Antarctica Passenger Record For 2017-18 – Solid Growth at Lindblad – This Week’s Voyage: Sapphire Princess UK to Canada and US 2019

 THE CRUISE EXAMINER AT CYBERCRUISES.COM BY KEVIN GRIFFIN

The Cruise Examiner for 7th May 2018

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ 270-berth Hanseatic Inspiration is one of a new generation of expedition ships that enters service in 2019

The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) reported a record of 51,700 cruise and expedition visitors to Antarctica in 2017-18, a new record. The 1st Quarter Earnings report from Lindblad Expeditions came as evidence of this. Elsewhere, Princess Cruises is reporting strong demand for its UK to Canada and New England cruise in 2019 with the 2,670-berth Sapphire Princess.

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Ponant Orders A Polar Icebreaker – Magellan Goes To Mexico – Carnival Australia Hits 1 Million Passengers

 

The Cruise Examiner for 25th December 2017

Last week Ponant announced its latest order, in this case for a 30,000-ton 270-berth Polar Class 2 icebreaker (above) capable of taking passengers to the geographic  North Pole. Elsewhere, Cruise & Maritime Voyages is sending its 1,250-berth Magellan to Mexico for the winter of 2019 and Carnival Australia’s seven brands have carried a million passengers this year.

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Heritage Expeditions Completes Two 2017 Northern Sea Route Passages Across Russia, With One Voyage In Each Direction

New Zealand-based Heritage Expeditions has just completed its inaugural Northern Sea Route (or Northeast Passage) expeditions between Anadyr and Murmansk and is now preparing for its 2017/18 Southern Ocean and Antarctic expeditions.

This was the first time that an expedition company has succeeded in a double transit of the Northern Sea Route. This was due in large part to changing ice conditions in the Arctic. But while they may be changing, ice conditions are still very unpredictable as Heritage discovered, with significantly more ice on the eastbound expedition than expected due to seasonally low temperatures.

The success of these voyages is due to some very careful planning and timing. These expeditions were three years in the planning and application process and Heritage expressed its gratefulness to its Russian partner for their part in securing all necessary permits at this timewhen permitting is increasingly complex.    

Heritage Expeditions’ 48-berth Akademik Shokalskiy, under Captain Igor, was the perfect vessel for this. His team was outstanding and worked tirelessly to ensure the success and safety of the vessel and her expeditioners. Navigating through ice and the shallow waters of the Northern Sea Route take both courage and knowledge.

Each expedition (west and eastbound) visited over twenty Arctic islands, and made more than thirty landings, plus numerous zodiac cruises. The end result was a huge catalogue of highlights, (and thousands of photos) far too many to list here. The trip logs and wildlife lists from each expedition tell the story.

Heritage Expeditions will be monitoring trends in sea and ice conditions in the region before announcing our next Northern Sea Route Expeditions. Meanwhile, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’s 164-berth Bremen will be making the next eastbound passage from Tromnso to Nome between August 11 and September 7, 2018.

If you would like more information please contact The Cruise People Ltd in London on +44 (0)20 7723 2450 or email PassageEnquiry@aol.com.

Azamara Pursuit To Join Two Sisters – Cruising To Chicago In 2020 – Silver Spirit To Be Stretched To 691 Feet

The Cruise Examiner for 2nd October 2017

Chicago’s Municipal Pier, opened in 1916, and known as Navy Pier since 1927, no longer greets cruise ships

Last week Azamara Club Cruises announced that it was acquiring the newest of the eight “R” class ships, thus giving it a fleet of three sister ships. She will be named Azamara Pursuit. Still in the all-inclusive arena, Silversea has announced that it will lengthen its Silver Spirit so as closely to approximate the size of its flagship, the Silver Muse and her planned sister ship Silver Moon. The Azamara Pursuit and lengthened Silver Spirit will both be delivered in March 2018. Meanwhile, Hapag-Lloyd’s Hanseatic Inspiration and Ponant’s Le Champlain are due to be introduced to the Great Lakes in 2020, and pre-bookings can now be made with both lines. But the question arises as to where they will berth in Chicago.

