I thought this week I would do something a little difference and round up on some of the daily cruise news, but I promise not to mention anything about a clown on the Britannia as I think we would have all seen about this.

So whats going on in the cruise world? Well Princess Cruises have announced that they will soon being bringing out the Itinerary for Europe in 2021 which will be the longest ever European season for Princess.

They will be basing the Island Princess which will debut to Southampton in 2020 for a short season but return for longer in 2021, we will also see the Crown Princess and the Regal Princess homeport in Southampton through the summer season.

More exciting news will be that Princess will place the 2 newest ships in the fleet – the Enchanted and the Sky Princess in Europe. The only thing I will say is that Europe will have 3 Royal Class Ships, shame not to have some of the smaller vessels over here but we cannot have it all but placing 5 Medallion Class ships in Europe shows the dedication that Princess has to the UK and Europe Markets.

Be in the right place at the right time as Princess will be offering low £1.00 deposits on any UK and Europe Sailings if you book on the 13th or 14th August so really nothing to lose.

In other news August will see the launch of the long awaited Scenic Eclipse, the World first Discovery Yacht and she really is something special, she has been delayed due to problems in the shipyard but Scenic have pushed through – she really will take you to parts of the world only ever thought to have been for the few with 2 helicopters and a 6 seater submarine on board. Dame Helen Mirren has been chosen to undertake the role of Godmother and she will be christened in New York on the 10th September.

Carnival Panorama, the 3rd in the Vista Class ships has completed here Sea Trials in Europe and is undergoing the final touches before she sets sail for Long Beach on the West Coast of America. Quite a date for Carnival as it will be the first new ship to sail from the West Coast in more than two Decades. She will undergo her first cruise on the 11th December 2019.

Belfast has opened the first dedicated cruise terminal in Ireland after a major investment from Belfast Harbour of £500,000. This is great news as we can hope to see more cruises starting and finishing in Belfast rather than just day stops. The terminal opened on Monday morning and welcomed guests from the Crown Princess. Northern Islands has been much in demand recently as the popular TV show – Game of Thrones had many filming locations there.

There is a new ship in town on the rivers too – For anyone that thought River Vessels are to small then perhaps the AmaMagna is worth considering – she is a magnificent 72 ft wide – double the width of other river cruise ships on the Main Waterways of Europe. Have you booked or perhaps even been on her as she is now two months old.

All very exciting and as I say not a clown in sight!

Tom