FAR EAST
The Far East is a tantalisinglyexotic option for passengerswanting to spice up their holi-days and cruise off the beatentrack. Few places on earth canrival this region’s rich kaleido-
scope of colours and experiences; from ancientdynasties and age-old traditions to gleamingskyscrapers and futuristic designs that make upsome of the world’s most striking cities.
This is the perfect place to escape thecrowds of the Mediterranean and Caribbeanand absorb the contrasting countries and cul-tures of a region that still holds that specialappeal.
The beauty of cruising through Asianwaters is that you can visit several places inone trip without having to endure arduousoverland journeys.
Stay on a ship, soak up the views and rel-ish the chance to truly get away from it all ondeserted islands or in tiny villages.
Getting to the Far East may take longerthan flying to Europe or the Caribbean, but thehuge range of flights to the main cruisingdeparture points of Hong Kong, Singaporeand Bangkok has made it much cheaper andeasier than it used to be.
And you don’t have to restrict yourself tosimply taking a cruise. It’s easy to combinevoyages with land-stays as part of a longerholiday across Asia.
Alternatively, why not spend a few nights in
the cities where the cruise starts or ends to real-ly make the most of this exciting destination?
Where can you go?With more holidaymakers waking up to theappeal of cruising in the Far East, cruise lineshave been quick to increase the range of sail-ings they offer.
The result is that there has never been abigger choice of cruises through Asia and thesurrounding area with companies such asPrincess Cruises adding more itineraries andothers such as Yachts of Seabourn, CostaCruises and Royal Caribbean Internationalbasing ships there. Asian-based cruise lineStar Cruises has five ships offering voyages oftwo to five nights to Malaysia, Thailand,Singapore and Hong Kong.
The route between Hong Kong andSingapore is probably the most popular andtravellers can choose to sail north from HongKong or south from Singapore.
It takes around two weeks to cruise betweenthe two cities and itineraries can vary, but the
most common ones tend to take in the coast ofVietnam – a fascinating area to explore by shipand one of the Asian destinations seen as hold-ing the most potential for cruising.
Alternative routeings between the twocities can include calls at the oil-rich sultanateof Brunei; Sabah, on the tropical island ofBorneo; Manila, the bustling capital of thePhilippines; the idyllic Thai island of KohSamui, famous for its beautiful beaches; andthe tropical holiday isle of Hainan, known asChina’s Hawaii.
Some cruises which start and finish inHong Kong cover the same territory, but oth-ers sail northwards from the city, calling atTaiwan and Japanese cities including Kobe,Yokohama and Nagasaki before finishing inthe Chinese powerhouse of Shanghai – whichis also a starting point for some cruises.
Other voyages from Singapore offer a dif-ferent flavour by sailing to Indonesia and call-ing at exotic islands such as Java, Bali andKomodo, famous for its deadly giant lizards,known as Komodo dragons.
Such sailings can include calls in Malaysia,notably at the capital Kuala Lumpur and thehistoric Dutch trading port of Malacca.
ASIA, AUSTRALASIAAND BEYONDCruise passengers keen to venture furtherafield can take longer cruises through south-east Asia to India, the Middle East or even theMediterranean.
26 The Travel & Leisure Magazine November/December 2009
Cruises in exotic Far East and Australasia waters are growing inappeal as more cruise lines send their showboats to China andother Oriental locations. Sara Macefield reports on cruising in
the East and looks at another fast-growing sector – world cruises
Steering■ Many cruises start or end in Sydney
■ Seabourn is among cruiselines with Far East-based ships
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November/December 2009 The Travel & Leisure Magazine 27
Another option is to sail from the Far Eastto Australia and enjoy a completely contrast-ing range of destinations on lines such asSilversea, Regent Seven Seas Cruises orPrincess Cruises.
Such voyages tend to take two weeks, call-ing at various Asian ports such as Ho ChiMinh City, Singapore and Bali before reach-ing Australia and stopping at Darwin on thenorth coast, the gateway to some of the coun-try’s most beautiful, remote Aboriginal lands.
Then it’s simply a case of sailing downAustralia’s east coast. Passengers can experi-ence one of nature’s great wonders, the GreatBarrier Reef, during stops at Cairns, PortDouglas or Airlie Beach.
From there they may get the chance to wit-ness the beauty of the Whitsunday Islands,and the modern city of Brisbane before end-ing the cruise in Sydney.
Taking to the sea is an ideal way to exploreAustralia as its main cities and tourist attrac-tions are on the coast and travelling by cruiseship gives passengers the chance to combinethese with the islands of the South Pacific andNew Zealand.
