Cruising Guide: Six classic voyages
With all the excitement, entertainment and eating aboard cruise ships, the destinations themselves can sometimes be almost overlooked. And although it may not seem like it, the ship is still a vehicle, a means of travelling from port to port on an itinerary. There are scores of scheduled itineraries but there are a few classics that are the backbone of world cruising, writes Niall McIlroy.
INSIDE PASSAGE
For scenery, snow and sealife, the Inside Passage is an unbeatable experience. This is one cruise where an outside, or even better, balcony cabin is a must. Port or starboard matters not, for at the northernmost point, the ship turns and what you missed on the way up you’ll see coming back.
Inside Passage cruises depart during the northern summer, mostly from Vancouver although there are some from Seattle or even further south, San Francisco. Once off the British Columbia coast, the ship passes the hundreds of higgledy-piggledy islands that festoon the Passage, granting passengers a cavalcade of glacial scenery, unspoilt wilderness and wildlife on both land and sea. Throw in indigenous and gold-rush history with a frontier, wild-west feel — and there’s not much missing.
Expect toothpick fir forest, rugged rock beaches, snow-capped mountains and tundra and huge white glaciers that creak into the ocean. Eagles, sea birds, bears, seals and moose don’t perform to a schedule but usually make an appearance during the week-long cruise.
Some ships stop at Tracy Arm fjord where there are bears, dolphins and whales and gigantic blue glaciers.
Others stop further north at Hubbard Glacier, which stretches more than 100km from the Yukon.
Alaska’s State capital Juneau, settled during the gold-rush era, is often the first port of call. It still has rough-and-ready saloons to visit and there are usually sightseeing trips to Mendenhall Glacier, or get a cable car directly from the docks up to Mt Roberts.
Tiny Skagway bursts with cruise-ship visitors during the season and many ride the historic railway laid to link the Yukon to the coast. A full day is spent cruising amid the ever growing pack of ice chunks at Glacier Bay — once a solid mass — and spotting hundreds of bird species, grizzly bears, moose, deer, wolves, otters, dolphins and humpbacks.
Turning south, there could be a stop at the old Russian town of Sitka with its Orthodox cathedral and at Ketchikan, the “Salmon Capital of the World”.
A seven-day Inside Passage cruise round-trip from Vancouver on MS Noordam, departing August 1, costs from $1659.57 for an inside cabin or $2759.57 for an outside cabin. Travel agents, hollandamerica.com and 1300 987 322.
AROUND AUSTRALIA
Princess Cruises' Sapphire Princess floats gently into Circular Quay in Sydney. Picture: Supplied
Circumnavigations are a fixture of the Australian cruise summer — some even circling the Antipodes and adding Indonesia on one itinerary.
Whatever the order, direction or schedule, seeing Australia from the ocean offers a completely different point of view.
Most circumnavigations depart round-trip from Sydney and, sailing north, up the Queensland coast, there could be a stop at Brisbane and then a shore excursion to the city, a river cruise, or a visit to the Gold Coast or Surfers Paradise.
Airlie Beach is the gateway to the white-sand Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef, while an anchorage off Port Douglas opens up Cairns and rainforest adventures. After a few days at sea as the ship rounds the Top End, Darwin comes into view and, from there, some itineraries add Indonesia, be it Komodo Island, Lombok or Bali.
South to Broome and the croc park, camel rides, Cable Beach and China Town are all options, before possible stops at Port Hedland, Exmouth or Geraldton. Fremantle is nailed-on as a port of call on round Australia cruises — convict history, the cappuccino strip, restaurants and our usually warm weather enticing the majority of passengers off their ship, and an increasing number of itineraries are including Margaret River and Albany.
There are a few days at sea before Adelaide appears on the horizon — many will head for the hills, or the Barossa Valley. After Melbourne, where there’ll be city tours, trips to the Dandenongs or a visit to the gold rush town of Ballarat, most ships head south to the Apple Isle. From Burnie, passengers can visit Cradle Mountain, Devonport or Ulverstone and an overnight stay at the next port of call, Hobart, is often included, allowing passengers time to see Port Arthur or enjoy the restaurants, cafes and galleries of Salamanca Place before the ship heads back to the Harbour City.
Dawn Princess will embark on a 29-day circumnavigation cruise from Sydney on March 9, 2016. princess.com and 1300 551 853.
NEW ZEALAND'S SOUTH ISLAND
The sight of the sounds of the South Island of New Zealand is a scenic treat not to be forgotten.
Milford, Dusky and Doubtful sounds skewer east from the Tasman Sea, deep into the mainland. Calm waterways, these wide fjords are easy to access for small to medium-sized cruise ships and an integral part of any New Zealand itinerary.
As with the Inside Passage, the Fiordland terrain is rugged and in parts inaccessible by land — seeing it from the water is the most comfortable way to view. Be sure to have a balcony cabin — the ships which cruise the route tend to have a high proportion of these staterooms.
A typical New Zealand scenic cruise would leave our east coast, from Sydney or Brisbane with a day stop in Hobart on the way south. After a few days at sea during which passengers can acquaint themselves with the ship and maybe scope out the best vantage points from which to enjoy the scenery in store, the New Zealand coast comes into view.
Cruising anti-clockwise, Milford Sound is the first scenic stop — the ship will cruise between snow- capped mountains and sheer, lushly cloaked cliffs which are sluiced by waterfalls before moving on to Doubtful Sound. The complex system of fjord arms and islands were named by Captain Cook, who didn’t enter for fear they weren’t navigable. Dusky Sound is only accessible by air or by sea — Fiordland really is largely unspoilt — and those who can tear themselves away from the Southern Alps scenery and look down may spot dolphins, penguins, seals and seabirds.
