With Seabourn’s luxury cruise ship Encore in port in Auckland as part of her season in the South Pacific, Seabourn’s New Zealand based representatives invited Fine Travel onboard for a tour.
With the Viking Sun in Auckland as part of her attempt to set a Guinness Record for the longest World Cruise itinerary, some of the Fine Travel team joined Viking’s New Zealand Commercial Manager for an inspection.
The cruise lines offering Expedition Cruises have taken clear steps to be more inclusive. Voyages are educational experiences with cruise lines offering itineraries and voyages on a spectrum of “soft expedition” through to “true expedition”.
“This may be a stupid question, but there don’t seem to be any TVs in the cabins?”. Our guide (the assistant Purser and a fellow Kiwi called Willow) gives us an insight into a guest’s time onboard the Coral Discoverer – “Oh, there’s no time for watching TV”.
For holidaymakers looking for a special offer on a cruise holiday, it can feel like you’re spoilt for choice. It’s difficult to read the newspaper or walk past a travel agency without seeing a cruise discount, deal or special offer. But for all the attention grabbing headlines, the “Last minute” sale is only likely to appeal to certain travellers. We explore why.
“It’s yachting, not cruising” the SeaDream Yacht Club proudly states – and on closer investigation, their meaning is clear. At a time when cruise holidays are dominated by “mega ships” make headlines and seemingly squeeze an impressive number of passengers into a floating theme park / shopping mall, SeaDream presents an alternative that has more in common with owning a private yacht.
When planning a cruise holiday, once you’ve settled on an itinerary and a cruise line, choosing the right stateroom is an important decision – once you are onboard you are generally committed. To assist with this process for the popular Viking Ocean Cruises, we summarise the highlights and inclusions for each stateroom type.
If you’re considering a cruise holiday in 2019, why not opt for one of the best on the seas?
When Ponant first offered cruise itineraries from New Zealand, I was interested to learn that it offered Antarctica cruises. My initial impression was that Ponant, a luxury French cruise line, would be a cruise line for the Mediterranean. Learning that it was one of the leading “luxury expedition” cruise lines was an eye opener and explains why Ponant is making an additional commitment to its fleet for Expedition cruises.
Whenever the Oceania Cruises’ ships come to Auckland the ship inspections are highly sought after. With a focus on cuisine and fine art, time onboard in Auckland gives the Fine Travel team a true appreciation of what our clients can experience in the Mediterranean.