AMA's Autumn Specials

River-cruise specialists AMA Waterways have three bumper special offers to tempt savvy travellers this autumn, with a diverse choice of eastern Europe, France and Vietnam.

Take your pick from the following tempting trio:

Black Sea Voyage with up to £445pp saving

Cruise the lower Danube through five countries, from Rousse in Bulgaria to Budapest, Hungary, with daily port calls and complimentary tours and excursions on a 7-night voyage on board the luxurious 5-star river cruiser AmaDolce. AMA's Black Sea sailing now costs from just £1,395 per person (was £1,840pp) with all meals, wine with dinner, free use of onboard bicycles, free Wi-Fi and all port taxes. 

Autumn wine-themed cruise, saving £499pp

This blissful 7-night voyage sails from Lyon to Arles (and in reverse) on board the luxury river cruiser, AmaDagio, cruising through legendary wine regions such as Beaujolais and Cote du Rhone. The cruise departs on October 11 and 18 and costs from £1,591pp (was £2,091), including wine tastings at local vintners, daily tours and excursions, all meals, wine with dinner, free use of onboard bicycles, free Wi-Fi and all port taxes. 

Cruise the Mekong  
Experience the exotic villages, towns, markets and temples of the mighty Mekong River on a 7-night river cruise from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City in Cambodia and Vietnam. This 10-night adventure departs on November 10 and includes a night stay in Siem Reap, a 7-night cruise, two overnight UK flights and all necessary transfers. It now costs from just £2,695pp, a saving of some 30 per cent.

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line, the UK's river cruising specialists.

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SeaDream's Asia Debut

SeaDream Yacht Club has announced that, for the first time, they will deploy one of their twin mega-yachts, SeaDream II, to Asia for the winter season 2013/14 after the completion of her advertised summer Mediterranean season.

The first of her Asia programme departures is “Passage to the Far East”, which will depart Athens on October 12 and include a transit of the Suez Canal, excursions to Egypt’s fascinating archeological sites (accompanied by an Egyptologist) en route to Mumbai, India. Prices for this epic 15-night voyage start from £4,050 per person, including all fees and port taxes. 

 

From Mumbai, she will sail onwards via Cochin, Sri Lanka, and the Andaman Islands to Thailand, before dropping down to Singapore. This 13-night trans-Indian Ocean sailing costs from £3,995 per person, including fees and taxes.

Thereafter, SeaDream II will visit almost every coastal country in South East Asia, as well as visiting Northern Australia during a six-month programme featuring Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, East Timor, Indonesia, New Guinea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Hong Kong.

Offering 18 unique sailings in total, each voyage offers unique and exciting ports of call, each ranging from seven to fifteen nights duration. Most may be combined to create longer back-to-back holidays. Typical 7-night itineraries such as the “Asian New Year Celebration Cruise” from Phuket to Singapore on December 28, cost from £3,645 per person while a typical longer voyage such as the 14-night “Voyage of the Warrors” sailing from Cairns to Bali on February 1, 2014, costs from £5,995.

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line, the UK's luxury cruising specialists.

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Explore The East With Swan Hellenic

Swan Hellenic have a wonderful 15-day Middle East cruise option this November on their boutique ship Minerva.

Highlights include ancient Egyptian temples on the banks of the River Nile and French colonial architecture in Djibouti. Guests can delve into the maze of souks in Muscat (Oman) - a treasure trove of silver and gold, coffee pots, frankincense and textiles - and, from the port town of Khasab (Oman), visit traditional Bedouin villages before travelling onto the diverse city of Dubai and the historic Bastakiya district.

The Passage to Oman voyage starts from £1,705 per person (based on two people sharing an inside cabin). The cruise departs on November 21 from Safaga (Egypt, overnight) and calls at Djibouti, Salalah (Oman), Muscat (overnight), Khasab and Dubai (overnight).

Price of cruise includes return flights from the UK, transfers, a tailor-made programme of shore excursions, talks by eminent Guest Speakers, meals and entertainment on board, all gratuities and all relevant cruise taxes/fees. 

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line, the UK's luxury cruising specialists.

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Azamara's 2014 Overnight Bonanza

Offering more late-night and overnight stays in port, Azamara Club Cruises has announced the 2014 deployment of its twin boutique ships Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest.

The cruise line’s new 2014 programme enables guests to experience the nightlife of compelling destinations around the world that larger ships cannot reach, and includes a record 45 maiden port calls, such as the UNESCO World Geopark Langkawi, Malaysia; Maura in the Sultanate of Brunei; and the charming island-village Vila do Abraao, a favourite Brazilian getaway.

Guests can choose among 72 new voyages, ranging from four to 17 nights and visiting 240 destinations in 66 countries throughout Europe, the Far East, Central and South America, the Caribbean and the Western U.S. coast.

