Cruise news
Book by 11pm on
Tuesday for £35 Eurostar one way tickets on the London and Lille, Paris and Brussels highspeed rail routes. For journeys between February 21 and May 19 with nine daily weekday trains on the London-Paris lines and five to Brussels and Lille.
eurostar.com
MSC no-fly cruises from Southampton next summer and autumn are in huge demand. So the firm has now extended MSC Virtuosa’s Solent season to 23 round trip itineraries from April 29 to November 4, offering trips ranging from two mini cruises to the Channels Islands to 12 and 14 nights in the Canaries, Baltic and Mediterranean. The Swiss line’s UK chief Antonio Paradiso said: ‘’Sailings from Southampton have been our best sold cruises in 2022 and we are delighted to be able to extend the season.’’ msccruises.co.uk ■■Princess’s new ship, the 3,660passenger Discovery Princess, has been handed over by the shipyard in Monfalcone, northern Italy.
She will now head to Los Angeles for a series of Mexican Riviera and
California coast voyages from March 27 to April 24, then reposition to Seattle for a summer season in Alaska. princess.com.
■■New British line Ambassador will put a second ship into service in 2023. The 1,200-passenger Ambition – formerly the German-owned AIDAmira – will offer no-fly sailings from Tilbury,
Essex, as well as ports such as Newcastle, Dundee, Belfast, Liverpool, Bristol and Falmouth.
ambassadorcruiseline.com
comedy club
Brits to get back to the US after the borders were shut for nearly two years due to Covid. And after 530 days away from the States I can’t wait to discover if the Windy City is full of hot air or would blow me away.
Where to stay
The sexy new Pendry Hotel, in the Carbide & Carbon Building which is modelled on a champagne bottle, certainly was a corker. I was bowled over by the 1929 Art Deco icon on plush Michigan Avenue, aka the Magnificent Mile.
The beautiful black granite and bottle-green gem with its (real) 24 carat gold leaf cap is seconds from the Chicago River and its famous riverwalk, Millennium Park, and the downtown Loop district.
My stunning and stylish huge corner suite had a bed bigger than my flat and soothed away my jetlag. Instead of minibars there’s a tray of enticing treats with spirits, wines, sweets and Garrett’s popcorn – a local delicacy.
Bar Pendry, one of ‘the’ places to be seen, is moody and enticing with a double-sided fireplace and incredible cocktails. We spent a fabulous evening in Restaurant Venteux which serves to-die-for steaks and oysters.
The cafe is an Instagrammer’s paradise with floor-to-ceiling windows and pretty Parisian style decor.