Seabourn Adds Seventh Continent with New Cruises to Antarctica

More than 20 years after pioneering an entirely new style of small-ship, ultra-luxury cruising, Seabourn today announced plans to extend its repertoire of highly desirable cruising destinations in 2013 to include Antarctica for the first time.

The newest ship in Seabourn’s award-winning fleet, Seabourn Quest will begin a series of four 21- to 24-day voyages sailing between Valparaíso, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina starting in November 2013.

The new Ultimate Antarctica & Patagonia sailings will open for sale in Australia on Wednesday, September 5, 2012.

Seabourn President Richard Meadows said Seabourn was already renowned for its extensive portfolio of worldwide itineraries, with Antarctica the only continent that did not feature in the cruise line’s itineraries.

“This move expands Seabourn’s global reach to all seven continents and builds on our already impressive list of exotic destinations,” Mr Meadows said.

“We are very proud to be bringing our highly rated ultra-luxury cruise experience to Antarctica.”

The all-suite Seabourn Quest will cruise the Chilean coast, including visits to Puerto Montt, Castro and Puerto Chacabuco as well as Punta Arenas, from where guests can tour the magnificent Torres del Paine National Park. Then the intimate ship will thread the glaciers, peaks and channels of the Chilean Fjords, culminating in a transit of the Beagle Channel and its spectacular Glacier Alley. Weather permitting, following a call at Ushuaia in Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego, Seabourn Quest will cruise by Cape Horn bound for the Southern Ocean.

Guests onboard will experience five days in Antarctica, including scenic cruising of highlights such as the breathtaking Lemaire Channel, picturesque Paradise Bay and the Gerlache Strait.

An experienced Antarctic expedition staff will ensure that guests enjoy the best of the hundreds of available sites for landings and cruising in smaller inflatable boats, based on real-time weather and wildlife reports during their Antarctic adventures. Scientists, naturalists and other lecturers in a number of disciplines will speak on board and accompany guests ashore to add insights to their once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

During the South Atlantic portion of the voyage, guests will enjoy visits to Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, and Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital, en route to or from Buenos Aires.

A 24-day holiday version will include two days exploring the sub-Antarctic wildlife Eden of South Georgia Island, renowned for its beauty and its vast, teeming rookeries of king penguins and other seabirds, as well as breeding elephant and fur seals.

For more information see a licensed travel agent, call 13 24 02 or visit www.seabourn.com

UPDATE: 17 Sept Departing on November 20, 2013, this luxurious experience has been reduced by nearly $3,000 to $19,990 and includes return airfares and taxes from Sydney, accommodation, all meals, drinks and entertainment on the ship, port charges, city tours in BA and Santiago and transfers. For more information contact ecruising.travel on 1300 369 848 or check-out www.ecruising.travel

Orion voyages to the lost paradise of Papua New Guinea

During October this year and in March and April 2013, the award-winning expedition cruise ship Orion will again provide a very civilised and luxurious way to explore the coast and islands of near-neighbour, Papua New Guinea.

11 night itineraries conveniently commence and conclude in Cairns, Queensland, seamlessly incorporating a charter flight direct to or from the ship in Rabaul for boarding or disembarkation.

Discover the photographer-within or anthropologist-within as you explore this land of over 800 languages and a diversity of largely self-contained cultures that will challenge the imagination. Until relatively recently Papua New Guinea was still perceived as an isolated world of head-hunters; a land of mythology, sorcery and witchcraft.

Bypassing the main towns, as Orion does, many villagers have only been exposed to the modern world through the workings of missionaries and occasional traders. Yet step ashore with members of Orion's specialist expedition team and you will be greeted with broad smiles and warm welcomes from gentle villagers – an eye opening introduction to a way of life far removed from our Western world.

Between 1920 and 1926 famed Australian Antarctic photographer, Frank Hurley, visited New Guinea, returning with a portfolio of stunning black and white images.  Men in dugout canoes, women carrying babies in string bags, delicate shell and feather ceremonial decorations, intricate tattoos; amazingly, photos of scenes that could have been taken this year so little has changed in a century, perhaps many centuries.

