AURORA 2013 WORLD VOYAGE - SOUTHAMPTON TO BRISBANE

47 Night World Cruise sector sailing from Southampton to Brisbane aboard Aurora.

Aurora is a cruise ship with a classic British design. Yet life on board feels distinctly cosmopolitan. French chic. Moorish elegance. International glamour. Her affinity for travel is evident throughout. If you arelooking for a truly sophisticated cruising experience, she is the superliner for you.

Water cascades down her Lalique style Atrium, creating a calm central space. From here you can discover some of her many bars, shops and lounges. Relax in the comfortable surroundings of Anderson's. Enjoy coffee and chocolates in Raffles. Or head to the Crow's Nest for sunset. Fancy something more active? Her gym and golf simulator could be just the thing.

Dining on Aurora can be a relaxed or formal affair. Whilst her evening entertainment offers everything from theatre to comedy. All of her Staterooms have a stylish and spacious feel. She also has two luxury two tier penthouses, making her accommodation unique.

About the Cruise:

Your mid-winter sailing from Southampton stops first in Ponta Delgada before continuing to Barbados, St Lucia and Curacao. From here you'll experience an awe-inspiring transit through the Panama Canal taking you onwards to Mexico's eco-tourism resort, Huatulco.

In Acapulco, watch the world famous cliff divers at La Quebrada and, if you fancy yourself as a bit of a daredevil, a trip through San Francisco's improbably steep streets could be just the ticket. Heading next to the Hawaiian islands for Honolulu, and Hilo, you'll also call at colourful Bora Bora and Tahiti's cosmopolitan capital, Papeete before Aurora arrives in Auckland, Napier and Wellington.

From its instantly recognisable Opera House to the distinctive Harbour Bridge, Sydney always lives up to expectations.

About Ponta Delgada
A strong Portuguese influence pervades Ponta Delgada from the stylish colonial architecture to the food and wine served in its restaurants. But that should really come as no surprise as this is the main Portuguese Azores cruise port even if these remote Atlantic islands are 760 miles distant from their parent country.
The capital of Sao Miguel, the largest of the nine mountaineous, thickly-forested Azores islands, Ponta Delgada is probably the most spectacularly beautiful, too. It certainly has the most dramatic attraction:Sete citadades.This is a 15 square mile extinct volcanic crater in which two separate lakes have formed - one deep blue, the other emerald green. They make a remarkable sight, not to mention a great photo-opportunity.
There is also a chance to bathe in the volcanic streams and therapeutic sulphur springs where locals come to picnic, burying their stewpots and sweetcorn so that they are cooked by natural heat.

About Curacao
The largest island in the Dutch Antilles, Curacao is home to more than 50 nationalities so has a cosmopolitan atmosphere. Its lovely capital and cruise port, Willemstad, is full of 17th, 18th and 19th century Dutch and Spanish Colonial architecture.
The two sides of the city are divided by Santa Anna Bay, a narrow channel flanked by pastel-tinted, gabled houses and spanned by the spectacular swing-aside Queen Emma pontoon bridge.
On one side you will find the 18th century Fort Amsterdam and Breederstraat, gateway to Willemstad's main shopping and restaurant district where you can buy everything from Delft pottery to Italian silk ties, Japanese electrical goods, Indonesian batik clothing, locally-made black coral jewellery and, of course, the sapphire-blue liqueur to which Curacao has given its name.
Also worth a visit is the Floating Market, lined with boats from Colombia, Venezuela and other Caribbean islands selling colourful local produce and handicrafts.

About Acapulco
Long a magnet for the rich and famous, Mexico's top beach resort, Acapulco, boasts some of the most stunning beaches along the Pacific Coast Mexican Riviera. Situated on a spectacular sweeping bay lined by five star hotels, this jetsetters' city makes the perfect cruise call as there is a huge range of attractions to suit all tastes and interests.
There are lively bars and cafés, chic boutiques and a pulsating nightlife but so much of Acapulco life centres around the ocean. There is a huge variety of watersports from surfing, jet-skiing and parasailing through to snorkelling, scuba-diving and deep-sea fishing.
But top of the list has to be the world famous cliff divers at La Quebrada, who plunge 130 feet from perilous cliffs into the raging waters below, timing their jumps precisely to coincide with the incoming waves so as to avoid landing with a bump in the shallows. Just marvel at the timing, grace and sheer bravery of the divers as they perform every lunchtime and evening

