Celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Tour In Royal Style

With members of the Royal family set to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee by touring the globe in 2012, why not follow in their footsteps and embark on a majestic adventure of your own with Royal Caribbean? 

Follow in Prince Harry's footsteps and visit The Bahamas on board the world’s biggest cruise ship Allure of the Seas, on a nine-night Eastern Caribbean fly/cruise from £1,516 per person (based on two people sharing an inside cabin). The price includes return flights from London Heathrow, one-night pre-cruise hotel accommodation, transfers and a seven-night cruise departing Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and calling at Nassau (Bahamas), Charlotte Amalie (St Thomas) and Philipsburg (St. Maarten) before returning to Fort Lauderdale; all meals and entertainment on board; and all relevant cruise taxes/fees, based on a March 4 departure. 

Or follow the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall Down Under on Radiance of the Seas on a 20-night Australia & New Zealand fly/cruise from £2,585.00 per person (based on two sharing an inside cabin). This price includes return flights from London Heathrow, one-night pre-cruise hotel accommodation, transfers, and an 18-night cruise departing Perth (Australia) and calling at Albany, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart (all Australia), and Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, Dusky Sound, Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington (all New Zealand) before arriving in Sydney; all meals and entertainment onboard and all relevant cruise taxes/fees. Price is based on an October 28 departure.

For booking details, be sure to check out this link with the UK's leading specialist cruise agents, The Cruise Line Ltd.

Sub Antarctic Wildlife Adventure

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Here's a great option to voyage south - WAY south! - on the world’s youngest purpose-built expedition cruise ship, Orion, to the World Heritage listed Sub-Antarctic Islands and mainland Antarctica.

These expeditions particularly suit modern-day adventurers, those with an interest in polar exploration, nature lovers and keen wildlife and seascape photographers, as well as anyone with an adventurous spirit interested in visiting remote places of outstanding historic and ecologic importance.

Surrounded by the Southern Ocean, secluded and seldom visited, these Sub-Antarctic Islands have UNESCO World Heritage status, recognising one of our planet’s most important bio-diverse regions with their volcanic and glacial geological formations and extraordinary diversity of flora and fauna.

The remnants of the old whaling station on Macquarie Island, the high cliffs and numerous caves and arches formed by marine erosion on Campbell Island and the enormous sea stacks on the southern peninsulas of The Snares present dramatic contrast to the prolific bird life, penguins, fur and elephant seals, sea lions, killer whales and unique flora seen in this remote region.

This 13-night cruise departs Jan 15 and Dec 20, 2011, from Dunedin and visits Fiordland, Stewart Island, Snares Island, Auckland Island, Campbell Island and Macquarie Island before arriving in Hobart. Prices from £5,745 per person, including 13 nights onboard Orion, all meals, entertainment and educational programmes, use of the ship’s sporting equipment and facilities, Zodiac excursions, port and handling charges, tender transfers and government fees and taxes.

For more information on this and other sub-Antarctic expeditions, visit http://www.orionexpeditions.com/ or see the Adventure Cruise Collection of UK adventure crusie specialists The Cruise Line Ltd.

Luxury Expedition Cruises to Australasia

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Qantas Holidays has introduced a new programme of luxury expedition cruises to explore remote areas of Australasia with Orion Expedition Cruises. The cruise options are:

• 2010 Expedition Cruises in Australasia with 7 nights Wild Tasmania from £2,699
• 2011 Expedition Cruises in Australasia with 2 nights New Zealand Expedition Sampler from £959
• 2011 Expedition Cruises in Asia with 7 nights Gulf of Siam Explorer from £3,349

Orion Expedition Cruises is a fantastic way to explore Australasia and Asia, combining luxury cruising with the chance to get up close and personal with the people, wildlife and culture. 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 luxury of the cruise ship.

2010 Expedition Cruises in Australasia– 7 nights Wild Tasmania from £2,699

Highlights include unrivalled glimpses of the amazing scenery, culture and bio-diversity of Australia and New Zealand. The ‘Wild Tasmania’ cruise starts and ends in Hobart and departs on December 1, taking in the starkly beautiful Flinders Island along with the dramatic, red granite peaks of Wineglass Bay and apple blossom and vineyards of Port Huon.

2011 Expedition Cruises in Australasia – including 2 nights New Zealand Expedition Sampler from £959

From the two night ‘New Zealand Expedition Sampler’ (departing February 24) up to the 20 night ‘Scott and Shackleton’s Antarctica’ (departing January 27, from £12,635), the 2011 programme has something for adventurers of all tastes and budget. The ‘New Zealand Expedition Sampler’ offers a taste of the coastline of bays and white sand beaches of the beautiful Bay of Islands, where the Maoris first arrived.

