Island Sky delayed in Cairns

#expeditioncruising .

According to a report in the Cairns Post, " MAINTENANCE issues have kept cruise ship Island Sky in Cairns a week longer than planned, with the vessel now due to leave on Saturday. The vessel, which docked in Cairns for the first time on Friday, did not make the 11am scheduled departure time."

Such a delay is likely to impact on the vessel's intended Kimberley program.

PONANT releases Latin America & the Caribbean 2020 - 2021 luxury and expedition voyages

#expeditioncruising .

PONANT has opened sales for the September 2020 to April 2021 Latin America & the Caribbean cruise season with the release of 36 departures, including 6 new itineraries, and a range of luxury and expedition voyages designed to reveal the cultures, geography, geology, history, rhythms and flavours of this extraordinary continent.

Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic new 2019/20 Galápagos brochure

#expeditioncruising .

Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic has launched its 2019/20 Galápagos brochure offering explorers diverse itineraries through the Galápagos, as well as explorations to Peru, Tropical Andes and Colonial Quito.

In line with the 60th anniversary of Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation, Lindblad Expeditions has been dedicating cruises to the magical archipelago for over 50 years, and guests can witness firsthand the importance of conservation on wildlife and flora in the region through their expert expedition team of naturalists. The Foundation was established on the centenary of Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species.

BREAKING: One Ocean Expeditions loses two ships in surprise Russian recall

#expeditioncruising .


It has been confirmed that leading Canadian expedition cruise company has had two of its three ships withdrawn suddenly by the Russian government agency which owns the vessels.

Ioffe and her sister, Vavilov have been suddenly recalled by their Russian owners. 

OOE says customers and resellers have been informed and they (OOE) are exploring legal options.

"Following the 2018-19 Antarctic season and before the start of the 2019 Arctic season, the vessel owners unexpectedly decided to return the vessels to Kaliningrad, Russia for purported repairs. This was not communicated to OOE in advance.

"The owners’ refusal to provide the vessels is a breach of their contract with OOE. OOE has done everything in its power to compel the owners to abide by their contractual obligations. As such, legal action has been commenced by OOE," wrote OOE MD, Andrew Prossin, in a letter to customers.

The two stalwart ships, Ioffe and Vavilov, have served the expedition market since the '90s.

A formal media statement from OOE management is expected shortly.

Six Reasons to Visit the Galapagos in the Fall

#expeditioncruising

Given the Galapagos is a hot spot for adventure, wildlife and cruise lovers, Quasar Expeditions, the pioneers of small yacht cruising in the region, has shared their top tips and reasons for visiting the islands in the fall.

Is Expedition Cruising the Next Big Travel Trend?

#expeditioncruising .

Crystal Endeavor is just one of the many ships about to enter the expedition cruising market (supplied)

According to Travel Market Report’s “2019 Outlook on Expedition Cruising,” released this month, it is. This new survey of travel advisors apparently shows that expedition cruising may be the next big trend in travel.

Well, how about that?

If, like many of you, you've followed this blog for more than ten years, I know what your reaction will most likely be. But it seems that the penny is only now finally dropping with some travel advisors.

Admittedly, this sponsored survey was conducted among 660 North American advisors in February of this year and Americans (Canadians excluded) have been a little slower to embrace the true principles of expedition cruising when compared to UK, European and Australian travellers. Asian travellers are only just beginning to awaken to small ship cruising.

“With more cruise lines than ever getting into the expedition market, and more advisors saying that the main way they are generating new clients is through referrals, there are lots of opportunities for dedicated agents and active suppliers,” said Anne Marie Moebes, Travel Market Report’s publisher. “We hope that the research in this report will help the industry come together and push this growing market to new heights."

Nevertheless, the report makes for interesting reading, even if most of us knew this years ago.

Read full report at Travel Market Report

Vintage Tugboat cruise in Alaska

#expeditioncruising .

For those with a hankering to wake up to birdsong and the scents of the forest, there's a 10-day Inside Passage cruise for you: aboard the 107-year-old wooden coastal tugboat Swell.

Operated by veteran expedition company Maple Leaf Adventures, these trips for 12 guests at a time feature up-close experiences of whales and brown bears, walks through the rainforest, Zodiac-ing among icebergs and visits to natural hot springs

The crew are all local coastal people with stories to share.

Swell is a fully restored, 88-foot tugboat. It has six private cabins with en suite baths, a cosy salon, ample deck lounges, hot tub and an open wheelhouse. Exploration equipment includes shore boats, kayaks and a hydrophone for listening to whales.

Maple Leaf Adventures say the 10- and 11-day trips offer a slow-travel way to experience the grandeur of the Alaskan wilderness.

