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Contributors

Sally Macmillan"Watching l6e RoYal Princess

christening, I received this

seasickness cure frorn retlreo

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir

Mark StanhoPe: 'Become

a sub-marinei "

.--o*;Maggy Oehlbeck*Mld-Atlantic in a force

nine gale, the maitre d'was

flamb6ing cr€Pes Suzette at

the tableside of a dowager

duchess. The shiP lurched

and they landed in her lap.

No one missed a beat'

)il'ib9 Cruise News

Best deals, Australia's recordwave season and your letters

aPPear in our brilliant new16-page news sectlon.

27 New ShiPsOur reviewers look over EuroPa 2,

the shiP that's creating a sIir with

the best ratinqs irom Berlitz; and

ioval Prince>s1he liner launched

by the Duchess of Cambridge'

34 South AmericaKrls Madden takes us to theport of Balboa and a cllPPer

ihat looks as if she came fromthe set of Pirates of the Caril:bean

39 West AfricaIt's way off the tourist track, butG Adventures MS ExPedrtion ts

used to taking her Passengersoutside their comfort zone'

43 GalleY StarsForqei shiP's biscuits TodaY s

sailors are more likely to be se,rveo

bv celebritY chefs len ot the best

reveal theii sPecialitY dishes'

50 River Cruise ReviewThe hottest destinations and

the latest innovations are tn

our 16-Page sPecial rePorton the iivers of the world

67 SePik RiverBe initiated into crocodlleculture onTrue A/orrh's luxurY

adventure triP to PNG'

72 Raw FoodCruisers are catching on tothls latest cullnarY sensation'Trv an amazinq cashew lemoncheesecake reiiPe at home'

Tricia Welsh*While cruising South

America, I was readlng

Laurence Bergreen's Over

the Edge of theWorid ab'out

Magellan's circumnavigationof the globe. The exPlorer

and I found his strait at the

same time: he after months

at sea and me afterjust a few

days and 1 78 Pagesl"

Glenn Wheeler*l always buy undies when I

travel because those bought

from the other side oftheworld stand out in mY drawer"

Distribution Partners:

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From Asia to South America,

our guide reviews excitingnew river destinations

,il,*tf

tmi#tes

conIenIS

CRT]ISEMlssue 53, Spring 201 3

Editorin-chief and publisherPeter Lynch

^ofDr6.n )i<e.n<<a^

EditorSally Macmillansa I ly@c ru i tepo tsenge r.ca m.ou

Executive editorTeresa Ooite resa@c ru tsepasse n ger.ca m.a u

Art director/production managerKerry Aliceker ry@cr u t se pa s se nge r.com.au

5ubeditorHarriet Upjohnha r r i et@cru i sepa s senq e r.co m.o u

Chief photographerJames MofganI a m e s@morg a n -p h ot o. (a m

National advertising directorLeisa Chellle i sa@big spl os h med i o.cam.au

Contributors and writersSue Bryant, Toni Eatts, Rod Eime,Louise Goldsbury, joanna Fiall,

Nahrain -lohn, Sally Macmillan,Kris Madden, Teresa Ooi,Maggy Oehlbeck, John Pond,Sue Wallace, Tricia Welsh, Glenn Wheeler

SubscriptionsPhone 1 300 668 905w ww.c r u i se p a s s e n g e r. co m. a u

Printed byOffset A plne Printlng

cruisepassen ger.com.auOnline JournalistNahrain Johnna h ra i n@c ru i sepasse nqeLcom.o Lt

79 Ship to ShoreOur new reviews section featuresthree of our writers'picks fromtne year, plus your stores.

86 CoolCruise FashionBest Buys brings you elegantsolutions to cruising dresscodes, from Collette Dinniganto Bianca Spender.

91 Top Agent\/----L. -.,-il -^-rtnf therro:rrvlcf l Lr lY lYLdll dVCl r. vr .rrL yLur,

Phil hoffman, plus you, directoryof CllA cruise specialists.

99 World Calendar

1 13 Star EntertainerMarcia Hines gets into thegroove and prepares to rockthe boal on Rhopsody of the Seos.Plus see who else is piayingon the oceans.

1 14 Last WordGlenn Wheeler explains whypacking for a cruise is hisspecialty so long as his wifeis with him.