Other popular stops in Australia on suchsailings include Melbourne and Hobart inTasmania, while New Zealand ports of callinclude Christchurch, Dunedin, the FiordlandNational Park, Napier, Picton, Tauranga andAuckland.
In Polynesia stops at idyllic outposts such asBora Bora, the islands of Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa,
FAR EAST, AUSTRALASIA & WORLD CRUISES
■ Fred Olsen’s Balmoral in Shanghai
■ Star Flyer in Thailand
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Cruise tips● Far East cruises run year-round, but
choose your time carefully to avoidmonsoons.The best choice of cruisestends to be in winter when moreships sail to the region.
● Remember that some of the must-seesights in Asia involve a lengthyoverland journey, and sometimes evenrequire an overnight stay.
● On world cruises, if you only want todo a segment, study the itinerarycarefully to ensure you don’t spendtoo many days at sea – unless youwant to, of course!
● Onboard activities are worthconsidering on world cruises as thesewill add more variety on the days atsea.The bigger the ship, the morefacilities it will have.
and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands also feature.One-ship cruise line Paul Gauguin Cruises isbased in the region all year, offering sailingsthrough several South Pacific islands and call-ing at New Zealand on longer itineraries.
WORLD CRUISESWhen it comes to spending time at sea, worldcruises are still the ultimate thrill.
Being able to wave goodbye to Britishshores for two or three months at a time and sailacross the globe to some of the world’s mostinaccessible places carries a premium cachet.
At one time, such voyages were the pre-
serve of the very rich who had the money, aswell as the time, to spend on such adventures.
But not any more! Potential globe-trottersare increasingly realising that a world cruisedoes not have to be a once-in-a-lifetimeoccasion.
Nowadays there are more ships and morelong voyages than ever before. Being able tochoose shorter sectors instead of the wholesailing means passengers can buy into a worldcruise even if they can’t afford the wholething.
A true world cruise is one that circumnavi-gates the globe, but there are plenty of so-
called “grand voyages” which take a similaramount of time and visit all the places youwould expect such as Asia, Latin America,Australasia or Africa – but only cover two-thirds or so of the world.
These cruises normally depart in January,returning in March or April.
P&O Cruises and Cunard Line have tradi-tionally offered world cruises fromSouthampton, but lines such as Fred Olsenand Saga Cruises also offer long voyages fromBritish shores.
P&O has also increased the number ofworld cruises it offers. Customers can choosefrom four different sailings betweenSeptember 2010 and January 2011, whileYachts of Seabourn is offering its first worldcruise next year.
Lines such as Crystal Cruises, PrincessCruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises alsooffer global voyages.
Mix of destinationsWorld cruises and long voyages generally callat around 30 ports, including a mix of triedand tested destinations and offbeat locations– some of which are only accessible by ship.
They tend to last between 80 and 110 daysand are split into segments ranging fromaround 12 nights to 30 nights – the so-called“line” voyages that sail from one point toanother. The most popular one is generallyAustralia or New Zealand.
Some world cruises depart and return toUK ports such as Southampton or Doverwhile others sail from ports including Miami,Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale and New York.
Those departing from the UK tend to sailto Australia via the Mediterranean, calling atports such as Bangkok, Hong Kong andSydney. An alternative route could be sailingsouth from Europe to South Africa and return-ing via Latin America and the Caribbean.
Passengers who book the full voyage oftenenjoy extra benefits, with lines such asSilversea and Crystal offering free shore-sideactivities and selected excursions.
Other perks include onboard spendingcredits and a free hotel stay on the eve ofdeparture.
Far East, Australia &World Cruise facts
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Sample cruisesYachts of Seabourn (0845 070 0500;www.seabourn.com) is offering a 14-night voyage from Hong Kong to Singapore, via Vietnam and Thailand onJanuary 30, 2010. Prices start at £3,399, excluding flights.A 12-day sailing from Sydney toAuckland is offered by Princess Cruises (08453555 800,www.princess.com) on January 28, 2010, from £2,612, including flights.P&O Cruises (0845 678 0014,www.pocruises.com) is offering a 94-nightworld cruise on its ship Arcadia, departing Southampton onJanuary 10 for 34 ports in 23 countries. Prices start at £8,406.
