CRUISE NEWS
Watch whales migrating on a special sailing with Fred Olsen’s Black Watch in spring 2022. The line has partnered with marine conservation charity ORCA for a 17-night Azores and Iceland itinerary from Liverpool. Expert guides will help passengers spot wildlife – possibly including blue whales, humpback, orca and pilot whales – as they sail between the sub-tropical Azores and sub-Arctic Iceland. The ORCA team will also give talks on how the charity works to safeguard and monitor cetaceans and advise passengers how they can play their part too. The Natural Wonders of Azores & Iceland cruise sails on April 19, 2022, with prices from from £2,299 per person.
Autumn will see the opening of Pan Pacific Hotels’ first in Europe, in the new tower at One Bishopgate Plaza across from Liverpool Street station. Pan Pacific London will boast sky gardens and a rainwater harvesting system. panpacific.com
Opening next month, on South Bank’s Lower Marsh will be German-based Ruby Hotels’ first “lean luxury” London property. Expect galley kitchens and ironing stations at the 76-room Ruby Lucy. From £119. ruby-hotels.com
10. KYOTO, JAPAN
Following the success of the Rugby World Cup, the Land of the Rising Sun is in the ascendant, as it gears up to host the Olympics. Ultramodern Tokyo hogs the limelight, but Kyoto,
Japan’s former imperial capital, home to 17 Unesco World Heritage sites, is worth a detour. THE DEAL BA flies direct to Osaka’s Kansai Airport with returns from £1,055. ba.com/osaka
11. AT SEA
It’s going to be a great year for new cruise ships and two that catch the eye are P&O’s Iona (debuts May) and Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady (April). The former is the line’s new flagship – the two-deck glass Skydome looks fab – sailing to the Norwegian Fjords from Southampton.
Richard Branson’s innovative ocean enterprise
The Grand Egyptian Museum promises to open early 2020 with 4,000 artefacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun, including three coffins.
These will be among 100,000 objects chronicling Egypt’s history – visitors will be greeted by a gigantic statue of Ramesses II.
The new Sphinx International Airport will soon be open for a trial period for domestic flights to tourist spots such as Luxor and Aswan. And with the remake of Death on the Nile out in October, all clues point to Egypt. THE DEAL 10 nights, a seven-night Nile Cruise, full board and excursions, plus three nights in Cairo, from £1,495. discoveregypt.co.uk
13. BAHRAIN
Slick hotels, gleaming waterfronts and new attractions are enticing a new wave of visitors to this small island nation in the Persian Gulf.
The Dilmun Burial Mounds have just become its third Unesco World Heritage site. And it has opened a vast diving park, with a decommis