utplogo250There’s been a lot of talk about genealogy cruises recently, but get ready for a whole heap more as Unlock the Past Cruises ramp up their cruise schedule to three throughout 2014, and three or four in 2015, with plans for those in 2016 and later already underway.

As part of their planning, they are coming up with a variety of options so that there really is something for everyone. For some they are using huge cruise ships, others are quite small, some are long voyages, while others are short ones. Some voyages leave from Australia, while others that cater for those in (or who are visiting) the northern hemisphere. So there’s quite a variety. Each cruise has a range of expert presenters and topics, and also includes Unlock the Past’s Research Help Zone, which is one-on-one (or small groups) for specific topics (this is the place to bring your brickwall questions, and get specific help).

And for those who think they’ll miss out on cruise activities by attending a genealogy conference while onboard, the main conference days are scheduled for when you’re at sea, so you still get plenty of time to sightsee along the way, and you simply pick and choose what sessions you wish to go to.

To give you an idea of what is planned, here are the cruises that they currently list on their website (click on the links for more details of each):

4th Unlock the Past cruise – BOOKED OUT
4-13 February 2014
Sydney – Melbourne – Adelaide – Hobart – Sydney
9 nights

5th Unlock the past cruise – OPEN FOR BOOKINGS
19-29 July 2014
British Isles discovery cruise
10 nights

6th Unlock the Past cruise – OPEN FOR BOOKINGS
23-26 October 2014
Eastern Australian cruise out of Sydney – a prelude to a Norfolk Island tour
3 nights

7th Unlock the Past cruise – OPEN FOR BOOKINGS
19-24 January 2015
Southern Western Australia cruise
5 nights

8th Unlock the Past cruise – to be finalised
mid 2015
Baltic cruise – from England or Europe, visiting northern Europe, and Scandinavia
(they are considering two different Baltic cruises, with choice of time, slightly different itineraries, ships and presenter teams)
Possibilities based on 2014 schedules: mid June 2015 or late August 2015
12-14 nights

9th (or 10th) Unlock the Past cruise – to be finalised
late 2015
Transatlantic relocation cruise UK/Europe to the US – a migration themed cruise
12-14 nights

10th (or 11th) Unlock the Past cruise – to be finalised
early 2016
Australian-New Zealand cruise
12-18 nights

11th (or 12th) Unlock the Past cruise – to be finalised
June 2016
European river cruise
Cruise along the Rhine from Amsterdam
probably a 7 night

3rd cruise - Voyager of the seas

For anyone who has questions about genealogy cruising, Jill Ball will be hosting Unlock the Past’s first Hangout on Air, and the topic for this is “genealogy cruising”, so it is an ideal opportunity to participate and ask questions, and learn from those who’ve cruised before.

To keep up with their latest news, follow their blog, subscribe to the Unlock the Past Cruises newsletter, or follow them on Facebook.

And we hope to see you on a genealogy cruise in the future.