An adventure of a lifetime
SEE the world on a 120-night round-trip voyage from the historic port of Tilbury on the Thames, just outside London, for a price that’s hard to believe. Fares from Reader Offers start at £17,999pp, but that comes with a buy-one-get-one-free offer bringing it down to £9,000pp – or £75pp per night for the experience of a lifetime with all your meals included.
Imagine saying goodbye to the winter at home and sailing into Bora Bora. The ship enters through a gap in the coral reef and crosses the turquoise lagoon. Filling your vision, and dropping down almost to the sea, is Mt Otemanu, a 2,400ft volcano that is merely dormant, its tip often kissed by tiny clouds.
Once this vision of the South Pacific – just along from Tahiti – would have been seen only by the privileged few.
Now it is open to us all, thanks to the marvels, at a very reasonable price, of a world cruise. Simply one of many delightful ports somewhere between the Caribbean and New Zealand.
It all starts as you cross the Atlantic via the sultry, flower-swathed Azores and on to the Caribbean. From here, there’s an unforgettable day passing through the Panama Canal before crossing the Pacific (and equator) to find yourself amid the islands of the South Pacific. Next it’s New Zealand and Australia, followed by Japan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and India.
After the magic of the Orient and the Far East it’s on to Egypt and Jordan. Another canal, the Suez, takes you into the Mediterranean for a last sunny stretch before you find yourself back home on the Thames.
The adventure is on Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ flagship Columbus and comes with an ocean of exclusive extras courtesy of Reader Offers. There is free onboard spending money with every booking, up to £3,500 per cabin depending on the grade booked. Selected grades also receive a private chauffeur service between home and port, and have their gratuities paid. Another bonus is that you miss almost the whole of the winter.
You have time to enjoy Christmas and New Year at home before setting sail on January 6, 2020. You’re then in Australia and New Zealand for summer Down Under and arrive back in England on May 5, ready for the start of the British summer.
The cruise features almost 40 ports of call, from tiny islands to extraordinary cities. There are three calls in New Zealand (Wellington, Auckland and the geothermal lake region of Rotorua) followed by three in Australia (a fabulous day in Sydney, involving sailing past the iconic opera house and under the harbour bridge, Yorkeys Knob (for Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef), plus Hamilton Island, one of the Whitsunday Isles, actually in the Reef itself).
In French Polynesia, as well as Bora Bora, you’ll visit islands such as Tahiti, Fiji and Tonga. Fiji is a maiden call for Columbus (as is Papua New Guinea) so expect a big reception.
HONG Kong’s on the list, along with Tianjin (for Beijing) and the colonial wonders of Shanghai while in Japan you can visit Tokyo. There’s Vietnam (Halong Bay with its wondrous rock formations, and Ho Chi Minh City), Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and the colourful island city of Singapore. Shop, visit beaches or simply stroll through exotic streets.
Enjoy Colombo, the Portuguese-influenced city in Sri Lanka, and Cochin and Mumbai in India. In Egypt there’s Safaga on the Red Sea (take a trip to Luxor on the Nile with its many antiquities) and in Jordan, don’t miss the fabulous city of Petra, carved from rock, dating back to around 500 years BC.
Even on your way home you get to pop into Israel (a chance to visit Jerusalem), and Piraeus, the entrancing port city of Athens (there’s a little beach and you can head to the city itself and the Acropolis on a tiny train) and finally the British haven of Gibraltar.
It’s been a long and wonderful trip. You’ve seen the world and it hasn’t cost you the earth…
INFORMATION: Reader Offers: 0800 251 1045/ rolcruise.co.uk