Orient
Steering
Cruises in exotic Far East and Australasia waters are growing in
appeal as more cruise lines send their showboats to China and
other Oriental locations. Sara Macefield reports on cruising in
the East and looks at another fast-growing sector – world cruises
FAR EAST
T
he Far East is a tantalisingly
exotic option for passengers
wanting to spice up their holi-
days and cruise off the beaten
track. Few places on earth can
rival this region’s rich kaleido-
scope of colours and experiences; from ancient
dynasties and age-old traditions to gleaming
skyscrapers and futuristic designs that make up
some of the world’s most striking cities.
This is the perfect place to escape the
crowds of the Mediterranean and Caribbean
and absorb the contrasting countries and cul-
tures of a region that still holds that special
appeal.
The beauty of cruising through Asian
waters is that you can visit several places in
one trip without having to endure arduous
overland journeys.
Stay on a ship, soak up the views and rel-
ish the chance to truly get away from it all on
deserted islands or in tiny villages.
Getting to the Far East may take longer
than flying to Europe or the Caribbean, but the
huge range of flights to the main cruising
departure points of Hong Kong, Singapore
and Bangkok has made it much cheaper and
easier than it used to be.
And you don’t have to restrict yourself to
simply taking a cruise. It’s easy to combine
voyages with land-stays as part of a longer
holiday across Asia.
Alternatively, why not spend a few nights in
26 The Travel & Leisure Magazine
■ Seabourn is among cruise
lines with Far East-based ships
Yachts of Seabourn
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 the
appeal of cruising in the Far East, cruise lines
have been quick to increase the range of sail-
ings they offer.
The result is that there has never been a
bigger choice of cruises through Asia and the
surrounding area with companies such as
Princess Cruises adding more itineraries and
others such as Yachts of Seabourn, Costa
Cruises and Royal Caribbean International
basing ships there. Asian-based cruise line
Star Cruises has five ships offering voyages of
two to five nights to Malaysia, Thailand,
Singapore and Hong Kong.
The route between Hong Kong and
Singapore is probably the most popular and
travellers can choose to sail north from Hong
Kong or south from Singapore.
It takes around two weeks to cruise between
the two cities and itineraries can vary, but the
■ Many cruises start or end in Sydney
most common ones tend to take in the coast of
Vietnam – a fascinating area to explore by ship
and one of the Asian destinations seen as hold-
ing the most potential for cruising.
Alternative routeings between the two
cities can include calls at the oil-rich sultanate
of Brunei; Sabah, on the tropical island of
Borneo; Manila, the bustling capital of the
Philippines; the idyllic Thai island of Koh
Samui, famous for its beautiful beaches; and
the tropical holiday isle of Hainan, known as
China’s Hawaii.
Some cruises which start and finish in
Hong Kong cover the same territory, but oth-
ers sail northwards from the city, calling at
Taiwan and Japanese cities including Kobe,
Yokohama and Nagasaki before finishing in
the Chinese powerhouse of Shanghai – which
is 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 and
Komodo, famous for its deadly giant lizards,
known as Komodo dragons.
Such sailings can include calls in Malaysia,
notably at the capital Kuala Lumpur and the
historic Dutch trading port of Malacca.
ASIA, AUSTRALASIA
AND BEYOND
Cruise passengers keen to venture further
afield can take longer cruises through south-
east Asia to India, the Middle East or even the
Mediterranean.
November/December 2009
 all ABOARD
FAR EAST, AUSTRALASIA & WORLD CRUISES

Princess Cruises

Another option is to sail from the Far East

to Australia and enjoy a completely contrast-
ing range of destinations on lines such as
Silversea, Regent Seven Seas Cruises or
Princess Cruises.
Such voyages tend to take two weeks, call-
Star Clippers/Andy Lovering

ing at various Asian ports such as Ho Chi

Minh City, Singapore and Bali before reach-
ing Australia and stopping at Darwin on the
north coast, the gateway to some of the coun-
■ Star Flyer in Thailand
try’s most beautiful, remote Aboriginal lands.
Then it’s simply a case of sailing down
Cruise tips Australia’s east coast. Passengers can experi-
ence one of nature’s great wonders, the Great
● Far East cruises run year-round, but Barrier Reef, during stops at Cairns, Port
choose your time carefully to avoid Douglas or Airlie Beach.
monsoons.The best choice of cruises From there they may get the chance to wit-
tends to be in winter when more ness the beauty of the Whitsunday Islands,
ships sail to the region. and the modern city of Brisbane before end-
● Remember that some of the must-see ing the cruise in Sydney.
sights in Asia involve a lengthy Taking to the sea is an ideal way to explore
overland journey, and sometimes even Australia as its main cities and tourist attrac-
require an overnight stay. tions are on the coast and travelling by cruise
● On world cruises, if you only want to ship gives passengers the chance to combine
do a segment, study the itinerary these with the islands of the South Pacific and
carefully to ensure you don’t spend New Zealand.
too many days at sea – unless you Other popular stops in Australia on such
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines

