Tauck adds new Christmas Market River Cruise on the Seine for 2025
Fancy twinkling lights, warm gluhwein and the smell of delicious roasting chestnuts – a Christmas market cruise is perfect for lovers of yuletide celebrations.
Tauck has added a new 2025 river cruise celebrating traditional Christmas markets and holiday festivities along the River Seine in France.
The cruise starts in Paris, where guests will board Tauck’s MS Sapphire riverboat and enjoy three nights and two full days in the city.
Highlights include visits to Paris’ Christmas markets, including those in the Tuileries Garden, where guests can shop for local crafts and sample hot mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, sausages, cheeses, chocolates and more.
Guests can explore medieval art at the Cluny Museum, or marvel at the Gothic Sainte-Chapelle, a royal chapel conceived by Louis IX, renowned for its stunning 13th-century stained glass windows.
The eight-day itinerary also features visits to Rouen, Les Andelys and Vernon. Highlights include a private tour and holiday cocktail party at the opulently decorated Château de Bizy, built in 1740 and still privately owned by a descendant of Napoleon.
Guests will enjoy a private lunch and afternoon tea at Château Vaux-le-Vicomte, also decorated for the season, with time to explore the 100-room moated palace and formal gardens.
On board the MS Sapphire, the festive atmosphere continues with seasonal décor, musical entertainment and interactive holiday activities led by a local artist.
Tauck will operate five departures of The Seine: Holiday Magic in 2025, with fares starting from $6790 per person plus airfare. The fare includes all shore excursions, gratuities, onboard beverages, meals, taxes and fees, airport transfers and more.
PONANT’s m/s Paul Gauguin is set for multimillion-dollar refurbishment in 2025
The 330-guest m/s Paul Gauguin that showcases the beauty of the South Pacific is set for a new look.
It is scheduled for a seven-week drydock in Singapore from February to March 2025 for a renovation combining modern sophistication with eco-conscious innovation.
The refurbishment will feature state-of-the-art sustainable technology enhancements, a dazzling transformation of the iconic Le Grill restaurant, and a rejuvenated pool deck complete with elegant cabana-shaded areas.
The addition of eight new connecting staterooms will offer greater flexibility for families and groups.
Refreshed soft furnishings throughout the ship will create a sophisticated and welcoming atmosphere.
M/s Paul Gauguin offers an unrivalled luxury cruising experience in the idyllic South Pacific.
The ship is based year round in the Islands of Tahiti.
Stirling Design International, a world-renowned leader in transportation design will leave their stamp.
Highlights include Le Grill restaurant, pool deck, pool Bar and connecting staterooms.
The Gauguin remains the only cruise ship in French Polynesia year-round to offer a complimentary program for children ages six to 15 on select summer and holiday voyages.
Emerging from drydock at the end of March 2025, m/s Paul Gauguin will launch two exclusive voyages as part of the 2025 Boutique Crossing Collection.
Guests can choose the 14-night Immersive Indonesia: Singapore to Australia itinerary, departing April 1, 2025, or the 16-night Crossing Melanesia: Australia to Fiji voyage, departing April 15, 2025, as the ship makes her way back to Tahiti.
Viking names the newest ocean ship
The 998-guest Viking Vela was named in Fincantieri’s hometown of Trieste, Italy, recently.
The naming of the Viking Vela also served as a celebration of Viking’s longtime partnership with Fincantieri, which is one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups and is based in Trieste.
Serving as ceremonial godmother of the Viking Vela was Ivana Elice, Vice President and Project Manager of the Fincantieri Cruise Business Unit, who has overseen the design and engineering of Viking’s ocean ships for 12 years.
The Viking Vela
The Viking Vela is the newest ship in Viking’s award-winning ocean fleet of sister ships.
Classified as a small ship, as are all Viking ocean ships, the Viking Vela has 499 staterooms that can host 998 guests with all veranda staterooms, elegant Scandinavian design, light-filled public spaces and abundant al fresco dining options. The ship will spend her inaugural season sailing itineraries during the “quiet season” in the Mediterranean before continuing to Northern Europe.
New Project
Viking is working on a project for a partial hybrid propulsion system for future ocean ships based on liquid hydrogen and fuel cells, which could allow the company to operate at zero-emission in the Norwegian Fjords and other sensitive environments.
The Viking Vela has been designed with the future in mind, ensuring she can be retrofitted to incorporate these new technologies as they become available.
Celestyal marks its maiden call in Dubai
Flagship, Celestyal Journey will offer a seven-day ‘Desert Days’ itinerary, sailing roundtrip from Dubai, and calling at Khasab, Sir Bani Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Bahrain.
Lee Haslett, chief commercial officer at Celestyal, said Dubai just had to be on our Desert Days itinerary as it is an iconic destination for our guests.
“As a truly global city, it provides the ideal mix of culture, immersion and bucket-list moments for our guests,” he said.
Celestyal’s inaugural Arabian Gulf season sails until March 2025, before returning in November 2026 for a second winter season.
Celestyal Discovery will join Celestyal Journey in the region at the end of 2025, home porting in Abu Dhabi and offering three-night roundtrip long weekend ‘Iconic Arabia’ cruises, calling at Doha and Sir Bani Yas Island, and a four-night mid-week ‘Iconic Arabia’ cruise calling at Fujairah, Muscat and Khasab.
Aranui Cruises marks 40 years of adventure in the Marquesas
Aranui Cruises has officially marked its 40th anniversary of cargo cruising in the Marquesas with a special birthday cruise culminating in a spectacular fireworks display at Nuku Hiva.
Aranui Cruises Australia and New Zealand Representative Laurent Wong said the birthday cruise capped off an exciting year for the cruise line.
“It is an incredible achievement to notch up 40 years of service but for all of us at Aranui. serving the communities of the Marquesas Islands with our ongoing cargo deliveries, while providing countless, incredible memories for our guests and crew over the years, has truly been the experience of a lifetime and we can’t help but feel incredibly proud and grateful,” Laurent said.
Aranui has became an integral part of these isolated island communities, even being called the ‘seventh’ Marquesas island by locals.
Aranui ships have provided many global tourists the chance to discover the fascinating culture, rich history and jaw-dropping beauty of these remote islands that are UNESCO heritage listed.
To further mark the occasion, Aranui Cruises worked with Australian-based filmmaker Guido Pezzimenti to create a short film which captures the special connection between Aranui and the Marquesas.
During Aranui’s traditional cargo cruise itinerary, the passenger-freighter dispenses a lifeline of food, fuel and other staples as guests disembark and explore eight islands including the six inhabited Marquesas Islands – Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou, Tahuata, Fatu Hiva, Hiva Oa, Ua Huka – and Tuamotu atolls such as Fakarava and Rangiroa.
Over the past 40 years more than 79,000 guests from 35 countries have sailed across 645 voyages on an Aranui ship.
The cruise line is also cruising to a new corner of French Polynesia, with plans to put the southern Austral Islands on the map in a similar fashion to the Marquesas.