Departures are from Sitka or Petersburg. Prices start at $10,495 per person.

www.MapleLeafAdventures.com

SunStone sells Silver Discoverer to CroisiEurope, puts Sea Spirit on market.

#expeditioncruising .

The international fleet management company, Florida-based SunStone Ships, has sold Silver Discoverer to French river cruise company CroisiEurope – and has announced that two further vessels are for sale or charter.

Silver Discoverer will sail as La Belle Des Oceans with French line, CroisiEurope

Sunstone has been known recently as the builder of the revolutionary ULSTEIN X-BOW® ship design for Lindblad, Aurora and Victory Cruises among others.

Former Hapag-Lloyd BREMEN under charter to Polar Latitudes as MS Seascape

#expeditioncruising . UPDATED

Swiss shipbuilder, Scylla, is the latest operator to enter the booming expedition cruise market having announced its acquisition of BREMEN from Hapag-Lloyd Cruises in January.

The Swiss company will take delivery of the expedition vessel in May of 2021 following the delivery of H-L's third Hanseatic-class ship, the Hanseatic Spirit.

Scylla owns 31 river ships, with most chartered to various tour operators including Tauck, and is now looking to make the transition to the ocean market. It seems likely that Scylla will in turn charter this vessel to another current operator, further expanding the inventory for expedition cruising.

ExpeditionCruising.com learns the vessel will concentrate on the Antarctic Peninsula with established operator, Polar Latitudes, under a long-term charter.

"The MS Bremen is perfect for that. Our nautical and technical expertise also comes into play here. What's more, we can offer our existing customers new options in Scylla quality and expand our customer base," said Arno Reitsma, CEO of Scylla.

"Although the Bremen is a very special ship in our fleet and has been very close to our hearts for more than 25 years, we want to focus on three modern expedition ships with the latest environmental technology in the expedition arena," said Karl J. Pojer, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

Source: Cruise Industry News

Adventure and Expedition Cruising

Get aboard for Norway’s Orca Highway

#expeditioncruising .

Only a few places remain on Norway’s Orca Highway, an exciting 10-night single departure trip, which includes a week on board the small, 12-passenger expedition yacht, R/V Kinfish, in the company of Tashi Tenzing, raconteur, three-time Everest mountaineer and grandson of the first Sherpa to successfully reach that summit.

Enjoy hot Small Ship Cruises in Cool Summer Northern Climes with AdventureSmith

#expeditioncruising .

With four points on the compass to choose from, what’s the preferred direction for summer cruises?
 
“Go north,” says Todd Smith, founder/owner of AdventureSmith Explorations. This is the company that has put the advantages and pleasures of small ship cruising on the map.

 

Along with birds and whales that migrate seasonally north, so do many itineraries in the diverse AdventureSmith Explorations portfolio.
 
Cooler, northern destinations with longer daylight hours can be experienced via expedition cruises or land-based adventure lodges in the remote Arctic and Canada, in historic Northern Europe and on tried-and-true, nature-filled Alaska expeditions.
 
The natural world that explodes over short but powerful summers in these regions is, in Smith’s words, “mind boggling.”

 “From on-water and shoreline perspectives, our guests can imbibe more of the natural world in one week than most people do in a lifetime. Our small ship itineraries avoid the mass tourism ports-of-call experience associated with typical cruising,” Smith said. Instead his company’s north-bound itineraries rekindle curiosity with active time off-ship exploring… 

• Dramatic scenery with mountains, oceans, wildflowers, fjords, glaciers and waterfalls;
• Beluga and caribou migrations in Northern Canada;
• Birds on islands such as the Faroe Islands;
• Ancient cultures such as the Vikings and ancient Scots, the Inuit and Tlingit and the ways of the maritime world in seaside towns and fishing villages;
• Iceland’s unique geothermal activity and formations;
• Norway’s fjords and waterfalls;
• Polar bears, wildflowers and history of the Arctic;
• Living glaciers and brown bears in Alaska. 

Following are six examples of northern itineraries that have availability for the 2019 season. Fleets of small expedition ships assigned to these northern destinations offer various capacities and styles of travel which all can be explained by AdventureSmith trip advisors. Rates are per person, double occupancy.
 
Exploring Alaska's Coastal Wilderness is aboard a National Geographic expedition ship. Their three-ship fleet assigned to this region offers a variety of cruising styles for 62 or 100 passengers. The eight-day rate is from $5,990.
 
Glacier Bay & Island Adventurefocuses on Alaska’s nature, history and First Nations culture. The eight-day rate is from $4,795 on four ships carrying from 40 to 76 guests.
 
Alaska Fjords & Glaciersexplores the length of the Southeast Alaska panhandle from Ketchikan to Juneau. Guests have a choice of five ships ranging from 22 to 90 guests. The eight-day rate is from $3,795.
 
