Toast the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee at sea

Join Swan Hellenic’s (www.swanhellenic.com / 0844 822 0679) mv Minerva for a special Diamond Jubilee celebration at sea, from £2,185 per person (based on two people sharing an inside cabin).

Guests on-board the 16-day St. Petersburg and the Baltic cruise will be able to pay tribute to Her Majesty The Queen’s 60 year reign with a delicious three-course jubilee themed gala dinner including ‘Fresh Turbot with Champagne Cream Sauce and Caviar topped with Scottish Lobster Beignet’ and ‘Black Angus Beef Filet Wellington with Sauce Perigudine’.

The onboard entertainment will also be focused around the Jubilee with ‘A Right Royal Quiz’ and a special performance of ‘Theatre Royal’ from the Shakespeare Revue Company, enacting some of the Queen’s favourite shows from across the years.

The St. Petersburg and the Baltic cruise departs from Portsmouth (UK) and calls at the Kiel Canal (Germany), Ronne (Denmark), Visby (Sweden), Stockholm (Sweden), St. Petersburg (Russia)-overnight, Tallinn (Estonia), Gdansk (Poland) and Copenhagen (Denmark). Price is based on a 22 May 2012 departure.

Prices for all cruises include a tailor-made programme of shore excursions, talks by eminent Guest Speakers, meals and entertainment on board, all gratuities and all relevant cruise taxes/fees. Special terms and conditions apply – please visit website for details.

For more information and to book visit www.swanhellenic.com or call 0844 822 0679. 

Save up to 50% with Swan Hellenic

Swan Hellenic is giving adventurous holidaymakers the chance to show off their impulsive side – and grab bargains of up to 50% on cruises departing later this month.

The leading discovery cruise operator has limited space due to last minute cancellations on two of its most sought-after sailings, with massive discounts available for customers who book soon.

Special fares include:

Cruising on the Rhone – River Cruise

An eight-day cruise departing May 19

Departs Lyon (France) and calling at Chalon-sur-Saone, Tournus, Macon, Viviers, Arles and Avignon before returning to Lyon. Excursion highlights include a scenic drive along the Ardeche Gorge, walking tour of Arles and option of a full day wine tasting in Burgundy.

Outside guarantee fare – now £895 per person (saving £830 on original brochure price)

Balcony guarantee fare – now £995 per person (saving £1100)

Price includes return flights to Lyon.

St Petersburg and the Baltic

A 16-day cruise aboard Minerva, departing May 22

Departing Portsmouth, the cruise calls at Ronne (Denmark), Visby (Sweden), Stockholm (Sweden), St Petersburg (Russia), Tallinn (Estonia), Gdansk (Poland) and Copenhagen (Denmark) before returning to the UK. Highlights include the Stockholm Archipelago, overnight in St Petersburg, a visit to Peter the Great’s summer palace at Peterhof, navigation of the Kiel Canal and the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations on board.

Inside guarantee fare – now £1245pp twin fare (saving £1250 on original brochure price)

Outside guarantee fare – now £1765pp (saving £1760)

Each booking is non-refundable and cabin number will not be allocated at time of booking. Pay in full at the time of the booking. All per person prices quoted based on twin-share basis.

Prices for all cruises includes flights and transfers (where applicable), a tailor-made programme of shore excursions, talks by eminent Guest Speakers, meals and entertainment on board, all gratuities and all relevant cruise taxes/fees.

For more information and to book visit www.swanhellenic.com or call 0844 822 0679. 

A right royal celebration with Swan Hellenic

Celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on-board Swan Hellenic’s (www.swanhellenic.com / 0844 822 0679) newly refurbished ship, mv Minerva from £2,185 per person (based on two people sharing an inside cabin).

Departing from Portsmouth (UK) on 22 May 2012, passengers on the 16-day St. Petersburg and the Baltic cruise will be able to celebrate the Jubilee by taking part in ‘A Right Royal Quiz’ including musical clues taken from Her Majesty’s 60 year reign. Passengers will also be treated to a special performance of ‘Theatre Royal’ from the Shakespeare Revue Company, enacting some of the Queen’s favourite shows from across the ages, as well as a commemorative meal to mark the occasion.

To accompany the on board entertainment, off shore Swan Hellenic offers a programme of activities fit for any Queen, visiting the prestigious Mariinsky Theatre to celebrate St Petersburg’s 20^th Music Festival “Stars of the White Nights”, seeing a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Opera ‘Eugene Onegin’, and a behind the scenes tour with a curator at the Vasa Museuem, Stockholm.

The St. Petersburg and the Baltic cruise departs from Portsmouth (UK) and calls at the Kiel Canal (Germany), Ronne (Denmark), Visby (Sweden), St. Petersburg (Russia)-overnight, Tallinn (Estonia), Gdansk (Poland) and Copenhagen (Denmark). Price based on a 22 May 2012 departure.

Prices for all cruises includes a tailor-made programme of shore excursions, talks by eminent Guest Speakers, meals and entertainment on board, all gratuities and all relevant cruise taxes/fees. Special terms and conditions apply – please visit website for details.

For more information and to book visit www.swanhellenic.com or call 0844 822 0679. Follow Swan Hellenic on twitter - @Swanhellenic and like us on Facebook

One Week To The New Edition!

The Winter edition of World of Cruising magazine goes to the printers this week and should be back on Monday (Dec 19) for distribution to all our subscribers - just in time for a good Christmas read!

The latest issue is absolutely packed with the exotic and the desirable; long-distance cruising and closer-to-home varieties; winter ideas and festive touches. It journeys from Japan to Alaska and the Caribbean to the Med. And all in the inimitable style and high-quality design you have come to expect from Europe's leading cruise publication.

Our cover story is a unique close-up look at Alaska, through the twin perspectives of Princess Cruises and the new Alaskan Dream Cruises, with some fabulous photography and brilliant story-telling. Then we take a Viking voyage in the company of Fred. Olsen Cruises and head to the FarEast to look at the growing cruise destination of South Korea.

Need some winter sunshine? Go straight to out feature on Caribbean voyaging with SeaDream Yacht Club, a real tropical tonic. Or how about another look at the Asian Far East, this time with Orion Expedition Cruises and their first ever visit to Japan?


Back on home ground, we have a feature-length look at Swan Hellenic's Minerva from her new home base of Portsmouth (and just prior to her big winter re-fit), and then head north again for a look at the Norwegian Arctic of Hurtigruten in the region of Spitsbergen, truly one of cruising's great adventure frontiers.

For river cruising, we head to Russia and a unique journey from Moscow to St Petersburg with Uniworld, while we add a touch of pure luxury aboard Azamara Club Cruises and their unique President's Cruise. We also fofer two Passenger Perspective pieces, looking at Azamara and Cunard's Queen Victoria.

All the regular features are, of course, firmly front and centre, from the inimitable blogging style of Captain Greybeard and the inimitable Admiral, to the Aft View section, the expert Fashion pages, the essential World of Spas section, Readers Letters and the essential Cruise Planner, the annual review of ALL the ships with ALL the lines, so you can sit and plan your next voyage in perfect style.

It is all here, capped off by the best writers on the subject, from Gary Buchanan and Yvonne Horn to cruise historian Peter Newall and adventure cruiser Steve Newman.

As ever, World of Cruising is subscription-only, so, to be sure of your copy, make sure you visit the subscription page - Here!