Veranda Stateroom Oceania Sirena.Photo: Michel Verdure EXOTIC ENCOUNTERS

Oceania Cruises has produced a Sirena Exotic Collectionof cruises in the Middle East and Asia. The nine 10- to 24-day itineraries launch in November 2020 and continue into April 2021, kicking off with a 12-day voyage from Jerusalem to Istanbul. Sirena then sails through the Red Sea to explore the Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. After that, it's onwards from Dubai to Mumbai, Yangon and Bangkok before Sirena traces its route back to Athens. All itineraries include overnight port calls, with some featuring as many as four overnight port stays.

Phone 1300 355 200. See oceaniacruises.com

Abercrombie & Kent has a new expedition cruise to Iceland and Greenland in August 2020 aboard the exclusively chartered Le Boreal. The cruise sails vast and spectacular landscapes such as the Westman archipelago, ice-covered Lindenow Fiord and Prince Christian Sound. Guests will explore the high Arctic tundra on foot to admire wildflowers and migrating seabirds, and will enjoy regular Zodiac excursions to glaciers, fiords and fishing villages. Cultural experiences are another highlight on visits to remote Greenlandic communities where guests learn first-hand about the local people, their cultures and ancient archaeological sites.

Phone 1300 590 317. See abercrombiekent.com.au

Latitude 33 has released a 26-night Golden Triangle & Rafflesjourney in Asia departing on November 13, 2020 that opens with an eight-night land tour in India and finishes with a stay in Singapore's Raffles Hotel. In between is a 16-night cruise from Mumbai to Singapore on Crystal Symphony, with stopovers in southern Indian spice-trading port Kochi, Sri Lankan capital Colombo, and two port nights in Yangon in Myanmar for an exploration of its golden temples, ancient pagodas and colonial heritage. Phuket, Penang and Port Kelang (Kuala Lumpur) round off the voyage.

Phone 1300 636 848. See latitude33.travel

Ponant is offering 62 cruises across Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean and Polynesia in its 2020-21 season. Among them, a 10-night China & Vietnam cruise departs Shanghai on October 28, 2020 and visits Wenzhou, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Hainan Island and Vietnam's Ha Long Bay, while a 14-night Jewels of the Indian Oceancruise departing March 29, 2021 between Port Louis in Mauritius and Zanzibar in Tanzania visits Reunion Island and Madagascar. An eight-night Treasures of the Persian Gulfcruise has 10 departures between November 2020 and January 2021 and visits Abu Dhabi, Doha and Oman.

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Phone 1300 737 178. See au.ponant.com

A reminder that we're approaching the end of Cruise Month, organised each October by the member cruise lines and travel agencies of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) to showcase their cruise offerings. The good news is that the month finishes in style with a special emphasis on luxury cruising. If big-ship, budget-end cruise holidays aren't for you, head down to a cruise-focused travel agency and ask about the ever more impressive array of luxury ships that have floated out of the dockyards in recent years. To find a specialist CLIA travel agent in your area, see cruising.org.au

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Oceania Cruises' new itineraries in the Middle East and Asia - Traveller