Expedition Cruise News & Views

 

The Galápagos Islands can lay claim to be the greatest natural wildlife region on earth and every adventurer should plan to visit the region at least once in their lifetime.

You go to the Galápagos not just to observe, but to immerse yourself in the wilderness. This can take the form of non intrusive hikes to snorkelling in crystal clear waters and cruising the shoreline in expedition boats with penguins and sea lions literally an arm’s length away.

Three ocean currents overlap in the Galápagos region, bringing together a unique environment where the cold water wildlife combines with equatorial species.

 

 

Unlike most expedition cruises, the Galápagos is not about taking in the local culture, but rather it is about exploring a region largely unspoilt by human interference. Some tourists do stay on the Galápagos Islands in tourist facilities, but by far the best way to see it, experience it, live it, is on an expedition cruise.

We have the Ecuadorians to thanks for the unspoilt Galápagos archipelago. While most third world countries don’t have the inclination or resources to protect wilderness regions, Ecuador was the stand out exception.

They have always jealously guarded their unique region of volcanic islands located 1000 km west in the Pacific Ocean. In 1934 most of the region was declared a wildlife sanctuary and in 1959, the uninhabited areas became a national park.

 

 

In 1978, they were included on the first list of World Heritage sites and ever since there has been a constant battle to control visitor numbers to the region, reduce the effect of human visitation to the islands and stop illegal activities such as fishing and shark finning.

The area was listed as being in danger of being lost at one stage as visitor numbers surged and tour operators pushed for more and more people to be allowed ashore. The problem seems to be easing and the Galápagos is once again safe from massive intrusion.

Charles Darwin visited the region on the Beagle in 1835 and what captured his imagination was the fact that all the islands were of similar geographical composition, but each island had developed its own unique species.

 

 

He realised that the species on each island had to develop in accordance with it the island’s microenvironment and unique diet.

Many years later this became the basis of his world changing book titled On the Origin of the Species which he released in 1859 to both worldwide acclaim and derision.

The islands have remained largely unchanged since his visit and since becoming a world heritage site, only 50,000 visitors are allowed in the region each year.

Expedition Cruise Specialists has an extensive selection of Galápagos adventures available on its site www.expeditioncruisespecialists.com

The selection is the result of the vast experience of the company’s expedition experts and features the very best expeditions and small ships available in the Galápagos.

If you check out the various itineraries, you will be stunned by the variety of experiences available. Land based and marine iguanas with their stunning colours and giant tortoises are the immediately recognisable wildlife symbols of the region.

 

 

But when you include penguins, sea lions, sharks, birds, flightless cormorants, turtles and sun fish you realise what an amazing destination the island region provides.

The selection of vessels available ranges from a 16 passenger luxury ships up to larger 48 passenger ships, allowing you the space to enjoy the islands in a small group. No matter which ship you choose, you will always be accompanied by expert naturalists and guides who will interpret the stunning array of wildlife and provide insight into these remarkable islands.

For more information and Expedition Cruise Specialists' recommended Galápagos Islands expeditions visit www.expeditioncruisespecialists.com

 

Dallas Sherringham is a media professional, world traveller and regular contributor to our blog.

 

Getting expert help is essential when planning your expedition cruise to an isolated destination on the far side of the planet.

I can think of no other form of travel where expert advice and assistance in planning and undertaking your trip is so vital.

Expedition cruise companies are not like major cruise lines where you simply book a cabin and turn up at the Circular Quay wharf at 2:00 PM to go aboard. On those cruises everything is pre-programmed and you spend ten days cruising the same old islands and ports where dozens of cruise ships visit every year. It all works like clockwork

But, just making that 2:00 PM boarding time on an expedition cruise can be quite an undertaking.

These voyages often involve complicated airline bookings and transfers and the experts at Expedition Cruise Specialists go out of their way to ensure it all runs smoothly.

 

 

The other major factor is that Expedition Cruise Specialists are able to hand pick the very best ships and expedition cruise itineraries  available worldwide. They use their expertise to give you “the best”.

Once you get aboard these ships and settle in, you will be enjoying and experiencing the very best that expedition cruising can offer.

If you book directly with an overseas operator, you have the problems of language differences, currency, “extra costs”, priority bookings, cabin allocations and peace of mind to worry about.

Booking the trip of a lifetime should be enjoyable and relaxing from the start, not fraught with persistent concerns about whether it is all going to "work".

As a professional travel writer with 30 years experience in circling the globe, I can testify first hand to the need for expert advice and assistance.

If you place yourself in the hands of a tour operator overseas, even the simplest plans can go awry. For example, a tour operator in the Caribbean arranged for me to fly into San Juan, Puerto Rico at 8:00 PM one steamy night in May.

My ship wasn’t due to leave until midnight, which seemed to give me plenty of time to get to the wharf. The only problem was, nobody could find my luggage. I was speaking English to people who only spoke Spanish. There was lots of arm waving, yelling and people running madly about looking for my bags.

Finally, I had to leave and head for my ship and sail without my bags. Luckily I carry my camera gear in a carryon bag, so I could still do my work.