About San Francisco
Cruising under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco is one of the world's greatest travel experiences for it acts as gateway to a fascinating city set across dozens of hills overlooking the bay.
The hippies are long gone but San Francisco's scenic beauty, laid-back ambience and more than 3,000 restaurants make it a joy to visit. The famous Fisherman's Wharf harbourfront restaurant and multi-coloured boats complex, where seals happily sunbathe on its wooden decking, faces out towards the former island prison of Alcatraz which is now a major tourist attraction just like the city's colourful Chinatown district and upmarket shopping centre in Union Square.
And no visit to San Francisco would be complete without a trip on the city's 130-year-old tram system carrying you up and down the improbably steep streets made famous by that stomach-churning Steve McQueen car chase in the movie Bullitt.
From the city, you can also visit the pretty resorts of Sausalito and Monterey.

About Honolulu, Oahu
If you associate Hawaii with flower garlands, grass-skirted hula dancers, fabulous beaches and spectacular volcanic scenery, a call at the capital and main Hawaiian cruise port, Honolulu, will more than live up to your expectations.
With its alfresco, whitewashed shopping malls, elegant hotels and magnificent Waikiki Bay, this city is hedonism personified. You can spend a perfect day ashore browsing the designer boutiques and enjoying a lazy lunch in a waterfront hotel garden before retiring to the soft sands and warm waves that surround the island.
And if that is not enough, there are plenty of other things to do - including tours to historic Pearl Harbour or lovely Waimea Falls Park, where you can watch daredevil locals diving from the towering cliffs which surround the spectacular waterfall into the churning waters below.
If you are feeling daring yourself, you can also take a flight over the island's stunning volcanic scenery in a helicopter or a light plane.

About Auckland
New Zealand's biggest city and major cruise port, Auckland, sits between the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea, which is how it came to host the America's Cup twice - in 1999 and 2002 - attracting investment to transform the harbourside into a superb meeting and eating place which all visitors can now appreciate.
]The Viaduct Harbour area now boasts outdoor restaurants ideally placed to view the hundreds of yachts attracted to this icon of sailing success. This 'City of Sails' is also home to New Zealand's impressive National Maritime Museum which charts the nation's seafaring history.
Harbour ferries offer a great way of viewing the city, either by crossing the bay to old-established Devonport or under the harbour bridge to the suburb of Birkenhead. Otherwise take in all the sights from the revolving restaurant at the top of the Sky Tower, the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere at 328 metres. From Auckland, you can also visit the remarkable geysers and mud pools of Rotorua.

About Wellington
New Zealand's capital and cruise port Wellington, is blessed with a wonderful setting, overlooking a glittering harbour filled with bobbing sailing boats.
Behind the gleaming modern skyscrapers of its centre, you will find the city's history well preserved in some outstanding old buildings - notably the old Government Building, built in 1876, which is the second-largest wooden building in the world.
But to see New Zealand's story brought most vividly to life, visit the Te Papa Museum, a multi-level extravaganza of hands-on learning where you can explore a Maori meeting house, take a virtual reality bungee jump or even experience an earthquake.
Make time, too, to enjoy lunch with a view on the city's lively waterfront, then take a four minute ride in the Kelburn cable car to see the marvellous views from the top of Mount Victoria.

About Brisbane
Classic Australian pastimes such as surfing and swimming from sensational beaches - that is what you will find on the coastline surrounding Queensland's capital and cruise port Brisbane. To the south are the high-rise hotels which make up the exciting Surfers' Paradise and Gold Coast resorts, while to the north there is the beautiful and more sedate Sunshine Coast.
Cultural attractions in downtown Brisbane are located in and around the South Bank Parklands by the Brisbane River - site of the 1988 World Expo. In close proximity you will discover the Queensland Museum and the State Art Gallery, which features many Aboriginal works. Then there's the Butterfly House and Maritime Museum.
The best shopping can be found at the Myer Centre complex on the city's central commercial artery, Queen Street. Walk south to admire the fine architecture around the former Treasury building and then discover the imaginatively landscaped Botanic Gardens.

  ____  ___   ___    ___   __  __   _ _  
 |__ / / __| | __|  / __| |  \/  | | | | 
  |_ \ \__ \ | _|  | (_ | | |\/| | |_  _|
 |___/ |___/ |___|  \___| |_|  |_|   |_|