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Aranui 5 going ‘to every corner of French Polynesia and beyond’

Aranui Cruises released the 2021 programme for its dual freight and passenger ship Aranui 5, declaring it will take passengers ‘to every corner of French Polynesia and beyond.’

Helen Hutcheon, Australasia correspondent

January 22, 2020

2 Min Read
Credit: Seatrade Cruise News

Leaving drydock

Aranui 5, which made her maiden voyage around French Polynesia in December 2015, will leave the Thales Australia shipyard on Garden Island on Friday looking spick-and-span after a scheduled drydock.

Cargo-cruise experience

The fully air-conditioned, custom-built 254-passenger-cum-cargo vessel which delivers supplies to remote villages offers one of the few remaining cargo cruise experiences in the world.

There are 11 new destinations in 2021, including a maiden voyage to the Cook Islands, an expanded Pitcairn itinerary and the first dedicated Society Islands cruise.

The 2021 programme gets under way from Papeete on January 9 on a 13-day revamped cruise to the Tuamotu, Gambier and Pitcairn Islands, including a new Tuamotu atoll, Hikueru, an overnight stay at Adamstown and a maiden visit to Pitcairn’s Oeno Island, which has pristine white sand beaches.

The 13-day inaugural Cook Islands cruise departs Papeete on September 4 and the 12-day Society and Tuamotu cruise departs May 8. When Aranui 5 anchors at Makatea on May 11 during this cruise, it will be almost 50 years since the company’s last visit as a local inter-island trader during the phosphate boom. Just 8km long and 5km wide, Makatea has a population of fewer than 100.

Complimentary excursions

During 2021, there will be 18 of the company’s original 13-day round cruises to the Marquesas. While Aranui 5 off-loads cargo, there is a wide range of complimentary excursions for passengers, including 4WD tours, hikes and visits to archaeological sites.

‘French Polynesia is home to some 118 islands across five archipelagos and in 2021 we will be cruising to no less than 21 of them, as well as four destinations in the Cook Islands and Pitcairn,’ Laurent Wong, regional representative Australia and New Zealand, said.

Ian Menzies, owner of the Ultimate Luxury Cruising and Adventure agency in Sydney, inspected Aranui 5 in drydock this week.

2,000 passengers

‘We have sold cruises to nearly 2,000 passengers in the five years the ship has been in service,’ Menzies said.

His verdict of the drydock: ‘Really impressive.’

Read more about:

Aranui Cruises

About the Author

Helen Hutcheon

Australasia correspondent

Helen Hutcheon did her cadetship on a shipping magazine and worked in P&O’s Sydney office for seven years as a public relations journalist.

For 19 years she was deputy editor of Travel Week, which was Australia’s leading trade newspaper that covered major local and international industry events.

In 2008 the late legendary Rama Rebbapragada presented her with an award from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd ‘in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the cruising industry.’

In 2010 she won the Neil Frazer Award for ‘outstanding contribution to the cruise industry,’ elevating her to CLIA Australasia’s hall of fame.

She has been the Australasia correspondent for Seatrade Cruise Review since 1997 and for Seatrade Insider (now Seatrade Cruise News) since its launch in 2000.

 

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