Windstar to visit Croatia, Tauck Norway-bound and Variety on Iceland run

THAT'S THE SPIRIT

Luxury cruise line Windstar Cruises, which has doubled its fleet size over the last two years, has a line-up of dozens of cruises in 2017 which together visit more than 50 countries and 150 ports of call, 13 of which are maiden visits. They include the company's usual, popular summer cruises in the Mediterranean plus two new cruises in Croatia, but also range across the Panama Canal, Caribbean, Baltic, western Europe and the British Isles. There are also year-round "Dreams of Tahiti" cruises on the 148-passenger sailing yacht Wind Spirit.

Phone 1300 857 43. See traveltheworld.com.au

GLACIAL PACE

Tauck is offering a new 10-day land-cruise tour in Norway in June 2017 that features a week-long cruise aboard Ponant ship Le Soleal, bookended with overnight hotel stays and guided sightseeing in Bergen and Oslo. Highlights of the "Norwegian Fjords & Coastal Treasures" journey include a hike to view Kjenndalsbreen Glacier, the picturesque fishing harbour of Alesund, and an Iron Age archaeological site and walking tour of the old town in Stavanger. The cruise also visits Kristiansand open-air museum and takes a detour into Gothenburg in Sweden.

Phone 1300 732 300. See tauck.com.au

FIRE AND ICE

Variety Cruises sails to Iceland for the first time from June 2017 with a seven-night "Journey in the Land of Fire & Ice" itinerary on the 34-passenger MY Callisto to the western and northern coastlines of the island nation. The cruises sails between Reykjavik and Akureyri (or the reverse) with highlights that include beautiful Myvatn Lake, Godafoss Waterfall, the fishing town of Husavik and the geothermal fields of Namarskard, which comprises lava fields, boiling and steaming mud pools, steam vents and craters. There's also a visit to a folk-music centre, geological museum and thermal springs.