The latest cruise news on our radar – and now on yours! Here at The Weekly we love a good cruise. You can’t beat them for all-in-one convenience, and with offerings for all different types of travellers, there is something for everyone.
Magical Disney cruises
Disney Cruise Line’s recent forays into Australia have been a roaring success, and fans have a lot more to look forward to.
The cruise news from Disney is that the company has announced plans to expand its fleet to 13 ships by 2031; Disney Wonder was back in Australia and New Zealand in early 2025 and bookings have already opened for her 2025-2026 sailings out of Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland.
Top pick
The 10-night voyage from Auckland to Sydney over December 19-29, 2025, when the Disney Wonder will visit Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Christchurch and Fiordland National Park for the first time.
Visit DisneyCruiseLine.com/AUNZ
Cruise combos with Wendy Wu
Wendy Wu Tours, renowned for its tours initially of parts of Asia and now in Latin America, Eurasia, South Africa and the Middle East too (there are more than 110 fully inclusive trips) has notched up another first: Teaming up with Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Azamara to offer nine “ground-breaking” fully inclusive Cruise & Tour Holidays.
Top picks
We’ve got our eye on the 20-day China by Land, Japan by Sea; the 26-day India by Land, Southeast Asia by Sea; and the 23-day Journey Through Southern Africa.
Visit wendywutours.com.au/cruises/tours/
Celestyal’s special stopovers
In exciting cruise news, boutique Greek cruise line Celestyal is out to wow Australians, particularly those who use the United Arab Emirates to get to other parts of the world, or who like the Middle East as a destination in itself.
With its two new mid-sized ships – Celestyal Discovery (launched March 2024) and Celestyal Journey (launched in late 2023) – the Mediterranean specialist is branching out into a year-round operator with ‘winter seasons’ (November to March) in the Arabian Gulf over the next three years.
Top picks
Starting on November 30, 2024, Celestyal Journey made its home-port in Doha, operating a seven-day Desert Days itinerary, while from November 2025 Celestyal Discovery will do three- and four-night itineraries out of Abu Dhabi that can be combined. Celestyal’s core Mediterranean and Greek summer cruises in 2025 and 2026 are on sale too.
MSC Cruises muscles in
Also making a move on the Australian market is the world’s largest privately owned line, MSC Cruises, which with a fleet of 22 ships – plus three more to be launched in 2025, 2026 and 2027 – also happens to be the world’s third largest cruise line. With its Swiss and Italian origins, it has a strong focus on Europe, but operates in more than 100 countries.
This article originally appeared in the November 2024 issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly. Subscribe so you never miss an issue.
