This was published 5 years ago
Cunard announces first Christmas celebrations in Australia on Queen Elizabeth
Cunard's Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth in Sydney Harbour.
Cunard has rolled out is cruise program from November 2019 to June 2020, and it includes the company's first Christmas celebrations in Australia on Queen Elizabeth, followed by New Year in Auckland. Queen Elizabeth will also visit Papua New Guinea, sail a classic route from Sydney to Yokohama, and explore Japan in depth, with five maiden Japanese ports of call. Also announced is a new 99-night World Voyage on Queen Mary 2, a circumnavigation of South America on Queen Victoria, and more port overnights. In all, Cunard's ships will call at 123 destinations in 48 countries.
Phone 13 24 41. See cunard.com
POETRY AFLOAT
Following the launch of four Riviera Travel ships in 2017, the company's 167-passenger Robert Burns was recently christened in Austria and is cruising the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers. The 121-passenger Douro Splendour will also launch in Portugal this August, while another two river ships, William Wordsmith and George Eliot, begin cruising in Europe in 2019, continuing Riviera's tradition of naming vessels after famous British authors. Also new for 2019 is Dutch port Kinderdijk, famous for its eighteenth-century windmills, which will feature on a five-day 'Dutch Bulbfields' itinerary, plus more departures on Riviera's 15-day 'Budapest to the Black Sea' itinerary.
ASIAN EXTRAVAGANZA
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has announced a new 67-night Down Under & Far East Grandeur ocean, river and land itinerary on Seven Seas Mariner, departing Sydney on January 20, 2019. The grand voyage sails up Australia's east coast, cruises the Timor Sea and then visits Asian ports such as Bali, Penang, the Thai islands of Phuket and Koh Samui, Ho Chi Minh City, Sihanoukville in Cambodia and Hong Kong. A complimentary 15-night post-cruise land program from Hong-Kong to Shanghai includes a four-night cruise aboard Yangzi Explorer along China's Yangtze River.
Phone 1300 455 200. See rssc.com.au
BEST OF BRITISH
Poseidon Expeditions has a new 13-day Legendary History & Wild Nature cruise in the British Isles departing from Plymouth in May 2019 on the recently refurbished 114-passenger Sea Spirit. The cruise heads north into the Irish Sea and around the Scottish Isles before finishing in Edinburgh. Along the way it visits unusual destinations such as the Scilly Isles off Cornwall's coast, puffin-breeding grounds and great birdwatching destination the Skellig Islands in Ireland, and Snowdonia National Park in Wales, as well as Scotland's Orkney and Shetland islands. Book by November 1 for discounts.
GLAMOUR CRUISE
Seadream Yacht Club is offering an extended sailing of nine days from Rome's port of Civitavecchia to four of the major centres of the French Riviera in May 2019. SeaDream I sails from Civitavecchia on May 18, 2019, taking in glamorous French ports Cannes, Saint-Tropez, Villefranche-sur-Mer and Nice, as well as Porto Cervo Marina in Sardinia, Bonifacio and Calvi in Corsica, and Portovenere and Portofino on Italy's mainland coast. Motor-racing buffs will have the chance to experience the excitement of the Monaco Grand Prix Final during the cruise.
Phone 02 9958 4444. See seadream.com
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.