise lines is that the survey bears out what has been said so many times: Get someone on a cruise once and they will be back. Some 4,811 of the 5,000 polled had been on a cruise and more than three quarters said they "were very likely" to cruise again.

Cruise Thomas Cook director Marc Bennett said: "As an independent cruise retailer we are in a good position to provide this type of report. There is no angle for us but the most important factor in continuing to grow the UK cruise market will be a greater understanding of the needs and requirements of today's cruise passengers."

Do I spy a possible sideline selling undies? I'll bet it's more lucrative than travel insurance and forex, and certainly a lot more interesting.

It's good to read in Cruise Critic that several cruiselines are dropping the complicated mathematical formula introduced to work out whether passengers will pay a fuel supplement, and instead banishing surcharges to the box marked history.

It has been a long time coming, especially given the price of oil has been hovering around the $50 a barrel mark for some time - well below the $150 high of the summer when the supplements were introduced.

Then they had good reason; now it just looks as if the supplement is being used to help pay for the hefty discounts being offered to get people booking in these tough economic times.

Carnival Corporation's Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Princess Cruises and Yachts of Seabourn will be axing the supplement from December 17 2008. Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean brands Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Cruises and Royal Caribbean International follow suit on January 1 2009.

That's a good start. Now let's hear from the lines that are still charging. There's still time for them to make it a happy Christmas for their (British) customers.

MSC Cruises' "sail for £1" sale, for this week only (at least as far as we know), seems to have hit wanabee-be cruisers in all the right places.

Operations and reservations manager Milica Mocevic says they have had to draft in extra staff to cope with all the demand.

Which just goes to show what a clever piece of marketing it is.

You only qualify for the £1 cruise when you book with another person paying full brochure price.

When you get over the emotive £1 bit, you realise this is actually just what other cruiselines - and indeed travel companies generally - call "buy one get one free". Except people going for this offer are paying top whack by getting the £1 in return for paying full brochure price.

I reckon they'd probably be better off - literally - shopping around for the 40% and more discounts doing the rounds in these credit-crunching days.

But they are not and MSC is reaping the benefits. Smart.

The pirate attack on Oceana's Nautica on Sunday morning (November 30) has naturally provoked a lot of talk about the safety of cruising.

In my cruise column in the Telegraph this week, I refer to a quick poll I did among other passengers on the Windstar cruise I am on at the moment in the Caribbean.

A resounding "no" met my question "would the pirate attack put you off cruising?"

One man pointed out that Nautica was close to capacity for its cruise through waters that have become notorious for pirates, while here in the sunny Caribbean, Wind Star has just a quarter full.

It certainly doesn't smack of people running scared.

Another woman paused to wonder what she might think if Captain Jack Sparrow, aka Johnny Depp, appeared on the horizon, skull and crossbones waving in the breeze. We both decided we would force our captain, Briton Mark Boylin, to lower the ropes and let him board!

Cutting prices is one thing, cutting prices and angering others who have paid a higher price for the same cruise is something else. How not to win hearts and minds.

So good for Voyages of Discovery, which is extending savings just announced on ex-UK sailings and flycruises to passengers who have already booked.

It means some people will cash in on savings of up to 50% on the early-booking prices, or benefit from new prices up to £900 below what they were. Perfect for countering all the bad news floating around right now.

It'll be interesting to see if other lines follow suit.

Interesting to get some information from Star Clippers that doesn't just tell me how well they are doing. On the contrary it says the cruise line is to suspend fuel supplements for all cruises departing after March 31 2010. Moreover it is going to refund passengers booking a cruise around Tahiti the magnificent sum of £200 towards the cost of their flights.

Are they in the real world? When most of the rest of the cruising industry, with a few notable exceptions, is getting rid of fuel supplements altogether now, Star Clippers - which operates sailing ships, you will remember, which sail when wind conditions allow, thereby saving on fuel consumption - thinks it is good news that they will be suspended in more than 12 months time. Have they looked at the cost of oil lately?

As for £200 per person towards the cost of a flight to Tahiti. When cruise lines are cutting fares frantically to get people booking, the word generous does not spring to mind.

Costa Cruises has launched a new family fare which makes it more affordable for mums and dads to book a separate cabin for the kids.

It's a great deal for parents fed up with going to bed early with the little ones or having to creep around the cabin in the mornings while teens have their beauty sleep.

But what's really interesting about this news is that it transpires Costa doesn't require children to be over a certain age before they can have a cabin to themselves.

"There is no lower age limit for children in their own cabin. As long as there is a person aged over 18 in the cruise party, it is then the parents responsibility for the children in the separate cabin. Costa will try to give interconnecting cabins where possible, but this is not guaranteed."

Norwegian Cruise Line says"kids" have to be over 21 to have their own cabin, which is frankly ridiculous and a rule made to be broken, but no minimum age is not wise either. Imagine a couple of kids under the age of 10 trying to cope in an emergency.

MSC Cruises and P&O Cruises stipulate 18 years, Princess Cruises requires children in a cabi on their own to be aged over 16.

Oceania Cruises president Bob Binder is not running scared after Nautica was fired on by pirates at the end of last month.

In an interview in Travel Weekly US, he says they will evaluate itineraries in the area in the interest of the safety of passengers, crew and safety - no surprise there - but adds the pirates are "not a great concern".

I imagine the incident was frightening for passengers - that's if they noticed it was happening. Binder says they were asked to leave the open decks twice (standard procedure in such an incident), but the whole thing was over in just a few moments.

But if we're going to let pirates frighten us out of the Gulf of Aden, cruiseships should also stop sailing into Santorini in case they hit an inaccurately chartered reef and avoid the Arctic and Antarctica as they might hit an iceberg. They should also stay out of the English Channel in case they come across the waterborne equivalent of a boy racer.

Life would be so safe. But oh so boring.

Prestige Cruise Holdings, the parent company of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, the latest to drop fuel supplements.

The change is effective January 1 2009. Passengers who have already paid the supplement for cruises next year will have the money refunded as an on-board credit.

Soon it'll be only the British lines holding out for the supplement. Why?

Rather than pit passengers against pirates, Cruise Critic says Hapag-Lloyd is going to disembark all those on the first sector of Columbus' world cruise at an undisclosed point before they reach the Gulf of Aden and fly them to Dubai, where they will wait in five-star luxury for the ship to catch up. There will be no extra cost to passengers.

The ship will be manned by a skeleton crew as most of the staff will also be taken off and flown to Dubai.

Hapag-Lloyd managing director Sebastian Ahrens says as long as the situation in the Gulf of Aden is uncertain they will not cruise through the region with passengers on board.

Just over a week ago, there was a failed pirate attack on Oceania Cruises' Nautica.

Eagle-eyed readers will note that MSC Cruises' new ship MSC Fantasia seems to have shrunk somewhat according to my blog entries, now holding 3,274 passengers where once it held almost 4,000.

I guess it's the ship equivalent of clever accounting. Most cruiselines "size" their ships on double occupancy, with a second higher figure to show the maximum that can be squeezed on with third and fourth berths in cabins filled.

MSC Cruises has always quoted the maximum occupancy in relation to MSC Fantasia - 3,959 passengers - but as that doesn't allow for proper comparisons with other ships I am now going to quote the double-occupancy figure.

I know it doesn't sound so big, but it means the space ratio rockets from 33.7 to 40.7. Which means there is more room for everyone. Surely a bigger selling point for Brits after a bit of peace and quiet?

Just to prove there is no such thing as bad publicity, USA Today's Cruise Log reports hits on the Oceania Cruises website went through the roof on news of the attempted attack by pirates.

Not only has the world now heard about Oceania Cruises, but one agent is reported as saying the great American public has now discovered where the Gulf of Aden is and is interested in going there.

And here are the cruiselines thinking they have to sell at rock-bottom prices to get people to book.

It's official. QE2's red funnel is to be sliced off, restored and become the central attraction of a new maritime museum close to the vessel full of memorabilia taken from on board.

After months of speculation, details of QE2's new look were released at this week's Seatrade Middle East Cruise Conference by Manfred Ursprunger, CEO of new owner QE2 Enterprises, which in turn is owned by Dubai-based Nakheel.

"QE2's arrival in Dubai is not the end for the most famous liner in the world but a new beginning."

"New" is certainly the word. Essentially the ship's insides are to be ripped out to create a new luxury hotel with 200 rooms, 110 apartments and five restaurants, serving menus created by celebrity chef Michel Roux. There will be a theatre where once there were engines.

A replica funnel will, as predicted, house an apartment that the new owners hope will become one of the most sought after addresses in Dubai.

The bridge, captain's cabin and Princess Grill will be kept, to become part of a heritage trail around the 40-year-old vessel. Hardly the most exciting day out, but no doubt plenty of people will stump up to see the QE2's rather paltry remains.

All the work is being done locally, at the Drydocks World repair yard, and is expected to take up to three years. An incredibly long time given they they build new ships in 18 months.

Rumours are that it is - or at least it is but for one ship instead of two, and at a much increased cost. But as usual Norwegian Cruise Line and STX Europe are not saying a word. Leaving us all free to continue to speculate.

Crystal Cruises has followed the pack and is dropping its fuel surcharge for cruises on or after January 1 2009. If you're on a Crystal cruise and have paid in full you'll get a shipboard credit, if you've yet to pay in total, the final invoice will be adjusted.

Happily, they are all falling like flies, although there is still silence from British lines P&O Cruises, Fred Olsen and Ocean Village.

Check out Cruise Critic for a handy round-up of who's doing what.

It's bad enough that Star Clippers is retaining the fuel supplement until March 31 2010. Now I read that honour is actually only for us Europeans and it is lifting the supplement for passengers from North and Latin American only as from January 1 2009.

Nice to see where their loyalties lie. That's a whole 13 more months they plan to charge us the levy, even though the price of oil has plummeted.

I hope passengers vote with their bookings. After all, there are plenty of other lines out there that are playing fair.

