The British Isles by Rail and Sail

Unique new exploration by luxury heritage train and a circumnavigation of the British Isles by cruise ship
Up to US$200 onboard spending credit

Media Release – August 16, 2019

A unique new, in-depth exploration of the British Isles by luxury heritage trains and a cruise ship has been released by Australian rail and sail specialists, Cruise Express.

The 26-night ‘British Isles Rail and Sail’ tour in May, 2020, will take travellers through some of the most remote and beautiful countryside in Britain by historic steam and diesel locomotives before they board Regal Princess for a circumnavigation of the Isles.

After flying to London on May 5, 2020, guests will spend a night in London and then embark on an eight-night heritage rail tour of England and Wales, travelling in luxury Pullman Class carriages and staying in character-filled accommodation each night. The circular route will take in Salisbury, Dartmouth and Gloucester in western England, the heart of Wales including Snowdonia National Park and back to London through northern England via Carlisle and Skipton.

The itinerary showcases some of the UK’s most spectacular railway lines, with passengers enjoying panoramic views of classic moors and dales, mountains, streams, coastlines, quaint villages and travelling over historic and majestic viaducts.

After a night back in London, guests will board the 3600-passenger Regal Princess in Southampton for a 12-night circumnavigation of the British Isles including visits to the Channel Islands, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and France.

Two nights in London after the cruise and a flight back to Australia will bring the grand journey to an end.

Including return flights from Australia, 12 nights in England and Wales and the 12-night cruise, the ‘British Isles Rail and Sail’ cruise tour is available from A$13,990 per person, twin-share, in an Inside Cabin, including US$100 onboard spending credit per cabin.  Fares in a Mini Suite start at A$15,990 per person, twin-share, including US$200 onboard spending credit per cabin.

Call Cruise Express on 1300 766 537 or visit www.cruiseexpress.com.au/cruise-list/british-isles-rail-sail

Exploration of the Kimberley by Sea with National Geographic 

Complimentary flights and three nights’ accommodation

All-inclusive package – Book by 31 August 2019

Media Release: 4 August 2019

Complimentary flights and free accommodation for three nights are being offered to nature lovers booking a unique, in-depth National Geographic cruise expedition in the Kimberley in 2020 before 31 August 2019. The special, one-off voyage will explore remote and rarely visited islands and reefs away from the route normally taken by vessels in the region.

Available through Cruise Express, the 16-night package from Broome to Darwin in August 2020, will feature an expert team of geologists, historians, cultural experts, marine biologists, naturalists, conservationists and photographers aboard Ponant’s sleek expedition ship, Le Laperouse.

Twice the size of Victoria, the ancient and pristine Kimberley wilderness is one of the last unspoiled regions on Earth, encompassing magnificent waterfalls, remote coves, indigenous rock art, abundant wildlife and majestic coastal cliffs that glow red at sunset. 

A specially curated itinerary designed for this cruise by Ponant and National Geographic Expeditions will take guests to rarely visited places such as Browse Island – a lonely nesting site for green turtles – the stunning coral reefs at Rowley Shoals,  the bird and dugong sanctuary of Ashmore Reef in the middle of the Timor Sea and the indigenous rock art of Jar Island where some of the oldest, detailed descriptions of human figures in the world can be found.

The 13-night, all-inclusive cruise will also take in majestic King George Falls, Mitchell Falls, Montgomery Reef, mangrove crocodile habitats and the world-famous Horizontal Falls where seawater thunders horizontally at high tide through a narrow break in the cliffs, forming huge rapids – a phenomenon described by David Attenborough as one of the greatest wonders of the natural world.

Launched last year and named after an 18th Century French explorer, Le Laperouse features a unique, underwater, multi-sensory lounge where whale-shaped windows, hydrophones and video cameras enable guests to experience life underwater without getting wet. The 184-guest ship also boasts two restaurants, two lounges, a theatre, pool, spa sanctuary, gourmet cuisine, personalised service and intimate ambience. 

The expedition includes multiple, guided excursions on Zodiacs, lectures and complimentary drinks onboard, including a stateroom minibar.

If booked by 31 August 2019, the Cruise Express package features a complimentary flight to Broome on 24 August 2020, and two nights’ free accommodation in Broome, followed by the 13-night cruise, one free night in Darwin after the cruise and a free flight home. Free transfers in Broome and Darwin are also included in the special offer. The package is available from $17,990 per person, twin-share.

Call Cruise Express on 1300 766 537 or visit www.cruiseexpress.com.au 

Unique New Heritage Rail from Auckland to Wellington

Heritage Rail Adventure onboard “Tokomaru”

Five-day short break package – NZ fares released

Media Release:  1 August 2019

A unique, new, five-day heritage rail adventure from Auckland to Wellington this November will take time travellers across the North Island aboard a historic train more than 80 years old.

Australian cruise and rail holiday specialists, Cruise Express, is offering the special short break package to New Zealanders keen to enjoy the nostalgic charms of ‘slow travel’.

