Sporting heroes join a Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ voyage to the Caribbean and Cuba

Guests joining award-winning Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ (http://www.fredolsencruises.com/) 35-night Caribbean voyage aboard Boudicca in January 2012 – D1202 – will find themselves in the prestigious company of three major sporting celebrities from two of Britain’s favourite sports, darts and football. The stars are ex-footballer and former Manager of both Spurs and Arsenal, Terry Neill, along with former darts champions, Keith Deller and Cliff Lazarenko, who will be entertaining guests throughout this cruise, as part of the exclusive onboard enrichment programme, Vistas (http://www.fredolsencruises-vistas.com/

From ‘the beautiful game’ comes William John Terence (‘Terry’) Neill. Born in Belfast in 1942, Terry was involved in football from his earliest days, playing as a junior for Bangor before moving to Arsenal in 1959. In the early 1960s, he made 29 league appearances for ‘The Gunners’, and was also a regular player for the Northern Ireland team. He became Arsenal Captain in 1968 and played 275 games for them. He moved to Hull City in 1970, as one of the youngest ever Player/Managers, and was later Manager of Tottenham Hotspur, returning to his beloved Arsenal as its Manager until his retirement from the club at the early age of 41, in 1983. Since then, he has run a number of successful sports bars in London, and still commentates on Arsenal games for Arsenal TV.

Keith ‘Del Boy’ Deller was born in 1959 in Ipswich – coincidentally, also home to Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ head office! He caused a huge stir in the darts world, when he won the ‘Embassy World Professional Darts Championship’ in 1983, the youngest player ever to do so, and defeated the three top names in darts in the process – Eric Bristow, Jocky Wilson and John Lowe. After enjoying a highly successful professional career, Keith now works for Sky Sports, along with his old rival Eric Bristow, as a ‘spotter’, using his expertise to work out where the next dart will be thrown.

‘Big’ Cliff Lazarenko – so-called because he stands an impressive 6’ 4” and once weighed in at over 20 stone – was born in 1952, and entered professional darts in 1975. He won the ‘British Open’ in 1980, and reached the semi-finals of the ‘World Championship’ four times. Throughout an impressive career, his other triumphs included winning the ‘Autumn Gold Masters’, ‘British Matchplay’, ‘British Gold Cup’, ‘Jersey Open’ and ‘Danish Open’. Cliff retired in the early 2000s, due to poor health, but returned to professional darts in 2007, playing in the ‘UK Open’ at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton. In 2008, he also appeared in the BetFred League of Legends, where he reached the semi-finals, but was beaten by fellow darts champion, Keith Deller.

With these three charismatic characters on board to entertain guests with their sporting anecdotes, the days at sea are sure to pass swiftly as Boudicca cruises away from the chilly British winter en route to the Caribbean sun. She departs from Southampton on 19th January 2012, for this leisurely 35-night cruise. The Atlantic crossing is broken by a call into the Canary Island of Tenerife, before Boudicca begins her odyssey of the Caribbean islands. Her ports of call are a roll call of idyllic destinations – the islands of Barbados and Curaçao, then Cartagena in Colombia, and Colon in Panama, before reaching Montego Bay on the colourful reggae island of Jamaica. The next port is a highlight of the cruise – an overnight stay in Havana, Cuba, a port steeped in history and romance. Two more Caribbean islands complete this part of the itinerary – Turks & Caicos, and the tiny island of St. Maarten – before Boudicca begins her return voyage to Southampton, broken by a last call into Ponta Delgada in the Azores.

This cruise has a host of added attractions, in additional to its superb itinerary. As well as the theme of ‘Sporting Personalities’, hosted by Terry, Keith and Cliff, there are two further themes of a very different nature – ‘Pottery’ and ‘Handicrafts’.

This cruise is also part of Fred. Olsen’s highly-acclaimed programme of live entertainment, Music & Laughter, the theme of which is ‘Smooth Pop & Soul’. Guests will be treated to live performances by popular soul singer, Irie J, and one of the best tribute bands in the business – Abba Magic. 
Prices for this star-studded Caribbean voyage start from £3,479 per person, based on two adults sharing an outside, twin cabin, Grade ‘D’, including all meals and entertainment on board, as well as port taxes. There is no extra charge for taking part in either Vistas or Music & Laughter.

Fred. Olsen was recently named ‘Cruise Line of the Year’ at the first-ever ‘Cruise International Awards’, as well as being voted ‘Best Educational Cruise’ for Vistas, and ‘Best Live Performance’ for classical duo, The OperaBabes, who appeared as part of the popular Music & Laughter programme. The cruise line also received a ‘Highly Commended’ in the ‘Best Value Cruise Line’ category.