Sail Papeete on Wind Spirit. Save $646

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WINDSTAR DEAL

Sail Papeete roundtrip departing 31 October 2014 for 7 nights onboard Wind Spirit.

Book now and save $646 per person. Fares start from $3,073 per person twin share.

Wind Spirit is the perfect way to experience the true wonder of Tahiti; on land, at anchor, and in magical underwater wonderlands. Sailing under full sail whenever possible, guests will voyage from one legendary island to another. The yacht will anchor overnight at most islands in order to give guests time to savour the crystal-clear lagoons, lush rainforests and the local culture. There will also be plenty of time for one or two-tank certified dives, beginning SCUBA exploration, and amazing snorkelling. In Bora Bora, Tahitian fire dancers brighten the night as guests celebrate a traditional Ahima'a feast at their private island celebration event.

About Windstar Cruises

Windstar Cruises operates a fleet of small luxury cruise ships known for its intimate yacht style experience and unique voyages to the world’s best small ports and hidden harbours. Its three recently renovated sailing yachts carry just 148 to 310 guests and cruise to 50 nations, calling at 150 ports throughout Europe, the South Pacific, the Caribbean, and Central America. In May of 2014, Windstar will launch Star Pride, followed by Star Breeze and Star Legend in May of 2015. The power yachts, with a capacity of 212 guests each, will double the size of Windstar’s fleet, making the company the market leader in small ship cruising with 300 or fewer passengers, with a total of 1,242 berths. The additional capacity will open up new itineraries such as voyages to Southeast Asia, Arabia, Iceland, and beyond. Windstar was recently listed on Condé Nast Traveller’s prestigious Gold List, coming in as the #3 cruise line in the world.

For further enquiries or bookings please contact Travel the World on 1300 857 437 or visit www.traveltheworld.com.au

New Arctic Cruises for Australians - Save $1000 with Active Travel

Explore the Arctic and Save Up to $1000 on Flights

Earlybird Offer Valid to September 30, 2014

Active Travel is offering up to $1000 off international flights to travellers who book one of eight expedition voyages to the Arctic in 2015.

The offer is valid for bookings made before September 30, 2014, with travellers who book an Arctic voyage from Scandinavia receiving A$500 each off their international flights booked through Active Travel and those who book an Arctic Greenland and Canada voyage receiving A$1000 each off their flights from Australia.

The eight voyages, from 10-13 days, will take adventurers deep into the high Arctic during the northern summer months of June to August when the sun shines up to 24 hours a day.

All eight voyages take passengers to remote islands in the Arctic Ocean, which are covered in snow and ice for much of the year but burst to life with colourful wildflowers in the brief summer months. Wildlife, including polar bears, foxes, walruses, seals and beluga whales, are active and visible. All voyages include guided excursions ashore by zodiac inflatable boats to visit isolated communities and spot wildlife. Onboard lecturers also recount tales of heroic exploration by early Arctic pioneers.

Of special interest is Active Travel's 'Spitsbergen Off the Beaten Track' itinerary. This cruise begins in the frosty town of Longyearbyen on the remote Norwegian island of Spitsbergen which lies within the Arctic Circle half way between the tip of Norway and the North Pole. The Russian polar expedition ship, Akademik Sergey Vavilov, cruises over ten days through ice-filled waters along the island's coast. Along the way, zodiac trips take passengers to see glaciers and fjords up close and passengers will visit the tiny research settlement of Ny Alesund, which boasts a summer population of 120 and summer highs of five degrees centigrade. With 24 hours of daylight between April to August and lying at 79 degrees north, Ny Alesund is the northern-most community in the world, just 1200km from the North Pole.

The Spitsbergen Off the Beaten Track voyage is available from US$6695 per person, twin-share, including zodiac excursions, onboard lectures, all onboard meals and use of Arctic weather gear. Flights to Spitsbergen are not included and can be booked through Active Travel, with a A$500 per person air credit available for cruise bookings made before September 30, 2014. Also on offer are the optional extras of sea kayaking among the icebergs and the experience of snow shoeing.