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Great Lakes Cruises And Expeditions – MSC Seaside Class: Ships That Look Like Hotels – Seabourn Ovation Launched

The Cruise Examiner for 4th September 2017

The comfortable forward bar, looking aft, on the Great Lakes cruise ship Victory I

All of a sudden there is more activity on the Great Lakes, first with the announcement of the addition of Victory Cruise Line’ 202-berth Victory II for 2018 and then Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ new 230-berth expedition ship Hanseatic Inspiration in 2020. Another expedition ship, possibly Ponant’s 184-berth Le Champlain, is also said to be on the way. And we have a quick look at two impending newbuildings, MSC Cruises’ 4,134-berth MSC Seaside and the 600-berth Seabourn Ovation, new sister to the Seabourn Encore.

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Canada’s 150th Anniversary and Montreal’s 375th – Other Cruise News: – Oceania Chooses New York – Azamara Adds Alaska In 2019

The Cruise Examiner for 3rd April 2017

Queen Mary 2 at Quebec. The numbers cruising the St Lawrence are expected to exceed 350,000 this year.

This year sees the 150^th Anniversary of Canada’s founding as a nation, so on this event we also look back fifty years to the special 100th Anniverary sailings that were offered in connection with Expo ’67 in 1967 that included stays on board. Ships such as the Shalom, Maasdam, Franconia,  Argentina, Brasil and South American all offered stays at Montreal, as did the s.s. France and Michelangelo at Quebec.This year will also see a boom for cruising the St Lawrence, with traffic up more than a third on last year. Elsewhere, Oceania Cruises will be basing its Insignia at New York for the late summer this year as well as the summer of 2018. Finally, in a first for the line, Azamara Club Cruises has announced a series of eleven Alaska cruises based on Vancouver for its Azamara Quest in 2019.

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Boom In Expedition Ship Orders – Other Cruise News: A’Rosa Plans New River Ships – Swan Hellenic: Minerva Or Another?

The Cruise Examiner for 13th February 2017

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has ordered two 16,100-ton 240-berth expedition cruise ships

Over the past year there has been a boom in expedition ship orders, with sixteen vessels now on order and options placed for at least five more. Of these, half a dozen will be Polar Class 6, built for summer/autumn operation in medium first-year ice, which may include old ice inclusions, in Arctic and Antarctic waters. Elsewhere, Rostock-based A’Rosa Cruises may be about to order additional river cruisers, while Swan Hellenic is looking for a replacement ship for the Minerva.

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All Leisure Cancels Voyager And Minerva Cruises – TUI Group Cruise Business Up – UK Minor Cruise Ports On The Rise

The Cruise Examiner for 2nd January 2017

Swan Hellenic’s Minerva was one of two All Leisure ships to have cruises cancelled this week

Today we have surprise news from All Leisure Group, who have just cancelled cruises scheduled to leave this week on Swan Hellenic’s Minerva from Marseille and on Voyages of Discovery’s Voyager from Port Kelang. Speculation has the two ships going to other operators and rumours so far have centred on Phoenix Reisen or Saga Cruises for the Minerva (both of which companies have operated this ship before) and an Asian operator or Celestyal Cruises for the Voyager. Meanwhile, TUI’s cruise business continues to thrive and we have a look at the latest cruise port news from Holyhead and Poole, two smaller cruise ports in the UK.

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Oceanwide Expeditions’ 180-berth Hondius – 50 Years Ago: The Jamaica Queen and Sunward – Saga’s Second Ship Still An Option

The Cruise Examiner for 28th November 2016

Oceanwide Expeditions plans to introduce its first newbuilding, the 180-berth Hondius, in 2019

Last week came news that Oceanwide Expeditions has ordered a new 180-berth expedition ship from the Brodosplit shipyard in Croatia for delivery in 2019. We also have a look back this week at events of fifty years ago that featured Arison Shipping and two ships, the short-lived Jamaica Queen and the somewhat longer-lived Sunward. These events precipitated not only the founding of Norwegian Cruise Line but also what later became today’s Carnival Group & plc. Finally, we have received a correction from Saga on the planning of their second new vessel.