The bag turned up overnight and was flown to my first port of call which averted a disastrous trip.

I can give you a thousand stories on what can go wrong if you leave yourself in the hands of an overseas operator. Suffice to say, I never travel these days unless the trip is organised by experts that I trust.

 

 

Now, I could be regarded on something of an expert on world travel, but the amount of information I could provide you with is nothing compared to the expertise available from people like Vicki Briggs and Andrew Castles at Expedition Cruise Specialists. Vicki and her husband Tony founded and operated Australia's original expedition cruise line - Coral Princess Cruises - for almost 34 years and now through Expedition Cruise Specialists they're making their expert advice and insider knowledge available to you.

They know so much about this type of cruising that you would be crazy, not to work with them in planning your cruise.

 

Dallas Sherringham is a media professional, world traveller and regular contributor to our blog.

I am often asked by cruise fans to explain the difference between expedition cruising and normal cruise ships.

“That’s easy,” I explain, “expedition ships go where normal cruise ships can never go.”

I then go into a long monologue about the joys of expedition cruising, but it mostly seems to fall on deaf ears.

You see, these are “normal” cruise passengers who believe the Isle of Pines or Mystery Island are about as wild and isolated places as you can ever visit on a cruise.

I doubt they will ever take the plunge and go on an expedition cruise. And mores-the-pity, because in their ignorance they are missing out on so much.

 

 

Expedition cruise ships are, by necessity, much smaller and compact than major cruise ships. They lack the bars, spas, water parks, shops and vast entertainment and restaurant venues of “normal” cruise ships.

However what they lack in size, they make up for with luxury and exclusive features.  If you click your way through our website you will quickly get an idea how luxurious these boats are. I always explain this type of vessel  as: “like having your own private luxury cruise ship”.

They are designed for community cruising, they are laid back and friendly and it is always easy to find a chair at a table on the back deck and join in the conversation.

Expedition cruise operators know what their guests are seeking and they provide that unique experience for them.

Clients on board expedition cruise ships as a rule love to join in activities and love to explore and discover.

They are self reliant people who are more interested in learning and being participants than sitting back and being entertained by Broadway shows.

Their “entertainment” is provided by the lecturers, historians and naturalists who accompany each cruise.

 

 

I find this laid back, exclusive type of cruising to be very intoxicating. You can nip down and make yourself a cup of coffee. Within a couple of minutes you are deep in conversation about the day’s exploring with a fellow adventurer.

There are no crowds, no queues, no pushing and shoving or standing for hours waiting to get off the ship. When the time comes to go ashore, you simply walk down and sit in the explorer boat or zodiac and you are whisked away to some exotic mysterious destination.

 

 

Expedition cruising as a tourist activity started back in the 1960s when Swedish American Lars-Eric Linblad chartered ships from scientific and government sources. He took them to the most isolated areas of the world including Antarctica.

This gave travellers a unique insight into places they could only dream about visiting in the past.

And they were so successful that he was able to order the construction of a small ship which could travel to all parts of the world in reasonable comfort. This was the Lindblad Explorer and it became the trendsetter in adventure cruising. To use an old saying: “he never looked back”.

Lecturers and experts loved this type of cruising because they were able to share their expertise and spread the word while travelling along in relatively luxurious conditions, a far cry from some of the old spartan scientific vessels of the time.

So, if you have undertaken normal cruise ship holidays and find something lacking or you are looking for a more exciting fulfilling adventure, try expedition cruising, it will change your life forever.

 

Dallas Sherringham is a media professional, world traveller and regular contributor to our blog.

 

Papua New Guinea may be our closest neighbour, but for most Australians it is an unknown land shrouded in mystery and intrigue.

A majority of Aussies will never visit our neighbour across the Torres Strait because they haven’t been educated in its amazing beauty and friendly people. And until recently, cruise ships simply did not go there.

That is a shame, because I would place it in the top three cruising destinations I have ever visited. The other two are also close to home: the Kimberley and the Solomon Islands.

 

 

Far from being a land of mystery, New Guinea is more a tropical Garden of Eden with much of it still untouched and unspoilt by mass tourism. The people of New Britain and the many islands dotted throughout the Bismarck Archipelago are very similar to those in Vanuatu and Fiji.

As you go ashore you will be greeted by waving, smiling, happy people. You will be led to chairs placed carefully under a giant tree or beneath a veranda of palm leaves.

Then the dancing will begin. And oh, what a treat you are about to see. You will be in the company of gentle people, ever attentive, ever caring, ever wanting to share their world with yours.

Traditional dancing is the national pass time in Papua New Guinea. Mass drums, bamboo xylophones, whistles and cacophony of sound overtake you as the dancing begins.

Then comes an amazing performance of waving arms and legs all choreographed into a visually, stunning display. Divine costumes and head ware worn by locals all add to the excitement. The dancers range from the elderly right down to young children who are being educated in the local traditions. They are fully absorbed in dances that tell the story of their village their region and their life.

