CRUISE NEWS
Stay closer to home
SAVE £2,916 per couple on a seven-night round trip from Dover on Crystal Serenity. The ‘Flanders & Normandy Discovery’ no-fly cruise on May 30, 2021 offers guests the chance to explore Amsterdam, Bruges, Paris and St Helier; all-inclusive from £1,764 pp ( crystalcruises.co.uk, 020 7399 7603).
Katherine’s QE2 date
SEE mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins in concert on retired liner the QE2 in Dubai before embarking Queen Mary 2 to sail into Malaysia and Singapore. The 13-night holiday is from £1,999 pp including a tenday cruise, two nights at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai, one night at the Pan Pacific Singapore and return flights from London to Dubai, plus concert ticket ( imaginecruising.co.uk, 0800 029 3038).
Count your blessings
RECEIVE a monk’s blessing at a Buddhist pagoda during a ‘Luxury Mekong’ cruise on Scenic Spirit. Prices for the 12-day sailing from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to Siem Reap, Cambodia (pictured below), have been reduced by £2,400 per couple to £3,945 pp on the May 1, 2022 departure ( scenic.co.uk, 0808 301 7599).
Twice as enjoyable
ENJOY two-night stays in Auckland, Bali, Ho Chi Minh City, Yangon and Mumbai on new ship Viking Neptune’s 138- day World Cruise. The 28- country sailing departs on December 22, 2022 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida; prices from £39,990 pp ( vikingcruises.co.uk, 0800 458 6900).
Depart Edinburgh
FRED Olsen Cruise Lines has postponed all sailings until April 2021, but itineraries to look forward to include the Lost Lands of Prussia cruise from Edinburgh on August 19, 2022, with visits to Kaliningrad, Berlin, Szczecin and Gdansk. Ten-night sailing on Braemar from £ 1,499 pp ( fredolsencruises.com, 0800 787 0733).
Buy one, gift one
SPREAD some cheer with Holland America Line’s ‘Buy one, gift one’ offer until January 5, 2021. For example, sail from Amsterdam to the Norwegian fjords on August 22, 2021 on new flagship Rotterdam from £1,449 pp including flights, tips and drinks package, and a second interior stateroom is £85 pp plus flights from £206 pp ( hollandamerica.com, 0344 338 8608).
South Pacific stops
ISLAND-HOP around French Polynesia on a 13-night cruise aboard the Aranui 5. Flexible Covid cancellation conditions and discounts of £900 pp apply between January 19 and July 27, 2021. Cruise-only from £3,186 pp ( aranui.com, 00689 40 42 62 42).
Grab a Gulf deal
EXPO 2020 Dubai will now open in October 2021 so guests on MSC Virtuosa, which launches in April, can visit the exhibition. The ship will homeport from Dubai and sail to Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas, Bahrain and Doha. Fly-cruise price from £1,659 pp ( msccruises.co.uk, 0203 426 3010).