New online travel group Cruise Guru partnered up with Western Australia’s largest provider of aged care and retirement services, The Bethanie Group, to present a series of six cruising seminars across Perth and Western Australia in July.

The events were supported by Cruise Passenger, who supplied a copy of the magazine for each of the attendees who came to the event.

Maritime historian and author Chris Frame opened the seminars with a brief history of cruising, which traced the history of cruise ships from St Sunniva in 1887 to The Love Boat, touching on great ships such as Mauretania, Caronia, Rotterdam and QE2.

After the historical introduction, the latest in 21st century luxury cruising was presented by the Cruise Guru team. They showcased the style and elegance of cruising aboard both Holland America Line and Princess Cruises.

The seminars also featured the increasing number of cruise lines and ships visiting Australian shores. Residents at Bethanie retirement villages were particularly interested in the Dawn Princess’ voyages from Fremantle, as well as visits from Celebrity Solstice, Voyager of the Seas and, of course, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, a regular favourite.

Chris Frame said, “It was fantastic to be able to share the history of cruising with the Bethanie residents. Bethanie caters for people who cruise regularly, as well as more frail residents who can’t easily travel, so being able to bring cruising to them was a rewarding experience.”

Leighton Schembri, Product Manager of Cruise Guru, said, “Cruise Guru has a growing relationship with Bethanie. Our services are mainly accessible through our website, and it was great to see so many over-55’s excited to jump online and check out upto 11,000 cruise itineraries available to them!”

Words: Chris Frame