NORWALK, CT — Tauck is adding three cruises to its 2015 portfolio of ocean-going cruises bringing the total to 15.

In addition, Tauck is enhancing its three Galapagos Islands itineraries with exclusive content provided through its ‘Earth Journeys’ partnership with the nature documentary filmmakers at BBC Earth.

Complete information on Tauck’s entire portfolio of 2015 small ship cruises is now posted on the company’s website, tauck.com, and it is also featured in a new full-colour, 84-page brochure currently mailing to travel agents and consumers.

The first of Tauck’s new cruises is the 21-day ‘Cruising Down Under’ itinerary in Australia and New Zealand, which combines a 12-night cruise aboard the 264-passenger, 466-foot motor yacht L’Austral with five-star hotel stays and guided sightseeing in Sydney, Cairns, Melbourne and Auckland. The itinerary begins with a three-night stay in Sydney at the Four Seasons Hotel before guests fly to Cairns for two nights at the Shangri-La Hotel, the Marina. Guests then fly to Melbourne where they’ll spend one night at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins before embarking L’Austral.

The subsequent 12-day cruise highlights Hobart, Tasmania before crossing the Tasman Sea to New Zealand for explorations of Fiordland National Park, Nelson, Picton, Marlborough Sounds, Wellington, Tauranga, Rotorua and Auckland, where guests will conclude their journey with a two-night stay at the Hilton Auckland. Special Tauck experiences abound throughout the journey, including Tauck-exclusive shore excursions, and insider’s tours of the Sydney Opera House and Auckland Museum, a rainforest gondola ride in Cairns, snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, and the enriching insights provided by a Tauck-exclusive lecturer onboard L‘Austral throughout the cruise.

Prices for the all-inclusive cruise are from US$13,690 per person, double occupancy, plus air, and departures beginning in Sydney are scheduled for Jan. 4 and 28, 2015 (the later date has already sold out). A third departure is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2015, beginning in Auckland.

Tauck’s second new cruise, ‘Cruising the Land of the Rising Sun’, is a 14-day exploration of Japan featuring an eight-night cruise aboard L’Austral with included hotel stays and guided sightseeing in Kyoto and Tokyo.

The eight-night cruise visits Osaka, Uno Ko, Hiroshima, Uwajima, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, Sakaiminato and Maizuru in Japan, as well as Busan, South Korea, where Tauck guests will visit the Haedong Yonggung Temple and attend a private talk on Korea’s complex international relations.

In Japan, guests will experience authentic local culture during a sumo wresting demonstration, at geisha and taiko performances, at a traditional tea ceremony, and during a calligraphy lesson.

Departures for ‘Cruising the Land of the Rising Sun’ (from $10,990 per person, double occupancy, plus air) will operate April 3, 11 and 19.

Rounding out Tauck’s new cruises is the eight-day ‘Alaska’s Inside Passage’ itinerary (from $6,790 per person, double occupancy, plus air), also aboard L’Austral. Guests will embark in Vancouver before sailing north to Ketchikan, Petersburg, the Tracy Arm Fjord, Haines and Skagway prior to disembarking in Juneau. Highlights include a float trip through the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, an exploration of the region’s Gold Rush country from Skagway, Alaska to Fraser, British Columbia (by train, vintage streetcar and motor coach), and cultural performances and tours in Klukwan, Petersburg and Saxman Native Village.

Tauck will operate six departures of ‘Alaska’s Inside Passage’ from late May through early July of next year, with a northbound itinerary beginning in Vancouver and a southbound itinerary beginning in Juneau.

The three new Tauck cruises (like all Tauck small ship cruises) are fully inclusive, with all shore excursions, gratuities, port charges, airport transfers, porterage fees and generous onboard drinks policies included in the prices. In fact, no options are sold on any of Tauck’s small ship cruises.