On these Orion voyages encounter primitive tribal cultures (and perhaps purchase superb indigenous artwork and carvings), see unique flora and fauna and enjoy luxuriant snorkelling and fishing in warm indigo and cobalt blue waters, home to some the world's most prolific marine and coral life.

In Rabaul, volcanic Mt Tavurvur grumbles, expelling smoke, gases, ash and volcanic rocks from deep within the earth. Here Admiral Yamamoto directed much of the Japanese Pacific campaign and the detritus of World War II lies scattered for your examination. Tufi's villages are situated within a picturesque series of jungle clad volcanic fjords, tribal cultures unchanged for centuries; while the colonial town of Madang conjures scenes of a Conrad or Hemmingway sitting in a cane chair well positioned to catch the afternoon breeze, sipping pink gin.

Orion's voyages to Papua New Guinea provide modern day explorers with the opportunity to venture to places far from mainstream tourism, yet to do so in the company of like-minded fellow travellers, in comfort and safety and without sacrificing creature comforts.

Priceless experiences that will stay with you for life.

Putting a price on priceless experiences:

11-night  Papua New Guinea Cultural Highlights: CAIRNS - optional direct charter flight to RABAUL (overnight onboard), Sepik River & Watam Village,  Madang, Tami Islands, Tufi, Kitava (The Trobriands), Samarai and Kwato Islands, Alotau (Milne Bay), CAIRNS. (Or vice versa commencing in Cairns and ending in Rabaul followed by an optional return charter flight to Cairns.)

2012 Departures: 2 October, 13 October and 24 October
2013 Departures: 16 March, 27 March

Fares: 11 night fares from $7,415 per person for an ocean view Stateroom /

Junior Suites begin from $9,590 per person / Balcony Suites are $12,535 per person / Owners Suites are $14,560 per person

All prices twin share. Charter flight to or from Cairns/Rabaul $600 per person

Details of Papua New Guinea voyage itineraries available at www.orionexpeditions.com/png

Further information on Orion Expedition Cruises can be obtained by visiting the website www.orionexpeditions.com 

For reservations or to obtain a brochure of 2012 or 2013 voyages call Orion Expedition Cruises: 61-2 9033 8777 (Sydney callers) 1300 361 012 (regional and interstate) / 0800 444 462 (New Zealand) or see your travel agent.

Email: info@orionexpeditions.com

SeaDream savings Rome, Italian Riviera, Monte Carlo and Nice

IF you've a week up your sleeve in Europe in October, the world's #1-rated boutique SeaDream II is sailing 7-nights from Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, to Elba, Corsica, the Italian Riviera, Monte Carlo and Nice with prices starting from a low US$3426pp twin-share – around a third of the originally brochured price.*

It includes all 5-star dining, drinks from the open bars, wines with lunch and dinner, nightly cocktail gatherings, a 30-course golf simulator, power and sail watersports (where permitted,) mountain bikes for shore excursions, onboard gratuities and port charges and taxes; SeaDream II carries on average 100 guests in just 56 staterooms served by 95 crew.

For full itinerary and other details see travel agents or www.seadream.com

SeaDream II departs Civitavecchia on October 13 for Bonifacio on historic Corsica, Portoferraio on picturesque Elba in Italy's Tuscany region, Viareggio for Florence, Portovenere amid the serrated cliffs of the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera, Portofino also on the Italian Riviera, Monte Carlo for 24-hours and Nice.

*Originally brochured price was US$9327pp twin-share.

                                                      

Coral Princess Cruises releases Kimberley '2013 Waterfall Season' Savings

Australia's pioneer of small-ship expedition cruising Coral Princess Cruises celebrates its 30th anniversary year in 2013 and is offering 'Waterfall Season" specials of between 15 and 25 per cent off normal prices on their 10-night Kimberley Coast expeditions. The savings are valid on five April 2013 departures aboard their state-of-the-art 72 passenger small ship Oceanic Discoverer or the fully-refurbished 35-metre catamaran Coral Princess. 

