ALL ABOARD
The latest news for your next cruise
Break out the bubbly
TOur Moët & Chandon’s cellar, wander in Champagne Henriot vineyards and sit down to lunch in 18th-century Château Les Aulnois during a cruise through the heart of the Champagne region on hotel barge Panache. Book by January 6 to receive a 10 per cent discount on six-night, allinclusive May and June 2020 sailings with prices from £4,131 pp ( europeanwaterways.
com, 01753 598555).
Scientific sailings
HELP global science efforts on Le Commandant Charcot by joining the new ship’s naturalist guides and scientists to collect data and water samples during cruises including the 18-night ‘ Emperor Penguins of the Bellingshausen Sea’ sailing from Puerto Montt, Chile. The LNGpropelled hybrid electric ship also has a research lab. Cruise-only price on November 1, 2021, departure starts from £18,614 pp ( ponant.com, 0800 980 4027).
Call of the Caribbean
SLEEP under the stars in a Balinese bed and wake up to a champagne breakfast as the sun rises over 112-guest SeaDream I in the Caribbean. The seven-day round-trip from Barbados on November 14 also takes guests to Grenada, Martinique, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines. And it will anchor in the Tobago Cays for the chance to explore uninhabited islands and swim in coral reefs. Cruise-only fare from £2,686 pp ( seadream.com, 0800 783 1373).
Gardeners’ delights
WONDErFuL gardens await on South Korea’s Jeju Island, above, during tours on Westerdam’s 14-night ‘China, South Korea & Japan’ cruise. See the Spirited Garden, rich in maple trees and wildflowers, 80-acre Hallim Park with its exceptional bonsai collection and yeomiji Botanic Garden, home to 2,000 rare tropical plants. The Shanghai round-trip departs on February 15 with cruise- only prices from £959 pp ( hollandamerica.com, 0344 338 8608).
Treasures & temples
EMErALD Waterways’ turn- of-year sale includes £1,200 pp off the 19-day ‘Treasures & Temples of Vietnam & Cambodia’ cruise. Sail on new ship Emerald Harmony in Halong Bay and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and visit the Angkor Wat temple and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with tours included in the price. Sale price from £3,845 pp based on August 8 departures ( emeraldwaterways.co.uk, 0808 301 3352).
The Seine option
SAILINGS along the river Seine from Paris take guests on inspiring tours to trace the life of Joan of Arc in rouen, remember the sacrifices made on Normandy’s D-Day beaches and visit Monet’s garden at Giverny. The route is so popular that Viking is introducing four new 168-guest ships in 2020 with eight-day cruises from £3,955 pp on Viking radgrid departing on May 8 ( vikingcruises.co.uk, 0800 319 66 60).