If your garage or garden shed is full of fertiliser and tools, pots and potting mix, and you know the difference between petunias and peonies, then Cunard might just have the perfect cruise for you.
Cunard has announced its first ever gardening voyage and it will take place in Australia in March 2021. Bookings will be blooming quick for this itinerary, which is on board the elegant Queen Elizabeth , the youngest of the three ‘Queens’, sailing from and to Sydney as well as visiting Hobart overnight and Melbourne.
Cunard’s first Australian themed cruise will feature some of Australia’s most loved gardening personalities, with the first announcement including Graham Ross, Angus Stewart and Indira Naidoo. They will be joined with some of the expert editors from Better Homes and Garden magazine, who will also share their broad gardening knowledge.
Guests on board will be treated to presentations, workshops, panel discussions and audience Q&A sessions to learn about the latest trends in gardening. Pick up some tips on lawn maintenance, organic pest control, composting, beekeeping, growing native plants as well as balcony gardening.
This cruise on Queen Elizabeth will also offer special events like a dinner with Graham Ross, the popular horticulturalist, radio broadcaster, television gardening presenter and author with a career spanning more than 50 years.
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Mr Ross, the only Australian in history to have been appointed a Life Fellow of the prestigious Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Guild, London, said he was thrilled to be joining Cunard’s first gardening cruise.
“I’m looking forward to giving some themed gardening presentations and answering guests’ personal questions in special Garden Clinic sessions, all in the luxurious surroundings of one of the world’s finest ships,” Mr Ross said.
Ross will be joined by India Nadoo, who she has helped establish the Wayside Chapel’s award-winning rooftop vegetable garden and conducts regular garden and cooking classes for its homeless visitors, and Angus Stewart, who is known for his work in breeding new varieties of Australian native plants to make them more gardener friendly. Other experts include Julia Zaetta, editor-in-chief of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, Australia’s number one home magazine, Sarah Hamilton who specialises in native stingless beekeeping and Steve Falcioni, an advocate for organic gardening.
The ship’s entertainment program will also have a gardening theme with events like gardening trivia, special craft classes and lessons in cooking from the garden.
Cunard Commercial Director Katrina McAlpine, said the cruise line was excited to be able to offer such a wide range of experienced and passionate experts on board its inaugural gardening cruise.
“Whether you have a huge country garden or a small city balcony, Cunard’s gardening cruise will be packed with great talks, interesting events and fantastic advice, offering something for everyone on board,” Ms McAlpine said.
Apart from all the horticultural happenings on board the ship, guests aboard Queen Elizabeth will enjoy an overnight call to Hobart as well as a day exploring Melbourne, with special gardening themed shore tours on offer, as well as other non-gardening related activities.
Australia’s Gardening Journey seven-night cruise departs Sydney on 1 March 2021 and is part of Queen Elizabeth’s record Australian season with 118 days in our waters, beginning November 2020. Queen Elizabeth was launched in 2010 with more than 10 restaurants and cafes, a grand ballroom, the three-deck Royal Court Theatre, and a two-storey library – perfect for reading up on the gardening tips you receive on board.
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