Cover: Ralph Grizzle, avidcruiser.com

Online ContributorPond zAI

Fabulous49 Radiance ofthe Seas

\A/i^ - r n A-,, ^"1-^ ^^-1,^vvrn a r4-oay prre pacKageworth 58,760 for four aboardthe sensation al Radiance ofthe Seas, courlesy of Holidaysof Australia.

Photo CompetitionSend rrs vor rr niclr rps ,and

win a terrific Canon Camera.

Readers'Choice AwardsVote for your favourites andwin a 57,900 night in Aucklandcourtesy of Pullman Hotels.

TETTTET I,{INTII,IIUIJI, IYILUINAUSTRALASIA

Cruise Passenger Maqdzine s published byCruise Media Australasia PtyA R. q^:(h i\,4arl,i.^m^:nvSuite 2, Leve 8,

50 Margaret 5tSydney 2000www.big sp lo sh med i o.cam.ouPhone: +61 292998699

Managing directorPeter Lynch

talal c]RculArroNsvAll rights reserved. Reproduction in wholeor in part withoutwriften permission is strictly prohibited. Copyright CruiseMedia Australasia Pty Ltd. Opinions expressed are thoseofthe individual contributo6 and are not necessarilythoseofthe publisher All reasonable effons have been made tocontact copyright holders. Information provided believedto be coiiect attimeofpublication, however details canchange atanytimeand all information, including prices, inthis magazjne should be considered general in nature only.No travel decisions should be made solelyon the informationprovided. Always.onsult your (avel agent.

. .yl,pnzes!

77

89

A-rAIR NEW ZEALANT)

zi, .t)ultimdte

dfl HARVEY\.tr,@@

www.cruisepassenger.com.au I

Spirit of

ADVENTURE MS EXPEDITION

WORDS & PHOTOS: RODERICK EIME

As M5 Exoedition traces the western coast of Africa from Caoe Town to Dakar,

our intrepid reporter discovers mystery and history way off the tourist track.

ou will travel far and the

spirits will guide you safely

through many perilsj'

Anthony whispers into his

hands cupping the tiny object. And with that

short and sweet blessing, he lnserts a tinywooden pin into the little shaft and presents

me with my travelling talisman. Anthony,

not his real name l'm certain, looks at me

with a satisfaction that reminds me ofa triumphant used car salesman.

In this tiny, darkened back room,

Dr David Conrad (a PhD in African studies)

and I survey the bizarre assortment of fetish

idols arranged on the little table."You won'tfrnd these legba lvodun ldol and gatekeeper

to the spirit worldl out in the market," David

says to me through barely moving lips, "these

are the real deal."

Here ln Togo's Akodessewa Fetish Market,

hldden away in the backstreets of the capital,

www.cruisepassenger.com.au 39

ADVENTU RE MS EXPEDITION

Lome, a small contingent of our tour group

from G Adventu res'Expedition has ventured

inside the compound to examine the piles of

desiccated animal remains, withered heads

and amputated parts on sale for vodun

practitioners and curious tourists alike'

INAUGURALVOYAGEThere are 1 OO Passengers aboard

G Adventures'inaugural voyage lt's a mixed

bunch, for sure: Americans, Australians' Brits'

Canadians and a sprinkling of Germans'

Spanish and others. Each has their own

reason for making this voyage Some die-hard

G Adventures devotees will go anywhere the

company's flag is hoisted, while others simply

want to tick boxes. The rest are just fascinated

by these lands, so long unthinkable for the

general tourist, and what they may hold in

cultural and natural riches'

Our ship, M5 Fxpedition'was drafted into

service by G Adventures after the sad loss

of "the little red ship" in 2007 Made of stern

stuff, what she lacks in glamour is more

than compensated for in sheer hard-core

functionality. Built as an Arctic vehicle and

passenger ferry in 1972,she has had several

names but is now enjoying a relatively

leisurely life refitted as a dedicated expedition

vessel.There's generous space in allthe

public areas, including bars, lounges and

decks, and she seems to have adapted very

wellto this new life

Now she is tracing the western coast of

Africa from CapeTown to Dakar, Senegal'

over 24 days Already we've gazed from the

diuying heights ofTable Mountain in Cape

Town, explored the abandoned structures

of Kolmanskop on the edge of the Namib

Desert and investigated the Portuguese

colonial remnants of the once war-torn

nation of Angola Ahead of us are the grisly

Ghanaian slave ports of Elmina and Cape

Coast, where visitors report hearing the

ghostly whispers of long-departed slaves in

the dungeons

POIGNANT HISTORY

Despite centuries of Christian influence in

the Gulf of Guinea from Nigeria to Ghana'

the art of vodun is practised in some shape

or form in both the cities and villages' When

West African slaves were transported in

their thousands from these shores to the

'A hand-Pickedplatoon of

Ilm p ress lvely

credentialledlecturers,adventure' r lavidguldes anO

naturalists escorts

us at every turn.'

