Luxury Expedition Cruises to Australasia

By guest blogger Steve Newman

If you’ve been following us here on the blog since January, you’ll know we’ve concentrated quite a lot on expedition and adventure cruising. Qantas Holidays now has introduced a new programme of luxury expedition cruises to explore remote areas of Australasia with one of our favourite operators, Orion Expedition Cruises.

The cruise options include Wild Tasmania, with this cruise starting and ending in Hobart and departing on 1 December 2010, taking in the starkly beautiful Flinders Island along with the dramatic, red granite peaks of stunning Wineglass Bay and apple blossom and vineyards of Port Huon.

Other Orion cruises will take in New Zealand, Borneo, The Mekong Delta and the Gulf of Siam.

Their flagship Orion is a purpose-built vessel designed to access the inaccessible, all in 5-star luxury. The ship combines the best and the latest in design with maritime and environmental technology, comfort and casual elegance. From the ice-strengthened hull to the chilled champagne and superb cuisine, this is expedition cruising at its finest.

Orion II (above), which is due to join in May 2011, is another private yacht-like expedition cruiser and again offers the finest standards in small-ship travel. She, too, has an ice-strengthened hull for voyages in the Arctic and Antarctic and is fitted with stabilisers.

The expedition equipment includes Zodiacs and fast tender to deliver the full Orion expedition experience. Combining luxury and service, she will be staffed by 68 officers and crew to serve her capacity of 100 guests.

As we never tire of pointing out, Orion Expedition Cruises is a fantastic way to explore Australasia and Asia, combining high-quality cruising with the chance to get up close and personal with the people, wildlife and cultures. Many parts of the Asia-Pacific region remain largely inaccessible to conventional touring options but, with Orion, travellers can get to remote areas with experienced expedition leaders, hopping onboard Zodiac boats to get into small inlets and islands, returning each night to the comfort of the mother ship.

All prices include: Taxes, fees and port related charges, cruise transportation, all meals onboard, 24-hour room service, entertainment and educational programmes, use of ship’s sporting equipment and facilities and Zodiac excursions and tender transfers.

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.