Article from BTNews 4 OCTOBER 2021
OCTOBER CRUISE NEWS
With the 2021 UK’s rather unique domestic cruise season coming to an end, and next year to some extent unpredictable, really firm news on the cruising scene is scarce. Booking ahead for 2022 is recommended if you want a certain cabin on certain trip, as all lines offer a money back guarantee.
BTN has reported on Fred Olsen Borealis, Celebrity Silhouette , Virgin Scarlett Lady, this month Princess, and for November RCCL Anthem of the Seas, a return visit having been on a short maiden voyage in 2015. We have updated our popular River and Sea Cruise operators’ website listing, which as far as we know is the only complete UK listing of cruise companies.
MSC seems to have suffered from a serious Covid outbreak but this cannot be verified and Virtuoso is now operating in the Mediterranean.
On 22 September Southampton welcomed Seven Seas Splendor, the first ship from cruise partner Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) to make an official call at its new Horizon Cruise Terminal. The ship then departed on a 14-night international cruise which will end in Barcelona (Spain) following stops in France and Portugal.
RCCL Anthem of the Seas continues with its British Isles programme and together with its sibling Celebrity Cruises appears to have lifted the ban on passengers going solo when the ships dock at visit ports. BTN will be reporting on what is a true family holiday ship for the November cruise issue. There appears to be plenty of space at attractive prices, although all the suites have sold.
To complete the season Celebrity Silhouette departs 29 October from Southampton, sailing to Portland and Dover and finishing in Southampton.
P&O Cruises Ventura resumed operations yesterday (3 October) setting sail for the Canary Islands as the demand for international cruise holidays grows.
Half of the P&O Cruises fleet is now in service with Britannia and Iona, both of which sailed a series of summer UK coastal cruises and internationally since 25 September. Azura will also resume sailing in December 2021 for the Caribbean season.
Both Fred Olsen and Saga have a series of UK departures until the end of the year whilst Cunard is sailing both Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, whilst Britain’s most prestigious cruise ship, Queen Mary 2, is preparing for her 2021 maiden voyage.
On the river cruise front the wonderful Douro out of Porto is now open for business and river ships are operating on the Danube from Budapest to the German border, and on parts of the Rhine.
See also Ocean and River Cruise Companies in this week’s BTN.
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