Intro to Spitsbergen: Fjords, Glaciers & Wildlife of Svalbard utilizes kayaks and hiking trails along the fjords of Norway’s Spitsbergen Island. Three ships accommodate from 78 to 176 guests. The rate for nine days is from $5,395.
 
North Pole: Top of the World carries guests as far North as North gets on a 124-guest icebreaker designated by Russia as an Arktika-class icebreaker. The 13-day rate is from $29,995.
 
Around Spitsbergen discovers iconic Arctic wildlife including polar bears in the Svalbard Archipelago. A fleet of four small ships (including the 20-guest Noorderlicht, a two-masted schooner) carries up to 174 guests. The 10-day rate is from $5,000.Because of the high demand for Alaska cruises, AdventureSmithExplorations is already taking reservations for 2020 programs. However there are still options for this upcoming summer. To help clients select small ships and/or itineraries that best fit their interests, Smith’s team has prepared 6 Insider Tips to Travel Alaska in the Best Way.
 
For details on all of AdventureSmith Explorations’ small ship cruises, itineraries, availability and for 2019-2020 reservations, please call 866-575-2875 toll-free or visit the company website.
 
About AdventureSmith Explorations - Think Outside the Boat!
Founded in 2003, AdventureSmith Explorations is based in Truckee, CA, near the northern shore of Lake Tahoe. A recognized leader in small ship cruising, in 2012 owner Todd Smith first joined the ranks of Condé Nast Traveler's prestigious world’s Top Travel Specialists list as the leading expert on small ship expeditions.

Coral Expeditions new vessel Coral Adventurer arrives in Australian waters

#expeditioncruising .

Yesterday pioneering Australian cruise line Coral Expeditions welcomed its new flagship Coral Adventurer into home waters for the first time.

The state-of-the-art expedition ship arrived into Fort Hill Wharf, Darwin after completing her 18-day maiden voyage ‘In the Trail of Tasman’, retracing the historic explorations of Dutch explorer Abel Tasman around the Indonesian archipelago from Singapore.

New luxury expedition vessel, Magellan Explorer, due to begin service 2019

#expeditioncruising .

Magellan Explorer is a new and modern expedition vessel. She was built in Chile to the latest Polar Code specifications to start service in 2019. Magellan Explorer has capacity for 100 passengers in seven categories of accommodation, including dedicated single cabins. All cabins except Porthole cabins feature private balconies. All double cabins except two have two twin beds that can be configured as one king-size bed. All cabins feature a wardrobe, individually controlled heating system, a sitting area, and a private bathroom with shower.

The ship features a glass-enclosed observation lounge and presentation room with state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment, a spacious and stylish dining room, a well-stocked bar, a library, a meeting room, a gym, a sauna, and a medical clinic. The forward-facing observation deck leads to the bow of the ship, which is accessible to guests to offer proximity to marine wildlife. The ship has a fleet of 10 Zodiac boats that are well suited for disembarking and wildlife watching

Length: 90.7 m - 298 ft.

Passenger Capacity: 100 (only 69 passengers for Air-Cruise operations)

More information about the Magellan Explorer

Aqua Expeditions New Fleet Additions: Aqua Blu and Aqua Nera [video]

#expeditioncruising .

Aqua Blu to sail three key coastal destinations in East Indonesia

Aqua Nera to redefine Amazon luxury river cruise with nature-inspired design

Class-leading boutique luxury cruise line Aqua Expeditions officially announces two new fleet additions: Aqua Blu and Aqua Nera.

SeaDream Yacht Club New Luxury Yacht, SeaDream Innovation

#expeditioncruising .

The 2021 inaugural season is now accepting bookings from past SeaDream guests. Reservations for new guests will open April 17.SeaDream Yacht Club is pleased to announce a new era in luxury yachting. For the first time since its founding in 2001, SeaDream is expanding its fleet with SeaDream Innovation, a new, revolutionary yacht, which will introduce the concept of “Global Yachting.” Commencing sailing in September 2021, the ultra-luxury yacht will sail to all seven continents in its first year, visiting over 200 ports in 49 countries. Guests will explore the world’s most remote and unique destinations, including Svalbard, the Northwest Passage, Antarctica, the fjords of Norway, Japan, New Zealand, the Fiji Islands and the Great Barrier Reef.

Plastic trash in the Arctic: AECO explains

#expeditioncruising .




Continuing its work with cruise operators to tackle plastic aboard ships and remote Arctic locations, the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators issued new guidelines for visitors.

These guidelines suggest passengers prepare before their trip to ensure they take reusable items. During the trip important measures such as avoiding disposable items and responsibly disposing of waste are recommended.

Read full report at Seatrade Cruise News