The cruise industry report for 2012 is out showing that nearly 50,000 Kiwis went on a cruise last year. Here are the top five places we love.

John Roughan gains a deeper understanding of how Cook first saw New Zealand.

For a holiday where the travel subsumes you, Queen Mary 2 is a big ride.

Gabriella Le Breton selects the best cruises on some of the world's more far-flung rivers.

Cruising up the coast of Vietnam to Hong Kong on a boutique ship is a great way to sample a slice of Asia.

Isobel Marriner joins the Queen Mary 2 for the first royal circumnavigation of Australia, following the journey of a famous explorer - though in a rather more opulent style.

A towering Queen Mary 2 was dwarfed by the huge mountains and stunning landscape as it cruised into the Fiordland National Park.

A cruise ship was delayed in Rangitoto channel near Auckland yesterday after an 80-year-old passenger had a heart attack.

If you’re a first time cruiser, here are some things to know before you go.

Stepping off P&O Cruises' superliner Pacific Jewel, Jennifer Ennion spends an "island day" on Vanuatu's Mystery Island.

Paul Rush sails to dreamy tropical islands under the spirit of the Bula.

Seven days, five breakfasts. Ewan McDonald eavesdrops on fellow passengers getting away from a Kiwi winter on a Pacific cruise.

French wine and food fuel a luxurious cruise down the Rhone, worked off by ambles through scenic towns, writes Pamela Wade.

Diana Balham cruises through a danger zone without a scratch.

Anne D'Innocenzio discovers a love for river cruising on an eight-day trip on the Rhine, starting in Basel, Switzerland and ending in Amsterdam.

Adrian Mourby develops his yoga sea legs aboard a five-masted clipper sailing from Spain to Italy.

Simon Veness finds an unexpected touch of nautical nostalgia on a Disney Cruise Line voyage around the western Caribbean.

Polar bears, musk oxen and ice floes enthral Rob McFarland in the Arctic.

Of all Voyager of the Sea's activities, relaxing wins, says Linda Herrick.

Ushuaia's self-proclaimed status that it is the "end of the world" prompts a natural question: what lies beyond the port?

Graeme Lay travels on the Pacific Jewel to the site of the famous mutiny and traces the fate of Captain William Bligh and his crew.

The French capital locks in extra charm for Megan Singleton.

A New Caledonian island offers a rustic, unspoilt escape, discovers Nikki Birrell.

Edward Rooney charts a course to the bottom of South Island and across to Australia on one of the busiest cruise ships afloat.

Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer has floated plans to build a 21st-century version of the Titanic.

In a global recession, the opportunity to relive one of the world's deadliest peacetime disasters might seem a tough sell. Yet tickets have been sold out for months.

Leena Tailor parties the days and nights away while she cruises around the Bahamas.

Shandelle Battersby finds herself propelled into a world of outlandish decor.