We need to see more stories like this. John W Schoen writing for msnbc and quoting a panel of economists who reckon the green shoots of recovery are starting to appear amid all the doom and gloom.

Could it be? Well, why not? No one forecast the recession until it was almost upon us, so who's to say it won't go in an equally unexpected fashion.

More to point, is it really good news? Well, for all those of us shuddering every time they say house prices are going down more or for anyone fearful of losing their job, of course it is.

With discounts of 50% and more biting into their bottom lines, we can be pretty confident that cruiselines would rather see the back of the recession as well.

But what about cruisers? There are some fantastic bargains around at the moment for anyone with a few pennies in the bank, And let's face it, a lot of cruisers have quite a few pennies, even if they are smarting from the current ultra-low interest rates. They might be fed up with all the bad news, as are we all, but they are having a fine time with all the bargains around. Why would they want a return to the status quo?

Rob Lovitt, also writing for msnbc, taking his cue from those aforementioned economists, suggests there could be a rebound in consumer confidence in the second half of the year - and therefore a rebound in people's willingness to travel.

I think he could be right. It's going to be a tough year, but who can resist when Oceania Cruises knocks 50% off prices or NCL dishes out cruises for less than £90 a day. Or you can pick up a transatlantic crossing on Cunard's Queen Mary 2 for just £699 including a flight. If the bargain hunters do their bit, we could end the year with a record number of UK cruisers.

Even if he's not right, it's the kind of upbeat news we could all do with hearing and could also get those bookers booking.

Here's to cruising in 2009. Let's make it a good one.

Service at dinner that took so long the diners were not able to have dessert, poor foor - as in quality and temperature, crew trained only to say "is no possible".

It's hard to believe Matts' review of MSC Cruises new flagship MSC Fantasia on Cruise Talk could have been any worse. Oh, but then I neglected to mention the three and a half hours he waited to check in ( I refuse to use the word queue when discussing an Italian ship), unhelpful shore-ex staff and a refusal to serve iced water at dinner.

Can he really be talking about a cruise, where crew are always to polite and helpful, food is wonderful (hmmm -- always a moot point, I find) and the waiters usually try to drown you in iced water. Can he really be talking about MSC Cruises, which makes such a virtue of its Italian-ness, right down to the Italian crew?

Sadly yes, because I can relate to so much of what he said, both from previous experience with MSC Cruises - although I did think things were improving on MSC Poesia - and my two nights on MSC Fantasia after the naming.

Unlike Matts, I found the crew are trained to say "no" or "I don't know". Both usefully negative though and guaranteed to make you walk away in frustration so they don't have to do anything. Either that or they ignore you. I had two trawl three bars one evening before I could find one where the barman acknowledged my presence, let alone served me a glass of wine.

I will put in a good word for the spa though. The woman behind the desk took time and trouble to show me around. She even smiled. She was from Indonesia. Just a shame that with one day to go before paying passengers came on they did not even have brochures ready listing treatments and prices.

Reminds me of the time I was on board for the naming of MSC Musica. In the speciality restaurant - their first one, actually part of the self-service, but it looked the part - I asked to see the menu. "Not open" was the gruff response.

I tried again, pointing out I just wanted to see what they served. The answer was they didn't have any menus. But in fewer words. And yes, paying passengers were about to come on. Italians mainly, of course. I suspect either they have the magic words to get things done - or maybe they are just too used to chaos to care.

Thank goodness we at least had the good news that one of its F3 new-build ships is back on track, because otherwise it's not been the greatest December for Norwegian Cruise Line.

On Christmas Day it was reported that Star Cruises is getting out of NCL America, suggesting Star has no confidence in its future although the brand sails on. The following day Cruise Critic said a passenger was missing, presumed overboard, from Norwegian Pearl. She disappeared while the ship was at sea east of Cancun, Mexico.

Sadly there was no sign of the woman, 36-year-old Jennifer Seitz, from Florida, during a four-day sweep of the area by the US Coast Guard and Mexican Navy. The search was called off on Monday and the FBI is now investigating her disappearance.

Seatrade's Insider News website reports that Star Cruises, which owns 50% of NCL (Apollo Investment owns the other half), is pulling out of Norwegian Cruise Line's ill-fated NCL America operation.

It's no surprise. NCL America started with such a great fanfare. A US-flagged operation with three ships all sailing within Hawai'i, cutting out the need for the four days at sea - in both directions - for ships sailing to the islands from the US east coast. It sounded brilliant.

Only problem was, it wasn't making any money and having a mainly US crew also produced massive staffing problems. So one ship came out, then another, leaving just Pride of America to continue to fly the Stars and Stripes. Papers were drawn up in September 2007 allowing for either or both parties to exit or disband NCL America at the end of 2008.

In the event it is just Star that wants out so it doesn't mean the end of NCL America. Its Hawai'i programme has been confirmed until 2012 and it is making money, according to NCL president and ceo Kevin Sheehan.

It held on and on, but Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has at last announced the end of fuel supplements. They were dropped last week. Anyone who has already paid them will get them refunded as on-board credit.

Armed with the worse-than-useless map provided by Costa Cruises, we hit the streets of Manama City, the capital of Bahrain, this morning. Mission: To see the Grand Mosque.

Go out and right, we were told by the security man at the yet-to-be-finished Harbour Mall. As there was nothing for as far as the eye could see but building work and cranes, I asked a passing American. It's that way, he said, pointing the opposite direction. But a long way. Too far to walk.

He called over to a friend to confirm what he thought as he had only lived in Bahrain a couple of months. The friend pointed to a building straight across the street from us. "Take the road in front of that building. It's down there." He sounded so positive, we crossed the street, walked to the front of the building. No sign of said road.

At that point we gave up and took a picture of the World Trade Centre instead. An amazing piece of 21st-century architecture and such a contrast to the narrow streets, alleys and shops in the nearby old souk.

It was quite amusing because it didn't hugely matter to Ilana and I if we saw the mosque or not. But it's not funny if this is your holiday and your one chance to see the highlights.

We finally discovered the mosque is a two-mile walk from the centre of Manama, about halfway between the city and the ship. We had seen it when we drove in, but decided it was not the Grand Mosque as it was not where indicated on Costa's map. How stupid of us to think it would be.

Especially after a couple of Brits we spoke to at reception last night said they had gone in search of the souk and fort indicated as places of interest on the map of Abu Dhabi. They found both. The former is a construction site; the latter is closed for renovations.

"They need to update their information," one said. Update and improve, I would say. These are all new ports for most passengers and those not keen on rather over-priced shore excursions (and they are crippling for us Brits now the pound is so weak) would appreciate a bit of help getting around.

I realise that doesn't make any money for Costa, but with a little bit of help we would all be going home with a much more positive feeling about the cruiseline.

Cruising on Costa Victoria is a bit like being in the film Cabaret, with every announcement in at least four language and usually many more.

You have to take your hat off to the crew for their ability to switch languages at the drop of a hat. At dinner, our waiter Jose Sanchez, from Peru, speaks English to Ilana and I, Italian to the people on the next table. His native language is Spanish and he also speaks Portuguese. All fluently, without even an "um" or "err".

Captain Mario Moretta was great at his welcome cocktail evening, switching so casually between English, German, Italian, Dutch and French that in the end I really didn't know which language he was speaking. But even he had to use his notes to read a welcome in Japanese and Russian. That got an applause.

Unlike the boat drill, when we had to endure an explanation of what to do when the alarm sounded in eight languages, including Japanese and Russian, then stand by the lifeboats in our lifejackets while more instructions were read. Again in eight languages.

"I wonder what would happen in a real emergency," someone near me commented. "We'd have sunk by the time they got through that lot."

I am not a great fan of that great cruise ship tradition of fixed dining, so I was not looking forward to dinner time on my Costa Cruises' voyage around the Arabian Gulf on Costa Victoria.

In fact I was dreading it so much that even before leaving home, I planned to avoid it by paying to eat to the speciality restaurant every night.

My dread was heightened because it was a Costa cruise, packed with Italians, Germans, French and countless other nationalities. Imagine sharing a table for a whole week with people who do not speak any English.

But here we are, four nights into the cruise, and my daughter Ilana and I have yet to set foot in the speciality restaurant.

Food and the service has been good - and full marks to our assistant waiter Yang Li, from China, who on discovering I like iced-water makes sure there is a jug waiting at the table when we arrive for dinner - but best of all, my daugher Ilana and I have a table for two, by the window, so I don't have to make pathetic attempts to converse in French or German. Italian, I'm afraid, floors me completely.

This is actually our second table. The first was allocated for second sitting, on my request before I know that on Costa that means 9.15pm or 9.30pm, which is too late to eat for me. First sitting is 7pm, which is OK. Certainly not so appalingly early as the 6pm first sitting on other cruise ships.

The change was organised by Fausi, from Tunisia, to whom I explained we needed a table for two because of the language problem. He smiled - somehow I got the idea I was not the first Brit with such a request - shook his head several times and came up trumps. What a star!

Incidentally, the Dutch couple - more correctly he's Dutch, she's English and they live in Holland - we met on our excursion in Oman were allocated a table sharing with others from the Netherlands.

Costa's maitre d's clearly put a lot of thought into this sharing table business. I'm impressed.

I felt I had to pass on this story, sent to me by a lovely couple I met on my recent cruise on Windstar's ship Wind Surf. It was e-mailed to them by another couple on the ship. I won't mention any names as they don't know I'm putting this on my blog.

Anyway he lost a pair of sunglasses on the penultimate day of the cruise. Put them down. They disappeared. She contacted customer services to ask if they had been found. Customer service said they'd be in touch in a week. A month passed. Then one day in snowy Chicago their doorbell rang. It was Fedex, delivering the sunglasses.

How's that for service?

Poor P&O. Stories claiming that Ventura descended to the levels of Benidorm on a recent Caribbean cruise is just the sort of publicity it doesn't want.

I don't know how much of the story was truth and how much exaggeration on the part of aggrieved P&O regulars.

