Cunard Queen Elizabeth arrival in Port of Southampton. 8th October 2010. (Photo by Steve Dunlop) Courtesy of Cunard

The Queen Elizabeth, Cunard’s newest ship, arrived into Southampton today ahead of her maiden voyage on Tuesday.

Around 500 onlookers turned up to welcome the third Cunard ship to bear the name Elizabeth. Cunard’s President and Managing Director Peter Shanks said Cunard’s newest ship is a “spectacular addition to a spectacular fleet.”

The ship’s maiden voyage will sail to the Canary Islands on Tuesday on a 13 night cruise. Over 1000 travel agents will preview the ship tomorrow, before the Queen officially names the ship on Sunday. The cruise sold out in 29 minutes and 14 seconds when the tickets went on sale last year.

The first Queen Elizabeth launched in 1938 and sailed for over 20 years between Southampton and New York. Developers bought it after it retired from sailing in 1968 with plans to dock it in Hong Kong harbour as a floating university, but in 1972 it caught fire and capsized.

After the newest addition to the Cunard fleet sets sail you can follow her journey on the live webcam, but for now check out this footage of Queen Elizabeth’s construction and sea trials from the Fincantieri ship yard in Monfalcone:

Photo courtesy of Princess Cruises

Sailing aboard the Coral Princess for a 15-day Panama Canal Cruise, Maltin will introduce four films to movie buffs, as well as leading discusions of the movies and challenging passengers to a film trivia contest.

Princess Cruises’s executive vice president, Jan Swartz said: “Leonard Maltin’s wealth of knowledge about the world of film has made him one of the most recognizable movie experts today.” She added, ”Passengers on this Coral Princess voyage are in for a special treat as he shares these hand-picked films with them.”

Guest will be able to watch screenings in the Princess Theatre or at the giant poolside Movies Under the Stars screen.

Detailing the performances of Cunard Line, Ocean Village Holidays and P&O Cruises, fuel consumption dropped by five per cent, while water usage fell by almost three per cent. Recycling is said to have trebled, saving enough electricity to heat the average home for six months.

Carnival chief executive David Dingle said the company recognised the importance of building a sustainable industry, “As an industry, we recognise the need to balance out the actions required to sustain an ever-increasing economic benefit for the communities affected by our operations with that of fulfilling wider social and environmental needs.”

Since a programme to recycle used cooking oil from the ships into biodiesel began in 2008, enough has been generated to fuel a family car to travel more than a million miles, with the money raised from the sale of this being donated to marine environmental preservation projects across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Kent.

The Nickelodeon All Access Cruise is a fantastic opportunity for families, according to NCL, to have the SLIME of their lives (geddit?).

Here’s what you’ll get:

• Meet the stars from ‘s hottest TV shows in person.
• Watch never-before-seen episodes of hit TV shows like iCarly, Victorious, SpongeBob SquarePants and more.
• Meet all your favorite Nickelodeon characters!
• Everyone in your family can get SLIMED! The ultimate Nickelodeon honor.
• Have Breakfast with Nickelodeon characters everyday of your cruise.
• Plus, plenty of additional surprises.

The newest ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, the Disney Dream, setting sail in January 2011 is going to include loads of innovative rides, designs and experiences making the Disney Cruise Line experience even better than before.

And the ship will feature a cruise industry first dubbed the AquaDuck. It’s a high-speed flume ride on the upper decks of the ship that stretches 765 ft in length and features twists, turns, drops, uphill acceleration and river rapids. And wait for it… guests will slide 13 ft over the side of the ship in a translucent swing-out loop allowing you to look down onto the sea below!

So I know this is technically for kids, but this sounds amazing! The new ship will also have virtual portholes in all inside staterooms providing a real-time view of what’s going on outside in high-definition.

Get booking now…

-Vicky, Online Editor x

Celebrity Cruises’ President and CEO Dan Hanrahan said the Celebrity Reflection will deliver the outstanding holiday experience that Celebrity guests expect from the Solstice class.

“Our Solstice Class ships offer the finest in premium cruising, with service provided by the best men and women in the hospitality business, as evidenced by the tremendous response from our guests, travel partners and the press, and a continuously expanding series of prestigious awards.”

Win a chance to be a reporter for NCL. Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shuttercat7/

Royal Caribbean International is on the search for one special family of up to six people to report on the unveiling of the Allure of the Seas for TBD this winter. You’ve got until 10 October 2010 to prepare a 45-second video showcasing your families’ reporting skills. Once you have prepared it, upload the 100 MB video here.

Grand Prize package:

• A trip for winner and up to five family members to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, November 18-23, 2010, to take part in and report on two, consecutive preview cruises on Royal Caribbean’s newest ship Allure of the Seas.
• Coach air transportation for up to six people to Fort Lauderdale or Miami, Florida.
• One-night hotel stay in Ft. Lauderdale on November 18, 2010, including a $200 USD food allowance per family.
• Four-night accommodation onboard Allure of the Seas, November 19-23, 2010, including most onboard meals, beverages and entertainment.