Porthole
Take me to the river
The Amazon River, South America
If there ever was a time to cast your cruise net a little further, it is right now. Princess Cruises have announced additional ports that will make up their Exotics line-up for 2010/11. So, as well as the world’s largest river, you can experience the traditional Chinese gardens in Xiamen, the colourful Hispanic heritage of Manila and the lush mangrove forests in Mozambique’s Maputo Bay. But if that doesn’t grab you, rest assured, there are 45-plus other itineraries to choose from, including the Amazon. Go on, push the boat out.
For more on exotic cruises, turn to page 50 for our feature on cruising the Panama Canal
From the UK with love
Half a million passengers are set to depart from home ports in 2010, but which cruise lines will sail from where?
All-access Alaska
The Last Frontier is the place for adventure, action and adrenaline – on any budget
BUDGET
The cruise NCL’s nine-night Alaskan Sea and Sawyer Glacier cruise on Norwegian Star, from Seattle to Seattle, available from 15 May to 18 September 2010.
Best for… Laidback crowds.
Passenger to crew ratio 2.03:1
Highlight The front-row seat (if you’re not in a Courtyard Villa), for scenic cruising is up on the top-deck Bier Garten. The outdoor terrace is the best place to enjoy a beer - or perhaps something a bit warmer - when cruising past the magnificent Sawyer Glacier.
Killer shore excursion Klondike Rock Climbing and Rapelling in Skagway. Scale the granite walls of the White Pass mountain range, whatever your ability, and take in the top views of the Skagway River and wilderness.
Price £1,279 including flights
based on 22 May 2010 departure.
AFFORDABLE
The cruise Holland America Line’s new 14-day Alaskan Adventurer, onboard the flagship ms Amsterdam, sailing a round trip from Seattle from 17 May to 6 September 2010.
Best for… Families with older children.
Passenger to crew ratio 2.24:1
Highlight The extensive itinerary ticks off the usual ports of call, and less-frequented stops (and new ports for HAL) in Alaska, such as Homer, Kodiak and - a first for a larger liner - Anchorage.
Killer shore excursion Try Dog Sledding and Glacier Helicopter Flightseeing. After a helicopter ride, you’ll mush across an icefield and meet the pros involved in the annual Iditarod sled dog race.
Price £2,155 including flights, based on 15 May 2010 departure.
UPMARKET
The cruise The seven-night Voyage of the Glaciers onboard Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess, from Vancouver to Whittier, plus a signature deluxe four-night land tour to Denali National Park.
Best for… Land explorers.
Passenger to crew ratio 2.19:1
Highlight Head to The Santuary, the outdoor tranquillity zone, where an exclusive experience for 2010 allows you to meet local National Park Rangers for a chat, or simply snuggle up on deck with Alaskan fleece blankets and earmuffs while cruising Glacier Bay.
Killer shore excursion The Alpine Zip and Glacier Adventure, in Juneau, is one of 21 new Alaskan shore excursions. Take a sweep over the alpine forest, before visiting Mendenhall Glacier.
Price £2,269 including flights and landtour.
LUXURY
The cruise Silversea’s Silver Shadow sails from the sunny shores of Los Angeles to Vancouver for 12 nights on 13 May 2010.
Best for… All-inclusive frills
Passenger to crew ratio 1.29:1
Highlight The luxurious, spacious cabins. The all-suite vessel has no inside cabins, so all rooms have a view (80% with private verandas), and there’s an impressive space ratio of 210m3 per guest. Oh, and all that freeflowing Champagne.
Killer shore excursion Dry Suit Snorkelling at Sitka Sound, which does exactly what it says on the tin. The special gear slips on over your clothes, keeping you dry and warm while you take in the vibrant marine life, including sea urchins, crabs and jellyfish.
Price £2,769 including flights.
The shows must go on
With an increasing number of cruise lines pushing the boat out with onboard entertainment, has the curtain fallen on the traditional stage show?
“There’s a stigma about cruise-ship entertainment,” says Andy Stuart, executive vice president of NCL. “Every time Simon Cowell has an awful performer on American Idol, he asks them, ‘Did you used to work on a cruise ship?’ We want to challenge that belief and break the mould.”
Cruise-ship entertainment has come a long way since the days of Tom Jones tribute acts. Now, an increasing number of cruise lines are moving away from traditional shows, toward more modern and dynamic theatre. NCL, for example, has announced that the mesmerising and unique Blue Man Group (pictured) will be performing on Norwegian Epic next year, alongside the Cirque Dreams and Dinner experience, complete with acrobatic waiters on stilts.