But it was an incident waiting to happen once cruiselines decided to open up cruising to all by cutting prices and lowering standards to cater for the lowest common denominator.

Don't get me wrong. The "formal, fixed, fluff and feathers" cruising of old doesn't do anything for me, but it does help to maintain standards and turn off the chavs and tattoo brigade. Almost as successfully as high prices.

But maintaining prices in a recession is hard, especially when you have big ships to fill. Ventura holds more than 3,000 passengers.

Ultra-luxury cruiselines love to use the expression "likeminded people". It's designed to reassure potential passengers with deep pockets they will be cruising with their own sort, not some riff-raff who have picked up a cheap holiday.

It's not a particularly nice turn of phrase, but what a selling point it's going to be from now on.

It's nothing to do with the weather, but rather John Binkley, executive director of the Alaska Cruise Association, who has been forecasting doom and gloom to the Chicago Sun-Times.

He tells the paper that cruiselines are discounting tickets by up to 40% because they are suffering some of the worst sales they have ever encountered.

The businesses he represents in Alaska must be delighted. It's just the kind of upbeat message you need from your trade association.

It's so nice when people agree with you. According to Travelmole, the US-based Cruise Lines International Association - a sort of US version of our Passenger Shipping Association - reckons there will be a 2.3% rise in the number of cruisers this year.

That's just what I've been saying to anyone who cares to listen. Well, maybe I haven't been quite so specific about percentages, but one of my predictions in my Telegraph cruise column earlier this month was that more Brits would cruise in 2009 than last year.

Look at the facts. Those in work now have unbelievably low mortgages, the cost of fuel has fallen and food prices are not as scary as they were. They have money in their pocket and cruise lines have cut prices to unprecedented levels to get them to book. Cruisers and potential cruisers have never had it so good.

CLIA's prediction refers to worldwide cruisers and makes for the kind of happy reading we need these gloomy recessionary days:

* 2.3% more cruisers worldwide, to a global total of 13.5 million.

* 34 million Americans intending to take a cruise next year

* 94% of all cruisers rating their cruise as satisfying

* 44% saying it was extremely satisfying

CEO Terry Dale admits there is uncertainty about the propects for 2009 but says CLIA members are confident that they will weather the challenges and emerge stronger than ever, as they have before.

"The remarkable diversity and variety of cruises give consumers a unique opportunity to find a vacation that fits their budget even during these economic downturns and we expect that North Americans, Europeans and travellers from all over the world will respond positively."

Way to go Terry. That's the kind of fighting talk we need.

Balmoral's ill-fated Bay of Biscay crossing was not the kind of advert cruiselines sailing from the UK were looking for. A force nine gale, 50ft seas and two Britons taken to hospital with broken bones.

The message boards are rife. Shouldn't Fred Olsen have known there was a storm brewing? How wise was it to plan to cross the Bay of Biscay in January? (A little unfair, I feel, given this water can get fiery any time of the year).

Problem is, the Bay of Biscay is one of the only ways to go if you are cruising from the UK. Ships can leave Dover or Southampton and turn left, but that brings you to the North Sea. Not famed for its calm waters. Or get to the end of Cornwall and turn right into the Irish Sea. That was so bad this year Thomson Cruises refused to leave its berth in Liverpool.

The only other option is to sail round the Isle of Wight. A dizzying experience P&O Cruises tried once but it never caught on!

The simple fact is that anyone choosing to cruise from the UK buys into the chance of rough weather as part of the package, but still more and more Brits are doing it. A 48% increase in 2007 according to the Passenger Shipping Association and even more expected in 2008, when there were more ships sailing from the UK.

My money was on another increase in this recessionary year. Apart from all the usual pros - no airport hassles or delays, pack the kitchen sink - there are no flights to pay for, so it can work out quite a bit cheaper.

Seeing these pictures and reading of first timers who say "never again", all my bets are off.

Americans are carrying on cruising by lowering their standards and time at sea, according to a report in Florida Today, which quotes Howard Frank, Carnival's chief operating officer, to back up the story.

"Our shorter, less expensive Caribbean cruise products are performing much better than our premium and luxury, longer cruise products. So we are seeing a consumer trade-down to value."

Apart from being notable for a rather big howler in the copy*, the report is interesting as it shows that not every fad and fancy crosses the Pond.

In the next edition of TW Cruise, out February 20, I report that British cruisers are not trading down in the recession - in fact some cruise lines say they are trading up as there are such good deals out there. After all, If you can get an outside cabin for just a few pounds more than an inside, or to go from an outside to a balcony, why wouldn't you?

As for spending less time at sea. Not so easy for us as the Miami crowd. There are a few short-break cruises from the UK, but most are seven nights and usually 14 just because of the time it takes to get anywhere (with apologies to St Peter Port, Cork and Zeebrugge, but a day trip to either is hardly the stuff of main summer holidays).

* In case you haven't spotted it, here it is: Sovereign of the Seas sailed for Royal Caribbean International, not Norwegian Cruise Line. But anyway the ship transferred to Spanish line, Pullmantur, owned by Royal Caribbean, last October, and now cruises under the name Sovereign.

NCL started operating three and four-day cruises from Miami to the Bahamas in July 2008, but on Norwegian Sky, the ship plucked out of Hawaii after dwindling sales for the NCL America brand.

Cruise.co.uk regulars have been locked in a discussion this week over pre-paid gratuities. The story so far is that Evans from Spain pre-paid his/her gratuities and was then asked by the travel agent to pay more "because the pound has dropped".

Most responses have been properly outraged at the whole idea of pre-paying tips. If it's a thank you for good service, how can it be paid before you have had the service, they want to know. And I agree.

But contrary to what most replies have said, you can pre-pay tips on Celebrity. It's dressed up as a benefit of course - "so you don't have to worry about the extra expense on board" - but really only shows the gratuities business up for what it is. Namely an additional cost separated off to keep the headline cruise price down.

The key point is that pre-paying is an option if you're cruising with Celebrity. If you prefer you can have gratuities added to your account - either the amount they stipulate or more/less - or taken off so you can tip your cruise staff in cash (if you so choose). If you pre-pay, you can't just ask for the money back if the service doesn't come up to scratch.

So either Evans agreed to pre-pay somewhere during the booking process without realising or the travel agent made a decision on his/her behalf, which doesn't sound right or fair.

As for the increased amount, I suspect it's simply because Evans' cabin was upgraded. Ordinary folk pay one amount, suite passengers pay more because they have a butler to tip as well. The amounts are $11.50 a day for ordinary cabins, $12 a day for Concierge and Aquaclass cabins and $15 for those in a suite, so the butler gets $3.50.

For information, you can also choose to pre-pay gratuities if you're cruising with Celebrity's sister Royal Caribbean, unless you opt for the new Mytime dining, which allows you to eat when and with whom you want, when pre-paying is compulsory. The logic is that you can't tip your waiter for the week, as you can on a fixed dining plan, because you'll have a different one every day.

If you book with Azamara Cruises, which also comes from the Royal Caribbean stable and has open dining as standard, you also have to pay gratuities upfront.

A couple of heartwarming stories this morning for all those people who love to take a swipe at cruiselines for whatever reason they can find that day.

Cruise Community reports P&O Cruises Australia is donating items from its ships that it no longer needs to Mission Australia. It's a fantastic list of stuff - two truck loads of rollaway beds, cots, almost 2,500 bed spreads. The items are distributed to those in need or sold to raise money for the Mission.

Coincidentally, Captain Greybeard - alias John Honeywell of the Mirror - reports that Holland America Line is donating all those left behind pots of gels, shampoo and lotions to the Florida homeless. It will also be giving them unwanted towels, mattresses, TVs, cookware. Apparently they do something similar in Seattle.

It's a great idea. After all, cruiselines are constantly renewing this or upgrading that to make life for us cruisers so very comfortable.

Makes me wonder what they did - and others still do - with all this stuff before?

Just as I was posting comments from P&O Cruises head of brand marketing Philip Price about the changes on Ventura, my friend Phil Nuttall, the boss of specialist agency Cruise Village, was giving his own take on how things have improved after a cruise in the Caribbean this month. He was last on the ship in June last year, just two months after it launched.

His report is very detailed but the overall verdict is that the ship really has settled down and is delivering great cruises.

It's an interesting read, but what really caught my eye was Phil's report about the open day in the atrium, where passengers were able to try to spot a rogue bag on the security scanners, try their hands at making beds, even have a go "driving" Ventura on a ship simulator.

It sounds great fun but apparently only happens occasionally. I'm keeping all things crossed for my cruise to Norway in May. I've always fancied myself as Captain.

Remarks on Travelmole show Costa's new partnership with no-frills carrier Ryanair has gone down like a lead balloon in some quarters.

There are questions about Ryanair's ability to deliver passengers to the port in time - on a cruise-only deal the ship is not under any obligation to wait for guests (no matter who the carrier) - and fears about the high price clients will pay for baggage.

I have never flown with Ryanair and freely admit I have no intention of doing so because I hate the whole low-cost model of having to pay for everything as a separate item. I like to know the price so I can decide if it's OK or not. Easy.

There is also the small issue of having to get to Stansted Airport on the nightmare-ish M25, when British Airways' wonderful Terminal Five is less than 30 minutes away.

But I gather from figures given to me by Sinead Finn, Ryanair's director of commercial revenue, that a lot of people do fly with Ryanair.

Whether they enjoy the experience or not is another question of course, and I guess they don't from all the negative remarks I've heard about the airline. But they go anyway. On that basis, people should have no issue about flying with Ryanair to join their Costa cruise.

Then there is the issue of luggage. Most cruise passengers do like to take the kitchen sink, it's true. But hang on. Costa's UK managing director Marco Rosa made it clear they were after professional young new-to-cruise passengers - people not wedded to their traditions (or their sink) - but who presumably can afford to pay for hold luggage if necessary, especially if the flights really are so cheap.

