World Journeys has savings of US$1,000 pp on selected Antarctic Cruises with Quark Expeditions if booked and deposit paid by July 31 2013. The offer applies to January 4 and 14, 2014 departures of the 12 day Antarctic Explorer cruise aboard the Sea Spirit, and is applicable to all cabin types except Triples; available on new bookings only and subject to availability.

Now priced from US$10,395 per person share twin and includes one night pre-cruise in Ushuaia; all on-board meals; shore landings and excursions by Zodiac with specialist guides; loan of waterproof boots; a Quark parka to keep; port taxes; luggage handling; emergency evacuation insurance; and transfers. Airfares are additional. Contact World Journeys 0800 117311 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The largest consumer promotion in the cruise industry, National Cruise Week, will run from September 2 to 9. Following on from last year's successful inaugural National Cruise Week, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia general manager Brett Jardine says he expects this years to be bigger.

'More than 1000 member travel agents across Australia and New Zealand took part in the first cruise week and some members reported record sales during last year’s National Cruise Week,' Jardine added.

To help agents make the most of this year’s event, CLIA Australasia has compiled a comprehensive support pack filled with suggestions and ideas including using social media, hosting themed events and staging information nights.

CLIA Members can download the support pack once they have logged into the National Cruise Week website using their CLIA login and password. Agents can also get involved via facebook.com/nationalcruiseweek and on Twitter @cruiseweek2013

The 2670-guest Diamond Princess will sail on its first circumnavigation of Australia, departing Sydney on November 18, 2014.

Priced from $5989* per person twin share, the 28-night voyage will include visits to all state and territory capital cities, as well as Airlie Beach and Port Douglas in Queensland, Bunbury and Albany in Western Australia and Indonesia’s Bali.

The voyage, which will be repeated in February 2015, marks the largest Princess Cruises’ ship to sail around Australia and is a highlight of the cruise line’s new 2014-15 Australasian programme.

Launching the program, Princess Cruises commercial director Alan Stuart says the cruise line offered the biggest choice of ships and destinations in Australia, with four ships deployed in local waters over the 2014-15 season.

'This latest programme reflects Princess Cruises’ position as the destination experts, featuring cruises from seven to 35 nights sailing to locations ranging from Tasmania to Tahiti and Thailand.'

On top of her new circumnavigations, Diamond Princess will also sail on six cruises between Auckland and Sydney over the 2014-15 summer months. Fares on the 12-night cruises start from $2399* per person twin share.

For more information visit www.myccs.com.au

*subject to availability, conditions apply.

The latest addition to the Lindblad fleet, the 102 guest Orion will officially be renamed National Geographic Orion in March 2014. The vessel will be newly equipped with a full roster of exploration tools including kayaks, a state-of the-art ROV (remote operated vehicle reaching depths over 300 metres), full snorkelling gear for all, and a SCUBA program that can accommodate up to 24 divers at a time. The expanded expedition team will feature a National Geographic photographer on most departures.

An inaugural series of three voyages has been created that will explore unusual cultures, beautiful islands and some of the world’s finest diving and snorkelling to Papua New Guinea & the Islands of Vanuatu & the Solomons; Great Barrier Reef, Papua New Guinea & Micronesia and Spice Islands & the Coral Triangle.

	The Micronesian island of Palau is visited while on National Geographic Orion's Spice Islands & the Coral Triangle.

Asia is Princess Cruises largest growth market, in particular Japan, Singapore and China. 'We have just completed our first round Japan cruises and we will see Sapphire Princess based in Singapore for four months from November 2014 - this is exciting times for the cruise industry,' says Alan Stuart, commercial director Princess Cruises.

The 2014-15 programme features 15 roundtrip departures from Singapore, to Bangkok, Penang, Ko Samui, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City and the Indonesian ports of Jakarta, Bali, Komodo Island and Lombok.

Approximately 40,000 passengers are expected to be carried during this first season of cruising from Singapore. Passengers will be sourced from Singapore and throughout Asia in addition to other international markets including North America, the UK and Australia.

Seeing a steady increase in the number of cruise passengers sailing from the Australasian region has prompted Princess Cruises to establish a dedicated Australia New Zealand sales team. 'This will give us the ability to reach the market, especially for the travel agents and support the distribution channels from both countries,' says Alan Stuart, commercial director Princess Cruises.

Visiting Auckland mid May, five of the Sydney based members updated the industry with what's new with Princess Cruises, in particular the launch in June of the cruses lines’ newest ship, the Royal Princess.

The 3,600 passenger Royal Princess is the first build for the line in five years and Stuart says she will have special features including a larger atrium and an over-water SeaWalk, a glass-bottom walkway extending 28 feet beyond the edge of the ship. 'The SeaWalk looks fantastic during the day, but at night time the ceiling is covered in tiny lights. We also have a bigger spa area, poolside cabanas that appear to be floating on water and balconies on all the outside staterooms.'

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge will name the Royal Princess in a ceremony at Southampton on June 13 and then there will be week-long inaugural celebrations to welcome the vessel into service. The Royal will cruise the Mediterranean throughout the northern summer, followed by Eastern Caribbean cruises.

Princess Cruises will launch another new ship - the Regal Princess in 2014, bringing the total number of ships in the fleet to 18.

Dining at Euro Restaurant &Bar on Auckland's waterfront, the Princess Cruises' Sydney team includes Alan Stuart, commercial director; Meg Koffel, public relations; Nick Ferguson, marketing manager; Brett Wendorf, head of sales and Belinda Clark, based in Auckland

The Orient-Express' latest luxury travel experience, the Orcaella river cruise, is set to explore Myanmar's Ayeyarwady and Chindwin rivers from July 2013.

Rail Plus has a selection of seven- and 11-night itineraries, travelling between Yangon and Bhamo and stopping at some of Myanmar's key cultural sites.

Orcaella will carry a maximum of 50 passengers in 25 air-conditioned cabins, all featuring floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, Juliette balconies and en-suite facilities.

Prices start from NZ$6,527 pp twin share for the seven-night journey and from NZ$7,737 pp twin share an 11-night voyage between Mandalay and Bagan and include all meals onboard, excursions, transfers and domestic flights.

Rail Plus is offering a 15% discount to any booking combining two of Orient-Express Hotels' luxury rail and cruise experiences*.

Orient-Express Hotels currently operates six luxury tourist trains and three river cruise operations, including the legendary Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the Eastern & Oriental Express between Singapore and Thailand and the Road to Mandalay, which for the past 17 years has cruised Myanmar's Ayeyarwady River.

Orient-Express Hotels will unveil the Orcaella in July. Read more about this new journey

* The 15% discount applies to the total price of the combined Orient-Express products. The offer is available until further notice.

For more information, visit Rail Plus or call 09 375 9024