Cruisin Country 4, Rock The Boat and Bravo Cruise of the Performing Arts set sail from Sydney in October and November. Further afield, NCL's Norwegian Pearl will host a Wine, Dine and Music Cruise, and The KISS Kruise IV in the Bahamas in October and November.

Cruisin Country 4 is the fourth country music festival at sea and this year features Kasey Chambers, John Williamson, Graeme Connors, Beccy Cole, Shane Nicholson and the Bellamy Brothers.

The seven-night cruise on board Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas departs on October 5 and visits Noumea and the Isle of Pines. See cruisincountry.com.au.

Rock the Boat is also back for its fourth consecutive year and will also be held on Rhapsody of the Seas. Molly Meldrum will present music from the Countdown era and performers include Mental as Anything, The Sweet, Daryl Braithwaite, Vicky O'Keefe and lots more. You can also take dance lessons and join guitar and song-writing workshops with your favourite musos. The nine-night cruise departs Sydney on October 12 for a Pacific Island cruise. See rocktheboatcruise.com.au.

The seven-night Bravo Cruise of the Performing Arts showcases famous artists from the worlds of opera, classical music and musical theatre. Soprano Cheryl Barker, tenor David Hobson and baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes will perform operatic pieces.

Classical musicians include Guy Noble, who will direct the shows and lead a 25-piece orchestra, and pianist Simon Tedeschi, who first performed at the Sydney Opera House at the age of nine.

Elaine Paige, Marina Prior, John Waters, Tommy Fleming and David Alan Grier will sing favourites from a host of musicals. At the time of writing, more performers are being added to the list. See thecruisecentre.com.au.

Details about the five-night Wine, Dine and Music cruise, a round-trip from Miami departing October 25, can be found at winedineandmusiccruise.com; highlights include food and wine pairings, cooking demonstrations and of course lashings of rock and roll.

The four-night KISS Kruise IV kicks off with a Halloween costume party as it departs for the Bahamas on October 31; see thekisskruise.com.

Shipshape

PRINCESS CRUISES: OCEAN PRINCESS

LAUNCHED: 1999; Ocean Princess joined the Princess Cruises' fleet in 2002 and is the line's smallest ship.

PASSENGERS & CREW: 672 passengers (double occupancy), 375 crew.

ACCOMMODATION: Of a total of 338 cabins, 232 have balconies (including 10 suites, 52 mini-suites and 170 balcony cabins), 80 are ocean-view and 26 are inside. Four are wheelchair accessible.

REGULAR HAUNTS: Asia, Africa, northern Europe, eastern and western Mediterranean, Caribbean, Polynesia, Australia, New Zealand.

PERFECT FOR: Couples and singles 50-plus.

DINING: Ocean Princess has a main dining room (the Club Restaurant) plus fleet favourites Sabatini's and the Sterling Steakhouse; and for casual dining, the Panorama buffet, barbecue and pizzeria.

PARTYING: For a small ship, Ocean Princess has ample spots for a drink: the Club Bar, Tahitian Lounge, Casino Bar and Pool Bar. Check out the shows at the Cabaret Lounge.

DOING: Join classes run by the ScholarShip@Sea program - wine and food appreciation, dance lessons and destination lectures - and spend a few relaxing hours in the beautiful old-fashioned library.

DID YOU KNOW? Princess Cruises bought the 30,277-ton "R-Class" Ocean Princess and sister ship Pacific Princess in 2002 from the now-defunct Renaissance Cruises, where it was one of eight near-identical ships.

THE DETAILS: A 15-day cruise from Tahiti to Sydney, visiting Moorea, Bora Bora, Pago Pago, Bay of Islands, Auckland and Tauranga, departing February 26, 2015, starts at $2640.30. Phone 13 24 88, see princess.com.

Deals

OFFER OF THE WEEK

Book a 16 or 20-day APT Burma holiday (departing February 20 or April 14, 2015), along with return flights from Australia, and your companion will receive a free return flight from Australia, saving up to $1670 a couple. The 16-day "Hidden Wonders of Burma" package includes one night in Yangon and a 14-night Irrawaddy River cruise from Mandalay to Yangon. From $8745; book by May 31, 2014, for free flight deal. Phone 1300 196 420, see aptouring.com.au.

MORE DEALS

BEYOND TRAVEL has seven-day Christmas market river cruises for sale on Amadeus Brilliant, Silver and Princess. Departures during November and December from Vienna, Basel and Cologne from $1545; single supplements are available from an extra $195 for sole use of a twin-share cabin. Phone 1300 363 554 or email info@beyondtravel.com.au.

ACTIVE TRAVEL is offering flight credits of $1500 a couple on seven selected Antarctica expeditions, including a special Shackleton centenary voyage, in November and December 2014. The cruises range between 11 and 20 days and depart from Ushuaia, Argentina. Offer valid for bookings made by April 30. Phone 1300 783 188, see activetravel.com.au.

Tip

Many budget-priced cabins are equipped with pretty basic toiletries - containers filled with an anonymous liquid that does triple duty as soap, shampoo and conditioner - so pack mini-containers of your favourite products if that's not going to cut it. Toiletry bags you can hang on the door save space. And it's always useful to bring clothes pegs and laundry liquid with you so you can wash and dry socks and undies in the shower if your ship doesn't have a self-service laundrette.