Cruise & Travel October/November 2023 - Sample Issue

BAR HARBOR, MAINE

Autumn is a special time to sail along the Eastern Seaboard of the US, when its sweeping coastal views go from awe-inspiring to out-of-this-world thanks to a kaleidoscope of colour from the region’s fall foliage. You can almost see autumn approaching as you trace the changing of the leaves from one port to the next, but one of the best spots to stop and take it all in has to be Bar Harbor. This playground of the rich and famous – once the holiday-home hotspot for America’s most powerful families like the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts, and inspiration for the mid-19th century Hudson River Valley school of artists – is the largest town on Mount Desert Island and a gateway to the nearby Acadia National Park. Come September and October, the park’s craggy cliffs and rugged mountain peaks turn into a blanket of blazing reds and fiery oranges, which can be seen on hiking trails or on a scenic drive around the 27-mile park loop. It’s one of the ports of call on Saga’s Autumn Colours of New England cruise this September, with TV chef Phil Vickery onboard to lead cooking demos –perhaps with a bit of local New England lobster on the menu – and features on new itineraries from the likes of yacht-style Scenic Eclipse I in 2024 and Regent’s ultra-luxury Seven Seas Splendor in 2025.

+ Turn to page 22 for more cruising in the US

TIVUA ISLAND, FIJI

If you’re looking for a spot of winter sun to brighten up the bleak British winter, it would be hard to beat the paradise islands of Fiji, where white-sugar sand shores, turquoise seas and guaranteed good weather await. Yet the folk from Fiji specialist Captain Cook Cruises have gone one better: not content with skimming the South Pacific waves in new all-suite ship Caledonian Sky, a small boutique vessel holding just 114 passengers that launches in November, they’ve upped the game with a private experience on the tiny island of Tivua. Set in the volcanic Mamanuca archipelago, Tivua Island is surrounded by more than 200 hectares of pristine reef: perfect for snorkelling, scuba diving, kayaking and glass-bottom boat tours led by marine biologists to explore the rich marine life in these sun-warmed waters – though if you’d rather sit back and relax in a private cabana with brunch and a bottle of champagne, that’s on the cards too. A half-day trip to the privately-owned island, including a 30-minute boat transfer from Denarau Marina in Nadi, can be added before or after a Fiji cruise, for around £154 per person including refreshments and a half-bottle of champagne.

+ Turn to page 66 for more island escapes in the Florida Keys

RISING SUN

The Far East favourite is coming back to the fore this winter, so get your fill of centuries of Japanese culture from the comfort of a cruise ship

WORDS SARA MACEFIELD

GET THE GREEN LIGHT

Set off in search of the aurora borealis on an enchanting northern lights adventure along the Norwegian coast

WORDS JAN MASTERS

NICK HEWER

Cruising has absolutely been part of my life – every year for the last 30 years, I’ve gone on Lord Sugar’s boat in the Mediterranean, and I’ve done a little bit of cruising on bigger ships, which I loved.

There’s a sense of community on board a cruise ship that’s quite extraordinary, and I discovered for the first time that there’s a slice of society that cruises all the time. They weren’t just cruising once in the summer; they were leaving one ship to join another. That was a new window on the world for me.

Over the years I’ve travelled very widely, a lot of the time as a solo traveller. I drove from London to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia in an old Renault 4, which was a 55-day journey that took in 16 countries. I was 65 at the time so it was quite something to be on my own hacking across the Kazakhstan desert and the steppes of Mongolia – if you break down there’s probably no one within 100 miles, which was extraordinary and slightly terrifying.

I also went from Istanbul to Almaty in Kazakhstan, and drove from London to Freetown in Sierra Leone along the sand roads of Senegal and Guinea, where the mosquitoes were bigger than budgerigars. I rather like that sort of rough travel. I do it out of curiosity, plus I like the old cars.

We filmed in Morocco and New York for The Apprentice, too – in fact we had a big, illuminated poster of Lord Sugar, Karren Brady and me up in Times Square, albeit only for a few minutes. But in the boardroom, it’s completely unscripted. I would sit to the left of Lord Sugar – and he knows every detail, nothing escapes him – then all the candidates would come in with their empty wheelie cases. They’re scared, I’m scared but Sugar’s not scared. He would start the interrogation, and if he ever ran out of steam, he’d kick me on the ankle to chip in. It was tough in there, you always had to be on your guard.

Countdown had its challenges too because you film five shows a day for three days in a row, but it’s a wonderful institution. It’s so English: there are no glamorous prizes, you get a teapot, and it’s fiercely fought over! Susie and Rachel are so bright, and I think Colin Murray is doing a brilliant job – he’s a natural broadcaster.

As for where I want to go next, I’ve always had a fascination with the Vietnam War – for my generation that was a hugely influential event, and I’ve just finished reading Max Hastings’ brilliant book, Vietnam. So I’d love to go back and drive round Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam with that book still ringing in my ears. I like to be a bit of an observer on my own in a strange land – though that’s more difficult to do these days.

Nick Hewer joins Ambassador Cruise Line’s Grand Canada & Greenland Experience, departing September 12. Forthcoming themed cruises also feature cricket legends Graham Gooch, Jonathan Agnew and Geoff Miller in December, ‘supercraft’ sailings with presenter Julie Peasgood, and a Q&A with actor Linda Lusardi. ambassadorcruiseline.com

The former Countdown presenter and advisor to Lord Alan Sugar on The Apprentice talks epic road trips to Ulaanbaatar and his next cruise adventure in Atlantic Canada

Above: Nick is a long-time friend and advisor to Lord Alan Sugar Right: Quebec City is one of the highlights of Ambassador’s Canada cruise