Shipshape again
Something of a reprise of what 2020 was meant to be for the cruise industry with late debuts plus some superb planned arrivals... all of course depending on when the industry can restart.
P&O’s delayed Iona is the largest ship ever built for the UK market at 184,700 gross tonnage and 5,200 passengers and the first to be powered by cleaner liquefied natural gas. With a two-deck glass Skydome and 30 food and drink outlets she looks fabulous, and is Norway-bound first.
Sir Richard Branson’s foray into cruising brings us two ships – held-back Scarlet Lady and new Valiant Lady – promising an innovative approach, perhaps appealing to people who thought a cruise was not for them. They will sail the Caribbean and Med respectively.
Fred Olsen has acquired two ships from upscale Holland America, given them a Fred boutique “feel” and renamed them Borealis and Bolette. Also arriving are Celebrity Apex, sister to inventive Celebrity Edge, Saga’s second boutique ship, Spirit of Adventure, and Carnival’s 6,600-passenger Mardi Gras, which has a rollercoaster on deck.
We’ll also welcome an armada of new river ships, including a TUI trio in the spring sailing the Rhine, Moselle, Danube, Main and Dutch and Belgian waterways. And a £55million fifth terminal will open at Southampton. Built in partnership with Norwegian and MSC, it will allow ships to plug in for power in port, rather than running their engines.
Fancy swapping clubbing for coastal hikes in Ibiza? How about ditching the beach holiday for a remote village in Crete?
Global adventure tour operator G Adventures is challenging stereotypes around some of Europe’s most popular holiday destinations with the launch of seven new itineraries.
Designed to show travellers an alternative side to popular holiday hotspots, the new collection shines a light on lesser-visited areas around Ibiza, Corfu, the Azores, Crete and Greenland.
Centred around three key themes – active travel, remote destinations and reconnecting with nature – the tours will see travellers swerving the mainstream and swapping large complexes for cave hotels in southern Spain, and big-ship cruising for mountain camping in Greenland. From £509pp. gadventures.com