Seabourn, an ultra-luxury cruise line, is heading to Australasia again this year with Seabourn Encore and Seabourn Sojourn offering multiple cruises around Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific over the 2018-2019 season.

Guests will enjoy hand-selected itineraries headed into boutique ports, sheltered coves and hidden harbours that larger cruise ships cannot access, as well as onboard luxuries and on-shore experiences that has something in store for every type of traveller, Seabourn says.

Guests will have many opportunities to enjoy and explore the region, including via optional for-charge Ventures by Seabourn kayak and Zodiac tours in select destinations in the good company of skilled expedition teams.

Special programming such as Shopping with the Chef excursions allow guests to discover local food markets; and special deck events, dance parties and Movies Under the Stars will keep things lively and engaging. In addition, the itineraries will offer not-to-be-missed shore excursions exploring Unesco World Heritage Sites with enhanced content available only to Seabourn guests via the cruise line's unique partnership with Unesco.

"We're excited to be heading back to the beauty of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific over the 2018-2019 season ahead," noted Chris Austin, Seabourn's senior vice president of Global Marketing & Sales. "With two ships sailing the region, guests will have a wide range of opportunities to soak up the ultra-luxury experience onboard our vessels and to explore on land and at sea, including Ventures by Seabourn excursions, mid-cruise overland tours, and special pre- and post-cruise journeys. It's going to be quite a season for guests returning or visiting the region for the first time with Seabourn."

The 2018-2019 season of Seabourn Encore in the South Pacific will launch with an 18-day cruise from Bali to Sydney (departing December 3, 2018) and will include four 16-day voyages between Sydney and Auckland (departing December 21, 2018, and January 22, February 7, and March 11, 2019, respectively). The start of spring will see the ship head out of Sydney on a 16-day voyage to Bali (departing March 27), featuring the Queensland Coast and the Great Barrier Reef, plus various islands of Indonesia.

Two new and notable itineraries interspersed in between include:

• 16-Day New Zealand's Splendors (January 6-22, 2019 and February 23-March 11, 2019) - Seabourn Encore will set sail on two spectacular voyages along the coasts of New Zealand round trip from Auckland. Ports of call include Russell on the scenic Bay of Islands, where the signing of an historic treaty between Great Britain and the indigenous Maori created the nation of New Zealand in 1840; Milford Sound and Fiordlands National Park, a famed Unesco World Heritage Site preserved as the heritage home of the Maori culture; tiny Oban (Halfmoon Bay), the southernmost of New Zealand's islands, busy with seabirds, shorebirds, and friendly townsfolk. Guests may see sheep grazing on hillside meadows as the ship cruises the long, scenic harbor to Port Chalmers (Dunedin), as well as make a stop at charming Akaroa (Christchurch), a former French colony that still celebrates its historic character and is the only place to see the small, elegant and rare Hector's dolphins. The itinerary will also take in Kaikoura, Nelson, Wellington, Napier, Gisborne, and Tauranga (Rotorua), as well as Kingston, Norfolk Island, Australia.

The 2018-2019 season of Seabourn Sojourn in the South Pacific is similarly adventurous, with Extended Explorations including:

• 22-Day Landfalls of Captain Cook (November 19-December 11, 2018) - Cruise from Auckland to Sydney while exploring New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Queensland, Australia including the Great Barrier Reef.

• 36-Day Holiday Australia Exploration (December 11, 2018-January 16, 2019) - Celebrate the holidays while sailing to destinations throughout South Australia, West Australia and the Northern Territory, as well as to East Timor, Komodo Island, Bali and Java in Indonesia before two relaxing days at sea headed to Singapore. A highlight of this voyage is a stop in the Kimberley. Corrugated with red-hued cliffs and escarpments, and laced with pristine waterways, swimming holes and waterfalls, the Kimberley is unlike any other landscape on earth. This voyage is also available in two segments with a 16-day itinerary departing from Sydney on December 11 and a 20-day itinerary departing from Perth on December 27.

Guests of Seabourn Encore will also have an opportunity to enjoy optional three-day mid-cruise overland tours from Milford Sound to Queenstown, New Zealand. Available on Seabourn Encore voyages departing January 6, February 7 and February 23, 2019, the tours will include journeys into the Unesco World Heritage Site Fiordland National Park; the charming former gold mining destination Arrowtown; a thrilling jet boat excursion on the Shotover River; and much more.

Seabourn will also offer "Unesco Sydney, The Red Centre * Great Barrier Reef" Seabourn Journey, an 8-day pre-cruise or 7-day post-cruise land extension that embarks or disembarks at Sydney. The journey will start in Sydney; then venture to the majestic Red Centre, home of the towering 500-million-year-old monoliths The Olgas and Uluru; and then explore the beauty of Australia's Tropical North including Unesco-cited Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. Departures for the pre-cruise journey are December 5 and December 15, 2018 and February 1, 2019; departures for the post-cruise Journey are December 11 and December 21, 2018 and February 7 and March 27, 2019.

Seabourn represents the pinnacle of ultra-luxury travel with intimate ships offering key elements that set the line apart: spacious, thoughtfully appointed suites, many with verandas and all 100% ocean front; superb dining in a choice of venues; complimentary premium spirits and fine wines available on board at all times; award-winning service and a relaxed, sociable atmosphere that makes guests feel right at home on board.

The ships travel the globe to many of the world's most desirable destinations, including marquee cities, Unesco World Heritage Sites, and lesser-known ports and hideaways.