The Kimberley wilderness of Western Australia is three times larger than England with a population of just 30 000. Coral Princess's voyages between Darwin and Broome cruise through some of the planet's oldest and most awe-inspiring scenery and landscapes. Exploring the Kimberley Coast in April, immediately following the 'wet season', affords guests the unique opportunity to experience the region's spectacular waterfalls in their full grandeur. From the towering 80-metre King George Falls, four-tiered Mitchell Falls and the iconic King Cascades to the amazing natural phenomenon of Horizontal Falls and lesser-known highlights such as swimming beneath beautiful Ruby Falls, Coral Princess's Kimberley itinerary includes all of the icons of this spectacular coast in unrivalled style and total comfort.

Waterfall Season prices for the 10-night Kimberley cruise aboard Oceanic Discoverer start at $6,592.50 per person for Coral Princess Cruises past guests (25% off) and $7,471.50 for first time travellers (15% off) in a Main Deck (Category B) Stateroom. Special prices aboard Coral Princess start at $5,392.50 for past guests and $6,111.50 for first time travellers in a Cabin category room. The reduced prices include all meals, lectures and services of the all-Australian expedition staff and excursions aboard a fleet of zodiacs and the unique 'Xplorer' excursion tender. The discounts apply to all new bookings on April 2013 departures and are available until 30 November 2012 or until sold out.  

Coral Princess Cruises pioneered small-ship expedition cruising on the Kimberley Coast in 1996 and has 34 departures scheduled across the 2013 season, which runs between April and October. As a 100% Australian-owned, flagged and staffed operation, Coral Princess guests avoid the need to transit an international port as part of their Kimberley itinerary, a guideline applying to foreign-owned and flagged operators in the region. With a minimum of two landings most days Coral Princess guests will enjoy the opportunity to see more of the Kimberley and make the most of every minute of their expedition.

For further information and reservations contact Coral Princess Cruises on 1800 079 545 or visit www.coralprincess.com.au.

Queen of the Mississippi christened

Source: www.cruiseweekly.com.au


NASHVILLE was the scene of a historic event over the weekend, with the first authentic paddlewheeler built for the Mississippi River in nearly 20 years, Queen of the Mississippi, officially christened at a lavish waterfront event, before setting sail on her inaugural seven-night voyage to St Louis.

Following her debut, the Queen of the Mississippi will feature a schedule of itineraries that will take guests along the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee and Cumberland rivers.

North Star Cruises' 2-for-1 Offer

North Star Cruises has announced a very rare 2 for 1 offer. Buy one Adventures in Paradise cruise to Papua New Guinea and get one for free! Yep that’s right – treat yourself and bring along your best friend for absolutely free. Depending on your cabin choice – this offer could save you up to $17, 995*

Papua New Guinea is made to measure when it comes to adventure-cruising and, the Australian crew of the TRUE NORTH are unsurpassed when it comes to pampering small group expeditions. This is a very unique opportunity to visit areas bigger ships cannot access and to encounter overwhelming hospitality and unchanged village life. Snorkel the most highly regarded coral reef in the world. Join our multiple expedition boats and explore mighty rivers deep into the jungle. Climb mountains in the comfort of the ship’s air-conditioned helicopter. Match wits with monster mackerel and then each night, return to your floating boutique hotel.

The 7 night Adventures in Paradise cruise departs November 24 and December 1 and includes return charter flights ex Cairns.

For more information – contact your adventure partners at cruise@northstarcruises.com.au

*Nominated saving based on Explorer Class.

To view the example itinerary click on the link: http://www.northstarcruises.com.au/documents/AdventuresinParadise2012_000.pdf

Wind Star Shines Brighter with Recent Renovation

Wind Star recently completed a stem to stern renovation, bringing a more modern, casual elegance to the Windstar experience that you love. As part of the $18 million fleet-wide renovation, Wind Star was the first yacht to receive redesigned staterooms and owner's suites and enhanced public areas including The Lounge, Casino, Reception, Library and The Pool Bar. According to our guests, one of the most popular updates is the brand-new Amphora Restaurant, previously known as The Restaurant. In addition to an enhanced ambiance and redesigned layout, a new menu was introduced featuring savory dishes such as Dover sole, duck a l'Orange and lobster ravioli. Other dining areas on board were also expanded, including The Veranda's outdoor seating and The Compass Rose's adjoining outdoor deck. Wind Surf is next up in the renovation project, scheduled to be complete by December 1, 2012, when the yachts sails from St. Maarten in its first Caribbean voyage of the season. Wind Spirit follows shortly after, finishing up in time for its December 22 voyage from Barbados. To stay up-to-date with the latest enhancements, visit Windstar's Yacht Renovation page. 

