In Search of the Northern Lights from Newcastle
Date: 15 Mar 2025
Duration: 10 nights
Ship: Borealis
Line: Fred Olsen Cruises
Those innovative people, the Japanese, are copying ancient Vikings, by choosing to cremate their departed loved ones on crematorium ships and getting a cruise out of it, to boot. The Nippon Foundation thinks they have the answer to Japan’s cramped urban centres, where there are long waiting lists for grave sites. Their solution is called Somaru, a 26 ton ship with a car ferry, ceremony hall and four purpose-built crematoria. Rather surprisingly, there are distinct advantages to cremations on cruise ships: they don’t have large construction costs, nor do they need land, their mobility means there is no opposition from residents of areas where crematorium construction is planned, and, of course, they allow for the scattering of a loved one’s ashes at sea.
Date: 15 Mar 2025
Duration: 10 nights
Ship: Borealis
Line: Fred Olsen Cruises
£1,745 OUTSIDE
£2,715 BALCONY
Date: 21 Feb 2024
Duration: 36 nights
Ship: Seabourn Odyssey
Line: Seabourn
Date: 21 Jul 2025
Duration: 12 nights
Ship: Explorer of the Seas
Line: Royal Caribbean
£2,479 OUTSIDE
£2,599 BALCONY
Date: 22 Sep 2025
Duration: 7 nights
Ship: Explora II
Line: Explora Journeys
Date: 8 Mar 2025
Duration: 7 nights
Ship: Royal Clipper
Line: Star Clippers
Date: 20 Sep 2024
Duration: 7 nights
Ship: MSC World Europa
Line: MSC Cruises
£1,579 OUTSIDE
£1,685 BALCONY