Cruise-Australia.com where you will Discover a Wonderful World of Cruising at its very Best.
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Please Note: Cruise-Australia and my other related maritime sites are 100% non-commercial and privately owned sites. Please be assured that I am NOT associated with any cruise company or any travel or cruise agency, etc. Also I do not accept advertising nor donations as all sites are fully funded by me! In addition, I pay full fare for all my cruises as I will not accept “freebies”, therefore you can be assured that all views expressed herein are completely without any bias whatsoever!
Welcome to Cruise-Australia.com a website that
has been online since the early 1990’s. Cruise-Australia has
been designed especially for Australian’s,
Records have proven that Australia has become
the world’s fastest growing cruise market, and considering I
have been in the Passenger Shipping and the Cruise Industry for
over sixty years, having commenced in New Zealand as a travel
agent and then worked up to a manager, later to become the head
of a major International around the world passenger Shipping
Company in Australia, followed by operating a Cruise Company, I
certainly know a great deal about the industry, an industry I
love greatly! Although now many years later, I had to retire due
to rather extreme ill health, but when it is possible I still
make an attempt to continue to share my vast knowledge with those
who love to take their vacation by sea. Although I have to be
honest, myself like many regular cruise passengers are not fond
of the today’s modern great big cruise ships that 1.
Look more like Apartment Blocks, or as many regulars say per
email; “Great big square boxes on a hull” or 2.
“
Royal
Accommodating 4,905 passengers & a crew of 1,500, thus a total of 6,405 persons on board
That is called “Travelling with a Crowd”!
Please Note: Whenever I and
Maritime
Historian, Cruise‘n’Ship Reviewer, Author &
Lecturer.
Please Note: This page is in Two Parts. Part One directly below has two News Items and an point of interest, whist Part Two contains stories regarding four cruise companies, operating from small luxury cruise ships to larger ones, and each is highly recommended! Also a story regarding various ships operating on our shores. Then there is an item regarding a series of my personal Cruise Reviews, mostly on the Pacific Aria and other ships on Pacific, NZ, Barrier Reef or PNG cruises, etc. Enjoy!
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Seabourn elevates “Tea Time”
with a Newly Enhanced
Daily Afternoon Tea Service aboard every
Ship!
The key element of Seabourn’s new
Afternoon Tea Service is the line’s addition of the finest
luxury tea brand “TWG Tea”. Established in
“We are always looking at ways to take the
amenities and services at the heart of the Seabourn cruise
experience to the next level, and our new Afternoon Tea Service
does just that,” said
In keeping with English tradition, Seabourn’s new Afternoon Tea Service is nestled conveniently between lunch and dinner, available from 4 and 5 p.m. daily in the Observation Bar.
The Observation Bar on board the Seabourn Odyssey
Served are, loose-leaf tea selections from
“TWG Tea”, the finest luxury tea brand whose
collection is the largest in the world, include choices such as
English Earl Grey, Imperial Lapsang Souchong, and Highlands BOP
Ceylon. They are delivered to the table by the highly trained
staff and properly served on handcrafted china from “Bernardaud”,
the family-owned French porcelain company originally established
in
TWG Tea has been greatly awarded as being one of the finest Teas in the world!
Afternoon Tea will also be accompanied by a set selection of sweet desserts and savoury snacks that will change daily on a rotating cycle, including gluten-free and vegetarian options, presented upon a stylish three-tiered display tray at the guest’s table in the Observation Bar. A sand clock, started as soon as the tea hits the water, is left at the table to ensure that guests can steep their tea precisely the way they like it while the service staff explains the tea’s origins and how different steeping times can enhance the flavour.
Afternoon Tea is a traditional British tea service served at 4 p.m. between lunch and dinner, focused on serving light fare that includes scones, finger sandwiches, jam and marmalade. With roots going back for generations, history says that Afternoon Tea dates back to the mid-1800s and the Duchess of Bedford. At the time, kerosene lamps in wealthier homes helped usher in a late dinner, often served around 8 or 9 p.m., leaving people of the era, including the Duchess, feeling a bit hungry between meals. She decided to regularly invite friends over for tea and a selection of snacks during the late afternoon.
The idea of Afternoon Tea eventually spread across society, growing into a social occasion that continues to draw people together for interesting conversation to this day.
Seabourn’s enhanced Afternoon Tea Service is now being offered across the Seabourn fleet, with the TWG brand implementation ongoing and set to be completed in the coming weeks.
