From steel-cutting to maiden voyage – the ten stages of building a cruise ship (and what all those maritime terms and traditions really mean)
Madrinas, coin ceremonies and shakedown voyages explained
General
Days of Rhine and poses: Recreating the adventure of my cycling trip as a 17-year-old in Germany by taking a Viking river cruise
‘This story I am about to write is the strangest true tale I can recount. To think we two youths, a mere 17 years old, arranged and went on a fortnight’s hostelling holiday, cycling down […]
How I discovered my secret double life in the Harry Potter universe
To say I was shocked to discover I had an alternative life in the Harry Potter universe is an understatement. One day I was lazily Googling my name and Metro – the newspaper I work […]
Many more cruise articles on metro.co.uk
Before starting my shipmonk.co.uk blog, I wrote many articles for metro.co.uk – the website of the newspaper where I am deputy editor. I still occasionally do cruise stories in print and online for them. My […]
Aged just 14, the Mexican boy who has drawn 45 incredibly detailed cruise ships
A Mexican boy who lives 200 miles from the sea has drawn 45 incredibly detailed cruise ships – though he has never seen one in real life.
Saga Sapphire – younger on the inside
Saga Sapphire is rather like its passengers – a little dated on the outside but feeling definitely younger on the inside. The 37,000-tonne ship is 30 years old and looks like it should be bobbing […]
Kate joins the royal ladies who launch
[Editor’s note: This post was originally written in 2013] The news that the Duchess of Cambridge will christen the cruise ship Royal Princess in Southampton in June makes her the latest in a line of […]
The teenager who’s drawn 50 incredibly detailed cruise ships
Inspired by seeing the Titanic film at the age of seven, Harry Cotterill began drawing cruise ships. He set up his own company at 13 and now, having reached the advanced age of 18, has […]
World’s biggest ship heads for Southampton
The world’s largest cruise ship will call into Southampton for the first time next year. Oasis of the Seas, which boasts a park, boardwalk and a zipline, will make its maiden visit to the city […]
Five great ships launching this year
Five great ships launching this year My article for Metro on Norwegian Breakaway, Royal Princess, Carnival Sunshine, MSC Preziosa and Europa 2.