Historic Day For Silver Explorer

Silversea Cruises are proud to announce their Silver Explorer and its Expedition Team accomplished a first in the ship’s history late last month, landing guests at Point Wild, Elephant Island – the location where survivors of the Shackleton Expedition lived under two lifeboats for more than four months while hoping for rescue.

After attempting to take guests to Elephant Island for nearly 10 years, Silver Explorer’s Captain Alexander Golubev was able to tuck the ship into a small and slightly sheltered bay just to the West of Point Wild, due to good weather conditions. Explorer’s unstructured itinerary to ‘Cruise and Explore the Antarctic Peninsula’ allows the Captain and the Silversea team to determine the exact itinerary as the voyage progresses, as conditions can vary so much in the Polar regions. 

Both guests and crew can take full advantage of the available conditions to explore as many sights and make as many zodiac excursions and landings as possible, and this was especially true in the case of Point Wild.

Guests can also combine true expedition cruising with an elegant onboard lifestyle with Silversea Expeditions. Offering two 10-day trips from £6,339 per person, on an all-inclusive basis, voyage 7226 departs December 3 and voyage 7227 departs December 13 from Ushuaia. Silver Explorer departs from the Argentine port and cruises through the Drake Passage and then the Antarctic Peninsula, before returning to Ushuaia. Price is per person, based on two people sharing a View Suite and includes all shore excursions, port charges, government fees and taxes. Economy flights are available from £2,299 per person.

Fares for voyages embarking/disembarking Ushuaia include economy class charter air service between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia, plus transfers between Ushuaia airport and pier, on day of embarkation and disembarkation.

For booking details, be sure to check out this link with the UK's luxury cruise specialists, The Cruise Line Ltd.

Antarctica With Exodus

Exodus Expeditions are offering an in-depth exploration of Antarctica, combining the best of the Western side of the peninsula with the less visited, more remote, Eastern side. This is a remarkable adventure visiting both sides of the Peninsula as guests spend three days sailing along the west coast, along fjords and past icebergs, enjoying the company of sea birds, penguins, seals and whales.

Weather permitting, the trip aims to visit magnificent spots such as Cuverville Island, Wilhelmina Bay and Orne Harbour, before passing through the Antarctic Sound to the wild and remote east coast of the Peninsula in the Weddell Sea. The epitome of the Weddell Sea is massive tabular icebergs, and watching these imposing and majestic bergs glide silently past the ship is a remarkable experience.

Guests will explore islands and continental shores, hoping to visit Brown Bluff Hope Bay and Paulet Island (above), whose residents include Chinstrap and Adelie penguins in huge numbers.

For more information and booking details, check out www.exodus.co.uk, or, for more on Antarctic expeditions and adventure cruising in general, see this link for the UK's adventuring sea-going specialists of The Cruise Line Ltd.

New Antarctic Options

The Antarctic Dream, an 80-passenger expedition cruise ship with an ice-strengthened hull renowned for its long-time service in the Chilean Navy, has unveiled a new “Fly and Sail” programme for the 2011-2012 Antarctica travel season, which began on November 1.

The programme allows travellers to experience the crossing of the Drake Passage, the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula, but reduces the regular itinerary by three days by cutting out a second crossing of the Passage.

Lectures are offered by the Expedition Leaders and additional presentations and workshops are offered by geologists, naturalists and special guests, which include celebrated photographers, wildlife experts and award-winning scientists.

For more info, visit www.antarcticdream.com or the UK's adventure-cruise specialist agents of The Cruise Line Ltd.

GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE - CHARITY ON THE POLAR SEAS

Guests on board Hurtigruten voyages in Spitsbergen, Greenland and Antarctica this season will be offered the opportunity to raise money in support of the areas of the Arctic and Antarctic they have just sailed through. At the end of every expedition voyage a charity auction will now takes place with all funds raised being donated to local preservation organisations.

Trialed last year, these auctions have now become a permanent fixture on MS Fram expedition voyages. The usual beneficiaries are institutions that look after the preservation and further development of areas visited such as the Antarctica South Georgia Heritage Trust, Birdlife International or the Ocean Foundation. However, the auctions can also help local people such as Greenland’s children who also receive support from the money raised.

“We want to give something back to the regions we have visited.” Said Expedition Team Leader Karin Strand. “Our guests respond very positively to the auctions. They too recognise the privilege of being able to travel to these remote areas and they like to say thank you by giving something back.”

Items coming under the hammer include the sea chart for the voyage in question, expedition team jackets and donated items from the research stations and localities visited during the voyage. On one voyage alone last year, the operator raised 6000 euro.

For more information visit Hurtigruten http://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/ or The Cruise Line.

Explore The Falklands & South Georgia

Here's a great offer from Noble Caledonia this week, with a chance to save on a wonderful 22-night cruise to Antarctica that also takes in the Falklands and South Georgia. Book by April 30 and save £400 per person on a 2011 departure (£300 per person on 2012), with prices now from £6,995.

In today’s highly accessible world, there are few places that still hold the power to enthrall and enchant. Antarctica is certainly one of these.

Antarctic Peninsula

Explore both sides of the Peninsula, taking in such memorable sights as the Antarctic Sound, often referred to as Iceberg Alley. Explore with Zodiacs, cruising among ice floes, land at penguin rookeries and visit research stations. Most Antarctic Peninsula cruises will include Deception Island. A highlight of any voyage comes as you navigate through the narrow entrance and sail inside the volcanic caldera. Hot, geothermal springs bubbling up close to shore allow those more hardy souls to experience a very hot and very cold bath almost simultaneously!

Other highights include - Paulet Island (above): Ice conditions permitting, this is a fascinating place and home to hundreds of thousands of Adelie penguins. Unconcerned by our presence they carry on about their business as do the blue-eyed cormorants and Weddell seals. Petermann Island: Visit the bridge as you deftly nudge aside ice floes and navigate the Lemaire channel to Petermann Island where Gentoo penguins have formed their southernmost nesting colony. Humpback and minke whales are often sighted offshore here.

The Falkland Islands

Combining the Peninsula with a few days on the Falkland Islands makes for an interesting contrast. The wildlife on these 420 rocky islands is staggering and it is a truly enchanting place, a true outpost with a unique character and particularly fascinating for the British.

South Georgia

Although South Georgia is a couple of days extra steaming from Antarctica, it is well worth the effort. Here you will experience one of the world’s natural wonders, the ‘Alps in mid-ocean’.

For more info, visit www.noble-caledonia.co.uk or contact the UK's leading adventure cruise specialists, The Cruise Line Ltd.