Alternatively, why not manage on their 10kg hand luggage for a week? I regularly go on a week's cruise with hand luggage only and look smugly at people struggling with bags they can't carry and getting nervous when their luggage does not appear on the carousel.

Of course a lot does depend on the cruise line. Remember, this is not formal P&O, but informal Costa. When I was on Costa Victoria in the Gulf last month, Gala evening (the formal night equivalent) brought out some people wearing black tie, others in slacks and jumpers.

All mixed and mingled together - and there were no dirty looks or chav accusations by the black-tiers. Simply, on Costa if casual floats your boat, that's fine by everyone. And if that's what you like, hand luggage works just fine.

I'd just rather carry my bags onto a BA flight.

P&O Cruises must be breathing several sighs of relief now that wayward teenager Ventura finally seems to be settling down.

Head of brand marketing Philip Price tells me the ship achieved record satisfaction scores at the end of January, with 89% of passengers rating it excellent.

"As a brand we target 90% so this is fantastic. I know we have had some issues marrying the new and old but Ventura is bedding down and we are delivering an excellent product."

Within weeks of Ventura's launch last April, passengers were sharing horror stories on the internet about Freedom dining - namely that it wasn't working - and the lack of sun beds. I added my own voice to the moans in a report on the Telegraph website, pointing out that P&O seemed to realise there was a problem but seemed able to move fast enough to fix it.

But the fixers have done their job now, says Price. Evening entertainment schedules have been changed and there are now three shows a night so people don't all rush to eat at the same time, which has taken pressure off the Freedom dining restaurant.

"We have studied the flow of the ship and structured entertainments around them. Passengers don't have to rush to get to the theatre for 6.30pm or 8.30pm so waiters know they can slow service and dinner can be a more sedate affair."

When I was on, waiters were clearing plates with one hand and serving the next course with the other in their rush to clear tables, which did not make for a good dining experience.

If there is a rush of Freedom diners and space in the fixed dining rooms, they will be seated there rather than having to wait. Also, the Freedom dining room has stopped taking bookings - one of the things I complained about because it blocked out swathes of tables each evening - so it really is a turn-up-and-eat option.

In addition, the Beach House, part of the self-service, has been turned into a waiter-service New York-style diner in the evening with grills, pizzas, saleads and steaks, which has taken pressure off the Freedom dining restaurant and also the buffet.

Joy of joys, Price says you can now also walk up to a bar and get a drink. When I was on last July the order had to go though a drinks waiter, who would pass the order to the barman, who would give the drink to the waiter, who would eventually bring it to you with the bit of paper to sign - although sometimes that bit came later still. And all that happened even if there was no one else at the bar. Irritating? You bet.

Disgruntled sun worshippers now have 120 more sunbeds on deck 19, where the trapeze used to be. It's a shame it's gone as it was good fun, but I'm delighted to say the bungee trampolines have stayed - which is a good excuse for me to show you a picture of me on this modern-day instrument of torture.

When the ship gets back to Southampton for the summer season, P&O will also be replacing the giant tables and upright chairs on the balconies with reclining seats so passengers can sunbathe in their own private space. A sensible move that begs the question, why were they not put on in the first place?

I am going back on Ventura in May, on a cruise to Norway, and can't wait to see how all the changes are working. I'll keep you posted.

Back in the 1950s and 60s, thousands of ten-pound poms emigrated to Australia on P&O Cruises' Arcadia.

Last week the fourth ship to bear that name - P&O Cruises' 21st-century Arcadia - arrived in Sydney for a maiden visit Down Under (the ship is also on its maiden world cruise) and hosted a reunion lunch for a group of those £10-ers. Which is a good excuse to show this picture, by James Morgan, of the ship sailing past the Opera House.

Arcadia is just one of 28 cruise ships which will have called at Sydney in as many days this season. Travel Asia Daily says the passenger terminal at Darling Harbour has been so busy the cargo terminal at White Bay has been drummed into use for cruise ships.

Sydney's Tourism and Transport Forum executive director, Olivia Wirth, says four in one day are expected in early March, but three are too big to sail under the Harbour Bridge and two will have to tender passengers ashore.

Wirth says Sydney needs to improve its facilities if it is to continue reaping the full economic benefits of the cruise industry.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that change is on the way, but it doesn't sound like "improve" is quite the right word. SMH says the New South Wales government decided last December to move the main cruise ship terminal from East Darling Harbour to White Bay.

Carnival Australia chief executive Ann Sherry is not happy.

"There is so much to see and do around Darling Harbour. In comparison, White Bay is bleak with no buzz or energy.... The NSW government has an opportunity to create a world-class cruise facility but, based on the plans we've been shown, it is a shed at White Bay with nothing else around it."

Nice one, Sydney.

Oh dear. Hasn't anyone got anything nice to say about Norwegian Cruise Lines' new ship, Norwegian Epic? I think it's safe to say it has made an impact -- but for all the wrong reasons, if comments on the Cruise.co.uk and Cruise Critic websites are anything to go by.

Maybe things will improve once it has the trademark NCL graffiti down the sides?

I'm delighted to read MSC Cruises is to recognise the bravery of the four crew members who dived in to rescue the passenger ditched into the sea when MSC Fantasia's gangway collapsed last week.

It all happened in Palma, when high winds caused Fantasia's bow mooring bollards to come loose. The ship moved away from the dock and the gangway went down. The local port authorities have admitted responsibility of the incident.

The Fantasia four - Caso Salvatore, chief crew steward, from Italy; Naim Samsudin, able fireman, from Indonesia; Andrian O Williams, housekeeping cleaner, from Madagascar; and Faamoe Lalopua, Able Sailor, from Samoa - went immediately to the rescue and had the 80-year-old passenger out of the water in minutes. He is said to be recovering well in hospital.

That has to be service beyond the call of duty. I hope they are well rewarded. They certainly deserve it.

A poll by Co-operative Travel into the best cruising companions got me thinking. Which celebrity would I like to go on a cruise with?

The poll of 650 holidaymakers was broken down into four sections - celebrity men and women the men would most like to cruise with and then the same two categories for the ladies. An interesting idea, but clearly people were given a list to choose from as the same celebs appear on each, just in a different order.

And what a random selection of names they were given, including Terry Wogan, Tom Cruise, Carol Vorderman, Rod Stewart. With one exception I would have had to reply "none of the above".

Daniel Craig, aka 007, came out top for the ladies. No surprise there. Stephen Fry topped the men's chart for the top male celeb. Right.

The men chose Myleene Klaas as their favourite female cruise companion - but no I don't think it had anything to do with her godmothering Carnival Splendor in Dover last year (unless it was the moment her dress did a Marilyn Munroe) - while the ladies went for Julie Walters.

All this was done to celebrate old new figures from the Passenger Shipping Association (they have been bandied about enough already, let's face it) that almost 1.5 million Brits took a cruise last year - an 11% increase on 2007. Nice one.

It's been a busy weekend for me with two days taking part in question-and-answer sessions at the Cruise show at London's ExCel.

This was the UK's first dedicated Cruise show - and actually Carolyn Spencer-Brown, editor in chief at Cruise Critic, tells me she doesn't recall any cruise-centric show in the US either - so it was always going to be an experiment.

Carolyn (right) is pictured here with me, Royal Caribbean's associate vice-president general manager UK and Ireland Jo Rzymowska and Sky Travel presenter Claire Smith during one of the panels.

My impression from talking to cruiselines that had stalls (most were represented one way or another and those that were not there were conspicuous for their absence) was that the experiment worked.

Saturday morning was the busiest time. People were actually queuing at the Royal Caribbean stand to make bookings, which was incredible, and other cruiselines were doing very nicely thank you - even having to send back for more brochure supplies and staff to help man the stands.

It was quiet Saturday afternoon - was this when Captain Greybeard was there?; Sunday saw steady visitor numbers. We should know tomorrow what the total attendance was.

I was impressed with the numbers given everything that went against the show. We were informed two days before it opened that the Jubilee Line and DLR were not going to be working. That made getting there a trial for me and hundreds of others. If there's another Cruise show, ExCel is not the place to be!

We had the rugby on Saturday afternoon, Mothering Sunday and the lovely sunny weather. Who wants to be indoors at a show when the sun is shining? Quite a few people it seems. And they got there despite Transport for London.

I was on several Q&A panels with Carolyn, Steve Read from Sky Travel and Simon Veness from World of Cruising, talking about the joys of cruising, cruise destinations and why cruising is such a great holiday for families.

There was a lot of interest in cruising for single people and questions about the swingeing single supplements. I suggested a few cruiselines that don't penalise the lone traveller but it's a shame I couldn't mention more. Here were people who travel alone with money to spend and we were not able to direct them to any of the big lines (except P&O's Azura, but that's not even built yet!).

If there is another show, it would be good if the cruiselines went a little more overboard (sorry, couldn't resist it) with their stands.

A mini rock-climbing wall on the Royal Caribbean one maybe, appearances by Noddy on the P&O one (which actually disappeared under Complete Cruise Solution branding, which means what to consumers?), a mock up of a luxury suite, an executive chef cooking up dishes for visitors to taste.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines was highlighting their Flagship Golf programme with a putting tent where visitors could practise their strokes, but otherwise none of the things that are on ships to excite and inspire current and would-be cruisers - there were quite a few cruise virgins listening to our talk on Sunday morning - were to be seen. It all costs money I know, but I can't help feeling it was a missed opportunity.

Every recession has a silver lining, it seems.

Pam Conover, Yachts of Seabourn's chief executive, says the cruiseline cut prices in Europe by 65% this summer to get business, and as a result has attracted cruisers who would normally not even think of an ultra-luxury cruise. She is confident they are now hooked.

"We are seeing new guests and new agents who haven't booked us before suddenly booking. That's very positive for us. Once you go to the best, you don't want to trade down. We believe they will continue to cruise with us."

For those who don't know, Seabourn prices include all drinks, gratuities, speciality dining and you even get one free shore excursion on most cruises. Cavier in the surf, for instance. Now who would want to give that up?

