The Orion

The Healys, loving it.

Tasmania from the outside.

OK. Upfront, we love Tasmania and we love cruising. So, when the opportunity to combine the two arose, there was no argument as to whether we grabbed it or not.

We circumnavigated the Tasmanian coastline on board the exploration ship Orion which is only a couple of years old and adds new meaning to “exploring in style”.

The ship has only 53 cabins so 106 passengers maximum, and all the cabins are beautifully presented.

For the most part, passengers go ashore in Zodiacs, allowing them to access areas either not accessible by road or simply from a different perspective, as at Port Arthur.



The age group on board was from around early 30s to late 80s but you need to think about boarding the Zodiacs if you are unsteady on your legs. The crew takes great care boarding passengers on the Zodiacs and it is such a great experience it is all worthwhile.

The meals on board match the quality of the accommodation, with buffet breakfast and or lunch taken on the rear deck. I found more than enough food variety to make meal times a delight. Dinner is gastronomic with a set or a la carte menu.
Taken in the well appointed Constellation lounge, dining seating is informal so you can choose to sit with specific passengers or just allow the staff to seat you at a random table allowing you to extend your passenger contact.

Our seven night Tasmanian itinerary started at Hobart with an overnight sailing to Port Arthur, then on to Wine Glass Bay, Flinders Island, King Island, Launceston, Strahan and back to Hobart.

Needless to say, having “Zodiaced” ashore you can take pre arranged excursions or just enjoy the beauty of Tasmania by walking or hiking at your leisure.

In all, a truly wonderful mixture of sailing and exploring with enough memories to last a lifetime.

Port Arthur from the Orion

So, is there a down side?

I learned along time ago not to look for perfection in anything to do with travel as it doesn’t exist. A simple variable such as the weather can make or break a well planned holiday, so there goes “perfection”.

It would be fair to say that almost all of the passengers on our exploration of Tasi would give a score of between 7 and 9 out of ten for the overall experience. We gave it a critical 9 out of 10.

Why not 10? As I said, there is no excellence. The cover on the toilets in many of the cabins had become detached, meaning the hinges had broken. Not a big deal, but not perfect either. Having said that I am aware, after 40 years of working in the travel industry, some repairs have to be completed at home base, not out at sea. I am sure the problem has been solved long since.

If the sea is very choppy then using the Zodiacs can be a problem, in fact on our cruise we could not go ashore at Flinders Island. This was taken by all the passengers I spoke to as a disappointment but there was the good old variable, weather.

Apart from Zodiacs the Orion has tenders “lifeboats” which can be used for transfers but, in the case of Flinders Island the landing spot was deemed too risky to attempt it.

The Orion has many different and genuinely interesting cruises, so if adventure in style is for you, contact Orion Cruises.
website is http://www.orioncruises.com.au/ or they can be contacted on 02 9033 8700.