Van Gogh Cruise Line has closed down and all its staff made redundant.

Van Gogh Cruise Line ceases operations
30 April 2008

The cruise line, formed out of failed tour operator Travelscope, had already been forced to abandon its itineraries for this summer but had hoped to re-start cruises in November.
Around 20 staff in Cheltenham have lost their jobs. Most were told to go home on Monday while managers came [...]

Thomson Cruises makes a Caribbean return

Thomson Cruises is making a return to the Caribbean for winter 2008-09.
Thomson Destiny will make two transatlantic cruises - Tropical Transatlantic and Transatlantic Sunrise - and two seven-night cruises, Coral Islands and Caribbean Gems.
The Tropical Transatlantic cruise is a 14-day itinerary that sees passengers fly to Lisbon to board the ship for a five-day Atlantic [...]

EasyCruise postpones launch of EasyCruise Life !

16 April 2008
EasyCruise has postponed the launch of its second cruise ship easyCruise Life this week due to labour strikes in Greece.
EasyCruise Life was due to depart for its inaugural week-long cruise this Saturday out of Piraeus in Greece with 20 travel agents on board.
But the company was forced to admit today that the ship [...]

NY Central Park to feature on Genesis class!

Project Genesis ship will feature an area based on New York City’s Central Park.

The Miami-based cruise line said the center of the ships feature tropical grounds spanning the length of a football field. The area will also have restaurants — including 150 Central Park, Central Park Café and Vintages wine bar — boutiques, an art [...]

France makes global force plea to tackle piracy

FRANCE is to ask the United Nations to set up a dedicated international force to combat piracy off Somalia and in the Straits of Malacca.
Speaking after the liberation of the 30-strong crew of the cruise ship Le Ponant on Friday, French prime minister Francois Fillon, said that France was “naturally” ready to participate in such [...]

FRENCH FORCES CATCH LE PONANT PIRATES

Monday, 14 April 2008
FRENCH armed forces captured six suspected Somali pirates on Friday and reportedly retrieved half of the ransom paid for the release of a luxury sailing cruise ship. The pirates hijacked the French-flag Le Ponant and held it and its 30-strong crew for a week while negotiations took place.
At the same time French [...]

Commandos sent to free yacht crew

(This aerial photo provided by the French Defense Ministry on Saturday, April 5, 2008, and taken Friday, April 4, 2008 shows gunmen, top left on deck, aboard French cruise ship Le Ponant off Somalia’s coast.)
Crack French troops are being sent to help free the crew of a luxury yacht seized by pirates off Somalia.
A [...]

Sea Diamond, one year on

Residents in Santorini will gather today to demand the removal of the sunken Sea Diamond ferry that still contains hundreds of tons of fuel, exactly one year after the cruise ship sunk off the popular island. Boat owners and local fisherman will hold a protest at sea to demand the removal of the ship, that [...]

Pirates take French yacht crew hostage off Somalia

Pirates boarded a French luxury cruise yacht off the coast of Somalia and took its entire 30-member crew hostage on Friday, the French military and the ship’s owner said.
The 32-cabin, four-deck yacht, the Ponant, “was the victim of an act of piracy early this afternoon as it was sailing between Somalia and Yemen,” armed forces [...]

MV Van Gogh eventually leaves Funchal

Web Cam 19.00 GMT April 3rd 2008
MV Van Gogh casts off  heading back to Falmouth