Ill-fated Aurora's even more ill-fated world cruise is back in the news. The passengers, it seems, are fed up with looking at the sea.

The P&O Cruises' ship suffered engine problems as it left Sydney and ended up staying six days in Auckland (surely an opening for one of the passengers to write the definitive "how-to-kill-a-week-Auckland" guide book) while the problem was fixed.

Now the ship racing to get back to Southampton, to start its Mediterranean season on time, and has visited just two ports in 22 days after skipping five calls in New Zealand and the South Pacific. Passengers say they are beginning to feel like prisoners rather than world cruisers. All have splashed out thousands of pounds to do a Phileas Fogg.

I sympathise. I did a two-week sector of a world cruise on Aurora last year and while it's a nice ship, I can't imagine being stuck on it for so long without so much as sighting land. You can only read so many books.

It seems they got so bored, they created their own entertainment, the Aurora Committee, with the headline act being a demand for more compensation.

P&O had offered free drinks while in Auckland, a £500 payment and a refund of four days of the cost of cruising, but has apparently decided to be more generous. Is it really that easy?

The British are still booking their cruises, but it's tough in the US. That's the message I've been getting for the past couple of months. But it seems things are not all that bad after all.

MSC Cruises US president and CEO Rick Sasso told this month's Cruise Shipping Miami conference (that's the annual Seatrade get-together but with a new name) that a survey showed about 80% of travel agents thought peak season bookings were equal or better than last year.

He reckons the number of cruise passengers this year will rise 300,000 to 13.4 million, which is roughly what the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) was predicting in January.

Of course we all know the numbers are being achieved on very low prices - "unprecedented" is the word that's been used many times in my conversations with cruiselines - so the cruiselines are hurting profits-wise, but I agree with Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, who told the conference that filling capacity is key to survival.

When we come out of this - and we will - it's vital holidaymakers are still thinking cruise. It'll be tough to get them to accept higher prices, but hey, without these challenges life would be just too easy.

The Los Angeles Times reports that a bipartisan group of senators has predicted the travel ban on Americans visiting Cuba is close to being lifted.

Seems they've finally noticed that a policy put in place 50 years ago to undermine Castro's regime hasn't worked!

If it's true, get ready for a rash of new Caribbean itineraries from American cruiselines. They've had to sail past the island while their passengers dream whistfully of Cuba's lovely beaches and classic Cadillacs. Once they can go, the flood gates will be open.

It would be great for Cubans finally to benefit from the tourist euro (although presumably Cuba would have to stop turning its nose up at the dollar?), but I would advise a trip there now, before it happens.

The "real" Cuba will surely disappear under the weight of 3,000 or more passengers disembarking in Havana, and racing to buy the "I love Cuba" t-shirt and cheap jewellery.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises has been forced to cut short Seven Seas Voyager's world cruise after discovering the damage done when fishing lines got tangled in a propulsion pod was greater than first thought.

Attempts had been made to fix the damage in Cochin and Dubai, but it's not been enough. Now the ship is going into dry-dock in Rome for repairs, meaning the end of the line for the world cruisers on board.

They should have sailed from Istanbul, arriving in Fort Lauderdale on May 8. Instead they will all be flown home from Rome. Regent has also cancelled the May 8 sailing from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton via Reykjavik.

It must be pretty gutting to have got so far around the world, only for the voyage to end on such a sour note. But there is a silver lining: Regent has offered a generous compensation packet - and without the passengers even having to threaten a mutiny - including a full refund for passengers on the March 18 voyage from Singapore to Dubai, which was marred by missed ports (the damage was done on leaving Singapore).

Cruise Critic quotes one member saying the "mood of the ship has changed from disappointment and complaints to elation".

Nice one Regent. It might be painful financially but at least passengers will leave with happy thoughts.

I am so glad to read that I am not the only one who looks at a cruise ship under construction and sees, well, a building site.

In his latest blog on the progress of Oasis of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines' chairman Richard Fain admits it's very frustrating that all he can really ever see when he visits the shipyard in Turku is scaffolding. Do they put it up just because he is coming? It love the image and just wish I could draw the cartoon!

For Fain, seeing the ship as a building site must be like buying clothes without seeing if they look good. He's about to fork out $1.4 billion to pay for this little bundle of clothes.

However, he does say that the Diamond Club lounge is taking shape and uses the moment to admit - sort of - that Royal made a mistake by changing the rules and taking away Crown and Anchor Diamond members' (10-24 cruises on Royal) access to the ships' concierge lounges on ll but the very biggest ships.

Lounge access meant a nightly happy hour with free alcohol and a concierge to book spa treatments, shore excursions and the like. As a replacement, they were offered one party night per cruise with free drinks.

The official reason given for restricting access to Diamond-plus members (25 or more cruises with Royal) is that the lounges are getting too full. Strangely, most Diamond members believe it's all to do with money. Give away less booze, profits go up. Simple economics really.

Such was the opposition - check out Cruise Critic to see just how strongly people felt about this - that Royal has been forced to make concessions. First the changes won't happen until September 1. Second, there will now be a nightly party, from 5pm to 8pm, with free wine and champagne, and 25% off the price of other drinks. Diamond members will also have their own continental breakfast area.

Fain attributes the "brouhaha" to the "value" loyal Crown and Anchor members "put on a place where they could relax and enjoy themselves in the company of other similarly minded souls".

No Richard. They were just annoyed that you were taking away their free drinks.

But back to Turku. Because Oasis of the Seas is so big - 220,000 tons with room for 5,400 passengers - it will have a very big Diamond Club lounge so even mere Diamond members will be allowed in.

I can now attest that Oasis' Diamond Club is a major step forward. The actual location and space are terrific.

I suggest Diamond members cruise only on Oasis (and sister ship Allure of the Seas when that launches next year). That way their problem is solved. Until the goal posts move again.

These days you need to take out a second mortgage to sail with the former no-frills easyCruise, where things have changed so much that almost the only thing you'll recognise is the name.

The ship is decked out in stylish grey, the interiors look stylish and modern and the top cabins look comfortable if a little minimalist (note no carpets; makes it easier to clean), with not even a hint of orange.

As for the prices. Let's just say I had to phone easyCruise to make sure I wasn't somehow making a mistake.

Fancy a four-night cruise around Greece and Turkey from May 25-29? The lowest category inside cabin will set you back £1,136 for two people. It's nothing to do with the fact you're booking at short notice either. September 7-11 costs the same. If you go for the top Panoramic Suite it's £2,950 for two people. That's nearly £369 per person per night.

Three-night Greek Island and Turkey cruises are more affordable. You can get an inside cabin from £634 for two people. But you have to cruise in October.

In comparison, four nights cruising from Dover to Zeebrugge, Cherbourg and St Peter Port in Guernsey in an outside cabin on Holland America Line's new ship Eurodam in July costs from £559 per person (the insides have sold out). A balcony suite is from £1,029 per person, or £258 per person per night.

EasyCruise Life is looking very nice, its small size means it can get into the smaller Greek Islands and you are guaranteed sun in Greece, but I can't help feeling Holland America offers the better deal - a newer ship with speciality restaurants, a big spa, live talks and cookery demonstrations. And there are no flights either.

So whatever happened to the cheap-and-cheerful easyCruise, I asked sales and marketing director Paul Ellerby. The answer - apart from the fact they need to make money - is that they are now selling mainly through operators and wholesalers, so prices include commission.

Ellerby says in 2008, 80% of sales were direct and 20% through the trade; for 2009, he expects more than 50% to be through the trade.

Prices also now include food and housekeeping. When easyCruise launched, you just paid for a cabin (but rooms were cleaned between cruises). For 2008 it moved to optional half-board and housekeeping; now you have no choice.

There are also more mod-cons on the ship, with minibars and TVs in the suites, as well as lots of shore excursions, spa packages, beauty packages and drinks packages. In fact, once on board you can spend, spend, spend, just like on any other cruiseline.

For 2009, the line has scrapped seven-night cruises and is instead only selling three and four-day mini breaks from Piraeus or Kusadasi, targeting older people - the average age last year was 39, up from 32 when easyCruise was sailing the French and Italian Rivieras - who want to go Greek Islands sightseeing as part of a larger holiday.

In fact, Ellerby said in September and October last year more than 50% of passengers on the seven-night cruises were more than 50 years old.

Given the prices, which will not appeal to bright young things with a pack on their back, I'm really not surprised.

Before you get too excited, it's not actually happening. But what a brilliant idea for easing a few more dollars out of cruisers' pockets.

While docked in Grenada, Ocho Rios, Kusadasi (the point being it can be anywhere), cruiseships open their doors so passengers from vessels docked alongside can go on board and see what they are missing. For a fee, of course.

I admit a couple of Cruise Critic members actually came up with the idea but I think it's a winner. Passengers on, say, Spirit of Adventure could nip across to Freedom of the Seas to see what it's like to be on an big American ship; those on Ruby Princess could venture onto Balmoral and see what a very British cruise ship is all about.

I can see it now. Crew at the foot of the gangway with a placard advertising the ship tour. Only $100 per person and you get a free keyring and souvenir picture to take home.

Cruiselines would not only increase their on-board income, albeit from people who are technically not on board, but might win over a few sceptical passengers from their rivals. What the marketeers call a win-win situation. I believe.

It would certainly make a change from charging passengers to see the laundry.

Incidentally, I see NCL's new ship's tour has not gone down a storm on Cruise.co.uk. Some great comments. Check them out here.

Thomson Cruises has risen three places to land second place in the UK's Official Cruise Passenger Ratings, as compiled by Cruise.co.uk, putting it way ahead of P&O Cruises, which calls itself Britain's favourite but is languishing at number eight.

Cunard takes the top spot, with Royal Caribbean at number three, Princess Cruises at number four and Ocean Village - the line that's being closed down next year - up five places, at number five.