G Adventures upgrades Galapagos fleet

Queen of Galapagos

G Adventures is upgrading its Galapagos fleet for 2013, with the acquisition of three 16-passenger motor yachts: the Daphne ‘G3’, the San Jose ‘G5’, and the Queen of Galapagos, ‘G8’. The company will be adding additional vessels in the coming months as it looks to accommodate continuing growth in the region.

Jeff Russill, VP of Innovation for G Adventures, says the upgrades have been made to provide an improved customer experience and to future-proof the fleet ahead of further customer demand and changing regulations.

“Our new vessels have larger and more comfortable public spaces and will be heavily focussed on the customer experience, offering the best wildlife viewing and the onboard service. Leading with service is one of our core values and these upgrades mean we can deliver on that promise and keep prices affordable.

“Additionally there have been, and will continue to be, changes made to Galapagos regulations, so we’re also ensuring the future viability of our fleet,” says Russill.

Each of the new vessels caters to a slightly different market. The G3 is the most affordable standard-level option, the G5 is a comfort-level vessel and the G8 provides an even more deluxe experience.

G Adventures will continue to use its Javier ‘G4’ comfort-level vessel, a firm customer favourite, meaning the fleet will expand to four vessels in 2013.

Current vessels will maintain operations as per the normal G Adventures high quality service until the end of the year when the G3, G5 and G8 will take over operations.

Itineraries for the three new vessels include:

• A six-day Voyage Galapagos – South Islands standard-level trip onboard the Daphne ‘G3’ is priced from $2,179pp from Quito return for departures from September to November 2012 and January to April 2013.
• A seven-day Voyage Galapagos – South Islands comfort-level trip onboard the San Jose ‘G5’ is priced from $2,899pp from Quito return for departures from January 2013 year-round.
• A 10-day Deluxe Galapagos – Northern Islands deluxe-level trip onboard the Queen of Galapagos ‘G8’ is priced from $4,499pp from Quito return for departures from January 2013 year-round.

For more information please call 1300 796 618 or visit http://www.gadventures.com/marine/galapagos-island-cruises/.

* Prices exclude flights, for inclusions please see trip links above. 

Lyubov Orlova sold for scrap

The Lyubov Orlova, which has accrued more than $200,000 in unpaid berthing fees, lists badly. (John Rieti/CBC)

The sad tale of the adventure cruise ship, Lyubov Orlova, seems to just go on and on.

After being arrested back in 2010, the ship was bought by an Iranian scrap merchant for $275,000 in March and destined for the scrappers. But an unconfirmed report says the ship caught fire as it was leaving the harbour and was towed back in. This pic from www.vocm.com shows fire tenders responding back in May.

One Ocean Expeditions - Northwest Passage - Cambridge Bay

Ship: M/V Akademik Ioffe
Operator: One Ocean Expeditions
www.OneOceanExpeditions.com
Itinerary: Northwest Passage 12-26 August 2012

Date: Friday 24 August 2012. Temp: 7°C
Location: Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada.
68deg 50.1'N, 105deg 05.2'W
Distance travelled: 2112NM

The last landfall before our final destination, Cambridge Bay (pop. 1500) in the Kitikmeot region is another one of Nunavut's remote outposts that serves to remind those who would question Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic.

Before we reached shore in our familiar Zodiac convoy, there was time to inspect the wreck of The Maud, Roald Amundsen's last exploration vessel sitting ignominiously, for the last 82 years, in a few metres of water in front of 'the old town site'. The story of The Maud is a book in itself and now the Norwegians want her back, regardless of her lamentable state. If all goes to plan, The Maud should be back in Oslo this time next year.

