Classic International Cruises’ Athena will be undertaking the cruise line’s longest-ever roundtrip cruise from Australia when she departs Perth on a 38-day Asian voyage in March next year. The ship’s first port of call will be the town of Pare Pare on the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi, a first for an Australian-based ship.

Day tours from Pare Pare will take passengers to the Tana Toraja highlands, where locals engage in elaborate funeral rituals involving multi-day feasts and ceremonies. Passengers will also be given the opportunity to visit the region’s striking Tongkonan ancestral houses.

The cruise will continue on to Manila, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Kota Kinabalu and six ports in Japan ­– Okinawa, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Shimizu.

If you could create your own 38-day roundtrip cruise from Australia, what ports would you include on your itinerary?