The
wonderful Seabourn Odyssey is seen her at-Dusk
Enter
my Seabourn feature
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P&O Cruises - will off-load the both the
Pacific Dawn to her new owners in February 2021, but the bad news
for Australian cruise lovers, P&O is also getting selling the
best and most luxurious ship in the entire P&O Cruises fleet,
as she is the only ship that has ever retained the # One
rating throughout her entire career with P&O, and
no other ship has been able to get it from her not even the
latest addition to the fleet the Pacific Explorer. Thus it is
with great sadness that I have to announce that the Pacific Aria
will leave
The proud bow of the wonderful Pacific Aria is seen with the Southern Cross beautifully draped over it
Both ships are to be retired as they will be replaced by the very much larger Pacific Adventure (ex Golden Princess) and the just named Pacific Encounter, currently sailing as the Star Princess, which will join the fleet in November 2021.
Pacific Dawn’s final voyage under the
P&O Cruises Australia banner is scheduled on February 8,
2021, which will see her sail from Melbourne, Australia, around
the east coast of Australia and then to Singapore where she will
end her voyage and be handed over to her future owners. The
Pacific Aria will make a similar voyage from
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Let’s Talk About Cruising
Over countless years I have written features
and reviews on countless worthy Cruise Ships and their respective
companies in order to better inform cruise and ship enthusiasts
… 1; for their pleasure, 2; but more so to
ensure that you, my wonderful readers will make the best-informed
choice possible on what kind of ship, or which ship will be just
right for you. Below I am featuring some wonderful small-ship
operators that offer as you will see with the next some real
Magic, and by that I really mean it, for the reviews I received
have simply outstanding to say the least. Thereafter I cover the
luxury passenger/cargo ship MV Aranui 5 based in
MV
Their first two vessels were originally built
as Irish wooden Herring Trawlers but they were converted in
The
spacious Dinning Room, Lounge, library & Bar on the
The latest ship of the fleet the MV Glen Shiel
The
Lounge on the
These vessels looked much the same externally, but on the internally on Main Deck, rather than having the one large main public venue, these new ships had two, with a spacious Lounge, Bar, Library, a flat screen TV located forward with the Dining Room with a smaller Lounge area being located aft. You will find a comprehensive Multi Page Feature online detailing this worthwhile cruise experience with a difference, complete with photographs, reviews and deck plans via the link below.
World famous TV star and vocalist Miss June McDonald cruised on the Glen Tarsan and she loved her experience so much, that she stated, “I will be going again, but next time on the 10 day cruise, for it is the experience of a lifetime, and I just loved it!”
These cruises are of a very high standard and fares for a 3 night cruise are from AU$ 1,976.00, and a 6 night cruise from AU$ 3,838.50, there are also 10 day cruises. The service and cuisine on board a Majestic ship is of the highest standard possible, and this company is highly recommended by the Author, and no I have never been in contact with the company.
“The Majestic Line” fabulous four mini-cruise-ships that will capture you and delight you!
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Then what about
Maori language being all part of the CPTM ships great Polynesian history and culture
Photograph © by CPTM
Thus as you can see from the amazing ship
above, the MV Aranui 5 will offer her 254 Guests comfortable,
air-conditioned accommodations in remarkable comfort, for this is
certainly not a traditional cargo ship that just has some
passenger accommodations, but this is more of a luxury passenger
ship that just happens to also carry cargo and mail to the
many Islands it visits, which really makes the voyage
so much more interesting! On her spacious aft decks the ship
offers her Guests space to sunbathe, swim in the pool and enjoy
exotic tropical drinks while she wends her way among the
countless beautiful tropical
Enter
the MV Aranui 5 Cruising around the Beautiful
Including the magical Tuamotu and Marquesas Archipelago’s
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This is
“Quality Small-Ship Cruise Operator” by
“cruise-australia.com”.
The Company has grown from just one small
rather basic vessel to a fine fleet of glamorous small expedition
ships that sail around
The new 5,599-tonne Coral Adventurer, will be followed by her new sister
the Coral Geographer which will arrive in November 2020
Image © Coral Expeditions
Launched in April 2019 and purpose-built to take guests closer to unspoilt vistas in comfort, style and safety, the luxurious Coral Adventurer accommodates 120 guests in 60 spacious staterooms and she has a cruising speed of 13.5 knots. She is a culmination of years of design and three decades of passion for expedition cruising, the Coral Adventurer has over 1000 sqm of open deck space including a wrap-around promenade deck with panoramic views. There are multiple indoor and outdoor bars, including the Explorer bar up on sundeck, she has a well-equipped gym, and a passenger elevator, all of which creates an environment designed for guest comfort. Coral Adventurer has captured the unique requirements for both guests, and the ships crew.
