Call us on: 01342 840555
Call us on: 01342 840555
CURRENTLY, ALL CRUISES FOR THE REST OF 2020 ARE CANCELLED AS THE SHIP, ISLAND PASSAGE, HAS BEEN SOLD, AND THE NEWLY DESIGNED AND SPECIALLY BUILT VESSEL IS DUE FOR DELIVERY BY APRIL 2021. THIS NEW 54 METRE LUXURY CRUISER WILL HAVE A HELIPAD, STABILISERS, TENDER BOATS, ECO-FRIENDLY ENGINES AND A CONTEMPORARY, STYLISH INTERIOR. IT WILL ACCOMMODATE UP TO 32 GUESTS AND SPEND THE SUMMERS AROUND NEW ZEALAND BEFORE SPENDING THE WINTER MONTHS AROUND THE ISLANDS IN TAHITI. OBVIOUSLY, THE NEW SHIP WILL HAVE DIFFERENT CABIN LAYOUTS AND AMENITIES, PUBLIC AREAS AND SPECIFICATIONS. AS WE GET FURTHER INFORMATION, WE WILL UPDATE THIS PAGE.
Island Escape Cruises are a privately-owned small ship cruise company, based in New Zealand who offer 7 and 10-night cruises around New Zealand and French Polynesia.
The company was started by Peter Bissett in 2004, after he retired from owning major shipping companies, and wanted to start his dream company of a small, luxury cruise business. He worked with maritime professionals to design and build his unique vision, a luxury small ship cruise vessel, with spacious cabins and public areas for just 24 guests, within the 42 metres they had to play with. They achieved this by utilising a catamaran-style hull, giving the additional width needed, nearly 13 metres, to provide the desired space. This also provided a stable vessel small enough to get into small bays and shallow estuaries, but big enough to provide the large cabins and bathrooms he wanted, spacious lounges and dining room, an expansive aft sundeck, a rooftop helicopter, two motorboats, a transfer tender plus numerous kayaks and paddleboards for guest use. And thus, the 'Island Passage' was born! Once he had the ship, Peter put together itineraries around 2 of his favourite places; the gorgeous coastline of New Zealand and, initially, the South Pacific islands of Vanuatu, and starting in 2016, changing the routing to cruise around beautiful French Polynesia.
Fine dining and excellent wines are offered on all their cruises, with a gourmet menu serving local seafood (maybe even caught that day by you or another guest), organic New Zealand lamb, local poultry and beef, and fresh produce from the local farmer's markets, along with an extensive wine cellar of award winning Australian and New Zealand wines. One of their Reislings has been voted one of the best in the world! All drinks, including premium spirits and champagne, are now included in the price.
Although the ship looks functional on the outside, inside, the accommodation has been designed to feel more like a luxury yacht than a small cruise ship. The light and airy Cabins and Suites are spread across 3 decks, with 5 Castaway Cabins on the main deck, 1 Castaway Cabin, 3 Hideaway and 1 Runaway Suites on the Promenade Deck and 2 Runaway Suites on the Bridge Deck.
The Castaway Cabins are 16sqm/175sqft with wide portholes with ocean views, hotel-style Queen or Twin solid wood beds with luxurious linens and bedding, individual bedside lights, an ensuite bathroom with shower and complimentary premium toiletries, a roomy wardrobe with wooden hangers, individual air conditioning and a 26" flat screen TV with 250 on-demand movies. The Hideaway Suites are 18sqm/195sqft with a large window and opening door to the Promenade Deck, and provide the same same facilities and amenities as the Cabins. Suite 4, the Motutapu Suite, has an accessible wet-room style showerroom. The 2 Runaway Suites are located at the front of the Bridge Deck with fantastic views from the large picture window and the opening door to the Bridge Deck, and offer 22sqm/235sqft of space, a King bed with luxury bedding, a 32" flat-screen TV and bathrobes in the spacious ensuite bathroom. The Runaway Suite on the Promenade Deck offers the same facilities as the Bridge Deck Suites, but has 1 Queen bed. Each night, regardless of room catagory, they provide a turndown service, with complimentary chocolates and bottled water.
The Cruises offer the best of each destination, providing journeys between 7 and 10 night journeys. There are 2 tours around French Polynesia and 3 around New Zealand. The French Polynesia cruises operate from May round to October and visits a number of beautiful islands in the Society chain on each tour. Please see the detailed itineraries below for more information.
The New Zealand cruises operate between December and April, and offer 7 night cruises around the North and South Island. Between February and April they visit the World Heritage site of Milford Sound and the Fiordland National Park, on the west coast of the South Island, and between December and early February, the beautiful Bay of Islands and the islands around Auckland, on the north coastline of the North Island. For more information on these cruises please click HERE or visit our dedicated New Zealand section.