A discount of A$1000 off return flights to Canada are available for bookings made before September 30, 2014, for the 12-Day 'Baffin Island and West Greenland – Off the Beaten Track' voyage. This round-trip voyage sails from the Baffin Island town of Iqaluit in Canada on July 22, 2015. The cruise aboard the Russian scientific ship, Akademik Ioffe, explores the mighty glaciers, deep fjords and indigenous communities of the eastern Canadian Arctic and the west coast of Greenland. Wildlife is abundant with possible sightings of polar bears and the woolly Arctic mammal, the musk ox. Sea kayaking is also available as an optional activity. The 'Baffin Island and West Greenland – Off the Beaten Track' cruise is priced from US$8995, per person, twin-share, ex Iqaluit, including Zodiac excursions, onboard lectures, all onboard meals and use of Arctic weather gear. Flights to Baffin Island are not included and can be booked through Active Travel.

For details of all eight Arctic packages, visit www.activetravel.com.au or call 1300 783 188.

Ponant opens 2015-16 Antarctica bookings

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The world’s only French-flagged cruise line and top cruise line worldwide in polar expeditions for 15 years, COMPAGNIE DU PONANT’s itineraries to the Antarctic for the 2015-2016 season are now open for bookings. Including Open Bar, these cruises benefit from the PONANT BONUS (up to 30% savings on brochure prices) for a limited period, and may be extended with a host of pre and post cruise programmes.

THE ANTARCTIC EXPERIENCE

Exploring the world’s extreme regions in five-star comfort is a unique concept created by COMPAGNIE DU PONANT that has become its hallmark.

From November 2015 to January 2016, COMPAGNIE DU PONANT has three outstanding itineraries offering a genuine polar safari experience to observe the region’s unique wildlife in its natural habitat. Aboard LE BORÉAL, L’AUSTRAL and LE LYRIAL, luxury French-flag yachts of 122 to 132 staterooms and suites, designed for polar cruises and complying with the international “Green Ship” label, passengers gain access to protected sites only accessible to small capacity ships, limited in this region to 200 passengers.

Flexibility at all times is the approach that sets these cruises apart, with Zodiac® outings to get passengers as close as it is possible to be to nature, with time to linger over the region’s most emblematic sites. At any moment the ship may alter its course to admire the acrobatics of a humpback whale or land passengers on a beach to meet a particularly impressive penguin colony. It is a unique experience made all the more interesting by renowned South Pole specialists who are only too delighted to share their views and passion for these polar lands which they have been roaming for years.

The Antarctic Peninsula

Complete immersion in the vast white world of the Antarctic Peninsula, discovering the tabular icebergs and drifting pack ice where fur seals and colonies of Gentoo, Adelie and Chinstrap penguins live.
Ushuaia - Ushuaia (11 days / 10 nights)

Currently available: Ponant Bonus 30% for lead in Deluxe Stateroom is $9080.00 AUD (based on Le Lyrial 29th November 2015).
Direct return flights and transfers from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia included.

Antarctic & South Georgia

Essence of the Antarctic Peninsula’s white landscapes and discovering of South Georgia with its imposing glaciers and black sandy beaches, home to vast colonies of king penguins.
Ushuaia - Ushuaia (15 days / 14 nights)

Currently available: Ponant Bonus 30% Superior Stateroom $11,270.00 AUD (based on L’Austral 15th December 2015).
Direct return flights and transfers from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia included.

The Great Austral Loop

Highlights of three regions - Falklands and the black-browed albatross, South Georgia and king penguins, plus the majestic icebergs of the North Antarctic Peninsula - make for an unforgettable journey of 14 or 16 nights.
Ushuaia - Ushuaia (15 days / 14 nights)
Currently available: Ponant Bonus 25% Deluxe Stateroom $13,680.00 AUD based on Le Boreal 15th November 2015
Direct return flights and transfers from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia included.

