Travellers' checks

Singapore sailing You can sail off into the sunset aboard Cunard's Queen Elizabeth (pictured) on the evening of March 29 next year, on an eight-day cruise to Singapore. Ports of call along the way include Halong Bay and Chan May, in Vietnam, with the rest of the time spent at sea. This is the first leg of the ship's one-month cruise to Dubai, but with a Singapore package now on offer at TLX Travel, you can disembark in the Lion City and fly back with Singapore Airlines for an advertised price starting at HK$9,900 (twin share) for an interior cabin. This figure starts to climb when you add the various port and airport taxes, and fuel surcharges, and balcony cabins start from HK$13,600. But for two people travelling together, this is an interesting, reasonably priced excursion, reminiscent of the days when sailing via Singapore was the most popular option for anyone heading from Hong Kong to Europe. For more information, go to www.tlxtravel.com and click through Cruise/Cunard Line. For more details on the Queen Elizabeth, visit www.cunard.com.

The lap of luxury Pretty much every five-star hotel or resort that opens these days claims to be "setting new standards in luxury", but Cheval Blanc Randheli might actually do so when it opens in the Maldives this November. This 45-villa "maison" will be the first sister property of the Cheval Blanc Courchevel - arguably the most exclusive hotel in Europe's most exclusive ski resort - and both are operated by LVMH, through its hospitality arm, LVMH Hotel Management. Access to the resort is, predictably, by seaplane, but not with Maldivian Air Taxi or Trans Maldivian Airways. Perish the thought! Guests of Cheval Blanc will be transported in an exclusive Cheval Blanc-branded seaplane (pictured), with "signature yellow and taupe shading" on the outside, and "serene white interiors swathed in signature taupe Italian calf leather". There's probably room for your LV luggage, too. At time of writing, the resort's pre-opening website was all spa music and photos, but rates - should you even need to ask - may be available by the time you read this, at www.chevalblanc.com/randheli.

Brand Brando After he finished South Pacific location work for the film Mutiny on the Bounty in the early 1960s, actor Marlon Brando (pictured) married his leading lady, Tarita Teriipaia, and acquired a 12-island archipelago, just north of Tahiti, called Tetiaroa. In 2011, seven years after he died with ideas for a tourist hotel there unfulfilled, plans for an eco-resort called The Brando were announced and a website (www.thebrandoecohotel.com) was created. Then it all went quiet and the website was shut down. Now the project seems to be back on track, with a substantial new site (thebrando.com) offering "a new way of experiencing the world", some very appealing photography, and encouraging hyperbole describing a new 35-villa resort. Rates start from a rather alarming €3,000 (HK$30,800) per night, full board, for a three-night minimum stay, and to get there you'll have to fork out another €587 (round-trip) for the mandatory 20-minute flight from Tahiti on one of the resort's two private planes. The Brando is scheduled to welcome its first guests on July 1 next year and will be accepting reservations from around January.

Deal of the week The weak Japanese yen is a good excuse for shoppers to upgrade themselves to business class with Cathay Pacific Holidays' Tokyo (Narita) Business Class Special package. Prices start from HK$8,670 per person (twin share) for two nights at the Akasaka Excel Hotel Tokyu, but if you're pushing the boat out with front-end seats, you may as well stay at the Hilton Tokyo, from HK$8,970, or one of the newer upmarket places such as the Ritz-Carlton, from HK$10,710. This is Tokyo's highest hotel, with great views of the city (pictured). For a similar price you can check into the Park Hyatt Tokyo, which is a good deal considering that its junior partner, the Grand Hyatt, is on offer from HK$12,000. Tax and fuel surcharges will add about HK$750 to these prices, which will be available until the end of the year. For online reservations and more hotel options, go to www.cxholidays.com.