But above all it will be the countless
incredible destinations she will visit that will make the cruise,
combined with a ship that has the highest quality equipment and
technology that will make her perfect ship to sail the Indonesian
archipelago,
Then there is also the state-of-the-art 1,838-ton, MV Coral Discoverer (built in 2005, but completely refurbished in 2016), being an intimate, Australian cruise ship and she has become a much sought after small cruise ship operating at a cruising speed of 14 knots.
The luxurious MV Coral Discoverer
In Addition there is also the Coral Expedition
II, which mostly operates 3 and 4 night
Explore the Magic of the Coral Expeditions a fleet of Intimate Expedition Ships
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Besides the smaller companies shown on this
page, there are the more traditional larger ship companies, as
well as the more glamorous super luxury smaller up-market Cruise
Lines, such as “Silversea,” “Seabourn”,
“SeaDream Yacht Club” and “Viking Ocean
Cruises” and of course the luxurious “Holland
America Line.” HAL’s luxury ships cruise to and
from
Visit
my ms Oosterdam Feature
Another
HAL visitor to
whilst she is on her around the world voyages. HAL is the world’s highest Rated Cruise Line
as well as having the highest Rated Cuisine served to their Guests at Sea
Enter
my ms Amsterdam Ship Review when she was in
All Cruise Companies & ships can be
found on the Index Bar at the bottom of the page.
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But I would now like to turn to an ever growing and a most successful British cruise company “Cruise Maritime Voyages” or CMV, who commenced in 2010. Today they have a fleet of six ships in operation, and they prefer to operate both modern as well as some of the best maintained and beautifully refurbished classic style cruise ships including the greatly loved MS Marco Polo.
A
cruise review by
I recommend a cruise on the traditional
The
newest ship in the fleet the ms
Also
visit https://cmvaustralia.com/
for Australian based voyages
Above I have shown just a very small insight
into a very big world of cruising that is available to you, and I
have not forgotten the local scene, such as P&O cruises
Australia, as I have cruised on the Pacific Aria frequently,
being such a fine ship, and of course P&O Cruises Australia
has undergone a complete transformation, with all the existing
ships that remain having taken on much of the very stylish décor
and themes from the Pacific Aria and placed them on the Pacific
Dawn, giving the old girl a whole new look! And of course on
P&O’s newer arrivals the ex
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November 2019: My dear friend and Carer, Eng Tan have just returned from one of our many cruises on the delightful ms Pacific Aria, we have reached every corner of the Pacific as well as North Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef, as we have been so fortunate to cruise a good number of times to magical Papua New Guinea, as well as the wonderful “The Bounty” cruise, which visits Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, amongst other wonderful tropical Islands.
However, our last cruise was our beloved PNG cruise and we had smooth sailing to say the least, but soon we will see the Aria head off to New Zealand and Adelaide, and in February 2021 she will leave P&O forever, like a few of the other ships that have been sold off. Yet the Pacific Aria is the best ship in the fleet! You will soon come to see that I and countless of other past passengers who love this magnificent ship, considering she has the best cabins of all the P&O ships, as all cabins has a lounge area with a sofa and a coffee table and so much more, etc. In addition, she is officially rated the Number One ship in the fleet, yet they are dumping her. My review of our recent PNG cruise will cover some of the reasons quite comprehensively.
Photograph by & © Mr. Hun-Eng Tan
Including
an INDEX to other cruises & “The … “
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Enter the Cruise Index Below
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The Author has been in Passenger Shipping & the Cruise Industry for some 60 years!
Photographs on cruise-australia.com & .net are: 1. By the author. 2. From the author’s private collection. 3. As provided by Shipping Companies and their Publicity Companies as well as by private photographers or collectors. Credit is given to all contributors. However, there are some photographs provided without details regarding the photographer concerned., therefore I hereby invite if owners of those images to be so kind and make them-selves known to me, in order that due credit may be given!
This notice covers all pages, although, I have done my best to ensure that all photographs are duly credited and that this notice is displayed on each page, that is, when a page is updated!
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