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The Ultimate Excursion Bucket List – Part One

Too often when we think of cruising we picture giant ships sailing the ocean; we think of the amazing restaurants or the elegant surroundings, we tend to think of the ship itself, not the exotic ports of call or the amazing things you can get up to whilst there! Quite often in fact the destinations are given short shrift. Cruise ships will call in at nearly every country on the planet (admittedly said country needs to have a coast line or at least a river to cruise along) but that gives cruisers the opportunity to enjoy some once in a life time places. At each port of call you arrive in you have the choice of either disembarking and doing your own thing or booking one of the cruise lines organised shore excursions. For the adventurous cruise fan however there’s a third step that can be taken. These are the shore excursions that you wouldn’t normally consider, the excursions that can be best described as dream shore experiences, never to be repeated. once in a lifetime opportunities! Below then is our top thirty three of the weirdest, wackiest or most unusual excursions on offer from the cruise lines around the world that should be on every serious cruisers bucket list. Take a tour of the Game of Thrones set The www.CRUISE.co.uk team may be revealing their inner geek here but...

Viking’s First Ocean Ship is Only Two Months Away

Ahead of its launch in spring, Viking Cruises‘ first ship has completed its series of sea trials. The Viking Star vessel first took to the waters in December last year, where it embarked on a number of voyages across the Aegean Sea. The ship’s completion of the week-long trials mark the beginning of an exciting future for Viking as it prepares to enter the cruise market. During it’s sea trials the Viking Star underwent more than eighty tests that checked the vessel’s engines, navigation systems, cabin acoustics and propulsion performance were all in working order. Upon completion of the ocean trials, Viking Star’s captain Gulleik Svalastog described it as “one of the most agile, state-of-the-art and seaworthy ships on the water, destined to exceed the expectations of the most well-travelled guest“. Torstein Hagen, chairman of the line, said: “Following six months of non-stop construction since her float out, this was a major milestone for Viking Star and we are proud to be another step closer to launch. “Now we can focus on the finishing touches, and we look forward to welcoming guests on board in two months’ time.” Upon completing the sea trials, the Viking Star returned to Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard where it will be decorated with some finishing touches. The 930-passenger capacity vessel is scheduled to launch on April 11th this year and will be the first of...

Multimillion-dollar makeover for Voyager of the Seas

After undergoing an extensive makeover, Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas has returned to Sydney. For the first time since its $80 million (£51 million) renovation, the vessel embarked on a 14-day journey from Singapore and arrived in Australia on Monday morning. Deemed the country’s biggest passenger ship, the Voyager weighs in at around 138,000 tonnes and is over 300 m in length, with 15 levels. With the capacity to accommodate up to 4,000 passengers, the Voyager of the Seas more than matches the Sydney Opera House in bulk. Captain Charles Teige, Voyager of the Seas’ Norwegian skipper, first started working in the cruise industry more than 20 years ago, where the main attractions for passengers simply involved a Broadway-style show, sunbathing on the deck and dining. Now, Royal Caribbean has pulled out all the stops to produce a luxurious, entertainment-filled sailing experience to be enjoyed by all. Although the Voyager travels to many exciting destinations around the world, Captain Teige explains that it is in fact the ship itself that passengers look forward to experiencing most. He said: “Now the ship has become the destination. In Brisbane we had 1,100 people who decided not to go ashore.” One of the vessel’s attractions is the FlowRider a modern surf machine, which comes as part of Royal Caribbean’s plan to appeal to younger passengers and extended family groups. but the...

5 Reasons Why 2015 Will be the Most Exciting Year for Cruising

There’s rarely a bad time to go on a cruise – the sun’s always shining in the Caribbean, the beauty of the fjords remain all year round, and Japan’s cherry blossoms arrive on time every year, just like their trains – but despite how cruising can be done all year every year, 2015 just might be the most exciting year for cruising we’ve seen in a long time. A whole host of brand new ships to sail upon, each promising to revolutionise the industry in their own way. Needless to say, 2015 has plenty of reasons to get excited,...

Independence of the Seas seized by bailiffs!

You might think that a global company the size of Royal Caribbean is good at paying its fees, but it turns out that even having a whole accounting department isn’t enough to stop a few things from falling through the cracks. The forgotten fees in question? A relatively small 600,000 Norwegian kroners (approximately £60,000) in pilot fees that was supposed to be paid in October. But Royal Caribbean is unlikely to be making the same mistake again. In fact, the Norwegian authorities have made sure that they’re at the top of the agenda for the cruise line, by impounding one of the world’s largest cruise ships. Independence of the Seas, a 150,000-tonne behemoth capable of carrying nearly 4,400 passengers, was seized by a Norwegian bailiff, but it was only held for an hour, as the cruise line quickly paid its dues and rectified the situation. While it may seem like the Norwegian Coastal Administration was making an undue fuss over the delay, it requires on fees from ships to fund its operations along the country’s most dangerous stretches of coastline. And it seems that Royal Caribbean is not alone in missing the due date on their bills. Arve Dimmen, of the NCA, said that the organisation is currently 7.6 million kroner short (approximately £760,000) due to cruise ships not paying their bills on time. “It’s a lot of work...