Trace your family history on Queen Mary 2

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This was published 5 years ago

Trace your family history on Queen Mary 2

By Brian Johnston
Queen Mary 2 in New York harbour.

Queen Mary 2 in New York harbour.

MEET THE ANCESTORS

Cunard is teaming up with Ancestry.com to offer its first ever ancestry-themed cruise, with passengers provided the chance to trace their family history on Queen Mary 2 while sailing across the Atlantic. One in five immigrants who came through US immigration-processing post Ellis Island arrived on a Cunard liner, and the cruise offers a two-night post-voyage tour of Ellis Island and New York's Ancestral Trail. The seven-night Transatlantic Crossing itinerary departs on November 4, 2018, with four genealogical experts on board to assist guests with family research.

Phone 13 24 94. See cunard.com

VIKING EXPLOITS

Viking has announced it will launch its newest ocean ship Viking Jupiter in Oslo on June 6, 2019. Guests wishing to experience the event can book either the eight-day Viking Shores & Fjords ocean cruise from Bergen to Amsterdam, or the 15-day Rhine + Viking Shores & Fjords from Basel to Bergen, which combines a river and ocean cruise. Both cruises have a June 2, 2019, departure date and will take in the christening. On the ocean itinerary, passengers visit Skagen, Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger and the magnificent fjord setting of tiny Flam.

Phone 138 747. See vikingcruises.com.au

ISLAND ESCAPE

Coral Expeditions has a new 16-night Islands of the South Pacific cruise on the 72-passenger Coral Discoverer departing on December 3, 2018, from Cairns and visiting New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. There will also be a visit to Guadalcanal Island, where some of the most significant battles of World War II took place. The itinerary provides the opportunity to snorkel and dive, hike the rainforest, browse local markets and visit Langa Langa Lagoon in the Solomon Islands, where locals are renowned for ship-building and shell-money.

Phone 1800 079 545. See coralexpeditions.com

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STANDING OVATION

Seabourn's newest ship Seabourn Ovation was delivered from its Italian shipyard on April 27 and embarks its first paying passengers today on an inaugural 11-day voyage between Venice and Barcelona, with the ship's naming ceremony held in Valletta in Malta on May 11. The ship will spend most of its maiden season cruising northern Europe, offering a series of seven-day Baltic and Scandinavian sailings between Copenhagen and Stockholm, and including a three-day stay in St. Petersburg. Seabourn Ovation will also sail on longer 14-day voyages in the Norwegian fjords and British Isles.

Phone 13 24 02. See seabourn.com

DOUBLE VISION

Tauck river ships Treasures and Esprit are back on the water after a comprehensive reconfiguration of their interior spaces that has produced enlarged cabins and reduced passenger count. They are the last of Tauck's four 110-metre ships to undergo the radical transformation. The most dramatic change is seen on the ships' middle Ruby Deck, where 30 cabins have been replaced by 20 larger cabins measuring 21 square metres. Second dining venue The Bistro has been upgraded and renamed Arthur's. Treasures and Esprit sail on the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers.

Phone 1300 732 300. See tauck.com.au

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