want to, of course! sailings include Melbourne and Hobart in

● Onboard activities are worth Tasmania, while New Zealand ports of call
considering on world cruises as these include Christchurch, Dunedin, the Fiordland
will add more variety on the days at National Park, Napier, Picton, Tauranga and
sea.The bigger the ship, the more Auckland.
■ Fred Olsen’s Balmoral in Shanghai facilities it will have. In Polynesia stops at idyllic outposts such as
Bora Bora, the islands of Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa,

November/December 2009 The Travel & Leisure Magazine 27

 ■ P&O’s Aurora in Hong Kong
P&O Cruises

and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands also feature. serve of the very rich who had the money, as called “grand voyages” which take a similar
One-ship cruise line Paul Gauguin Cruises is well as the time, to spend on such adventures. amount of time and visit all the places you
based in the region all year, offering sailings But not any more! Potential globe-trotters would expect such as Asia, Latin America,
through several South Pacific islands and call- are increasingly realising that a world cruise Australasia or Africa – but only cover two-
ing at New Zealand on longer itineraries. does not have to be a once-in-a-lifetime thirds or so of the world.
occasion. These cruises normally depart in January,
WORLD CRUISES Nowadays there are more ships and more returning in March or April.
When it comes to spending time at sea, world long voyages than ever before. Being able to P&O Cruises and Cunard Line have tradi-
cruises are still the ultimate thrill. choose shorter sectors instead of the whole tionally offered world cruises from
Being able to wave goodbye to British sailing means passengers can buy into a world Southampton, but lines such as Fred Olsen
shores for two or three months at a time and sail cruise even if they can’t afford the whole and Saga Cruises also offer long voyages from
across the globe to some of the world’s most thing. British shores.
inaccessible places carries a premium cachet. A true world cruise is one that circumnavi- P&O has also increased the number of
At one time, such voyages were the pre- gates the globe, but there are plenty of so- world cruises it offers. Customers can choose
from four different sailings between
September 2010 and January 2011, while
Far East, Australia & World Cruise facts Yachts of Seabourn is offering its first world
cruise next year.
Sample cruises Lines such as Crystal Cruises, Princess
Yachts of Seabourn (0845 070 0500; www.seabourn.com) is offering a 14- Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises also
night voyage from Hong Kong to Singapore, via Vietnam and Thailand on offer global voyages.
January 30, 2010. Prices start at £3,399, excluding flights.
A 12-day sailing from Sydney to Auckland is offered by Princess Cruises (0845 Mix of destinations
3555 800, www.princess.com) on January 28, 2010, from £2,612, including flights. World cruises and long voyages generally call
P&O Cruises (0845 678 0014, www.pocruises.com) is offering a 94-night at around 30 ports, including a mix of tried
world cruise on its ship Arcadia, departing Southampton on and tested destinations and offbeat locations
January 10 for 34 ports in 23 countries. Prices start at £8,406. – some of which are only accessible by ship.
They tend to last between 80 and 110 days
Princess Cruises

Other useful cruise contacts and are split into segments ranging from
Crystal Cruises (020 7287 9040, around 12 nights to 30 nights – the so-called
www.crystalcruises.co.uk) “line” voyages that sail from one point to
Cunard Line (0845 678 0013, www.cunard.co.uk) another. The most popular one is generally
Fred Olsen Cruises (01473 746175, www.fredolsencruises.com) Australia or New Zealand.
Holland America Line (0845 351 0557, www.hollandamerica.co.uk) Some world cruises depart and return to
Oceania Cruises (0845 858 0827, www.oceaniacruises.co.uk) UK ports such as Southampton or Dover
Orion Expedition Cruises (020 8545 2617, www.orionexpeditions.com) while others sail from ports including Miami,
Paul Gauguin Cruises (020 7434 0089, www.pgcruises.co.uk) Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale and New York.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises (02380 682280, www.rssc.co.uk) Those departing from the UK tend to sail
Royal Caribbean International (0844 493 4005, www.royalcaribbean.co.uk) to Australia via the Mediterranean, calling at
Saga Cruises (0800 096 0079, www.saga.co.uk/travel) ports such as Bangkok, Hong Kong and
Spirit of Adventure (0800 015 6984, www.spiritofadventure.co.uk) Sydney. An alternative route could be sailing
Star Clippers (0845 200 6145, www.starclippers.co.uk) south from Europe to South Africa and return-
Star Cruises (0845 201 8913, www.starcruises.com) ing via Latin America and the Caribbean.
Silversea Cruises (0844 770 9030, www.silversea.com) Passengers who book the full voyage often
Swan Hellenic (0845 246 9700, www.swanhellenic.com) enjoy extra benefits, with lines such as
Voyages of Discovery (0845 018 1808, www.voyagesofdiscovery.co.uk) Silversea and Crystal offering free shore-side
activities and selected excursions.
Make sure you check out the website of the Passenger Shipping Association, Other perks include onboard spending
which represents all the main cruise lines, at www.discover-cruises.co.uk credits and a free hotel stay on the eve of
departure. TL

