Silversea’s luxurious and opulent Silver Shadow returns to Australia for the 2021/22 season, where she’ll spend a season sailing from Cairns on a summer journey.
Imagine Holidays has a special offer for Cruise Passenger readers for this luxury packaged. The offer includes a cruise onboard the opulent Silver Shadow, hotel stays as well as free flights.
And Cruise Passenger readers can save up to $3,000 per couple on this fantastic offer.
Starting the journey in Hamilton Island, guests will spend three-nights on this picturesque island at the four-star Reef View Hotel. This idyllic place is the largest inhabited island of the Whitsundays and combines the best of marine beauty with laid back beaches.
Most of the Hamilton is car-free and is covered in bushland. Here, the coast is fringed by rich coral which make this part of Australia a snorkeler’s paradise. There are also plenty of tours where animal lovers will see koalas, kangaroos, wallabies and kookaburras.
Before boarding the Silver Shadow, head down to Cairns, the gateway to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Guests of Imagine Holidays will stay for two-nights at a five-star hotel. The region is also rich in Indigenous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island history, where it’s worth visiting the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park. Here, you’ll learn about the Dreamtime through music and dance.
But Cairns is fast becoming a thriving and cosmopolitan city, where the Esplanade is lined with bars, restaurants as well as a swimming lagoon. Just Northwest of the city, the Daintree National Park, with its lush canopies is where the trees meet gorges and bone-sand beaches.
Cruisers will then board the Silver Shadow and head off on their great Australian adventure with Imagine Holidays.
The stunning ship hosts just 388 guests and has a number of suite tiers. But all come with white-glove butler service and most also offer balconies. The butlers will pack and unpack your belongings, as well as supply your suites with fine wines and premium spirits.
Onboard, there are four eateries including La Dame which focuses on fine French cuisine as well as The Grill, which is the perfect place for sundowner cocktails as well as freshly grilled meat and fish.
There is a lively cosmopolitan atmosphere on the ship, and there is complimentary yoga and Pilates at the expanded fitness centre.
The first stop is Airlie Beach, where there are spectacular bays and inlets, perfect for water sports. The warm waters also attract humpback and pilot whales that migrate here to indulge in sheltered locations of this slice of paradise. Silversea offers nine different shore excursions where guests can head out for a snorkel safari, or jet ski.
After calling at Brisbane, the Silver Shadow sails to Newcastle, the second largest city in New South Wales. The vibrant surf city has some stunning trails between Nobbys and Mereweather Beach. Newcastle is also the gateway to one of Australia’s leading wine regions, the Hunter Valley. There are more than 150 wineries and restaurants here, with many boasting their own cellar doors.
The next stop on the Australia summer voyage is to Hobart in Tasmania. With its Georgian and Victorian era architecture, Silver Shadow passengers will have an overnight in this beautiful city. Silversea offers 15 shore excursions here, including a visit to the weird and wacky art gallery MONA. Curated by David Walsh, a professional gambler and art collector, MONA has some weird and wacky installations.
But for the foodies, Tasmania’s wine and oyster offerings are unparalleled. Visitors will head to Port Arthur which was once the home of more than 10,000 convicts. Now a historic site, Port Arthur has been carefully restored.
Heading back towards the mainland, the Silver Shadow calls at Phillip Island for the famous fair penguin parade, Geelong which is the start to Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, before calling at the graffiti-covered Melbourne.
Considered to be the culture capital of Australia, Melbourne’s small boutiques, hidden bars, and sprawling art galleries makes this a vibrant city to visit. If you love your coffee, the bearded baristas are some of the best in the world, but if you’re after something stronger, the city’s rooftop bars come alive when the sun goes down.
Some of the shore excursions Silversea offer in Melbourne include a luxury golf experience and a Yarra Valley Food & Wine tour.
The final call is at the cruise capital of Australia. Sailing into Sydney Harbour at dawn where from the top deck of the Silver Shadow, you’ll spy the sails of the Opera House and the imposing iron-clad Harbour Bridge.
Exploring some of the best parts of Australia’s east coast in luxury and style, this holiday is a bucket list experience, just in our own backyard.
The Imagine Holidays luxury cruise, flights and stay package includes:
- Early booking bonus: Save up to $3,000 per couple
- FREE flights, taxes & transfers
- FREE Hotel Stays
- 3-night four-star stay in Hamilton Island at the Reef View Hotel with breakfast
- 2-night five-star hotel stay in Cairns with breakfast
- The cruise
- 15-night all-inclusive luxury cruise on board Silver Shadow visiting: Cairns, Airlie Beach, Brisbane, Newcastle, Hobart (overnight in port), Port Arthur, Phillip Island, Geelong, Melbourne, Sydney
- Pre-paid gratuities and complimentary WI-FI on board
- In-suite butler service and fully stocked fridge
- All-inclusive alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages including fine wines and premium spirits whilst on board
- 15-night all-inclusive luxury cruise on board Silver Shadow visiting: Cairns, Airlie Beach, Brisbane, Newcastle, Hobart (overnight in port), Port Arthur, Phillip Island, Geelong, Melbourne, Sydney
Departing: 14 January 2022
Duration: 20 nights
Prices starting from: $9,299 per person
Click here for more or call Imagine Holidays on 8313 5949.
Sounds good but the state dictators may keep their states closed just for power states.
Anyhow let’s hope common sense prevails and a vaccine allows us to travel