Caribbean and Americas, it became"voodoo"

- and something else again

The poignant slave history is the other

predominant cultural experience available

to us at the many sites, now UNESCO

recognised, in Ghana, Gambia and Senegal'

The slave trade ltself extended almost the

entire length ofthe African west coast and

well inland, and almost certainly exists in

some shaPe or form to this day

INDIANA JONESA hand-picked platoon of impressively

credentialled lecturers, adventure guides

and avid naturalists escorts us at every turn'

helping us unravel the flora, fauna and ethnic

complexity we encounter every day l'm

one among the small band that continually

hovers around David Conrad, a kind of post-

Woodstock lndiana Jones and an eagle-eyed

art hunter who has forgotten more than most

of us will ever know about this crazy land'

Others flock around Dr Steve BoYes'

the ornithologist, while Wolfgang Kaehler

plays Pied Piper to his wide-aperture gang

of camera-toting travellers Peter Baxter'

historian, author and inveterate African

field guide, draws a loyal following too'

40 www.cruisePassenger.com au

Elmina Castle, Ghana

;$j

*$if ,

rem nding us that Alr ra s notjust for the

curious, rubber-recked vo1,eur. t is a land

tac nq a nru tiiude of env rorrlenta and

hunrar tarlar cha enqes, fronr messy and

1. ., .- .- o i. d e.p 6 ,.ion 9 qr6..roots rredlca facillties.

UNEXPLORED BEAUTYI be coast of West Africa is one of the last

remainng parts of the wor d unexp ored

Fishermen near Ghana's

Cape Coast Castle

bv the planet's inquis tive fleet of adverturevessels. Whi e the larger ships of Cunard and

Crystal are comfortab e stopplng by the s.rfe

Nanr bian ports o1'Luderitz and Walvis Bav, lt's

o , lo' e rlly f Lrat ud..t .t'd . I. p Op . rl .

have deemed Ango a, Congo, Sao Tome arrd

the Gulf natlons sutfrciently cf isis free to a lovv

tourlst ship visits.

Even so, a I precautions are taken aId,from Point No re in f ongo Lrnt I Accra

r Ghana, we are joined by three verv

business ike ex-Royal Marines rr,rho stand

vlgl whl e l\/iS Fxpeditiou passes throughrA^,^^:^- . A^,^,A^, ^,^ ^rrH'Jrul Al-l-rll ,--'

oeer.nec necessary.

In 2014, G Adventures wi lextend its

itrnerar-y to N4arrakech and Morocco, a

o^ f^ I, oo, ol-dd' o e.robl c "dledoopor 'J'lil ' fur llo . ,n .f, r'g -O .to. 01 i r

these mystical .un45 2

WHO ELSE GOES THERE?Hapag Lloyd is sending Bremenh Octoberfor 23 rJays and, while Saga Cruises, Silversea

Llndb ad and Zegrahm lst the West Coast

of Africa as an itinerary, none has pLrb isbed

departures at time of writing. Freigbter

voyages are ava lable too for example,

40 days return from Anrsterdam to Lagos.

rnl 1''1he verdrctFIIGHStc s.i uoti uq, oft-t hp-beeten tra.k iti nera ry;

inrrrerslon in c,.tItr-tral ond natural teatures;

exceliertt orqcrtiscttian in o challenginq

c/ryilo/ri ne/ll.

LOWS5r.lne poorly notched passenqers (mobtlity

I t... ..1 ... | .r, ,o, ,

/to cievarlar/ i,frara/ai

BEST SU]TED TCA,ctive, odventLnaus, oper rrirrrTerl qrown

ups nol airaici fo exceed theit corDla)tt zonetr:ccasiona||y. Not physicol|), cha||enqinq, buttonq aoys (an oe taxlnq.

danger zones'=-

.\ .\. I l. i rr 41