To visit Island Escape Cruises own website, please clic
Hotel Facilities (Click to expand)
room Facilities (Click to expand)
Child Policy
Children are welcome but this cruise is not recommended for children under 12 years. Most activities are geared more toward adults and there is no special provision for children.
Airport Transfers
Round trip Airport transfers are included in your cruise price.
Check-in Details
On arrival from your international flight into Papeete (10 night cruise), you will greeted by the crew at approximately 2.30pm, and transferred to the ship at Pier de Pacquebots on the Papeete waterfront ready for boarding time.
On arrival in Bora Bora, (7 night cruise), the airport ferry will transfer you to Vaitape town, where the ship is moored. The crew will meet you at the ferry terminal at approximately 4.30 with light refreshments, when they will transfer you to the ship.
Although there are frequent international flights into Tahiti, there are limited airports of embarkation to choose from, with currently only Paris, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Auckland and Tokyo offering single plane air service to Tahiti.
The international airline for French Polynesia. is Air
Tahiti Nui, who operate daily flights from Paris and Los
Angeles to Tahiti, and on some days there are additional fights
to/from Los Angeles. In addition, they operate two weekly flights
to/from Auckland and they serve Tokyo twice a week. Their services
to New York and Sydney have been suspended at this
time.
Air France currently offer a service from Paris,
three times a week via Los Angeles
Air New Zealand operates daily flights via LA to
Papeete, and 5 days a week from/to Auckland with it's own aircraft.
It also operates a codeshare arrangements with Air Tahiti Nui
providing seats on their fights from Tahiti to Auckland and Los
Angeles.
United Airlines operate 3 times a week from San Francisco to Papeete, on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, which will connect to their daily flight from Heathrow.
Air Calin, operate a weekly flight between
Noumea, in New Caledonia, and Tahiti.
Hawaiian Airlines provide a weekly service
between Honolulu and Tahiti, currently operating on a
Saturday/Sunday schedule.
LANChile, operate a flight once a week from
Santiago to Tahiti via Easter Island, providing the availability to
do a great side trip from Tahiti to Easter island.
Air Tahiti is French Polynesia's domestic
airline, which operates an extensive domestic flight network
covering all the country's main islands, with at least a daily
service. With the main Society islands receiving a number of
flights a day, since Air Moorea stopped operations between Tahiti
and Moorea, the flight connections now to Moorea have become
limited, most connections between the two are now done by ferry
boat.
The less populated and outer islands have a restricted service, so
sometimes a night stop in Tahiti may be required when connecting to
these islands.
Air Tahiti provide the only air service between
Tahiti and the Cook islands, which they currently do once a week on
a Thursday, an extra high season flight is operated between June
and August
There are a number of aircraft and helicopters available for private charters, but they all tend to be based in Tahiti so arranging charters between the outer islands can be expensive as the aircraft will originate and terminate in Tahiti. Tahiti Nui Helicopters are one such company that operate resort transfers (where helipad available), inter-island flights and sightseeing trips. Contact us for further info.
Airline Seat Maps
For most airlines, we can pre-reserve seats for you once your flight booking is confirmed, and if no charge is applied, will do so as a matter of course. If there is a charge by the airline for this, we will only do this with your approval. If you would like to have a look at a seat plan for your aircraft, check the airlines' own website, or one of the best independent websites for this information is SeatGuru.com, which is part of the Tripadvisor group. Click Here to find information on your particular airline.
Pricing Policy
Prices are based on a per cabin, per cruise all-inclusive price, which will include airport transfers, accommodations as booked, cruise transportation, all meals onboard, all beverages, soft drinks, bottled water, coffee and tea, cocktail on boarding, use of kayaks, water sport equipment and facilities, port and handling charges, shore excursions and tender transfers, Government fees and taxes.
Bar expenses, optional shore excursions, telephone charges, shopping items, travel insurance or anything you buy from the local villagers or markets is not included. There are no cash withdrawal facilities on the ship, so it is advisable to bring sufficient local currency for your trip, as villagers and local markets won't accept credit cards, though they can be accepted for on board expenses.
PRICING INFORMATION
contact us
If you have any questions regarding the islands of the Pacific Ocean or you would like us to provide a quote for your planned itinerary, then please contact us, we will be more than happy to help.
Phone: 01342 840555
Fax: 01342 841623
Brochure Downloads
Just like Captain Cook, we cover the Pacific Ocean.
We have a wide range of brochures to cover most of the Pacific Islands in detail.
Click here to download a Transpacific Holiday brochure
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