Arrivals & Departures Weekly Travel News & Views 18 August 2025

CROATIA CRUISE

Small-ship cruise line Unforgettable Croatia’s new vessel MV Aretis started its maiden season in July. Built in Split, Croatia, Aretis is the first luxury small ship of its kind to be built in the country in the past four years. The 36-guest ship will have 19 seven-night sailings between Dubrovnik and Split before the end of the season in October 2025. A summer season of 24 departures has been confirmed for 2026. unforgettablecroatia.com

NEW ON THE NILE

Abercrombie & Kent will have a chic new riverboat on the River Nile in 2026. Nile Seray, pictured at the top of the page, is the fifth luxury riverboat in Egypt for A&K Sanctuary, and the team say it will be the most sophisticated and spacious yet. It can carry up to 64 guests in 32 suites, each 33sqm. Each has floor-to-ceiling windows, a Juliet balcony, and a seating area. The boat will visit some of Egypt’s top archaeological sites as standard, including the tombs of Nefertari, Seti I, Ramses VI, and King Tutankhamun.

The name “Seray” means palace in Persian via Turkish, Italian and French.

SINGAPORE SUCCESS

A big team from Singapore Tourism Board have just been in Perth to reaffirm the Lion City’s connection to ours, and our importance to them as visitors. It was an interesting evening. The big picture is that Singapore received 16.5 million international visitors in 2024 — 20 per cent more than in 2023. They stayed for an average of three days. Of those, 216,000 came from WA, with 101,000 “first-timers” and 115,000 repeat visitors.

SUPERSTAR GEMINI

Singapore was very much the “nursery” of West Australian travellers’ love of cruising. Back in the 1990s, we were flying five hours to Singapore to sail on SuperStar Gemini (sailing to Penang, Langkawi and Phuket), SuperStar Leo, and Sky Princess.

Go back to the 1980s, and we might be catching Island Princess and Pacific Princess — the “Love Boat” ships. Sun Princess operated briefly out of Singapore in the mid-1980s.

DISNEY UP & DOWN

The cruise ship Disney Adventure will home-port in Singapore for five years, from December 15, 2025 — the result of a partnership between Disney Cruise Line and the Singapore Tourism Board. Sailing from Marina Bay Cruise Centre, the all-new ship will offer three and four-night trips. The ship has seven themed areas — from the Disney Imagination Garden to Disney Discovery Reef, Toy Story Place and the Marvel Landing. There will be Broadway-style shows, deck parties, movie screenings, and visits by favourite pals from Disney, Pixar and Marvel movies.

It comes as it is confirmed that this season is Disney Wonder’s last in Australia. Disney won’t say why the end of its third season, in February 2026, is the end of the story.

SINGAPORE STAYS

We are often asked for accommodation suggestions for Singapore, and here are two that many readers might like to have on their radar. They are on the “more affordable” end of the range, and both handy for Clarke Quay, which is the area I often prefer to stay in as it is so “walkable”.

Paradox It’s surprisingly big, with 476 nicely styled rooms, and has a good swimming pool area. One of its big pluses is the Ellenborough Market Cafe, which serves some dishes of Peranakan flavour. I’m finding rates for all of September at $S264 ($316) a night at paradoxhotels.com

Lloyd’s Inn With an authentic feel, this is just off Orchard Road, and there are only 34 rooms. It may surprise with the extensive use of wood and concrete, outdoor bathrooms and courtyards. There’s no restaurant in the hotel, but guests are very close to all sorts of dining. Also for September 2025, I see rates from $242 a night for a small standard room and $265 for a bigger superior. guestreservations.com/lloyds-inn/booking

SINGAPORE REMINDERS

Travellers passing through Singapore who have connections of between 5½ and 24 hours are entitled to a free 2½-hour guided tour. I’d look at the Heritage and Culture Tour to Chinatown and Kampong Gelam. changiairport.com

Those who want the tour should stay in the transit area and not clear immigration. In Terminal 2, go to Level 2, Transit Area, near Gate F50. In Terminal 3, go to Level 2, Transit Area, near Gate A1-A8. Those arriving in other terminals should take the Skytrain within the transit area and go to Terminal 3 for registration. You will need a passport, boarding passes, entry visa (if applicable) and tour booking confirmation.

A free two-hour bicycle tour of Changi Airport is also available, but it must be pre-booked. There’s a scenic cycle path which has won an NParks LEAF award for excellence in urban greenery. Book through the Changi app, or visit changiairport.com.

NORTH & SOUTH

Meanwhile, in New Zealand . . .

North Island In Auckland, the Radisson RED hotel is due to open later this year, with 325 rooms and what will be the city’s biggest rooftop bar, called Reattachable Rooftop.

South Island On the west coast, in the township of Okarito, Te Wa Whakata is now open, with seven cabins by the Okarito lagoon, an untouched wetland.

In Southland, Southern Discoveries’ new one-hour Te Anau Farm Tour includes friendly animals, watching sheepdogs work, and a Kiwi-style morning tea. It combines with a two-hour Milford Sound Nature Cruise from $NZ315 ($287) per person for the three-hour package. southerndiscoveries.co.nz