The website www.ponant.com provides details on the fleet, voyages, itineraries, inclusions – and the videos in particular will give an appreciation of the French style that is the PONANT signature.

Further details available by calling 1300 737 178 or +61 2 8459 5000, or see your travel agent.

The Canadian Arctic 2014: A New Search for Franklin's Lost Ships

170 years on and one of the world's most enduring maritime mysteries is still unsolved.

In 1845, Sir John Franklin's expedition left England for the remote Canadian Arctic amid much optimism. Their goal was to find the Northwest Passage, but it would become the greatest disaster in British arctic exploration. Franklin, his entire crew of 128 men and two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, disappeared into the vast wilderness of Canada's Arctic, while searching for a way through the fabled waterway.

This year, during the northern Summer, One Ocean Expeditions has been invited by the Canadian Government to join a new search for Franklin's ships.

Announcing the research expedition in Ottawa, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq said,

"Our Government has made the North a priority. The 2014 search for the Franklin ships not only provides the greatest opportunity yet for finding the historic Franklin vessels, it will contribute significantly to our Government's Northern Strategy. Information gathered on this expedition will provide benefits to Canadians in the areas of Arctic sovereignty, marine safety, environmental protection, science and technology, history and culture."

The 2014 Victoria Strait Expedition is the most ambitious to date, with more partners and more sophisticated technologies than ever before. The use of multiple platforms has the potential to significantly increase the amount of Arctic seabed mapped this summer. Ice and weather conditions permitting, the expedition could exceed significantly the amount of ocean floor scanned and mapped during any previous attempt.

Australian Manager for One Ocean Expeditions, Richard Cunningham explains,

"Various government departments, including Parks Canada and the Royal Canadian Geographic Society have been searching for the remains of the Franklin ships for the last seven years. This year, One Ocean Expeditions offered the use of one of its ships to work alongside three other research vessels. She is perfect for this type of research work and was designed for exactly this kind of mission. Her high ice classification allows her to work in areas the other ships cannot".

The Akademik Sergey Vavilov, currently operating in Spitsbergen, will re-position into the Canadian Arctic after completing the cruise season.

One Ocean Expeditions' Akademik Sergey Vavilov will work alongside vessels from the Canadian Coast Guard, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Arctic Research Foundation. A number of additional smaller vessels, along with autonomous and remote-controlled underwater vehicles, will be utilized. Together, these platforms, vessels and vehicles will enable the teams to deploy high-resolution multi-beam sonar and side-scan sonar in a carefully choreographed effort to survey and map the seabed while searching for evidence of Franklin's lost ships.

Limited berths are available to interested clients with the cost of participation being passed to the Royal Canadian Geographic Society as a donation.

Travellers interested in the history of exploration of the Canadian Arctic can travel through these very waters in 2015, with One Ocean Expeditions. The operator has just released its 2015 Canadian Arctic schedule including a 12-night voyage through the fabled Northwest Passage.

For further information contact ONE OCEAN EXPEDITIONS on 02 8096 8787 or email richard@oneoceanexpeditions.com

Haimark to acquire Sea Voyager

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Sea Voyager will sail with Haimark as of May 2015 as Saint Laurent

Ship Specifications
Tonnage: GT 4954, NT 1486
Length: 87.27 M
Breadth: 15.24 M
Draft: 4.12 M
Speed: 14 K
Capacity: 110 cabins, 294 persons
Built: 2001
Ship's Registry: Nassau, Bahamas

Haimark Line announced the launch of their newest ship, the Saint Laurent, scheduled to set sail in May 2015. Previously known as the Sea Voyager, the vessel is undergoing a major refurbishment joins the already well-known luxury Haimark fleet and will offer guests the same unique style of cruising they come to expect.

The ship will travel year round with programs in both the North Atlantic Coast and in South and Central America.

