ALL ABOARD
The latest news for your next cruise
Dame Helen dives in
SCENIC has revealed Dame Helen Mirren will be godmother to exploration ship Scenic Eclipse. At the September 10 christening in New York, she will send a champagne bottle crashing into the 228-passenger vessel, which features two six-guest helicopters and a six-passenger submarine ( scenic.co.uk, 0808 115 8122).
Family crossings
FOR a great-value family holiday, pack up your children and go from Harwich to the Hook of Holland with Stena Line this August, from £274 per car for up to four people ( stenaline.co.uk, 08447 70 70 70).
Grab a last-minute deal
IF YOU can sail from Newcastle on August 10, there’s a deal to be had on Marella Explorer’s 14-night Baltic Discovery cruise. Online booking starts from £1,474 pp, and the itinerary includes Oslo, Gothenburg, Tallinn, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Stockholm, Warnemunde and Copenhagen ( tui.co.uk, 0871 230 2800).
£1 deposit
A £1 DEPOSIT will hold a place for you on Princess Cruises’ Europe 2021 sailing from Southampton when bookings open on August 14 (one-day-only offer, except Princess Elite guests who can book on August 13, too). Journeys on the Grand Princess, Crown Princess and the 2,200-passenger Island Princess include a 24-day Grand European Explorer cruise to the Mediterranean, Ashdod for Jerusalem/Bethlehem, and Haifa for Galilee/Nazareth ( princess.
com, 0344 338 8663).
Free excursions
BOOK by August 13 to secure five free shore excursions, worth £200, on ship Brabant during seven, ten and 14-night Rhine, Main, Moselle and Danube sailings in 2020. A seven-night Sailing The Scenic Moselle To Luxembourg fly-cruise starts from £1,599 pp ( fredolsen
cruises.com, 0800 0355 242).
Bonington onboard
MOUNTAINEER Sir Chris Bonington will share stories of his adventures on Aurora Expeditions’ new ship Greg Mortimer when she sets sail on the 22-night South Georgia & Antarctic Odyssey cruise, tracing explorer Ernest Shackleton’s sea voyage, via Elephant Island and the Antarctic Peninsula. The ship departs from Ushuaia, Argentina, on March 10, 2021 with prices from £16,950 pp ( auroraexpeditions.
co.uk, 0808 189 2005).