This was published 4 years ago
Cruising news: Uniworld's newest luxury ship completes its first cruises in France's Bordeaux region
A sundeck and pool on Uniworld's Bon Voyage ship.
BON VOYAGE
Uniworld's newest Super Ship, Bon Voyage, has just completed its first cruises in France's Bordeaux wine region. The ship features four dining and beverage venues and a spectacular top deck with an infinity pool and Café du Soleil, which offers light local fare and chef-led cooking classes. Additional dining venues are La Brasserie serving traditional bistro fare, Le Grand Fromage main restaurant and La Cave des Vins, an intimate space for private food-and-wine pairing dinners. The luxury river ship sails on three Uniworld itineraries in France, the eight-day Brilliant Bordeaux, 15-day Portrait of France and 22-day Ultimate France.
Phone 1300 780 231. See uniworld.com
ALASKAN DEBUT
Silversea's flagship Silver Muse is about to begin an inaugural season in Alaska. The ship will offer 14 voyages between May and September this year, ranging from seven to 21 days, either between Seward and Vancouver, or round-trip from Vancouver. Activities will include kayaking, scenic hikes, fly fishing for salmon, an excursion by floatplane, and a guided bear-spotting trek. Silver Muse will return to Australia and New Zealand towards the end of 2019, remaining until the end of March 2020. It returns to Alaska again in 2020, when it will offer 16 voyages between May and September.
Phone 1300 306 872. See silversea.com
BURMESE DAYS
Myanmar's Irrawaddy River has been a destination for adventurous river-cruisers for a decade, but this August, Sanctuary Retreats is venturing along its tributary, the less-visited and scenic Chindwin River. Among ports of call is Monywa, best known for its Thanboddhay Pagoda covered with more than 500,000 images of Buddha, and villages such as Kalewa with its pretty hillside pagoda and Sitthaung, surrounded by emerald-green rice paddies. A highlight is the cave pagodas of Po Win Taung. The 10-day Sanctuary Ananda cruise between Mandalay and Bagan, taking in the Chindwin river, departs on August 14, 2019.
Phone 03 9536 1831. See sanctuaryretreats.com
CELEBRATE AUSTRALIA
Captain Cook Cruises is celebrating New Year with a festive dinner and entertainment while on a seven-night cruise aboard paddlewheeler Murray Princess on the Murray River. The cruise departs Mannum on December 27, 2019 and finishes at Renmark on January 3, 2020. The ship sails 420 kilometres of the Murray, visiting the historic towns such as Kingston-on-Murray, Waikerie, Swan Reach and Loxton, where more than 45 recreated buildings and exhibits along the riverbanks tell the story of the region's early settlers. Aboriginal history is also showcased at Ngaut Nguat Aboriginal Reserve.
Phone 1300 729 938. See murrayprincess.com.au
EUROPE DISCOVERED
Evergreen Cruises & Tours has released its 2020 Europe river cruising program, with itineraries that range from eight to 15 days taking guests across France, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Portugal. Among the cruises is an eight-day Sensations of Lyon & Provence itinerary on the Rhône and Saône rivers that visits French towns such as Arles, Viviers, Tournon, Avignon and Beaune, and an eight-day Secrets of the Douro cruise with daily guided tours in six destinations, including a Portuguese wine estate, Porto and the beautiful Spanish old-town of Salamanca.
Phone 1300 383 747. See evergreentours.com.au
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