“We are extremely proud to unveil our first ocean going vessel and have already sold half of the 2015 departures,” says Tom Markwell, Managing Partner of Sales and Marketing. “We are excited to provide travelers with more choices for small ship exploration in these regions and we have carefully planned itineraries that will excite, educate and enthuse our guests. The ship was designed to create a harmonious and balanced environment with its surroundings, creating tranquility and comfort for travelers on board.”

Travel in the Northern Atlantic includes coastal New England and the Canadian Maritimes and will pass through the waterways of the Bay of Fundy, the St. Lawrence Seaway, Georgian Bay and the Five Great Lakes. The new itineraries include: 10-day, “Canada’s Atlantic Coast and the St. Lawrence Seaway”; 10-day, “The Five Great Lakes – A Freshwater Paradise” and 10-day, “Georgian Bay and The Five Great Lakes.” In addition, the 13-day, “Historic Coastal America” traverses the entire Atlantic Seaboard and will feature many famous and historic US ports along the way.

In South and Central America, the routes include travel from Nassau to Cartagena, Cartagena to San Jose and San Jose to Lima. Passengers will have the opportunity to explore many exciting ports including a guaranteed daytime transit through the Panama Canal and stops on Coiba Island and The Darian Jungle, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites accompanied by a well-trained expedition team and a fleet of newly purchased Zodiac Mock Fives.

Haimark was founded in Breckenridge, Colorado, in 2013, and is a partnership between Marcus Leskovar, an Austrian national, Tom Markwell, a US national, and Hai Giang, a Vietnam national. With more than 70 years of combined experience in the tourism industry, the partners discovered the absence of true luxury ships on the rivers of Southeast Asia, committing their new company to provide a product that would appeal to travelers from around the world, and inspire them to visit some of the world's most fascinating, but rarely visited locations

New Aranui 5 revealed

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The new Aranui 5 is scheduled to take over from the Aranui 3 in September 2015. 

With a total length of 126m, featuring air-conditioning and lifts, the new passenger/freighter ship can carry up to 254 passengers accommodated in magnificent suites and cabins more spacious and comfortable, of which a great number of units with private balcony.

Public areas include a reception, restaurant, 4 bars including a Sky bar, dancing room, 2 conference rooms, lounges, library, video and computer room, boutique, swimming pool with jacuzzi, fitness room and Spa.

For booking and further information, see Ultimate Cruising
 

Galapagos Charters in 2015 - Book Now

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Families and Groups Thinking of Galapagos Charters in 2015 should book now

In this season when thyme creeps, so does time. Small ship cruise expert AdventureSmith Explorations  suggests that families and groups planning a 2015 charter in the Galapagos will find the best small expedition ship “fit” by booking now. He also advises that charters spanning the Holidays be booked two years out.


Todd Smith, owner/founder of AdventureSmith Explorations, explains that a charter cruise secures an entire ship for one group. While group bookings offering savings for groups of 10 or more are also available (group bookings don’t offer the exclusive privacy or customization that a charter can offer).

“Consider a charter if your group is large enough and you want the intimacy of a private cruise. Consider a group booking if you prefer a larger ship and your group size is not enough for a full boat charter, but you still want per person savings,” he advises.  A charter cruise can save up to 30 percent off regular per-person cruise rates on a selection of yachts, sailboats and small ships.  Group bookings can see up to a 20 percent savings over individual bookings.

His company’s private Galapagos charters are designed for families and groups of 12 to 100 travelers. Charters are popular with extended and multiple families and friends, special occasion celebrations, corporate meetings, affinity groups (gay, lesbian, religious, photography, other), special needs and study groups, travel clubs and others.

In addition to securing the best vessel option for a specific group by booking a year or more out, the company also has time to arrange private outings and events for the party. .For example, Smith’s team can arrange tours of the Fausto Lorena Breeding Center led by students from at Ecology Project International.

“Our kids enjoyed listening to their peers more than the shipboard guides and they peppered the EPI students with questions about their research and what it is like to live in the islands,” recalls Smith who recently participated in a family Galapagos charter.