Over at Celebrity Equinox (see First Look, page 26), you’ll also find Cirqueinspired acts, as well as more street-inspired performances, such as Remix. But not even Stuart thinks that this will spell the end of the traditional cruise show.
“People still want variety,” agrees Roger Blum, Carnival’s vice president of cruise programming, speaking of the just-launched Carnival Dream, whose Ocean Plaza café will feature live entertainment from morning till night. “People make their choice based on the broader entertainment package, as opposed to a one-hour show in the week, and that’s the direction that we’ve gone in with Dream,” he says. “It isn’t necessarily revolutionary, but it’s a major evolution”.
So, just what revolutions can we expect in the future? Well, holograms, according to Stuart. “I saw a fantastic Frank Sinatra show that used holographic technology, and if we could execute it successfully on a cruise ship, I’d love to see a show with the greats from the past.” We’re getting our wish list ready…
Joanne Harris
The British author of Chocolat has cruised from Norway to New England and finds she’s at her most productive onboard, says Anisha Patel
I’ve just finished the last draft of my latest book, which will come out next year, called Blue Eyed Boy. It’s very early days yet, but I think it will be out around March or April.
A cruise ship is quite a good place for me to write. I’m not getting phone calls, I’m not getting people to ask me to do things. I can pretty much plan my time. And I have space to sit and think.
Cunard approached me to be a guest lecturer two and a half years ago. I was on the Queen Mary 2 last year as a guest speaker on a transatlantic crossing to New England and will be going away in October next year again.
Cruises are a nice way of going on holiday with my husband. He doesn’t fly but likes to travel.
My husband is keen on eclipses, and we’ve been on a couple of cruises to see them in various parts of the world, but nothing as lengthy as the transatlantic crossing. We went on one up past Spitsbergen on the coast of Norway about four years ago, and sailed from Italy around the Mediterranean to Egypt the year before last. The eclipse was visible just off the coast of Alexandria.
I would certainly consider going away with my daughter and parents. I think they’d all find something to do. Now that my daughter’s a bit older, she’s more likely to want to come.
I’ve visited so many ports, so it’s hard to say which is my favourite. I have to say though when I do stop, I tend to go out of the port, and go as far away from it as possible. I like to get away from the crowds a little and see a bit of the country. Although some ports are very beautiful.
I like to sit out on deck and look at the sea. I’m very happy to do that. I don’t always rely on the extra facilities – it’s nice to have them – but I’m also able to just enjoy the rest really. It’s quite nice to have a bit of enforced relaxation.
I always read. My top read right now is by a Japanese writer called Haruki Murakami. He writes books that are a strange combination of modern Japanese pop culture, mystery and philosophy.
I’d also very much like to go to Hawaii with my husband, because I’ve been to Hawaii a few times with my daughter, but never with him. And the only way to do it would be to go by ship. It would be a long voyage, but a wonderful one.
Who’s the mama?
Move over Dame Helen and Myleene, today’s godmothers are keeping it real
In fashion speak, you could say that the celebrity godmother ‘moment’ suddenly feels a little five-minutesago. For a time, screen goddesses, musical sensations and even Dames took over the prestigious role that was usually reserved for royalty. From Dame Helen Mirren to Myleene Klass, the trend was for big and personable stars.
But celebrity has lost some of its sheen in the world of godmothers; the credit crunch has brought with it a reality check. NCL arguably kicked off the ‘keeping it real’ trend in 2007, when the cruise line, which had previously had actresses Kim Cattrall and Rosie O’Donnell as godmothers, held a contest to find a ‘real’ woman for Norwegian Jade. Royal Caribbean followed suit with Independence of the Seas, and there are plans to do the same for Oasis of the Seas when she is launched in November. When Celebrity Equinox launched in July, Nina Barough, the founder of UK-based breast-cancer foundation Walk the Walk, did the honours. She even asked the audience to hug each other at the inauguration ceremony to create good vibes. Carnival is rumoured to be taking it one step further by appointing reality star of the year Susan Boyle.
“A lot of namings recently have been non-celebrities, but we definitely won’t stop looking at celebrities,” says Pieter van der Schee, head of brand marketing for Princess Cruises. “It depends on what’s relevant to the ship and the theme chosen for the launch. We’ve done both in the past, from Joanna Lumley to Princess’ most travelled and resident passenger, Lorraine Artz. The important thing is that the lady in question is glamorous, well respected and has achieved something.”
For Italian line MSC, however, tradition prevails. Their resident godmother, former screen siren Sophia Loren, will bless the line’s eighth ship next year.
