Coral Expeditions launches new southeast Asia cruise itineraries

Crystal clear

Crystal Cruises, noted for its luxe ocean vessels, has announced the launch of a new river-cruise line. Crystal River Cruises promises all-suite, butler-service river ships that will sale Rhine-Danube routes and France's Seine River and Bordeaux regions. The ships will carry electric bikes, Nordic walking sticks, kayaks and jet skis on board, as well as GPS Whisper Guides. First ship Crystal Mozart floats out in July this year, with itineraries along the Danube through Austria, Germany, Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia and Hungary. Four more ships to follow in 2017, all named for composers.

Phone 1800 251 174. See www.crystalrivercruises.com.

Birds of passage

Cruise expert CruiseAlong is offering a 17-night cruise to the Sub-Antarctic Islands of Australia and New Zealand on Ponant's luxury expedition ship L'Austral, departing in January 2017. The itinerary heads across the Southern Ocean between Lyttelton and Milford Sound in New Zealand, visiting the Auckland Islands, Macquarie Island, Campbell Island, the little-visited Snares Islands, and Fiordland National Park. The islands are particularly noted as breeding grounds for vast colonies of penguins, seals and sea lions, and are home to two of the world's rarest penguin species, the Fiordland crested and yellow-eyed penguins.

Phone 1300 662 002. See www.cruisealong.com.au.

Asian horizons

Australian expedition cruise line Coral Expeditions has launched a series of new itineraries in south-east Asia to appeal to active, adventurous travellers wanting to explore the more inaccessible coastlines and ports of the region, accessible only to small ships. Its inaugural Asian seasons starts in November 2016 with an eight-night itinerary from Kalimantan to Singapore, which includes visits to the Camp Leakey orang-utan sanctuary and rarely visited Way Kambas National Park in Indonesia. Coral Discoverer will then undergo a major refurbishment before heading off to Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Phone 1800 079 545. See www.coralexpeditions.com.

Ganges bound