Escorted by Cruise Express, the heritage rail tour begins with a night’s accommodation in Auckland, including breakfast. Guests then board the historic, privately chartered railcar RM31, ‘Tokomaru’, for a two-day trip south to Wellington. Built in 1938 and named after a Maori canoe, the 50-passenger railmotor was used for North Island passenger rail services for more than 30 years until the early 1970s and still retains her traditional, art deco charm. 

Half-way through the journey, passengers will stay at the grand, 90-year-old Chateau Tongariro hotel on the slopes of 2797m-high Mt Ruapehu. Dinner and breakfast are included here. A two-night stay in Wellington follows, including daily breakfast, a visit to the Te Papa National Museum and a lunch visit to the wineries of the famous Martinborough wine region – renowned for pinot noir.

The exclusive, four-night heritage rail tour is available from NZ$1990 per person, twin-share, or NZ$2490 for solo travellers.

For details and to book, New Zealanders can visit the special webpage:
www.cruiseexpress.com.au/cruise-list/pahiatua-rail-car

or call Cruise Express on  +64 2 9810 5377

Direct link: here

2021 Arctic Expedition Announced

Across the top of the world through the famed Northwest Passage

Aboard the world’s first hybrid-electric polar exploration ship

~ Le Commandant Charcot ~

Media Release: 23 July 2019

This unique Arctic expedition from Iceland to Alaska through the famed Northwest Passage is two years away but Cruise Express has already opened sales for the eagerly anticipated voyage aboard the world’s first hybrid-electric polar exploration ship, Le Commandant Charcot.

Named after French polar scientist, Jean-Baptiste Charcot (1867-1936) and built with icebreaking capabilities, the revolutionary, new expedition ship will be launched in April, 2021, as Ponant’s 12th vessel and the first polar vessel in the world to be powered by both electric batteries and liquefied natural gas. 

Currently under construction in Romania, the five-star, 270-guest Le Commandant Charcot has been designed to leave the lowest possible impact on the environment but offer the highest level of luxury, with the innovative ship boasting indoor and outdoor pools, two restaurants, sauna and snow room, gym, spa sanctuary, theatre, lounges and bars and a wraparound Promenade Deck. The ship will also host a scientific research laboratory equipped to study the ecosystems and the biodiversity of polar regions.

Available now through Cruise Express is a 24-night Northwest Passage expedition aboard Le Commandant Charcot from Reykjavik in Iceland to Nome in Alaska, departing September 7, 2021.  Sailing in the wake of some of history’s greatest explorers and seafarers, the voyage will take modern-day sailors to Greenland and through the remote Northwest Passage, a legendary labyrinth of icy channels only navigable between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for a brief period after every summer.

The itinerary features icebergs, traditional Inuit villages, blue-toned glaciers, vast mountain chains, the sites of historic shipwrecks and an abundance of wildlife including Arctic foxes, narwhals, beluga whales and walruses, with the chance, also, of spotting polar bears.

Included in the voyage are Zodiac excursions, onboard lectures by naturalists, onboard beverages, fine French cuisine and free use of polar parkas and boots.

Including a connecting flight from Nome to Seattle after the cruise, the luxury, Northwest Passage voyage is available from $42,280 per person, twin-share. Flights from Australia are extra. 

Call Cruise Express on 1300 766 537 or visit www.cruiseexpress.com.au  

New offers for Bravo performing arts music cruise

Earlybird offer and new ship for new Bravo performing arts music cruise to the South Pacific

First 100 bookings save 10 percent

Media Release  16 July 2019

A cruise ship new to Australia will be the highlight of the tenth, annual season of music cruises from Australia in 2020, with Cruise Express offering a 10 percent earlybird saving on the just-announced ‘Bravo Cruise of Performing Arts’ to the South Pacific next year.

Royal Caribbean International will base the 2500-passenger Serenade of the Seas in Australia for the first time from October 2020, and her second sailing from our shores will be a seven-night ‘Bravo’ performing arts cruise from Sydney to New Caledonia on 13 October 2020.  

2020 marks the tenth anniversary of music cruises from Australia, with tens of thousands of Australians enjoying a variety of annual, week-long concerts at sea since 2010.

One of Australia’s top sellers of music cruises, Cruise Express, is offering a 10 per cent earlybird saving for the first 100 bookings made on the 2020 ‘Bravo’ cruise. 

The seven-night ‘Bravo’ cruise departs from Sydney on 13 October 2020, and will feature more than 45 artists performing music from a variety of genres including opera, musical theatre, cabaret and jazz at seven venues aboard Serenade of the Seas. Artists include the iconic Australian musical theatre star and opera singer, Anthony Warlow, Ruthie Henshall, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Peter Coleman-Wright. 

Christened by Hollywood star, Whoopi Goldberg, in 2001, Serenade of the Seas will take music lovers to Noumea and Isles of Pines. 

The round-trip cruise from Sydney is available from $2492 per person, twin-share, which includes a 10 percent saving for the first 100 bookings. 

The cruise will include artist signings, music workshops and dance lessons, with concerts day and night across the ship.  Serenade of the Seas boasts three pools, a rock-climbing wall, nine-hole mini golf course, a cinema and sports court as well as 18 dining venues, bars and lounges.

Fares are subject to availability.

Call Cruise Express on 1300 766 537 or visit www.cruiseexpress.com.au