Teresa Ooi 
The battle for the luxury cruise dollar is heating up with top lines offering special flight deals, especially on Asian routes, as they present their new itineraries. Luxury line Silversea is offering “exceptional” savings on Asian cruise packages, with free economy flights and an upgrade to business class for $999 one way provided bookings are … Read more
MSC Cruises has christened its newest ship, the 5331-passenger MSC Seaview in a glittering, star-studded ceremony in Genoa. And within hours, the aggressive European line announced a new Euro900 million investment on a new Meraviglia-class ship, bringing its fleet total to five of the new-style vessels. The Seaview will now spend the northern summer sailing … Read more
Vegans will be over the moon. The first health retreat at sea for vegans will launch on Celebrity Solstice’s nine-night South Pacific voyage on 20 October. The transformational retreat will bring together all vegan cruisers who want to learn about the health benefits of a plant-based cuisine and lifestyle. There will be a team of … Read more
Asia’s biggest party cruise It’s The Ship is expanding to Australia and the Asian region. “Australia is one of the countries which It’s The Ship has their sights on. It’s The Ship is currently in talks for a sailing in Australia in the near future,” a company spokesperson said. The company, Livescape Group will initially … Read more
A Melbourne startup, Cruise Retirement Ltd founded by former Ramsay Healthcare executive Christian Bannard is entering the challenging business of residential cruising. The company is targeting the 50-plus age group who like to travel extensively by offering them an alternative retirement lifestyle – the right to buy a 20-year lease on a cruise cabin. The … Read more
Luxury French Line Ponant’s first ship in its Explorers series, Le Laperouse, has just completed her first sea trials in Norway, taking her one step closer to Australia where she will cruise the Kimberley region next year. “These sea trials are a real success for the company. Remarkable nautical performances, technical excellence, a high standard … Read more
Celebrity Cruises has unveiled a new luxurious The Spa on board Celebrity Edge designed to “renew, restore and reinvigorate” the experience of guests. Spread over a sprawling 22,000 sq ft, The Spa has been designed by Kelly Hoppen, the renowned interior designer to the rich and famous, to create a “holistic wellness journey like no … Read more
Luxury line Scenic is offering free flights to Europe next year for all new bookings on river cruises of at least 11 days which are made before 31 August as the early bird European river cruise season gets underway in earnest. Guests who pay in full by 31 October will also be entitled to a … Read more
More than 1.34 million Australians took to the seas for a cruise holiday last year but growth slowed to 4.4 per cent because of infrastructure constraints limiting the number of ships berthing in Sydney.
She's the most specious ship yet from luxury line Oceania Cruises. James Sitters tells Rose Kelly and Peter Lynch what's on board the new class of ship, including restaurants, spas and suites.
