THE sea around Britain will be awash with champagne this month as celebrities line up to launch nearly a billion pounds worth of new cruise ships.
Italian icon Sophia Loren – still glamorous at 73 – led a parade of entertainers and royalty as she named the £210 million super-stylish MSC Poesia in Dover.
A week on Wednesday, P&O’s exciting new £300 million flagship Ventura will be christened by Dame Helen Mirren in Southampton.
And a fortnight later, Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave will help the biggest cruise ship in the world, the £400 million Independence of the Seas, see off another bottle of bubbly.
They are three of TEN ships being launched this year – with a further 32 to come before the end of 2011.
Record numbers of Brits are realising the value of choosing a cruise for their holiday, and the cruise lines are falling over themselves to make sure there’s a ship to suit us all.
Luxurious spas, lavish entertainment, bigger children’s facilities and huge dining choices are attracting more first-time cruisers than ever. And after their first holiday at sea, more than 80 per cent book again.
As competition between the cruise lines increases, fares are falling. Savvy travellers compare the cost-per-night with an equivalent holiday on the land.
A week’s full-board cruise around the Mediterranean can be as little as £50 a night.
Staying in a hotel means paying extra for meals, worrying about where to go for a night out, and spending every day in the same resort.
On a cruise the food – as much as you can eat! – and entertainment is included. And every dawn brings a new, exciting destination to explore.
MSC POESIA – Dover, April 5
GLAMOROUS, stylish. elegant ... and proudly Italian.
Oscar-winning actress Sophia Loren is as close to royalty as the Italians can get.
So she was the perfect choice to be godmother of the stylish Italian cruise ship MSC Poesia.
Even Princess Michael of Kent – at 63, ten years younger than Sophia – was enthralled by her.
MSC Poesia is the fifth MSC cruise ship to be launched by Sophia, who cut a ribbon in the warmth of the ship’s bridge to send a magnum of champagne smashing over the bow outside.
Earlier, blind opera singer Andrea Bocelli performed two full-house concerts in the stunning 1,250-seat theatre. Singer KT Tunstall drew crowds to her shows in the Moulin Rouge lounge. Radio One’s Annie Mac ruled the S32 disco, while Ronnie Scott’s Band played in the busy Zebra Bar.
The elegance of this ship strikes you as soon as you enter the lobby, which has a three-deck-high waterfall cascading into a pool with a glass island on which a string quartet plays.
Instead of narrow corridors there are broad promenades, with bars serving cappuccinos as well as cocktails. The Italians love their coffee – on MSC Poesia, they serve 5,700 cups every day!
The main lounges are vibrant, not vulgar. The black and white patterned carpet in The Zebra Bar, for example, could have been a dazzling disaster – instead it is inviting and exciting.
The two main restaurants – serving regional dishes in a six-course feast every night – are carefully laid out to create an intimate atmosphere. The Villa Pompeiana buffet, serving pizzas, pastas and salads, has giant picture windows overlooking the sea.
Even the cabins have a special Italian flair, with limited-edition prints decorating the walls and a flat-screen TV showing first-run films as well as football.
Some ship designers forget that people take clothes on a cruise. This one hasn’t – there were 19 drawers in my cabin, plus a double wardrobe.
A floor-to-ceiling mirror at the end of the bed and another over the dressing table made the room, already spacious, feel twice as big.
The ship is a masterpiece of Italian design – just like her godmother, Sophia.
VENTURA – Southampton, April 16
THE biggest superliner ever specially designed for Britain will get a right royal launch party – with Dame Helen Mirren, Oscar-winning star of The Queen, doing the honours.
It will be a spectacular event, with a squad of Royal Marines abseiling down the side of P&O’s Ventura on her command to smash the champagne.
And it will signal the start of a new era for the country’s best-known cruise line – a family ship packed with exciting and innovative features while remaining distinctly British.
Children’s entertainment ranges from adventures with Noddy and Mr Bump for the little ones, to a trendy hangout for teenagers with their own internet café, disco and private deck.
There is Scalextric car racing, trapeze and tightrope shows in which passengers can take part, acres of deck space – covered with soft Astroturf to make walking barefoot more comfortable – and a huge spa.
And there are more dining choices than ever. Main restaurants are the plush and sumptuous Bay Tree, with traditional sittings, and the light and elegant Cinnamon and Saffron which are open seating.
The Beach House 24-hour buffet has jaunty red and white seats, there’s a tapas wine bar and an Asian restaurant. Jockey Frankie Dettori has a pizza and grill out on deck.
Topping them all is The White Room, designed by top chef Marco Pierre White who will be terrorising – sorry, supervising – the kitchen.
Onboard art is from the Tate Modern, and everything else on the ship has been specially designed by Britain’s Nick Munro – right down to the knives, forks and even the toilet brushes.
Be careful when using his milk jugs. They look lovely, but unless you’re quick the milk dribbles down the side and onto the tablecloth.
Cabins are airy and spacious, and come with Temple Spa “pamper packs” – and, rare on cruise ships, you can make a nice cup of tea.
It doesn’t get much more British than that.
INDEPENDENCE OF THE SEAS – Southampton, April 30
AN ARRAY of sports stars and celebrities will be at the launch of the biggest cruise ship in the world – but they won’t be doing the honours.
That privilege will go to someone nobody’s heard of – the winner of a competition to find “an ordinary woman who has done extra-ordinary things to improve the lives of children and young people.”
Four finalists out of more than 1,500 nominations will be chosen this week, and the winner announced just before the ceremony to christen Independence of the Seas.
The sports line-up, headed by Olympic champion Sir Steve Redgrave, includes soccer’s Francis Benali, Ray Clemence, Pat Jennings and Matt Le Tissier, rugby’s Gavin Hastings and Scott Hastings, and runners Steve Cram, Alison Curbishley and Allan Wells.
Celebrities include actresses Miranda Hart and Dani Harmer, comedians Jimmy Tarbuck, Nick Hancock and Norman Pace, and actors Steve Pinder and Shaun Williamson.
The ship, so big it has a street of shops, bars and restaurants on the inside, is the tallest, widest and heaviest passenger ship ever built.
Attractions include a surf simulator, an ice rink, a gym complete with boxing ring – and of course, Royal Caribbean's trademark rock climbing wall.
There is a massive “H2O Zone” water park, part of a huge section of open deck dedicated to families. But there are quieter kids-free areas where passengers can escape from the action and relax.
The three-level main restaurant has an impressive sweeping staircase to make a grand entrance.
There’s a steak house, an Italian restaurant, a giant buffet, various snack bars, a Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream parlour and even a Johnny Rockets diner.
And you can even have an inside cabin with a view – overlooking the Royal Promenade.
Beware of Cabin 6305, though – the view is of the backsides of two cows which stand on top of Ben & Jerry’s, directly below. Occupants of the “Ben & Jerry’s Sweet” get free ice cream all cruise.
Crew have a different name for it. They call it “The Moo Room”.
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