By Brian Johnston
Jean-Michel Cousteau gets up close and personal with a hawksbill turtle in Paupa New Guinea.Credit: Carrie Vonderhaar
ACROSS CANADA
Crystal Cruises has teamed up with Canadian expedition experts Arctic Kingdom for a second sailing of Crystal Serenity through the Northwest Passage in August 2017. The ship will host a comprehensive team of Arctic experts from Arctic Kingdom – including local Inuit guides, marine biologists, archaeologists, divers, conservationists and photographers – to share their knowledge on board and lead expeditions ashore. The 32-day voyage between Seward in Alaska and New York departs on August 15, 2017, and visits destinations such as Ulukhaktok in the North West Territories and Cambridge Bay and Pond Inlet in Nunavut.
Phone 1800 251 174. See crystalcruises.com
MORE TO EXPLORE
Regent Seven Seas Cruises' new ship Seven Seas Explorer will return to Europe for its second summer season in May 2018. The ship will sail the Mediterranean, North and Baltic seas on seven- to 12-night voyages and make maiden calls at Portimao in Portugal, Lysekil in Sweden, and Bodo and Haugesund in Norway. Explorer then commences a maiden African season on two voyages along the west coast: a 24-night Lisbon-to-Cape Town itinerary, followed by a 15-night, round-trip New Year's voyage. The ship then heads west to South America and Los Angeles via the continent's western coast.
Phone 1300 455 200. See rssc.com.au
GO WELL
Hapag-Lloyd is introducing a wellness program called IN2BALANCE on selected cruises aboard luxury liner Europa 2. It will feature Far Eastern relaxation and training methods and tips and cookery workshops on nutrition, and invite experts on board such as American trainer and marathon runner Jonathan Hippensteel and Patrick Broome, yoga trainer for the German national football team. The program features on six cruises from March 2017, including a Nassau to Miami cruise this November and cruises between Mauritius and Colombo and Colombo and Bali early in 2018.
Phone 02 9977 7100. See hl-cruises.com
DIVE IN
Famed oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau is joining select Crystal Cruises sailings this year to share his expertise with passengers through interactive on-board experiences, including lectures, presentations and a screening of his latest film. Cousteau, founder of the Ocean Futures Society, will also enlighten travellers about his extensive environmental and conservation efforts. The son of ocean pioneer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Jean-Michel will join two luxury voyages on Crystal Serenity, Hawaiian Havens on May 24 and Amazon Escape on October 27, plus an expedition on boutique yacht Crystal Esprit in the West Indies departing November 19, 2017.
Phone 1800 251 174. See crystalcruises.com
CARIBBEAN CRUISING
Viking is invading the Caribbean from late 2017 with two new cruises out of Miami return on Viking Sky. The first will run between November 2017 and February 2018 and cover the Turquoise Seas of the Western Caribbean on an eight-day itinerary that takes in the temples of Altun Ha in Belize, Hemingway's Key West haunts and Cozumel, among other sights. The second Panama & Central America cruise will operate from November 2017 and January 2018 and visit nine ports in eight countries, including Costa Rica, Columbia, Honduras and Belize.
Phone 1800 131 744. See vikingcruises.com.au
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