Much ado about puffins
Never mind heading south to see penguins – these Icelandic beauties are much closer to home
They’re adorably teeny-tiny, and their whimsical bright orange, blue and yellow beaks (in full bloom during their mating period in April) make puffins a huge attraction for visitors to Iceland, home to over half of the world’s Atlantic puffins. And the best place to see them? The uninhabited Lundey Island, aka Puffin Island, off the coast of Reykjavik. Holland America Line takes a tour of the Icelandic coast next July, just in time to see the babies hatch.
Bag these
From mini cruises to day stopovers, these holdalls will have you covered
1 Panax Bag, £125, Ted Baker (www.tedbaker.com)
2 Encounter Holdall, £470, Tusting (www.tusting.co.uk)
3 Sorcerer Bag, £29.50, Oliver Bonas (www.oliverbonas.com)
4 Premium Leather Holdall, £100, Burton (www.burton.co.uk)
5 Weekender Ttravel Bag, £275, Aspinal of London (www.aspinaloflondon.com)
Better red
This season’s lipsticks radiate old-fashioned glamour
1 Matte Lipstick in Red Sinner, £15, Lipstick Queen (www.spacenk.com)
2 Rouge G Lipstick in Geisha, £25, Guerlain (www.guerlain.fr)
3 Silky Finish Lipstick in Frenched, £13, Benefit (www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk)
4 Exceptional Lipstick in Lush Red, £15, Elizabeth Arden (www.elizabetharden.com)
5 Moisture Renew Lipstick in Burgundy Delight, £5.49, Rimmel (www.rimmellondon.com)
Look smart
Want to boast – sorry, keep in touch with loved ones back home in style – while on your next cruise? The E72, Nokia’s latest smartphone, has instant messaging, and comes with a five mega-pixel camera, in case you really want to show off your ports of call. It also has an inbuilt Assisted-GPS and compass system, complete with maps, so you know exactly where you’re going. €350 (around £300), www.nokia.co.uk/shop
IN NUMBERS
Fancy a cuppa?
Because we just love our tea…
20 cups of tea are drunk by each passenger on Fred Olsen ships
6,028 teabags are used every day on a Thomson ship
15,000 cups of tea are drunk on an MSC ship in a week
12 varieties of tea are offered on MSC ships
2,450 teabags are used on each sailing of Celebrity Constellation
2.3m teabags are used each year on Cunard’s QM2 and Queen Victoria
BEHIND THE SCENES
Trevor Glass, Executive Chef
P&O Cruises Ventura
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MAX DIAMOND
Chefs normally do six-month contracts. I do six-month trips with about six weeks off. It’s seven days a week and the average working day on a ship this size is about 12 hours. The body gets used to it - you don’t know what day of the week it is. I only know it’s Friday because we’re back in Southampton.
My partner lives in Northern Island, where I’m from. We have two boys. My eldest, Travis, is 15 and I’ve missed all his birthdays, but I’m home for the first time this year. The other is 13. It’s tough being away, but you phone and you keep in touch and we’ve got the internet. I do get homesick. My parents are still living, so I miss them.
On a ship this size, it’s very military. You have time frames. When you have to feed 3,400 people for breakfast, you must be ready. It’s a lot tougher on a ship than in a restaurant. We had Marco Pierre White come on recently. The White Room, his onboard restaurant, is our most popular restaurant, and last cruise we sold 3,000 copies of his book. He asked me, “How the hell do you guys produce food at such a good standard?” It’s all about dedication and hard work.
Keeping the guys motivated is a very big thing. You do that by giving praise and feedback. We don’t just say something is rubbish; we’ll change it. We’ll say, “Let’s try and do it in a different way.” It’s about positive feedback.
I need a coffee to function. I start at 6.30am.
It takes 20 minutes to clear any emails. We have a daily meeting with the butcher and the stores manager, then I go around to all the galleys and speak to my section heads and the guys. A big part of my job is food costs, hygiene control and menus. I’m like an operations manager. I’m there for guidance. We have 10 main kitchens and 170 chefs. It’s all about quality control. It’s my name on the menu, so I need to make sure I’m happy with what’s going out.
Decks three and four are just dedicated to stores, and are divided into frozen, chilled, dairy, cheese, red meat, white meat and so on.
There are good recreation facilities onboard. If you want downtime, you can go on deck, you can go ashore, there’s a gym, there are crew events, there’s a swimming pool for the crew and, with my status, I can use the passenger facilities.
I started off cooking in the catering core of the army. I then went to catering school in Northern Ireland, did some work experience in Belfast, and then went to London for five years, where I worked at the InterContinental and a few other hotels. At that time I was sharing a house with five Irish guys, one of whom was working for Norwegian Cruise Lines. He would come home, having seen the world, and with wads of money, tax-free. So I applied for a job at P&O. That was 19 years ago.
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