This cruise is provisional, subject to enough interest

In April 2023 we announced that we were considering two Murray River cruises – in 2025 and 2026. Both are subject to there being sufficient interest. We propose:

  • a Lower Murray cruise out of Mannum on Murray Princess in late 2025/early 2026
  • an Upper Murray cruise out of Echuca on the new PS Australian Star the following year – see details


Lower Murray cruise

If we get sufficient interest we will charter the Murray Princess exclusively for our group and offer a choice of two options:

  • 7 night cruise/conference only
  • 12 day cruise tour package, adding an Adelaide-Kangaroo Island tour to the cruise – see below

The Murray Princess

The Murray Princess is the largest inland paddlewheeler in the southern hemisphere. It has 60 cabins, accommodating up 120 people (two to a cabin). A small number of cabins will be available for single occupancy.

Itinerary

Our cruise, if confirmed, will be based on the current 7 night Upper Murraylands cruise, but may combine features from one of the other cruises. However, as a chartered cruise, we will adapt this to allow for our conference.

Conference

It is too early to give details, but we expect to offer around 15-20 conference sessions throughout the cruise. The program will be headed by a leading Australian presenter, supported by others, and will offer a wide variety of topics. Plus one-on-one or small group Research Help sessions. These will be worked around a selection of cruise and shore activities similar to those currently offered.

And of course, being together for 6 days and 7 nights there is plenty of opportunity to interact with experts and others with similar interests. One of the great things about genealogy cruises.

Cruise date

We are aiming for a late 2025 or early 2026 date. The dates will be settled next year and will be based on preferences from those registering interest in the cruise (see below) and dates available to us for a charter cruise.

Cost

The cruise cost will be the same or similar to those available to the general public plus a moderate additional fee for the conference component.

As a guide the standard per person twin share prices for 2023/2024 for a 7 night Upper Murraylands cruise are $2849 (inside cabin), $3739 (outside) and $4999 (stateroom). 2025/2026 prices won’t be known until the latter half of 2024, may be 5%-10% higher than 2023/2024.

The conference fee will additional. This will be advised if/when the cruise is confirmed, but is expected to be around $250 per person.

12 day cruise/tour package – optional

Add an Adelaide-Kangaroo Island tour to the cruise for a complete South Australian holiday experience. This will be similar the 12 day/11 night cruise/tour currently offered, but, as with the cruise, may be customised to suit our group. This currently adds about $800 to the tour cost.


Confirmation of interest in this cruise

We will need confirmation from at least 90 people who are definitely interested in this cruise (with or without the optional tour package) before we finally sign up with a commitment.

We will open for registrations of interest soon. We will require a small deposit to accompany your registration. This will be fully refunded if:

  • you decide not to go with the cruise
  • the cruise does not go ahead – in the event of numbers falling short of the minimum required, or for any other reason

If the numbers registering interest exceed the capacity of the Murray Princess, we will still take expressions of interest on a wait list (without deposit).

Early registrations of interest help ensure that the cruise goes ahead – and guarantees you a priority place.