2011 Expedition Cruises in Asia – including 7 nights Gulf of Siam Explorer from £3,349

Explore Japan’s inland sea, the rainforests of Borneo, the temples of Thailand and the Mekong Delta from the comfort of the Orion II, fresh from an £11million refit. The ‘Gulf of Siam Explorer’ operates from Singapore to Bangkok or in reverse, departing on October 10 and December 22, 2011. Highlights include visiting sublime islands and beaches as well as some of Asia’s major centres, seeing both traditional and modern Asia from a different perspective, often far away from the crowds.

All prices include all 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; Zodiac excursions and tender transfers.

Fares do not include: travel and medical insurance, laundry charges, shopping onboard, bar expenses, optional shore experiences, medical treatment, telephone and internet charges, international and domestic flights. All prices are ‘from’ prices, per person, based on two adults sharing. Qantas Holidays general booking conditions apply.

For more information, visit http://www.qantasholidays.co.uk/. For more info on a wide range of expedition voyages, including Orion Expedition Cruises, see the Adventure Cruise Collection of specialist agent The Cruise Line Ltd on this link: http://www.cruiseline.co.uk/Adventure-Cruises.

Experience the Heroic side of Polar Exploration

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Have you ever imagined spending New Year's Eve or early 2011 as part of an Antarctic expedition? If so, you can join the purpose-built expedition cruise ship Orion for a modern-day exploration of Antarctica with departures leaving from Dunedin (New Zealand) in December 2010, and Hobart in January 2011.

Cross the Antarctic Circle before heading for Cape Denison and a rare visit to Douglas Mawson's historic huts, built for the 1911-1914 'Australian Antarctic Expedition'; or explore the Ross Sea region, including Scott and Shackleton's bases still surviving from the 'Heroic Era' of Antarctic exploration. These timber buildings are rare in a world context and are literally frozen in time.

The purpose built expedition ship Orion (with the benefits of oversized stabilisers, retractable sonar and ice-strengthened hull) provides her 100 guests with all the needs of today's adventurers: technology, safety and creature comforts that include fine food and wines, a gym, boutique, hairdressing, sauna and massage facilities - as well as 80 staff, specialist lecturers and polar expedition crew to look after their every need.

These are true expeditions, crossing the Antarctic Circle and voyaging further south than the position of the South Magnetic Pole. Magnetic compasses are useless in these waters, an area that remains largely unsurveyed. Orion's ten Zodiacs, purpose designed expedition transport for intrepid modern day adventurers, will be put to good use for landings ashore in Antarctica and World Heritage listed sub-Antarctic Snares, Auckland and Macquarie Islands, pristine breeding grounds for a huge array of wildlife.

On Macquarie Island, the King penguin colony alone is estimated to have in excess of 170,000 breeding pairs. So rare are visitors here that they are usually ignored by birds, seals and penguins alike as they go about their daily business. See Elephant seals, some weighing as much as three tonnes - more than a car - and the massed gathering of Royal penguins coming and going from the sea.

These are never-to-be-forgotten expeditions to some of the most exciting and wondrous places on earth.

For more information, go to http://www.orionexpeditions.com/ or see the Adventure Cruise Collection brochure.

New Added Value from Orion

ORION EXPEDITION CRUISES OFFERS OUTSTANDING

EXTRA ACCOMMODATION PACKAGES

Orion Expedition Cruises, the leading operator of five-star expedition cruising in the Australasian region, has launched a range of inclusive value-added accommodation packages aimed at enhancing guest experiences on Orion’s seven-night Australian voyages in November and December 2010. This effectively adds another two or three nights to the holiday experience at no additional cost to the regular Orion expedition fare.

Guests can select from one of the following pre or post voyage accommodation options, staying in some of the finest and most sought after hotel and spa/lodge properties available:

Cairns – Qualia or Pullman Reef Hotel Casino
Sydney – Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort or Four Seasons Hotel
Melbourne – Chateau Yering or Crown Metropol Hotel
Hobart – Saffire, Freycinet or Henry Jones Art Hotel

These premium two- and three-night accommodation packages are worth up to AUS$5,000 and include meals, transfers and private tours, representing significant added value for guests.

The added value promotion applies to new bookings only based on Category A staterooms and above. Only one accommodation package can be chosen for each relevant voyage and it must be chosen at the time of booking. Accommodation packages subject to availability. For guests not wishing to take the inclusive accommodation package, savings of up to 15% are available. Some conditions apply.

Prices for the seven-night voyages start from £2,780 per person cruise only, based on twin share. Price includes seven nights onboard accommodation, all meals, entertainment and educational programmes, use of the ship’s sporting equipment and facilities, Zodiac excursions, port and handling charges, tender transfers and government fees and taxes.