In partnership with Children of the Galapagos, a non profit working to improve the lives of children and families in the Galapagos, arrangements can be made to meet the kids of Canon Point Club that engages youth in adventure sports (surfing, skateboarding and mountain biking) so these kids can grow up to be the next generation of local guides.

Guests can add such activities as SCUBA diving, surfing and stand up paddleboarding to their charter trips, bring along a private chef (or nanny) and even a masseuse if the budget allows.

The Galapagos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, precludes the large cruise ships from accessing the islands.  Smith’s company also works with mega-ship companies to secure charters for their passengers wanting to see the Galapagos up-close and personal when they cruise through the region.

Passionate about preserving this endangered destination, Smith this summer was elected to the board of the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA), a nonprofit association of travel companies, conservation organizations and other groups that are dedicated to the complete and lasting protection of the Galapagos. Their mission is to preserve the Galapagos Islands as a unique and priceless world heritage that will provide enjoyment, education, adventure and inspiration to present and future generations of travelers.

Founded in 2003, AdventureSmith Explorations is based in Tahoe City, CA, along the northern shore of Lake Tahoe. In 2012, owner Todd Smith joined the ranks of Conde Nast Traveler's prestigious 14th Annual Travel Specialists List as the world’s expert on small ship expeditions. A distinction he received again in 2013. For information, availability and 2014-2015 reservations, Phone: 800-728-2875 toll-free or visit www.adventuresmithexplorations.com

Special encounter with humpback whale in Antarctica

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Stewart Campbell of ExpeditionsOnline shares this magic encounter in #Antarctica

Save Albatrosses with this new device - your help requested

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Kylie Jones

Expedition cruise pal, Kylie Jones, sent this message.

Dear All
I recently came across this amazing gizmo that will radically cut down the seabird by-catch on long line fishing boats.

 

There is a short video that not only tells you about the problems being caused to seabirds but also shows how the gizmo works.

In order to take the gizmo to proper production the company who has designed and trialled HookPod have to raise £100,000 in the next 23 days.

They are doing this by asking bird lovers to support this worthwhile cause. Last year I was priviledged to go to Chile and meet members of the Save the Albatross Task Force who are working with fisheries in Africa, South America and recently the Far East e.g. Japan among others.

If you have ever been priviledged to see an Albatross or or even just love sea birds please help with the fund raising. Here is the link to the website which I would be grateful if you could forwarded onto other bird lovers so HookPod can be ready to sell to fishermen the world over.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hookpod/hookpod-saving-the-albatross-from-extinction

With many thanks from Helena (Jefferson)

One Ocean leads in the search for Franklin

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Sir John Franklin. Last seen alive in 1845.

Imagine this scene: a small flotilla of Canadian research ships, an icebreaker and a navy vessel have converged over a speck of Arctic Ocean floor in Victoria Strait, northwest of Nunavut’s King William Island. The ships — viewed from the observation deck of Vancouver-based One Ocean Expedition’s research-outfitted cruise ship Voyager — are a flurry of wet-suited Parks Canada divers and other researchers, members of the Canadian Coast Guard and other 2014 Victoria Strait Expedition players. A sonar scan has picked up what looks like a shipwreck.

Read full story

West Africa cruise: "African Idol"

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Young woman in Togo village. (R Eime)

The mysterious, once forbidden lands of West Africa are slowly opening to adventurous travellers. Roderick Eime traces slaves, pirates and ghosts from Cape Town to Dakar.

Cruising Fiji: The ultimate disconnect

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Just cruising: Fulaga Lagoon. Photo: Katrina Lobley

Katrina Lobley

It took three years of negotiations over much kava before a cruise line could set sail for Fiji's remote Lau islands, writes Katrina Lobley.
The few scraps I glean about Fiji's 57 Lau islands, before cruising among them, come from travel writer Paul Theroux. In The Happy Isles of Oceania, Theroux describes the Lau group as "one of the pretty little star-clusters in the universe of Oceania".

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/activity/cruises/cruising-fiji-the-ultimate-disconnect-20140703-3ba6n.html#ixzz3AubZh1Cx