The best place to be on Australia Day

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 6 years ago

The best place to be on Australia Day

By Sally Macmillan
A fireworks display in Sydney celebrates Australia Day.

A fireworks display in Sydney celebrates Australia Day. Credit: James Morgan

Happy cruisy New Year! Were you on a ship celebrating the festive season? There's plenty more to come in special-events cruises Down Under this year, starting with Australia Day – in Sydney the best place to be is on the harbour, on a ship.

Captain Cook Cruises is running lunch and dinner cruises on MV Sydney 2000, timed to take in all the day's spectacles and night's firework displays; the ship will be off the Sydney Opera House as part of the Live at the Quay music and dance shows and will also join the evening's Working Vessels Parade. See captaincook.com.au

Why not make a three-day holiday based on Australia Day? Three of P&O's ships will be in pole position on the harbour on January 26; Pacific Explorer and Pacific Eden are sailing three-night Sydney round trips, departing on January 24 and 25, and Pacific Aria is cruising from Brisbane on a six-night cruise, departing on January 23. At the time of writing, there is still availability on the three ships.

Azamara Journey offers country-intensive itineraries in Australia and New Zealand.

Azamara Journey offers country-intensive itineraries in Australia and New Zealand.

Footy fans are looking forward to the 2018 Holden State of Origin and P&O is operating an exclusive four-night round-trip cruise from Sydney to Melbourne on June 4. Passengers on board Pacific Explorer can meet rugby league greats, celebrate in the ship's Queensland and NSW's supporters' bars and join footy-themed events. Tickets to Game I and transfers to and from the MCG are included in the cruise fare.

This November, P&O's Pacific Dawn, Eden and Explorer, plus Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Spirit are sailing to Melbourne from Brisbane and Sydney for the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, November 6. Itineraries are six or seven nights and to get you race-ready there will be fashion parades, themed entertainment with racing personalities and an array of accessories on sale or to make on board. Tickets and transfers to Flemington Racecourse are included in the cruise fare.

That brings us up to Christmas and New Year cruises – although departures are less than a year away it makes sense to book as early as possible as these are the most popular itineraries and the best cabins always sell out early.

In January 2019, P&O will again be running cruises to the Australian Tennis Open in Melbourne; the 2018 cruises were fully booked a while ago, so if you want to be part of the action next year, it's advisable to get in quick. P&O's Oh Ship! sale, which is on until February 13, offers extra early-booking incentives such as $1 deposits, free room upgrades and onboard spending money; see pocruises.com.au

THE PORT Quebec City, Canada

Advertisement

WHO GOES THERE Celebrity, Crystal, Cunard, HAL, NCL, Oceania, Princess, P&O UK, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn, Silversea, Viking.

WHY WE LOVE IT Set in the stunning St Lawrence River Valley, Quebec City has historic attractions in spades – it was home to Amerindian people long before the French arrived in 1608. Old Quebec is a UNESCO World Heritage site and its cobblestoned streets are lined with chic boutiques, cool bars and bistros. It's buzzy, fun and a city for all seasons

TAKE A TOUR OR GO IT ALONE? Ships generally dock at the Espace Dalhousie Cruise Terminal, but when it's busy some dock at the Quai Paquet, a short ferry ride away on the other side of the St Lawrence River. The Old City is built on two levels, Basse Ville (Lower Town), at the port, and Haute Ville (Upper Town), both a short walk from the terminal. The Old City is best explored on foot, either on a guided walking tour or wandering around on your own. Take a half-day tour that visits Montmorency Falls and Ile d'Orleans, or one that goes along the St Lawrence River to St Anne Canyon and local wineries.

MUST SEE Joan of Arc garden in Battlefields Park; Citadel fortress (La Citadelle), on a tour led by soldiers; Chateau Frontenac, on a guided tour or for a drink at 1608 Wine & Cheese Bar.

MUST EAT Traditional dishes are hearty and filling; cretons is a cold, spicy meat paste spread on toast for breakfast; pea soup, pork meatball and pig's trotter stews are popular mains; poutine is a sinful (hangover recovery?) dish made of french fries and fresh cheese curds covered in gravy. Visit a sugar shack in spring for maple syrup goodies; and there are hundreds of French restaurants, from contemporary to fine dining venues.

NEED TO KNOW Canada has two official languages, English and French; French is the dominant language in Quebec province but English is widely spoken.

ESSENTIALSquebecregion.com

CRUISEFACT

Many ships don't have a deck 13, because sailors believe the number is bad luck; some don't even have cabins with the number ending 13.

NEWS

Canadian expedition and golf cruise

One Ocean Expeditions, renowned for its polar voyages to the Arctic and Antarctica, has added the 2018 Canada's East Coast Golf Expedition – Fiddles and Sticks – to its ever-growing list of special voyages. The eight-day round-trip cruise starts in Nova Scotia's historic port of Louisbourg on June 27; rounds of golf will be played at the impressive Ben Crenshaw-designed Cabot Cliffs at Inverness, its neighbouring Cabot Links, Prince Edward Island's The Links at Crowbush and the Highland Links in Ingonish, which dates to the 1930s. Non-golfers will have plenty to do, from activities such as sea kayaking, cycling and stand-up paddling to sightseeing, whale watching and wildlife photography programs. One Ocean Navigator accommodates up to 96 passengers and its fleet of Zodiacs allows everyone to disembark at the same time. See oneoceanexpeditions.com

Country-Intensive

Azamara Journey arrives in Australia later this month and is introducing the line's first country-intensive itineraries, in Australia and New Zealand. These cruises focus on visiting ports within a single country and combine a range of popular and smaller, lesser known ports as well as late-night and overnight stays. Although the 2018 country-intensive itineraries in NZ and Oz are fully booked, they will be offered in Cuba later this year and in Japan, Alaska and NZ in 2019. Azamara Journey's 16-night cruise from Auckland to Sydney, departing January 22, 2019, visits the Bay of Islands, Tauranga, Gisborne, Napier, Nelson, Picton, Akaroa, Dunedin, Stewart Island (a new destination for Azamara), with scenic cruising at Milford and Dusky sounds and an overnight stay in Wellington. See azamaraclubcruises.com

Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter

Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.

Most viewed on Traveller

Loading