Celebrate the Royal Wedding In Style

If you missed out on buying Kate’s see-through dress at £78,000, don’t despair. Cruise & Maritime Voyages have two cruises departing on the Royal Wedding Day (April 29) at a much cheaper price, starting at just £199pp. Celebrations include a Royal Banquet onboard on the evening of the departures. CMV also plan to have large TV screens on hand at the Cruise Terminals in both London and Hull, from where the ships are due to depart.

Marco Polo is scheduled to depart from the London Cruise Terminal at Tilbury late in the afternoon on April 29 for a three-night Bulbfields Weekend. A big screen has been ordered for use in the terminal. Thanks to Kate & William, you will not have to use up any of your leave - both Friday and Monday are Bank Holidays!

Prices start from just £199pp and the cruise starts by sailing down the Thames as you toast the Royal couple before visiting Amsterdam for Queen’s Day celebrations and then Antwerp on your special cruise.

Alternatively, if you live in the North, you can depart from Hull on Ocean Countess, again on the afternoon of April 29, on a six-night cruise to the Norwegian fjords from £399pp. Large TVs will be set up in the check-in area to enjoy the celebrations on the Wedding Day before passengers sit back and enjoy the breathtaking scenery of mountains and waterfalls on a Norwegian exploration.

Prices are per person based on two people sharing an inside cabin, while a third person sharing pays only £99, regardless of cabin grade.

A £6pp/night fuel supplement applies to these departures. Gratuities at £5pp per night will be added to passenger accounts.

For more information, visit http://www.cruiseandmaritime.com/

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A Classic Frenzy!

It never rains but it pours. That 18th century saying is usually used to express bad things happening, at regular intervals. But it is also relevant to the sudden - and welcome - creation of new cruise lines pandering to the more cerebral and, perhaps, more mature passenger.

Hot on the heels of the new Cruise & Maritime Voyages announcement (see the next entry in Time Spent At Sea) comes news of another start-up cruise line offering a more distinctive, small-scale and even traditional experience.

Voyages to Antiquity will start in May 4, 2010, as a one-ship, classic cruise operation, featuring destination intensive voyages in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, taking in the Middle East, Aegean and Adriatic. They will offer a heavily lecture-based onboard programme, with a focus on the ancient civilisations of the area (hence the line's title) and definitely aimed at an English-speaking audience.

The vessel will be the extensively-revamped Aegean I, which has been laid up in port following an ownership dispute for several years, and which will be reborn (after a multi-million pound facelift) as the Aegean Odyssey.

She will carry just 380 passengers and offer single-occupancy cabins as well as some new balcony cabins, with voyages varying from 14 to 29 nights (May-Nov). They also intend to get off the beaten cruise track where possible, and visit some out-of-the-way ports like Kotor (Montenegro) and Syracuse (Sicily).

Under the helm of Gerry Herrod, who started the original Orient Lines in the early 90s, this promises to be a thoughtful and educational cruise offering. So expect lots of seriously high-brow guests lecturers and a really in-depth focus on the destinations, their history and culture.

They are still several weeks away from launching their website and sales line, but, for those who really enjoy the classic cruise experience, this is definitely one to keep an eye on.

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Farewell Black Prince, Hello Marco Polo!

Cruising from UK ports has been on a steady upward curve for the past 10 years and looked to be heading for record levels in 2010, until Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines announced that their beloved Black Prince would be leaving them after this season.

The loss of this small-but-popular vessel - only 11,209 tons but with the history and passenger appreciation level of a megaliner - had threatened to leave quite a gap in the ex-UK cruise portofolio, especially with the departure of other small, traditional vessels like Saga Cruises' Saga Rose.

But, in a move that was both surprising and smart, there will be not one but TWO new choices for fans of cruising from a variety of British ports.

Cruise and Maritime Services have been a player in the ex-UK charter market for quite a few years now, but they had noted the loss of Black Prince and Co and determined that something needed to be done to fill the void. And how.

Forming their own British cruise 'brand,' Cruise & Maritime Voyages, they have extended their charter relationship with the ship's owners and turned it into a year-round proposition sailing from British shores.

Her itineraries (from January 2, 2010) will take her on winter voyages to the Amazon, Orinoco and West Indies, all from the little-used Essex port of Tilbury. In the summer, she will sail for Scandinavia, the Baltic and Russia, again all from Tilbury.

More senior cruisers will also be keen to know Marco Polo will operate as an 'adults only' vessel, meaning passengers will be 16 and up only. So no children's facilities at all, and none of the shenanigans that some of the bigger, family-intensive ships have reported in recent years.

However, not content with adding this long-popular gem (she sailed for many years for the old Orient Lines before NCL unceremoniously ditched that brand in 2007), C&M have also decided to bring another traditional ship into their fold by adding the 17,000-ton Ocean Countess to their stable.

The former Cunard Countess, launched in 1975, she will add more classic British cruise style and a host of options for ex-UK voyaging, including Hull, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Greenock.

Starting in April, she will operate a wide-ranging series of cruises to the Baltic, Scandinavia, Mediterranean and the Canaries, all with that 'no-fly' option which appeals to many. She will also undergo a major renovation (costing some $5million) before becoming a Cruise & Maritime vessel.

So, just when you thought it was time to bemoan the dwindling band of 'old faithfuls' operating to that sector of the market who appreciate that smaller and older can, actually, be quite a pleasant contrast to large and modern, along comes not one but two new options.

All aboard now............!

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