Other useful cruise contactsCrystal Cruises (020 7287 9040,www.crystalcruises.co.uk)Cunard Line (0845 678 0013,www.cunard.co.uk)Fred Olsen Cruises (01473 746175,www.fredolsencruises.com)Holland America Line (0845 351 0557,www.hollandamerica.co.uk)Oceania Cruises (0845 858 0827,www.oceaniacruises.co.uk)Orion Expedition Cruises (020 8545 2617,www.orionexpeditions.com)Paul Gauguin Cruises (020 7434 0089,www.pgcruises.co.uk)Regent Seven Seas Cruises (02380 682280,www.rssc.co.uk)Royal Caribbean International (0844 493 4005,www.royalcaribbean.co.uk)Saga Cruises (0800 096 0079,www.saga.co.uk/travel)Spirit of Adventure (0800 015 6984,www.spiritofadventure.co.uk)Star Clippers (0845 200 6145,www.starclippers.co.uk)Star Cruises (0845 201 8913,www.starcruises.com)Silversea Cruises (0844 770 9030,www.silversea.com)Swan Hellenic (0845 246 9700,www.swanhellenic.com)Voyages of Discovery (0845 018 1808,www.voyagesofdiscovery.co.uk)
Make sure you check out the website of the Passenger Shipping Association,which represents all the main cruise lines, at www.discover-cruises.co.uk
28 The Travel & Leisure Magazine November/December 2009
■ P&O’s Aurora in Hong Kong
P&O Cruises
November/December 2009 The Travel & Leisure Magazine 29
CRUISE CLIPSLong-haul holiday firmQantas Holidays hasintroduced a wide range ofcruises to its brochure thatcan be combined with othertravel arrangements in the
Far East and Australasia. Itnow offers more than 75voyages with Costa Cruises,Princess Cruises, HollandAmerica Line andYachts ofSeabourn.
Green-fingered cruisepassengers can join a one-week Springtime in Norwaycruise with Fred Olsen CruiseLines aboard its ship, Balmoral,during which the celebrity
speaker will be celebritygardener Alan Titchmarsh.Online travel agencyCruise.co.uk is offering aspecial package with two talksexclusively arranged for itscustomers from £599.
Get in tune on a musicalsea voyage with Hurtigruten,which is offering onboardconcerts and a performancein Oslo’s new opera house aspart of a six-night sailing fromTromso to Bergen and Osloon January 4, costing from£1,230.
CRUISE news
Mickey cruises over to Dover
Don your Mickey Mouse ears and take tothe high seas because next year Disneyis coming to town – or rather Disney
Cruises is!For the first time ever, the company will offer
cruises from the UK on one of its ships, DisneyMagic, which will be based at Dover.
In total, the ship will spend five months inEurope, from April to August, mainly sailingfrom Barcelona.
But it will spend most of June and July atDover from where it will offer four 12-nightNorthern European Capitals itineraries throughthe Baltic Sea to St Petersburg, calling at othercities such as Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm.
Passengers preferring to cruise theMediterranean can opt for one of Disney Magic’s10 and 11-night sailings from Barcelona callingat destinations such as Malta, Tunis and Naples.
Alternatively, they can choose its seven-nightBarcelona-Dover cruise in June or eight-nightreturn voyage from Dover to Barcelona in July.
Disney claims its Baltic cruises will combinethe region’s rich history, culture and folklore withits own unique family-friendly ambience that willhelp to bring each destination to life.
The last time a Disney cruise ship sailed inEurope was in 2007 when it offeredMediterranean voyages.
“The response from guests was overwhelm-ingly positive,” said Disney Cruise Line presidentKarl Holz.
“We are thrilled to bring the ship back andlook to make the 2010 season in theMediterranean even better with new destinationsand more one-of-a-kind Disney experiences forour guests.”● Prices for the Northern Europe Capitals cruisewith Disney Cruise (020 8222 2856,www.disneycruise.disney.go.com) start atapproximately £2,299 and include dining, enter-tainment, character experiences and “select”onboard activities.
Luxury Scottish isles cruiseship Hebridean Princess,which the Queen hired for
her 80th birthday celebrations,is to offer a new range ofthemed sailings next year.
Hebridean Island Cruises isknown for offering upmarketcruises through the highlands andislands of Scotland and hopes toattract more customers with addi-tional special-interest cruises aswell as the line’s first guestspeaker, nature expert Tim Earl.
He joins two Hebrideanwildlife voyages next summerand will give passengers aninvaluable introduction to spot-
ting seabirds, eagles, differentspecies of fish, wild deer andeven orchids, in wildlife sessionson deck or on forays ashore.
Other new additions includesailings along the Firth of Clyde,
through the Argyll lochs and tosome lesser-known Hebrideanislands, plus a return to NorthernIreland and the Isle of Man andthe introduction of a HebrideanSurprise mystery cruise.
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■ Disney Magic.Inset: Goofy with
young cruisers
■ Hebridean Princess
■ Down Under cruises added
■ Join Alan Titchmarshaboard Balmoral
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