A MAGICAL SOUTH PACIFIC ADVENTURE
Take a trip to paradise when you embark on a cruise around the tropical islands of Oceania
PICTURE a cruise in its most beautiful setting – a ship moored next to a low-slung outcrop fringed by palm trees, a powdery golden beach ebbing into the distance, turquoise waters murmuring under a gentle wind. You are probably imagining the South Pacific – perhaps thinking of Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, or one of the other archipelagos and islands which dot the ocean in spectacular sun-kissed fashion on the far side of the planet.
An impossible dream? Not at all. This amazing region is thoroughly accessible by cruise. In fact, a holiday here makes for one of the world’s greatest journeys, as you can combine the voyage with time in a country or city lapped by the Pacific. Think New Zealand or Australia – or maybe even California (with Los Angeles as the departure port). Oceania Cruises (oceaniacruises. com) is a specialist. For example, it has a ‘South Pacific Splendors’ odyssey set to sail on April 23. This 17-day escapade will meander between Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city, and Pape’ete, the capital of French Polynesia, on the island of Tahiti. En route, the ship Sirena will drop anchor in the islets of New Caledonia, in fabulous Fiji (including the capital, Suva, on Viti Levu) and in Samoa (in the capital, Apia, which sits on Upolu, a volcanic crag that rears up from the ocean floor). It will cross the International Date Line. And it will pause at Bora Bora, the astonishingly photogenic volcanic fragment of French Polynesia, surrounded by a lagoon and coral reef. Prices start at £5,263 per person – including flights from the UK.
This is not a lone example. Oceania also offers cruises between Sydney and Pape’ete – including a 20-day ‘Tasman and Pacific Gems’ escapade which will follow a similar route on board Insignia between May 9 and 28, 2018 (from £5,930 per person, including flights). Alternatively, it will run a ‘Polynesian Treasures’ adventure between Pape’ete and Los Angeles in May of this year (May 19-June 6) – which will chart the warm waves of Hawaii. From £3,369 per person – again including flights.