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Twin Sister Ships For Hapag-Lloyd Cruises – Other Cruise News: New Ship For Cruceros Australis – Ugliness of the Seas

The Cruise Examiner for 29th August 2016

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has announced plans for two 240-berth expedition cruise ships that will be the thrid and fourth in the world to be constructed to Polar Class. To be delivered in 2019, the as yet unnamed five-star ships will follow the Crystal Endeavour and Scenic Eclipse, due out in August 2018. Down Under in Chile, Cruceros Australis has meanwhile confirmed that it is building a 210-berth cruise ship at Chilean builders Asenav. And in general, we have a quick look at scrubbers on cruise ships.

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Expedition to the South Seas and Easter Island: A Voyage of Discovery in Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ 175-Guest MS Hanseatic

Itineraries that go beyond classic cruise routes – follow in the footsteps of James Cook and Ferdinand Magellan

• Calls include the Tuamotu and Pitcairn Islands, plus Easter Island
• Cruise dates: November 25 to December 19, 2016

With a length of approximately 404 feet, a beam of 59 feet and a capacity for 175 passengers, MS Hanseatic is a small expedition ship, ideal for visiting more remote destinations and ports that are virtually unexplored by tourists. As part of the Expedition to the South Seas and Easter Island, guests on board the 5-star* Hanseatic will travel to destinations including the Tuamotu Islands in the heart of French Polynesia, go on Zodiac landings and discover the Moai statues on Easter Island.

Expedition to the South Seas and Easter Island is a 24-nightcruise that follows in the wake of famous seafarers such as James Cook. In the 18th century, Cook embarked on three South Sea voyages and discovered a number of different islands there. For many of the guests, this cruise will also be full of firsts – for example, when the Hanseatic heads for the Tuamotu Islands, the world’s largest archipelago. This group of islands was discovered in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan.

A further call will be made at Pitcairn, the only inhabited island in the archipelago of that name. Weather permitting, guests will land at Bounty Bay with the 14 Zodiacs – inflatable boats well suited to expeditions – and meet personally the descendants of the Bounty mutineers.

The highlight of the expedition will be the penultimate stop at Easter Island. The park where the Moai, the island’s famous stone sculptures, are situated is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A team of experts from different fields such as regional studies, cultural history, biology and geology will accompany the guests throughout the cruise. In lectures both on board and during the shore excursions and Zodiac excursions, these specialists will provide fascinating facts and insights about the different Polynesian peoples and the European expeditions of the 16th and 18th centuries.

MS Hanseatic – Expedition to the South Seas and Easter Island, from Tahiti to Puerto Montt, November 25 – December 19, 2016, 24 days, from €8,990 per person (£6,750, $10,790), cruise only. More information online at: http://www.hl-cruises.com/find-your-cruise/HAN1622

For further details or bookings please call Gay Scruton at The Cruise Peiople Ltd in London on +44 (0)20 7723 2450 or e-mail PassageEnquiry@aol.com.

The Northwest Passage: Yet Another Cruise Ship For 2017

The Cruise Examiner for 2nd May 2016

The Seven Seas Navigator is a cruise ship that was built on an ice-strengthened hull

The fabled Northwest Passage took three years to cross when Raould Amundsen first traversed it from east to west in his Gjoa in 1903-06 and Henry Larsen of the RCMP made it the other way in the St Roch in 1940-42. A century later, however, large passenger ships such as the 43,524-ton residence ship The World and the 68,870-ton cruise ship Crystal Serenity are threatening to turn it into a tourist playground. Last week came news that yet another cruise ship, Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ 28,550-ton Seven Seas Navigator, would join the Crystal Serenity in making the passage in 2017. While Crystal sail from Seward to New York, Regent will be sailing from Seward to Montreal.

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