1: Cunard Cruises - no change
2: Thomson Cruises - up three places
3: Royal Caribbean Cruises - no change
4: Princess Cruises - no change
5: Ocean Village Cruises - up five places
6: Holland America Line - up two places
7: Island Cruises - new entry
8: P&O Cruises - down one place
9: Celebrity Cruises - down three places
10: Fred Olsen Cruises - down one place

Rankings like these are very hit and miss as they depend so much on who voted. Get a lot of Thomson lovers, as could have happened here, and the results are immediately skewed.

But what interests me are the comments from P&O stalwarts on P&O's Community website in response to the results of this poll.

This from Dave T

"I have cruised several times with P&O and am very happy with their product, but in defence of Thomson I have to say, having cruised once, that they are almost as good.... The food and general service on the ship (The Emerald) was at least as good if not better."

 This from Bella36

"I am not at all surprised that Thomson have scored so well.... Their itineraries are varied and different to the "same old, same old" P&O ones and they have a very loyal customer base, most of whom have tried other cruise lines, but always go back to Thomson. I would not hesitate to go with them again."

This from Anthony Smyth

"We thought we were downgrading going on a Thomson ship but how wrong we were... the Celebration is a beautiful ship .... Food was good, entertainment just great and there was a classical concert every evening. In the end we felt we had enjoyed our cruise far more than even on the QE2 the previous summer."

There will be some very happy people at Thomson Cruises right now.

Norwegian Cruise Line has become the latest to cut back its Alaska capacity. blaming the rising costs of deploying three ships in Alaska and new legislation, in particular the $50 head tax.

Royal Caribbean Cruises is taking a ship out of Alaska for summer 2010, while Carnival Corp chairman and chief executive Micky Arison has threatened to "pull capacity" next year due to the tax and regulations. Carnival owns Holland America Line and Princess Cruises, which each have huge land operations in Alaska in addition to the cruises. Cruise West has already taken three ships out the Alaska area for 2009.

Instead of sailing in the 49th state next summer, NCL's Norwegian Sun will be based in Dover, taking over Norwegian Jewel's Baltic Capitals cruises from the UK.

"Here comes the Sun" NCL proclaimed as it released the news, putting a happy slant on the fact they are actually reducing capacity from the UK yet again next year. For summer 2010, after just two years, NCL is also pulling all its cruises from Southampton and repositioning Norwegian Jade in Venice.

Southampton worked well but cruises from Venice are more straightforward, I was told. As cruising from the UK is about as straightforward as it gets for the Brits, I suspect that means the Americans weren't too impressed with cruising from Southampton.

Norwegian Sun holds 1,936 passengers, while Jewel has capacity for 2,376. For summer 2010, Jewel moves to New York, from where it will be sailing various seven and 10-night cruises to the Bahamas, Florida, New England and Canada.

If your cruise is affected by the Sun/Jewel swap you can change to a comparable sailing but you need to be fast as transfers must be done by May 11. Call NCL on 020 7591 8007.

Talking of tips, here's something anyone who decides to opt out of pre-paying gratuities might like to know. The crew know who you are.

It appears a list of people who opted out of pre-paying gratuities on Carnival Cruise Lines' Carnival Splendor was posted in the crew area of the ship and spotted by an eagle-eyed passenger on one of the behind-the-scenes tour.

Naturally questions have been asked as to why this information is made public to the crew and if this affects the service these passengers receive (is this the Spit List? asks one Cruise Critic member, hopefully tongue firmly in cheek!).

Carnival Cruise Lines is one of very few cruise brands that has the pre-pay option. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises are others, and also Azamara Cruises, but there you can't opt out.

This list - and leaving it where passengers might see it - certainly makes Carnival look bad, but it is only the passengers who did not pre-pay gratuities, not those who have asked to opt out of tipping altogether by having the daily service charge removed from their cruise accounts (this is charged to passengers who do not pre-pay, but they can ask for it to be removed or for the amount to be reduced or increased).

The question is, is that list somewhere also for all the crew to see?

I'm sure a fair few passengers just don't want to pay tips at all but some - and I am one - will have opted out of pre-paying because they prefer to receive a service before they tip for it.

Either way, it shows something really needs to be done about this whole gratuities business. Cruiselines cling to it as a means of keeping fares competitive, but as with fixed dining, it's time for a change. And (most) have managed that after years of saying it could be done.

The best thing, of course, would be for all to bite the bullet and just build the service charge into the cruise fare. Job done, everyone is happy. Passengers who like to tip can still do so on an individual basis, those who don't, no longer have to worry about it.

Of course, we would need a ruling from on high to make everyone toe the line and not use it to gain competitive advantage at the expense of the crew, and it would have to work in all countries. But I'm sure it can be done.

The other alternative is for them all to follow Costa Cruises and simply make the service charge compulsory. It's added on to the account at the end of the cruise (so you're not paying in advance) and if you don't like it, tough.

Well, almost tough. Whether you like it or not, you have to pay on board and be prepared to put up a damn good fight from home if you want it removed. I imagine Costa hopes most people won't be bothered; I suspect they are right.

When they find out my job, everyone on Queen Mary 2 wants to know how the cruise industry is doing given the recession.

Not too badly at all, if news from Regent Seven Seas Cruises is anything to go by.

Regent is reporting a 41% increase in call volumes between January and May this year compared to the same period in 2008, and a 48% increase in bookings in the same five months, again versus 2008. May was the cruise line's highest-ever booking month.

That's not bad given the constant financial gloom and doom, but these record-breaking results have not come without a price for Regent.

Passengers are being hooked with the offer of unlimited free excursions, which really is a fantastic deal when you consider many cost £80 per person and more, free flights on selected departures and cruise prices based on a generous $1.95 = £1 exchange rate.

The key question is whether the high demand can be maintained when we get out of the recession, cruise lines try to get prices back to normal and the lucrative incentives disappear.

After all, it's easy to cut prices, but much harder to increase them.

It is always possible that new passengers tempted by the offers to try an ultra-luxury all-inclusive cruise line - and I'm guessing there are quite few of them - find they just don't want to go back to the pay-as-you-go drinks system, in which case Regent is laughing.

Alternatively, if those new passengers disappear along with the incentives, might there be a chance Regent will look at ways to keep the free excursions, making the line truly all-inclusive and giving it an edge on its rivals?

Then there is ultra-lux rival Crystal Cruises, which is offering $2,000 per couple on-board credit to get people booking. Might there be a chance they will switch to all-inclusive if they find passengers rather like getting free drinks after all (soft drinks are free on Crystal, but you pay for alcohol)?

There could be some interesting times ahead.

They say things come in threes so I guess we shouldn't be surprised to discover another passenger went overboard from a Carnival ship.

Tampa Bay Online says a search was initiated in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this week after a passenger on Carnival Holiday reported hearing a splash. It's believed the victim was a 50-year-old woman.

TBO says it's the second such incident in less than a month, but it's actually the third. As I reported only today, a man went overboard from Inspiration this week and was found clinging to a buoy.

The trouble with a four-night cruise is that there is just not enough time to report from the ship. I got off Holland America Line's Eurodam in Dover early yesterday (Friday) morning and have a day at home to get myself organised and am then off again.

But more on that later.

Eurodam is a nice ship. I thought so when I saw it in Southampton last year and have not been disappointed this time around. It's a comfortable size, certainly not overwhelming, with some nice design features.

I loved these bar stools and the cabanas pictured below, which are by the pool. The pool area itself It has a roof that opens when the weather is nice. Must admit I was amused to see they had opened it on our cruise, when it really wasn't very warm - so everyone was wrapped up under their towels!

You can rent these cabanas by the day - $30 a day on a port day, $50 a day on a sea day, which buys you this private area (you can shut the curtains), an iPod with pre-selected music, the towels and bathrobes, chilled bottled water, a fuit basket, glass of house champagne, chocolate covered strawberries and more.

I was surprised how well used they were, even on our cruise, especially give the weather was so overcast. It's not cheap and you would feel you have to stay there all day to get your money's worth. I'm afraid I would find that too boring.

I am less sure about these other cabanas, higher up the ship and with a view of, well, the retractable roof. Surely it makes more sense to book a cabin or suite with a balcony and sit on that - at least you get a view of the sea.

I was also intrigued by this - as in why did anyone think it looked nice? There were several suggestions as to what it looks like, some of them not printable in a family blog. You almost expect it to start moving.

The thing that disappointed me most though, was the service. I have already reported that my cabin didn't get turned down the first night (it did subsequent evenings, I'm pleased to say, but was never made up in the mornings until well, the afternoon).

I should add here that it really doesn't matter to me personally if it is or isn't turned down. I can switch off lights, shut curtains and turn down the bed myself. But the point is that these things should happen automatically on a premium cruise line.

Most of the crew were charming and polite, with a cheery hello if you passed them on the stairs, but every now and then there was one that let the side down, forgetting that a smile and "hello" is a nice way to greet someone who is about to spend money with you. That was a shame.

One of Holland America's proudest features is its culinary arts centre, where chefs put on "how-to" demos. Our cruise had guest chef Jeremy Bloor, top man at the OXO Tower in London, on board to show off his cookery skills.

The kitchens are impressive - apparently they cost $1 million each to install - but they do need a chef with the gift of the gab to get the show going. HAL should see if Jamie Oliver fancies a cruise with the family!

Inevitably, the norovirus outbreak on Marco Polo last week has sparked a "how clean is your ship" debate on Cruise.co.uk. You can read the official cruise ship inspection scores and pick up tips on how to have a healthy cruise.

Reading the comments, it's amazing how paranoid people are and what lurid tales they have. I wonder how they dare to go on a cruise. And how do they get on at home, where there are no crew washing and cleaning day and night to keep surfaces clean?

Personally I have a theory that one of the problems generally is that we are all so clean these days that our systems have no immunity when faced with a dirty bug.

Not that I'm advocating we all give up washing or cleaning, you understand. For my part, I never touch the bannisters on a ship (if it's rocky, an steadying elbow or sleeve does the trick) and am very careful opening public toilet doors, having seen too many people who do not wash their hands. Sad to say, while the kids are often blamed, it is usually the older women who don't bother.