Rounding the bottom of the South Island, most ships stop at Dunedin (Port Chalmers) where there are colonies of fur seals, Royal Albatross and yellow-eyed penguins along the Otago Peninsula. Ships tender further north at Akaroa, for visits to Christchurch, then at the capital Wellington, home to the fantastic Te Papa national museum, and at the pretty natural harbour at Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty. From there, passengers can visit the hot springs at Rotorua or the glow worms in the Waitomo caves.
Some cruises, particularly longer itineraries of 12-14 days, may call at the beautiful Bay of Islands where the jagged Northland coast is riddled with coves and inlets and has historic towns such as Russell, the first capital, Kerikeri, Paihia and Waitangi. And there’s always at least a day at Auckland, itself a beautiful city on two bays, with great shopping and nightlife.
Celebrity Solstice, which has more than 1200 balcony cabins, will embark on a 12-night New Zealand cruise from Sydney on November 2. celebritycruises.com and travel agents.
GLOBAL CIRCUMNAVIGATION
Seeing the world without having to haul luggage from room to room and with someone else doing the driving and organising is a terrifically attractive proposition. Which is why, every year, thousands of time and cash-rich cruisers book a circumnavigation of the globe.
Not one for first-time cruisers, these round-trip voyages are packed full of lavish gala dinners, pomp and ceremony. Most of the major lines now embark on circumnavigations, rule out a third of a year if you’re considering it, although shorter sectors of about 30 and 60 days are available.
Either way, there’s plenty of time to get to know the ship and fellow passengers as well as fleeting tastes of scores of ports.
Most leave round-trip from either Southampton, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco or Los Angeles. It’s impossible to see everywhere in 120-odd days so there’s usually an area that gets a bit more exposure be it the Med, the South Pacific or, increasingly, Australia and New Zealand.
Travel agents, pocruises.com and 13 24 28.
STRAITS OF MALACCA
Short, four or five-day Straits of Malacca cruises have long been popular for the bite-size taste they offer of Malacca and Penang.
They have been especially so with WA passengers some of whom have sailed the route more than 30 times — flying up to Singapore to join Superstar Gemini, cruising the Straits and calling in on local Malay friends met on previous port calls. And in the warm tropics, these cruises take on a different, less formal feel from traditional itineraries — dress is more casual and the atmosphere more laid back.
There are still many ships plying the route and plenty of them leave twice weekly. From Singapore, they head north into the straits separating Malaysia from Sumatra.
There could be a stop at Malacca or further north at Penang. Both are old spice-trading colonies with the fine old wedding-cake white buildings to match as well as more colourful temples and Peranakan mansions. With a mix of cultures, many locals are descendants of those who came to make their fortune from the spice trade, the food is fantastic, and a trip to the top of Penang Hill offers not only welcome relief from the warmth but great views of the island and an opportunity to take High Tea colonial style.
The longer cruises may visit Malacca and Penang and a combination of Langkawi and Krabi before turning back south at the Thai island of Phuket. A visit to the Jewel of the Andaman means a chance to snorkel, ride elephants and see “James Bond island” as Khao Phing Kan has commonly been referred to since appearing in the 1974 film The Man with the Golden Gun. A stop at Port Klang is almost always on the itinerary and with that a coach trip to the shopper’s paradise that is Kuala Lumpur, about 40km away.
Superstar Gemini operates four-day cruises round trip from Singapore visiting Penang and Port Klang. Three-day cruises head to Malacca and back while six-day cruises add Langkawi. Travel agents and starcruises.com.
INDIAN OCEAN
Over our Indian Ocean horizon there are exotic islands so different from our own. Draw a wide arc, from Thailand, over Sri Lanka and the tip of India, down the coast of Africa to the Seychelles, Mauritius and South Africa, and you have the grand sweep of an Indian Ocean adventure.
An added bonus — no flying. Indian Ocean adventures don’t come around as often as other shorter itineraries with more port calls and fewer days at sea, but when they do, they usually cruise round-trip from Fremantle.
There’s an early chance to get to know the ship, its restaurants, shopping and entertainment with days at sea as it cruises up the WA coast to Singapore. There, passengers can stretch their legs on Orchard Road, at the zoo or bird park or take tea at the Raffles.
Through the Straits of Malacca at Phuket, elephant trekking, snorkelling and exploring Phi Phi island are the order of the day.
After two sea days, a complete change of scene at Chennai to visit Hindu temples, old British colonial buildings and forts; or take a tuk tuk to Marina Beach for lunch.
Three very different Indian Ocean islands follow; Sri Lanka where there could be a trip to a tea plantation; the mosques and markets of the Maldives; and after days at sea, the French-flavoured Seychelles.
An altogether different colonial influence is in store at the first African stop, Maputo in Mozambique — a former Portuguese territory, which has broad avenues and fine beaches.
Three full days at Cape Town allow time to ride the Table Mountain cableway, visit Robben Island and try the wine at nearby Stellenbosch.
The ship will track back east to Port Elizabeth for a full day, during which passengers could take an open-car safari or visit the elephant park, then after a day at sea, shop, visit a Zulu village or another game reserve while the ship is in Durban. After three days at sea, there’ll be stops at Reunion and Mauritius before crossing the Indian Ocean back to Fremantle.
A 46-day Indian Ocean and South Africa Odyssey aboard Sun Princess departs from Fremantle on January 8, 2016. Travel agents, princess.com and 1300 551 853.