 

Most of Azamara's voyages are designed so travellers can combine two or more consecutive voyages for an extended travel experience and not repeat a port call. Some of the 2014 highlights include:

 

• Azamara Journey will sail 12 to 17-night voyages throughout the East and South China seas from January to April, alternating departures from Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai and Chennai. On these sailings, guests will visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites, such as Halong Bay, Borobudur, Parambanan and Sangiran, and enjoy the nightlife of Tokyo, Shanghai and Bangkok to name a few, during their overnight stays. The ship then repositions via the Indian Ocean and Suez Canal to arrive for its European season in May.
• Azamara Quest will offer a pair of trans-Panama Canal voyages between Miami and Costa Rica, plus a new series of Sea of Cortez and Central America sailings, ranging from 10 to 14-nights. Quest will also sail an 11-night voyage to less-trodden islands of the Caribbean, such as St. John’s, St. Barth’s and Virgin Gorda, before returning to Europe in April.
• In late November, Azamara Journey will depart from Spain’s Costa del Sol to beautiful Brazil via the Canary Islands. Guests can celebrate Christmas and the New Year as they sail from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro. Meanwhile, Azamara Quest will retrace the Spice Route to the Far East and ring in the New Year in Hong Kong.

Prices start from £1,073 for a four-night Monaco Grand Prix sailing on May 22 on Azamara Quest (based on two people sharing an inside stateroom), cruise only.

 

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's luxury cruising specialists.

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Star Clippers New Taster Cruises

To enable guests to try out their unique tall-ship experience in the Baltic, Star Clippers have added some more ‘taster’ cruises in 2013, with four-night break breaks from Amsterdam to Hamburg in May and Hamburg to Ostend in August.

 

There are also two opportunities to join the famous sailing parades of Germany’s Hanseatic League ports; a three-night stay in Hamburg, and an eight-night round-trip from Travemunde, during which Star Flyer participates in the Rostock Sailing Parade, a magnificent procession of tall ships from all over the world.

 

Because Star Flyer is much smaller than conventional cruise ships, itineraries include charming, out-of-the-way ports like Karlskrona and Sandhamm in Sweden, where big ships will never go, creating a real feeling of immersion in the destination.

 

A three-night experience of the Hamburg Sailing Parade on Star Flyer starts from £690, including port charges, cruise only, departing May 9, 2013.

 

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's luxury cruise specialists.

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Antarctic Whale Watching

One Ocean Expeditions has developed a new marine mammals itinerary for this coming season that offers a unique opportunity to join an Antarctic expedition to study humpback, Minke and killer whales.

The 10-day trip, embarking in Ushuaia on the March 16, will be accompanied by Dr Ari Friedlaender, a research scientist at Duke University, who has been to the Antarctic nearly 20 times on scientific voyages and whose work focuses on the feeding behaviour and movement patterns of marine mammals around the world.

Dr Friedlander, who is actively studying how climate change and global warming are affecting whales and other krill predators, is currently leading a project to track the long-term movement patterns of humpback whales around the Antarctic Peninsula to understand how they are being affected by changes to their environment.

Humpbacks are the most abundant whales around the Peninsula and there is growing evidence that, while many migrate to tropical breeding grounds, some remain in ice-free areas for longer periods due to warming climates. One Ocean will survey several bays that are the focus of long-term research projects to determine how the abundance of humpbacks changes throughout the course of the Antarctic summer.

Participants will learn how to record whale numbers, help to conduct photo surveys, determine movement patterns and identify individual animals. They will also locate and document behaviour of whales that have previously been fitted with satellite tracking devices.

Els Vermeulen, international marine consultant and founder of the Marybio Foundation, which aims to contribute to the conservation of marine mammals in Argentinean Patagonia, will also join the voyage. He is scientific advisor to the Belgian delegation in the International Whaling Commissio, and is the perfect companion to have on board during this special interest expedition.    

NB: Photo, Marius Coetzee.

For more on adventure cruising, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's cruise specialists. For One Ocean, see www.oneoceanexpeditions.com.

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Hurtigruten's Weddell Sea Savings

Hurtigruten is offering savings of more than £1,400 per person for a very special departure to Antarctica this January, following in the footsteps of polar explorer James Weddell, the first man to reach 74 degrees south, on the aptly named 'Weddell Sea Expedition.'

This amazing 13-day voyage around the spectacular Antarctic Peninsular departs on January 20 with prices leading in at just £4,285pp, based on two sharing an unspecified inside cabin allocated on arrival, and full board on the ship.

Captain James Weddell discovered the Weddell Sea in 1823 and it was also here that Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, became icebound and was crushed in 1915. Guests will sail in comfort on board MS Fram, Hurtigruten’s newest ship built specifically to sail through polar waters. The voyage promises unforgettable viewings of tabular icebergs through the Antarctic Sound, and guests can get closer to the fascinating penguin colonies and ice formations on shore in a series of landings by Polarcirkel boats.

Prices include full board on the ship, flights between Ushuaia and Buenos Aires, transfers in Ushuaia, an excursion to Ushuaia National Park, landings in Polarcirkel boats and lectures by the expedition team. International flights are extra and can be added from £1,392pp.

For bookings, follow this link to the The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's adventure cruise specialists.

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.

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