Ashore in the new town centre, we see a lively little hamlet sporting a big new school/library/community centre adjacent other government and service buildings. There's time for a final fix of retail, postcards and some museum gazing before tummy rumbles signify another hearty lunch is waiting back aboard Ioffe.

Cambridge Bay also became a strategic outpost when the Distant Early Warning (DEW) installation became operational in the 1950s as a kind of intruder alarm against possible ballistic missile attack from you-know-who.

Image: A beaver floatplane comes in to land on the inlet in front of the new town site.



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One Ocean Expeditions - Northwest Passage - Victory Point

Ship: M/V Akademik Ioffe
Operator: One Ocean Expeditions
www.OneOceanExpeditions.com
Itinerary: Northwest Passage 12-26 August 2012

Date: Tues 23 August 2012. Temp: 3°C
Location: Victory Point, Nunavut, Canada.
70deg 10.1'N, 097deg 52.0'W
Distance travelled: 1843NM

There's nothing victorious about Victory Point. Named, not after some long-forgotten triumph, but after the ship commanded by Capt. John Ross during his 1830 voyage.

We landed at about 1000hrs on the most desolate and rocky shoreline in our well-rehearsed procedure where shotgun-toting scouts disembark ahead of the main group to set up a polar bear perimeter. After the abundance of polar bears sighted the previous day at Coningham Bay, there's plenty of reason to
be cautious.

Dotted along the ridge above the high water mark are several stone cairns erected to attest the arrival and departure of various vessels and their shore parties. None, however, are likely to be the original cairn built to mark the initial progress and later demise of Franklin's last surviving men who suffered, as John Rae wrote in 1853, "a fate as terrible as the imagination can conceive."

None of the existing stone monuments contain any clues to their origin. Some weathered mahogany once fastened with modern stainless screws and some soggy, illegible scraps of parchment are all that remain of previous visits. But it was here that the famous official Admiralty document was found in 1859 bearing definitive news of the fate of Franklin.

The document's first entry was on 24 May 1847 signifying 'all well', but further messages scribbled in the margins told a much gloomier tale, including the death of Franklin himself just two weeks later.

It read in part:

April 25th, 1848. Ships Erebus and Terror abandoned ... Total loss by death to date, 9 officers and 15 men ... Start tomorrow for Back's Fish River.

Despite a forensic examination of the puzzling remains by the search party, the mystery of the Franklin Expedition's demise remains unsolved. But as far as the Admiralty was concerned, the expedition was lost and 'case closed'.

Image: Expedition staff from Ioffe examine one of the mystery cairns erected at Victory Point.

One Ocean Expeditions - Northwest Passage - Bellot Strait

Ship: M/V Akademik Ioffe
Operator: One Ocean Expeditions
www.OneOceanExpeditions.com
Itinerary: Northwest Passage 12-26 August 2012

Date: Tues 21 August 2012. Temp: 3°C
Location: Bellot Strait, Nunavut, Canada.
71deg 56.0'N, 093deg 56.0'W
Distance travelled: 1684NM

It's impossible to imagine that this waterway way once an impenetrable barrier of ice that had fatally thwarted the mid 19th century explorers who sought to find a way through to the Pacific Ocean and vice versa.

Bellot Strait was named after a handsome young French officer who volunteered to join Lady Jane Franklin's rescue efforts and served as second-in-command to William Kennedy aboard Prince Albert in 1851. While this expedition failed to find any trace of Franklin, Bellot Strait marked the separation between the Bothia Peninsula and Somerset Island and a) confirmed a viable link in the Northwest Passage and b) denoted the most northerly point of the North American continent, Zenith Point.

Today, as Ioffe sailed unhindered by ice and with a helpful tailwind, our passage was a little over an hour from Prince Regent Inlet through to Peel Sound. Earlier we'd gone ashore at an abandoned Hudson Bay Company outpost, a spot reminiscent of the old tumble-down buildings still clinging to life at Whalers Bay on Deception Island in the Antarctic. Built in 1937, it was still used until relatively recently by RCMP patrols and some Inuit hunters.

The day finished with a satisfying wildlife bonanza, including a pod of beluga and a almost a dozen polar bears gathered around carcases along the shore of Davis Island. (Pic)