28 The Travel & Leisure Magazine November/December 2009

 CRUISE news
CRUISE CLIPS Mickey cruises over to Dover
Long-haul holiday firm

Qantas Holidays has
introduced a wide range of
cruises to its brochure that
can be combined with other
travel arrangements in the
Princess Cruises
D
on your Mickey Mouse ears and take to
■ Disney Magic.
the high seas because next year Disney Inset: Goofy with
is coming to town – or rather Disney young cruisers
Cruises is!
For the first time ever, the company will offer
cruises from the UK on one of its ships, Disney
Magic, which will be based at Dover.
In total, the ship will spend five months in
Europe, from April to August, mainly sailing

■ Down Under cruises added
Far East and Australasia. It
now offers more than 75
voyages with Costa Cruises,
Princess Cruises, Holland
America Line and Yachts of
Seabourn.
from Barcelona.
But it will spend most of June and July at
Dover from where it will offer four 12-night
Northern European Capitals itineraries through
the Baltic Sea to St Petersburg, calling at other
cities such as Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm.
Passengers preferring to cruise the
Mediterranean can opt for one of Disney Magic’s
10 and 11-night sailings from Barcelona calling
at destinations such as Malta, Tunis and Naples.

Green-fingered cruise
passengers can join a one-
week Springtime in Norway
cruise with Fred Olsen Cruise
Lines aboard its ship, Balmoral,
during which the celebrity
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
Alternatively, they can choose its seven-night
Barcelona-Dover cruise in June or eight-night
return voyage from Dover to Barcelona in July.
Disney claims its Baltic cruises will combine
the region’s rich history, culture and folklore with
its own unique family-friendly ambience that will
help to bring each destination to life.
The last time a Disney cruise ship sailed in
Europe was in 2007 when it offered
Mediterranean voyages.
“The response from guests was overwhelm-
Disney
“We are thrilled to bring the ship back and
look to make the 2010 season in the
Mediterranean even better with new destinations
and more one-of-a-kind Disney experiences for
our guests.”
● Prices for the Northern Europe Capitals cruise
with Disney Cruise (020 8222 2856,
www.disneycruise.disney.go.com) start at
approximately £2,299 and include dining, enter-

ingly positive,” said Disney Cruise Line president tainment, character experiences and “select”
Karl Holz. onboard activities.

■ Join Alan Titchmarsh

aboard Balmoral
speaker will be celebrity
gardener Alan Titchmarsh.
Online travel agency
Cruise.co.uk is offering a
special package with two talks
exclusively arranged for its
Island hop Scotch
L
uxury Scottish isles cruise
ship Hebridean Princess,
which the Queen hired for
her 80th birthday celebrations,
is to offer a new range of
themed sailings next year.
Hebridean Island Cruises

customers from £599. Hebridean Island Cruises is

Get in tune on a musical
sea voyage with Hurtigruten,
which is offering onboard
concerts and a performance
in Oslo’s new opera house as
part of a six-night sailing from
Tromso to Bergen and Oslo
on January 4, costing from
£1,230.
known for offering upmarket
cruises through the highlands and
islands of Scotland and hopes to
■ Hebridean Princess
attract more customers with addi-
tional special-interest cruises as
well as the line’s first guest ting seabirds, eagles, different through the Argyll lochs and to
speaker, nature expert Tim Earl. species of fish, wild deer and some lesser-known Hebridean
He joins two Hebridean even orchids, in wildlife sessions islands, plus a return to Northern
wildlife voyages next summer on deck or on forays ashore. Ireland and the Isle of Man and
and will give passengers an Other new additions include the introduction of a Hebridean
invaluable introduction to spot- sailings along the Firth of Clyde, Surprise mystery cruise.

November/December 2009 The Travel & Leisure Magazine 29