Island Star was originally built as Horizon for Celebrity Cruises before being transferred to Island Cruises in 2005 and changing her name to the Island Star. When Island cruises was broken up Thomson Cruises took the Island Escape and the Island Cruises name, while Royal Caribbean took the Island Star. Subsequently the Island Star has been renamed the MV Pacific Dream and ha been given to Pullmantur Cruises.

Planet Cruise do not sell MV Pacific Dream or indeed any Pullmantur Cruises as they feel that both Thomson Cruises and Ocean Village Cruises offer better value cruises and are more suited to English audiences.

The break up will see Island Escape move to Thomson Cruises while Island Star, the better of the two Island Cruises ships and already owned by Royal Caribbean moving to Pullmantur.

Will this be the last cruise line to be sold or will we wake up to more news such as today’s “Island Cruises Sold” is anyone’s guess, however there is a concern in the industry that there are now too many ships vying for too few passengers and with more new builds coming this may not be the last action among the worlds leading cruise lines to sell off a product.

The flight will meet the Island Star ready for a 7 night cruise around the Mediterranean. The cost of this cruise includes the return flights and transfers, tipping, entertainment and full board accommodation.

Destinations that will be visited on this cruise include Barcelona, Marseille, Valencia and Florence.

For the full press release see The Cruise News.

It will be a 7 night fly/cruise around the Mediterranean onboard Island Star. The fly cruise includes return flights, full board accommodation, entertainment and tipping.

The first fly/cruise will depart Doncaster Sheffield Airport on 2nd May 2009.

For the full press release see The Cruise News.

There is a choice of three wedding packages, which all include:

• Wedding planning and ceremony
• An onboard wedding venue (or land-based Barbados venue at an added cost)
• Marriage licence, marriage certificate and registrar fees
• Bridal bouquet and buttonhole
• Champagne for both the bride and groom
• A wedding cake
• A special photograph taken with the captain

The Island Cruises wedding team will help you to design the perfect wedding including inviting your friends and family with you. Special group discount are available when more than 12 passengers are booked.

Your wedding will be made complete with the perfect honeymoon of a 15 night Caribbean cruise.

For the full press release see The Cruise News.

Island Escape was built in 1982 and entered service for Island Cruises in 2002. She weighs in at over 40,000 tons and can hold 1740 passengers. Island escape holds 1875 passengers and weighs just over 46,000 tons. She was built in 1990 and joined the fleet in 2005. The liners cruise the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and also undertake transatlantic cruises.

Island Cruises take an informal approach when it comes to cruising. There are no set times for meals and the dress code is casual. There is a vast array of on-board facilities to entertain and delight you and the Captain and crew ensure that everybody is well looked after. The company policy is for the crew to mingle amongst the guests to ensure that they are relaxed and feel completely at home.

There is so much on offer on both ships that you need never disembark until your holiday is over! However, Island Cruises offer a wide range of on-shore excursions which can be tailor-made to suit all requirements. You could undertake a spot of wine tasting, visit famous landmarks or go on a city tour. Tours are designed to suit people of all ages and can cater for those who have disabilities.

Cruising is a great way to relax, see a bit of the world and make new friends. It is even better in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. At Island Cruises there is sure to be an itinerary to suit you.

The new shore excursion will be named ‘The Live The City Experience’ and gives guests the opportunity to do a bit of sightseeing as well as benefit from the entertainment before finishing up with a quiz finale to win some top prizes.

Ben Green, Product Development Manager at Island Cruises said:

‘I am very excited about this new initiative, and am sure this trial will be a success.  I believe our guests will really enjoy the mix of sightseeing, discovery, and entertainment offered by the Live The City experience.’

The experience is to be trialed from July.