Media Center

Wild and wacky Charis Perkins meets some curious creatures in the Galapagos – and some interesting animals too.

Thirteen strangers, one superyacht-grade ship and Indonesia’s most stunning reefs – Aqua Blu offers expedition cruising with an unforgettable plot twist, writes Christian Barker.

Awalrus must always be approached silently, and slowly. In this case, it is not one walrus but an entire huddle. It is an apt collective noun. Weighing in at around a tonne each, these mollusc-eating machines are laying about on a low-lying headland jutting out into the bay of Borebukta between two glaciers.

Luxury cruises are not rare and, though there might be an inverted relationship between the quality of a cruise and the vessel's size, it is not Aqua Nera's capacity of merely 20 suites that makes a voyage on it such an extraordinary event.

“Where is everybody?” I ask marine guide Damien Alphonse as our ship bobs along billowing blue waters with not another vessel in sight. “This is it,” he says, waving his hand toward the horizon. “It’s all for us.”