I have to say I have been very impressed with the way Bremen-based Transocean Tours has handled the outbreak on Marco Polo, with regular updates on what is happening and no attempt to cover up the severity of the outbreak.

The latest news is that Marco Polo arrived in Tilbury this morning and will be cleaned from stem to stern, inspected and hopefully cleared to depart as planned on July 14 for a 12-night Baltic cruise.

Yesterday, all passengers on the curtailed cruise - the ship had been moored up at Invergordon since Monday July 6, when the bug struck, and have now just returned to Tilbury - were told they will get a full refund of the cost of the cruise, a refund for all their beverage expenses and a 50% off voucher to put against another Marco Polo cruise from the UK.

The company has also said it will continue investigating the cause of the virus outbreak, which is quite unusual in the summer. Suppose they find a passenger brought it on, which is highly likely. Someone is going to feel awful.

A genuine question here. Can anyone tell me why you have to register with reception, sorry guest services, if you plan to carry your luggage off the ship at the end of the cruise?

All cruise ships want you off asap so they can get ready for the next lot of passengers, so why make a big deal if someone is prepared to get off themselves? Are they really ever going to insist you can't leave? I don't think so.

Holland America Line was the last ship I was on where it was "a must", but they all do it. I was given this slip (at least it says disembarkation and not the awful de'bark the Americans usually use), which had to be shown at the gangway as I left.

Guess what? None of the crew at the gangway on Eurodam was in the slightest bit interested that I was leaving the ship and certainly no one asked to see the piece of paper. So it can join the pile of others I have at home (that is a joke - I'm really not that sad!).

Holland America is adopting an eco-friendly Express Docs ticketing system on September 1, cutting out the need to send passengers bulky ticket holders whose sole purpose is to make a corporate statement on behalf of the individual cruiseline. Plastic? Oh dear. Leather-look? Must be good.

Under the new system, agents (or passengers if you book direct) will be notified by email that Express Docs have been issued. The email has a link to a website to complete an on-line check-in form. Once done, an express boarding pass and e-ticket can be printed.

Everyone booked on the cruise then has to turn up at the port with a print-out of the boarding pass and at least one e-ticket per cabin. Luggage tags, to attach to bags so they can be delivered to the correct cabin, will be available at the port.

The only exception is those booked on a Grand Voyage or Alaska CruiseTour, who carry on as now.

But how simple is all that? And eco-friendly, with no wasted paper and no fuel expended getting documents delivered around the country.

This sort of change is long overdue - after all I can check in for a British Airways flight on line and just turn up at the airport with a passport and printed boarding pass; so why not for a cruise?

Instead, invariably before each cruise I receive a fat wallet stuffed with mountains of paper, which usually goes straight for recycling as I really don't need to be told how to get on and off a ship, what to wear or how to pack. Yes I cruise a lot, but I suspect most people can work these things out for themselves. As for luggage labels. How many bags do they think one person needs for a seven-night cruise?

At the end of the day, all you need to take is the cruise ticket and that's what goes in my bag.

I have to say Lindblad Expeditions, with whom I've just cruised in Svalbard, is the worst culprit, not only sending me reams of paper about the cruise, much of it useless as it applied to the American travellers, but then sending the exact same information in a separate wallet and in a separate envelope to my daughter. And both had to come across the Atlantic.

Some have already chaged to a more eco-friendly system, but ironically, the best cruise lines often earn their stars because they forgot to send me the paperwork!

In May, my family and I turned up in Southampton for a cruise on Ventura without a ticket (I actually thought it was part of the excursion booklet so hadn't bothered chasing) or any luggage labels. Guess what? There was a man at a desk in front of the terminal handing out labels and they managed to check me and my family in without a ticket.

Just shows, it can be done. So let's see if they can't all start to do it.

It was good to read a review from, oh dear, an elderly person, giving a personal account of what happened on Marco Polo when the norovirus bug struck earlier this month.

She talks of an "immaculate" ship pre-bug, with a crew that spent their days cleaning and polishing, and says she has nothing but admiration for their patience and understanding after everyone started to get ill.

She mentions their efforts to change bedding, fumigate cabins, make sure no one touched surfaces in the buffet (which was suspended) or around the tea and coffee stations to try to stop the spread, and she has special praise for Richard Sykes, the cruise director, for his efforts to keep everyone informed and organising entertainment and extra activities.

Almost all the comments following, some from people who were also on the ship at the same time, likewise have nothing but praise for the ship, crew and Richard Sykes as well.

People on board Marco Polo when the bug hit were well compensated, it's true - and swiftly, by the sound of it - so they have no grudge to bear, but how refreshing to hear from cruisers prepared to acknowledge the good side of their holiday as well.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell has taken up the case of 17 passengers on a Thomson Spirit cruise in May who were struck down by norovirus.

It's the same-old story. Passengers get ill on a cruise and their holiday is ruined, so they seek compensation. If they are lucky they get a good hand-out - good enough for them to afford another cruise with the same line that have just accused of lacking hygiene standards.

What interested me more when digging around on the Irwin Mitchell site was the following statement by Vivien Sadler from Notttingham on Marco Polo, which was recently so badly hit by norovirus that the cruise had to be cancelled.

A tolerant soul clearly, she has usefully found a way to stop these outbreaks.

"I am extremely upset as it appears they continued to allow elderly people to board the ship despite knowing how vulnerable they are to illnesses such as Norovirus."

So there you are. Ban elderly people because they get ill. Wonder how that will go down at Fred Olsen, Swan Hellenic - and Transocean Tours, which runs Marco Polo for that matter - given "elderly people" are their bread and butter.

This might be of interest for anyone yet to book a cruise this year.

Norwegian Cruise Line has launched a sale offering not just a few healthy savings on cruises themselves, but also up to $150 credit to spend on board as well.

It's not a huge amount given the poor exchange rate it's true, but as a supermarket insists on telling us, "Every little helps".

The sale goes on until the end of August, but you'll have to move quick to get the spending money as that's only available when you book through a travel agent before the end of July. And that's on Friday!

There are sale tags on cruises in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Panama and South America, with up to £830 per person off a 14-night Caribbean Panoramas sailing in December from Miami. The price now is from £1,479 excluding flights.

You can also get £370 per person off a seven-night Western Med cruise in November from Barcelona. It's now £539 per person, or £77 a day and for that you get the flight as well.

In the latest Cruise.co.uk ratings, Thomson not only comes top for entertainment, but also holds poll position for best food and best crew.

In fact, in the entertainment category, Thomson has three ships in the top five, while in the best crew section, it holds first, second and third place. Quite a result.

As ever with this type of poll, one has to be a bit circumspect and the results do tend to change with the wind so when you look it could all be a bit different. Nevertheless, it gives an indication of what each line is doing well.

Thomson also comes second in the cruiselines top 10. Here's the full table:

1 - Cunard

2 - Thomson Cruises

3 - Princess Cruises

4 - Ocean Village

5 - P&O Cruises

6 - Royal Caribbean International

7 - Celebrity Cruises

8 - Fred Olsen Cruise Lines

9 - Island Cruises

10 - Norwegian Cruise Line

Interesting to see Ocean Village at number 4. The cruiseline is being disbanded by Carnival UK apparently because it couldn't be made to pay. If only all the people who liked it so much had been prepared to pay a bit more for their flycruise it would have survived.

Or would it? Cruise Critic says P&O Cruises has been asking passengers what they would think if it were to offer flycruises from, say, Palma and Crete. Rather as Ocean Village does.

Could it be that Ocean Village had to go, to make room for P&O?

A bill that would require all cruise ships to install security latches and peep-holes in cabin doors has passed a US Senate committee.

If it becomes law, it would also require all crimes that occur on board cruise ships to be reported to the Coast Guard and Federal Bureau of Investigations and for ship physicians to be trained to handle sexual assault examinations.

It seems there is an International Cruise Victims Association and that it has been pressing for a law like this for some time, but it has never happened because the Cruise Lines International Associaton, the industry body in the US, wouldn't support it.

Now CLIA has changed its mind and is giving its backing to the need for legislation, which would be wrapped up in the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009.

Travel Agent Central says its position has been changed by recent recent incidents of missing persons and sexual assaults, making many question cruise lines' security.

It's a sad day for the cruise industry if ever this does become law, which apparently is now very likely.

One of cruising's big selling points is that it is so safe. Elderly single women too nervous to go on other holiday will go on cruises because they feel safe, families take their kids on ships because they recognise it is a safe environment and one in which the children can have quite a bit of freedom.

Peep holes in doors, security latches and physicians trained to examine passengers claiming sexual assault tells a different story.

There have been a lot of cases recently of people going overboard, most recently the suspected suicide who went over the side of Holland America's Zaandam while in Alaska, but legislation is not going to stop that.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the following quote from Senator John Kerry, the bill's sponsor.

"Murky lines of jurisdiction are no longer an excuse for risking the safety of millions of Americans who will board cruise ships this year."

Risking the safety of millions of Americans? Just which planet is he on?

The Boston Globe reports on new figures from The Cruise Lines International Association that show the number of Americans cruising last year dropped 1.7%.

The paper also says that for the first time since CLIA started publishing stats, the number of ships setting sail from US ports fell year on year. In 2004, US embarkations accounted for 77% of all cruises. In 2008, that had fallen to 69%.

Despite the US downturn, the number of people cruising worldwide grew to 13.05 million, an increase of 4%. That's in large part thanks to Europe, where passenger numbers keep on growing.

The number of Brits taking a cruise last year rose 11% to close to 1.5 million, while 4.7 million passengers joined their cruise at a European port - a 68% increase since 2005. In comparison, CLIA reports that the number of people taking a cruise originating in the US was down 1.7% to about 9.3 million passengers.

As for all those missing ships? They are over here. The number of cruise ships operating in Europe in 2008 was up 35% compared to 2005, to a total 192, according to the European Cruise Council.