 

 

On virtually every island, you will be greeted by traditional dances. The strange thing is, no two dances are the same. The islands may be close together but because they were so isolated in the past and, to some degree, still are isolated, they have managed to develop performances that are unique to each region.

Our cruise began in fascinating Rabaul, always shrouded in fallout from the constantly erupting Mount Tavurvur, rated one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes. In 1994 it destroyed old Rabaul in a massive explosion and has been playing up ever since.

Leaving the harbour at sundown with the mighty sunset painted in a multitude of stunning reds, oranges and purples was possibly the greatest departure of my career.

Next day we arrived at remote St Michael's School just off the coast of New Britain and it is here that I fell in love with PNG and its people. They were genuinely excited to see us, to dance with us and to share everything they had. The elaborate headware had to be seen to be believed.

We then sailed across the vivid blue Bismarck Sea to Madang and then up the mighty Sepik River. Coral Discoverer has a shallow draft and this allowed us to travel further up this wild region than any other cruise ship.

 

 

Once again, the people of the Sepik were overwhelmingly friendly towards us. They were just as interested in learning about us as we were about them.

I have to admit at being slightly nervous about going ashore in an isolated native village where the people live completely off the land and the river. However,  we were met by thousands of smiling people who were really excited about us coming to their village.

I could go on and on about PNG, but suffice to say it is one of the greatest unspoilt tourist regions anywhere on earth and the only way to see it properly is on an expedition cruise.

If you are really keen to cruise PNG may I recommend our New Guinea packages now available from Expedition Cruise Specialists.

You can talk to one of our experts to gain valuable insights into the various packages available.

The next departure is a 12-night Papua New Guinea Frontier Lands expedition aboard Coral Discoverer departing Cairns for Rabaul on 4 October 2017.

 

Dallas Sherringham is a media professional, world traveller and regular contributor to our blog.

 

Of all the great expedition cruises available in our world of amazing adventures, Antarctica tops the bill.

Nowhere else on earth can you come as close to experiencing what it would be like to visit another planet as you can in Antarctica.  The frozen world of the great southern continent is ever changing, ever beautiful, ever terrifying.

Just when you are silently watching penguins at play on the water’s edge, your whole world is suddenly shattered by the roar of a glacier tearing itself apart as it meets the ocean.

It is this unique challenge of the region that has drawn explorers, scientists and adventurers to its shores for more than a century. Its mysteries lay hidden under the white world that enshrouds it all year round.

But it wasn’t always so. When Antarctica was closer to Australia, the ice continent was covered in massive forests.  As the gap between the two great lands widened, the seas grew colder and so did Antarctica’s climate.

Today it is perpetually covered in ice and snow, held prisoner by the cold currents of the Southern Ocean.

When you take an expedition to Antarctica you will be one of a select few who visit its shores each year. It is estimated that only about 35,000 travellers make the trip annually, using two different routes.

 

 

Most head to the bottom of South America via Argentina or Chile and cross the Drake Passage, taking two days to reach the ice. 

 Many expeditions also visit the Falkland Islands and the stunning South Georgia where Sir Ernest Shackleton is buried at the former whaling station known as Grytviken.

The other route departs Australia / New Zealand and is much more challenging.  If you choose to travel from Hobart or New Zealand, it takes about seven days to cruise to the Ross Ice Shelf. It is the more isolated of the two routes and can only be reached by genuine ice breakers.

If the weather is kind, you will get to see Scott’s hut on Ross Island which has been frozen in time since 1912 with more than 8000 items, including food, still on the shelves.

Shackleton’s hut is also on this island and Mawson’s hut is at Cape Denison.

Now, there are a few things you need to be wary of when booking an Antarctic cruise and this is why you need to chat with the experts at Expedition Cruise Specialists.

 

 

Firstly, you will find larger cruise lines advertising a cruise to the Antarctic, but they only view the ice from a distance; they don’t go ashore. A good guide is to remember only 100 passengers per cruise are allowed ashore at any given time.

Since 2011, all ships operating in the area must use lighter grade distillate fuel which protects the environment. This meant that a lot of the heavy oil burning ships operating south of latitude 60 could no longer cruise in the region. Some cruise ships have since introduced a load of the legal fuel on board which they can use in the restricted zone.

However, they still don’t risk entering the ice flows or taking passengers ashore. If one of these ships became stuck in ice, it would be a major disaster.

On a genuine expedition cruise you will have access to a ship that can handle icy conditions and heavy weather, a fleet of zodiacs, professional grade equipment and expert guides and lecturers. Before departure they will advise you on clothing requirements and take down details of any medical problems or dietary needs you may have.

You will be in good hands and if you are lucky, you will see penguins, orcas, seals, whales and a wide variety or birdlife. November through to April is the best time to see penguins.

Lastly, if you are keen to go next year may I recommend you talk with the Expedition Cruise Specialists as soon as possible and begin planning the ultimate expedition cruise.

Click here to see Expedition Cruise Specialists' list of recommended Antarctica expeditions.

 

Dallas Sherringham is a media professional, world traveller and regular contributor to our blog.