Top cruises covering both Australia and New Zealand

Starting from: Christchurch

Spend Christmas Day at sea aboard Crystal Endeavor, the 200-guest expedition ship launching in August 2020. Its inaugural festive sailing takes in interesting ports of call such as Ship Cove, once a base of Captain James Cook, and Stewart Island, New Zealand’s third largest island. New Year’s Eve is spent in Sydney Harbour, in pole position to watch the spectacular fireworks display, before sailing on to explore the wildlife, history and natural wonders of Tasmania. The itinerary features Flinders Island, Wineglass Bay, Coles Bay and Maria Island. Extend your time on Tasmania to check out Hobart’s Museum of Old New Art (MONA) and Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary’s Tasmanian devils. 

Book it: Crystal Cruises offers a 14-night cruise on board Crystal Endeavor from Christchurch (Lyttelton) to Hobart from £15,076pp, excluding flights; departs December 22, 2020 (crystalcruises.co.uk). 

Starting from: Bali

Most cruises covering both Australia and New Zealand take in the obvious sights such as Sydney, Auckland and Milford Sound, but sailing on a smaller ship opens up new opportunities. This voyage on 600-passenger Seabourn Encore pairs all the big-hitters (including an overnight in Melbourne en route) with smaller ports further from the tourist trail, such as Moreton Island, tropical Townsville, Kaikoura (for whale-watching) and Stewart Island. Squeeze even more out of the trip with a beach break in Bali and a North Island self-drive from Auckland, to discover Maori heritage and geothermal scenery.