To quote Carnival UK chief executive David Dingle from a conference a couple of years ago, "cruising lights are coming on all over Europe". Great stuff, but the industry does need the US market to recover as well if it is to fill all the big new ships coming along and start to make money again.

I was reminded of fellow cruise blogger Captain Greybeard yesterday as I sat through the muster drill on Crystal Serenity.

In the traditional way of muster drills, the alarm sounded, the signal for my daughter and I to take our lifejackets from our Penthouse and head to our muster station.

We were all required to be wearing them before we entered the muster station - in our case the show lounge - and looking neat, too, with straps tucked away in the side because of course that makes a difference if the ship is sinking.

Why then, after explaining this was where we should come in the event of an emergency, was there a demonstration of how to put on a lifejacket? I mention this in connection with Crystal Cruises, but this is what most cruise lines do.

And why did I think of the Captain? He mentioned the aircraft safety drill, telling you how to buckle and unbuckle your seat belt. This is done, as I am sure you all know, when the aircraft is taxi-ing to the runway and the cabin stewards and stewardesses (or girls and boys if you are flying with Virgin) have checked that everyone's seat belt is done up!

The safety drill is always a bit of a thorny issue - important for first-time cruisers, a pain in the posterior for regulars, not because it takes very long but because we've heard it all before. Basically, it's a bit of a bore.

It's like the aircraft safety demo, which we are asked to watch because every plane is different. Really? I'm no expert but I've noticed they all have emergency exits, floor lighting, seat belts. lifejackets under the seats and oxygen in the panels above, so which bit exactly is different?

When I was on P&O Cruises' Ventura in May, I remember looking along the length of the ship from the Metropolis Bar on deck 18 and wondering who would go down to decks three, four, five, etc, to fetch a lifejacket if the ship was sinking - or actually in any emergency?

Presumably that same thought prompted the changes now happening on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, which the Captain mentioned and which I also experienced on Celebrity Equinox the other day.

Instead of going to their cabin to fetch their lifejacket and then finding their way to the muster drill, passengers are now instructed to go straight to the muster station, where lifejackets will be waiting.

It's a sound idea and one that will catch on across the industry I am sure. I can't imagine the panic as passengers, told there is an emergency, try to find their way back to their cabin. After all, many people, who are perfectly intelligent on land, have enough problems trying to find ther rooms under normal circumstances. So how much more sensible to get them to the muster area and then kit them out with a lifejacket.

On Equinox, we were supposed to watch a safety video on a screen. Good idea. Except I couldn't see the screen for the sea of taller people in front of me. Then there was a demo of how to put on a lifejacket. Fine, as none of us was wearing one. Except again, I couldn't even see the guy doing the demo, let alone see how to do it.

It didn't matter for me as I know after years of mustering, but what if I had been a first-timer? I reckon they will have to start mustering people in their stations according to height.

Or would that be considered sizeist?

Some good news for single travellers from Costa Cruises. The cruiseline is cutting its single supplement for all cruises departing after December 1.

Currently, all lone travellers cruising with Costa pay a straight 80% supplement. Under the new system, soloists will pay a 30% supplement - but only if they book in advance. As the departure date nears, the supplement will increase to a maximum 100%. So higher than it is at the moment, which is not great.

But at least early-booking singles will be able to get a bit of a bargain, which has to be good for all those people who have to travel alone and invariably get stung for the privilege unless they are travelling with the likes of Fred Olsen, Saga or Spirit of Adventure.

Only last week, when I was on Crystal Serenity, I was trying to explain the logic of charging one person twice for occupying a cabin alone. And that was to a couple, so they were not affected by the supplement but were struggling to understand how that was fair.

Judging from the looks on their faces they were still baffled after I had finished explaining. "So they don't get anything extra but pay double?"

Sounds crazy when you put it like that, doesn't it?

If anyone doubted the continued interest in cruising, consider these two events being held in honour of holidays at sea over the next few months.

National Cruise Week is from September 20-27, when agents up and down the country will be running special promotions and holding cruise events.

A perfect time for anyone who is not sure to find out more and for everyone to book their cruise.

Then in March 2010, the Cruise show is back after an hugely successful debut in 2009.

It's on March 27-28 and this time it's being held at London's Olympia in Kensington with new attractions including a rock-climbing courtesy of Royal Caribbean International, and a Blue Guide Wall, where cruise lines can post offers and visitors can put up reviews.

There'll be expert advice for regular and first-time cruisers, and a Champagne bar and casino - playing with show dollars - so you can start to feel as you really are already at sea!

Royal Caribbean had a terrific show last year, which is no doubt why it is back, but more than 20 cruiselines are already signed up including Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises and Cunard.

Tickets cost £6 in advance or £8 at the door. Book here or call 0871 230 7147.

Rumours are flying that Carnival Corp is close to ordering new ships and that Princess Cruises is in the frame for a new-build.

If it's true, I'm guessing it won't be one as that doesn't make financial sense so you can be sure at least two more little Princesses are on the way - or big Princesses more likely given the last new Princess ships were Ruby, Emerald and Crown, each with capacity for just over 3,000 passengers.

Given all the investment Princess has been making in its ships of late, adding adult-only Sanctuary spaces and piazza-like atriums, you can also be sure that any new ships would have these signature features.

I'm not surprised at the new-build rumours. I reported in Travel Weekly a few weeks ago that shipyards are facing empty order books from 2012 and are getting desperate for business. And desperation, as we have seen with all the discounting on the high street during the recession, does wonders for prices as far as buyers are concerned.

I suggested that if cruiselines believe the industry will continue to grow, as they say they do, they need to order new tonnage. And now, with prices down, would seem a good time.

UBS equity analyst Robin Farley says shipbuilding prices in euros now are at the same level as five years ago and that Carnival ordered ships at those prices in the past.

If the orders are placed this year, we would start to see the new ships from 2012.

... who has the youngest fleet of all?

No doubt about it, says Peter Shanks, president and managing director of Cunard, who is launching a new logo with the words "youngest fleet in the world" for the line's marketing material.

But wait, what's this on the Norwegian Cruise Line website? A claim to have the youngest fleet on the planet (clearly the world is not enough).

And this on the MSC Cruises website? "The most modern fleet in the world." "Modern" is not the same as age, it's true, but it's quite clear what they mean as underneath it says their ships have an average age of five years.

Who is right? More to the point, do cruisers really care?

When to book your cruise is one of those million-dollar questions. Do you book as soon as the cruise is announced and get a decent early-booking discount or wait until the last minute in the hpe of a better deal.

It's a question that has been taxing Mr Walsh, one of Reader Offers' clients after he went on Queen Mary 2. He had a great cruise but was "disappointed" to meet others on board, in the same type of cabin, who had booked late and paid several hundred pounds less than he and his wife and received $200 on-board credit into the bargain.

He asks Reader Offers' managing director Peter Beadles when he should book the Queen Victoria cruise he wants to do next year, which is almost unanswerable. There may be some great late deals, but who knows? And what's the use of a great deal anyway if it's for a cruise you don't want or an inside cabin when you want a balcony?

But now Saga has come to the rescue of people like Mr Walsh with a new price promise. If the price of a cruise comes down, the lower price will also apply to everyone, including those already booked. Saga also promises there will be no fuel or currency surcharges once a cruise is booked.

It's about as fair as it gets, but not a huge help for Readers Offers, as Saga sells direct to its clients, not through travel agents.

Maybe others could follow its lead though? It would make it so much easier for Peter and I to give proper advice to people who ask - and get those early bookings rolling in.

This is a strange tale, and certainly not a lot of fun, from the line that likes to calls its vessels the Fun Ships.

Chris Harvey and family were stopped when disembarking from Carnival Freedom at the end of their cuise, taken back to their cabin and accused - very nicely, apparently - of causing damage to the edge of the desk.

They were given two options - accept responsibility (which no doubt really meant give us some money to pay for the damage) or be banned from Carnival for life.

Now I don't know about anyone else, but I've often noticed minor damage in the cabins I'm staying in - a mark on a carpet, a scuff on the desk - and never really thought too much about it. I will now. In fact, after this I imagine everyone will be rushing round taking pictures before their luggage is unpacked to use as evidence. Just in case.

Anyway, back to the Harveys. They were adamant they had not caused the damage (and later found a picture taken early on in the cruise that proved they were telling the truth) so they chose to be banned.

When they got home, Chris posted their experiences (and the picture) on line. The story was picked up by a US journalist, who contacted Carnival for a comment. Within an hour, the line had apologised and the ban was lifted.

The thing is, having been treated like that, do they really want to cruise with Carnival again? After all, there are plenty more ships in the sea.

The winning cruiselines might love it and it might make a story for the papers but at least one person is totally unimpressed with the latest results from Cruise.co.uk's regular survey of the "best" cruise lines and their ships, food, entertainment and service.

"...it must be said that some of its results are highly dubious. For example, for "best cruise line" the ranking was Cunard, Thomson, Ocean Village and Princess. No mention at all of Crystal, Regent, Seabourn or Silversea. Since when did Ocean Village become the third best cruise line in the world (or even in the UK)?"

Mark Tre of Cybercruises, who wrote this, points out, as I have in the past, that the scoring is highly flawed, biased in favour of the lines that atttract the most reviews.

Take that best cruise line category, where Cunard came top, Thomson second and Ocean Village and Princess were equal third.

"How anyone might accept that Thomson could ever be the second best cruise line and that Ocean Village ties with Princess for third is ludicrous .... surely "best" is not the way to decribe these results. "Most popular" would be more like it."

I have to say I totally agree. Or maybe be even more specific - "most popular among the Brits".

The piece continues, dissecting the best food, best service and best accommodation categories, and finally concluding that the whole thing is a publicity exercise for Cruise.co.uk.

Surprise surprise.

But it succeeded. Even the Telegraph and Travel Weekly (not written by me!) ran with the story. And let's face it, so did Mark Tre, whoever he might be!

One of the most interesting comments to come out of