By Brian Johnston
Husavik in Iceland. Collette has an eight-day tour that combines an overland exploration of Iceland with a cruise along the west coast of Greenland.
GO GREENLAND
Collette has an eight-day tour that combines an overland exploration of Iceland with a cruise along the west coast of Greenland. The journey begins in Reykjavik on August 8, 2020, with visits to the volcanic landscapes of the Golden Circle, Gullfoss Waterfall and the geothermal waters of the Blue Lagoon. Guests then fly to Greenland and board Ocean Atlantic, making excursions by Zodiac to visit UNESCO-listed sites such as the icebergs of the Ilulissat Icefjord and the Eqip Sermia Glacier, Greenland's most active and arguably most scenically striking glacier.
Phone 1300 792 196. See gocollette.com.au
PLAN A CRUISE
With the peak cruise season in Australia about to begin, Cruise Month kicks off this weekend and runs throughout October. The annual initiative of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) sees its member cruise lines and travel agencies work together to showcase cruising, explain what it's all about to the uninitiated and demonstrate the value of choosing an expert CLIA-accredited travel agent. It's the perfect time to start asking questions if you're a novice, or to extend your cruise horizons if you're an old hand. To find a specialist travel agent near you, see cruising.org.au
LATIN FLAIR
Ponant has released its Latin American cruise season between September 2020 and April 2021, with 36 departures (16 of which are expedition cruises) covering Central and South America, the Panama Canal and the Caribbean. Among them are six new itineraries that include a sail along the Amazon River to discover its varied flora and fauna, a cruise that explores the heart of the West Indies on a visit to eight islands in the Lesser Antilles, and another that combines the Caribbean and the tropical rainforest of French Guyana. There are also two Christmas Caribbean cruises.
Phone 1300 737 178. See au.ponant.com
GLOBAL ROAMING
Silversea has launched new Grand Voyages for late 2020 and 2021, which include three expedition cruises and a circumnavigation of Australia on Silver Muse. The 51-day Grand Australia voyage round-trip from Sydney departs on October 31, 2020, and visits 30 ports in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. There's also a 70-day Grand South America circumnavigation that visits 37 ports in 20 countries, departing on January 7, 2021, on new vessel Silver Moon. Other voyages link Antarctica with the South Pacific, Fiji with India via Australia and Singapore, and India to Norway through the Mediterranean.
Phone 1300 306 872. See silversea.com
BEST OF THE BALTIC
Abercrombie & Kent has a new luxury expedition cruise to seven Baltic countries on the soon-to-be-launched mega-yacht Le Dumont d'Urville. Among noteworthy shore excursions is a rooftop walk and art tour in Stockholm, a visit to a former Soviet nuclear missile base in Lithuania, an Estonian vodka-tasting event, and a Russian cooking class in St Petersburg. Guest speakers include Nobel Prize winner and former president of Poland Lech Walesa, and writer and former interpreter to Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, Pavel Palazhchenko. The cruise departs Copenhagen on July 16, 2020.
Phone 1300 590 317. See abercrombiekent.com.au
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