‘Come in and have a cup of tea!’ That’s how us British solve everything you know.  We look forward to some new faces in Southampton on Saturday, 31st March when MSC Lirica visits as a call-in cruise.  For those passengers choosing to stay in the city for a few hours, we hope they get a good 'flavour' of our customs an our 'rich' mercantile heritage.

Also in town is P&O Cruises Azura and Ventura, the fabulous ‘Indy’ and Saga Pearl II.

Cruise News this week

As Southampton gets ready for the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic, it appears that the romanticism of cruising has increased interest in transatlantic voyages. In fact, a recent piece of research highlighted that, value for money, cruising to New York was more cost effective than flying and staying over in the Big Apple.

On the back of British cruising, arrangements for the celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee with Cunard’s three Queen’s in Southampton on June the 5th have taken a rather nice red and blue turn. The Red Arrows, will be saluting the ships and performing a stunning display later in the day. We’ll keep you posted, so keep an eye out for times and the best places to watch the Red Arrows and the firework show in the evening.

The number of cruise passengers from Southampton next year will be even greater from Princess Cruises when they introduce Crown Princess to the UK. This lovely lady is 400 passengers weightier than Grand Princess. Crown Princess has a capacity of 3,080 passengers. She will offer itineraries similar to those that have been so successful this year from the UK. Their 2013 brochure including holidays to the Mediterranean, Scandinavia and Alaska goes on sale on 24th April.

MSC announced this week that they have revamped their Kid’s Clubs across all their ships. Changes to the content and the way they operate the clubs is a result of the increase in children onboard their ships, which is expected to increase from 15% to 30% in the summer season. As well as a focus on sports, arts and crafts they will also feature family events such as parades and scavenger hunts.

What’s going on in Southampton for Cruise Passengers

La La Laaaahhh! Take a deep breath because the Opera is in town! Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre host the Welsh National Opera, starting on Tuesday, 27th March with Verdi’s La Traviata. On Wednesday evening the wonderful, Berlioz’s Beatrice and Benedict and from Thursday, 29th March to Saturday, 31st March, Mozart’s, the Marriage of Figaro.

Also next Thursday, 29th March Kenny Lynch OBE and Tom Canning perform as Tom Jones at the Concorde Club. Alvin Stardust performs the following night and on Saturday in Southampton’s Guildhall Square, there’s a big screen experience on the Sound of Silents, celebrating the era of silent movies.

There are a range of exhibitions currently running across the city, so pop back to the Planner and use our advanced search options to a new way to experience Southampton.

Have a warmer week!