Gordon's Your Cruising Tonic

The big news from the Royal Caribbean camp is the announcement of their 27th ship, Odyssey of the Seas, due to be launched in the 2nd half of 2020. Specifically designed for "Island Hopping" she will be initially sailing from Fort Lauderdale before moving to Rome for the Summer of…

One important issue that has been featured heavily in the news recently was the actions of the environmental activists Animal Rebellion and their October Rebellion campaign. As a non-meat eater and someone who cares about our beautiful planet, this was of great interest to me. The group is a volunteer…

Well, after a testing year my wife and I are almost ready to escape from the daily routine and set off on our latest cruising adventure. Again we are sailing with our favourite cruise line Marella, but this time on the Discovery. The Marella Discovery joined the then Thomson fleet in…

The shocking news this week was the sad end of the original package holiday provider Thomas Cook. Thomas Cook started life as Thomas Cook & Son, the brainchild of Derbyshire-born Thomas Cook. In 1841 he took 500 temperance campaigners from Leicester to a teetotal rally in Loughborough, earning a shilling for…

My mother said that my decision to no longer eat any animals was just a phase I was going through. Now here I am 30 years later and I am still going through "my phase". In the past 3 decades, there has been a big rise in people adopting a…

The big story this week is the annual problem of Hurricanes in the Caribbean. This year it is the slow-moving, category five Dorian - the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record. With wind speeds reaching up to 175 miles per hour. Hurricane Dorian has caused devastation over the northern Bahamas, with…

The terrible news we heard this week was of another unfortunate death on a cruise ship. In the early hours of Wednesday the 14th of August, the alarm was raised onboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Symphony of the Seas. Somehow an Australian man had fallen into the sea. Royal Caribbean…

The shocking news in the cruise world this week was the "alleged riot" onboard the P&O Britannia. During a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords, just hours after ship Britannia left Bergen, an incident took place late at night in the buffet. Allegedly guests used plates and furniture as weapons due to…

The big humanitarian news story this week concerns a cruise ship going to the rescue of a stranded vessel carrying over 100 migrants trying to flee to the West and hopefully a better life. The Maltese registered Marella Discovery, sailing as part of the TUI fleet, came to their rescue…

The big news from Saga Cruises this week was the official launch of their brand new ship Spirit of Discovery. This is the first ever New Build from the cruise line and she was launched by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. The ship boasts eight different cabin types, all with balconies.…