Luxury Cruises & Charters - New Zealand & Vanuatu View Basket

Luxury Boutique Expeditions

Sheltered waters, big ship comfort and exceptional intimacy

New Zealand Geographic and Island Escape Cruises have formed an alliance to offer luxury expeditions within New Zealand and Vanuatu. Their shared passion for adventure, discovery and conservation has inspired a series of extraordinary small ship voyages to some of the most remote and fascinating places in New Zealand and the South Seas.

Island Escape Cruises invites you to enjoy a luxury getaway aboard the beautifully-appointed small ship, Island Passage. Weighing in at almost 500 tonnes, she’s equipped to travel to inaccessible areas while delivering the highest level of passenger comfort.

The Island Passage is unique in that other vessels of her size carry more than double the 20 passengers that she can accommodate. This gives her passengers much more room to relax. She is also licensed for 200-day passengers.

The Island Passage operates with a crew of eight and is registered as a New Zealand vessel under NZ Safe Ship Management. She has a tonnage of 496 GRT. The ship carries a selection of landing craft, tenders and kayaks to allow exploring off the ship into bays, estuaries and islands. The helicopter is available for trips beyond the range of the sea craft.

Onboard Island Passage the experiences that you have been yearning for can become blissful reality. Discover your own 'Tales of the South Pacific' on a tropical Vanuatu cruise or be captivated by the sky-forest-sea perfection of Marlborough Sounds and Abel Tasman National Park and be amazed with the Treasure Islands of Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.

If this is not enough then sample the beauty of the iconic Bay of Islands or be engrossed by the Volcanic wonders that abound in the Bay of Plenty. For groups of up to 20, Island Passage represents the ultimate floating luxury escape.

Seasons of Island Escape

BAY OF ISLANDS, NORTHLAND Summer - January to February
"It was more thickly populated than those parts further south, the people more elaborately tattooed, some of their canoes more elaborately carved; the bay itself beautiful, with many good anchorages, the hills and valleys round it, forests and cultivations beautiful also. Cook called it the Bay of Islands." - Joseph Banks, 1769

TREASURE ISLANDS OF AUCKLAND, HAURAKI GULF MARINE PARK Summer - March
A magical corner of the Pacific Ocean, the Hauraki Gulf includes 4000 square kilometres of ocean and a multitude of islands. In the Maori language, Hauraki means north wind - apt because the gulf is protected from all sides except the north. Within this oceanic haven, nature is still very much alive and well.

VOLCANIC ADVENTURES, BAY OF PLENTY Summer/Autumn - April
Serene and beautiful at sea level, the Coromandel and Bay of Plenty regions are full of dark secrets below ground. And every now and then, this subterranean angst rises to the surface. On our Volcanic Islands adventure, a fascinating geological history is revealed as you enjoy the luxury of seagoing life aboard Island Passage.

SECRETS OF BALI HAI, VANUATU SOUTH PACIFIC Autumn/Winter - May to September
You might think you know tropical island scenery like the back of your hand, but if you haven’t yet journeyed around the islands of Vanuatu there’s much to learn. The rugged mystery of high volcanic terrain shrouded with jungle tugs at your spirit of adventure, while the sublime turquoise and white of the beaches satisfies your hedonistic urge to find the perfect paradise.

MYSTERIES OF MARLBOROUGH, MARLBOROUGH SOUNDS/ABEL TASMAN Spring - November
Small but exquisitely formed, the Abel Tasman National Park is a paradise of golden beaches, granite and marble rock formations, lush native forest and remarkable wildlife encounters. Close to the shore, the water is a tropical shade of turquoise and so clear that you can watch the anchor dig into the sand. Apart from the walking track that traces the park’s boundary with the sea, there’s not a road to be seen.