Poseidon Expeditions, which specializes in Arctic and Antarctic journeys, has announced new destinations, additional departures for its most popular journeys, and discounts of up to 15 percent on most itineraries if booked by November 1, 2018.
The company maintains two vessels, the 114-guest Sea Spirit, and the 128-guest 50 Years of Victory, purpose-built as an ice breaker for expedition cruising. Both are in northern climes in the North American summer; Sea Spirit moves south in the winter for explorations of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.
New 2019 Sea Spirit Itineraries
A new 12-day itinerary from June 3-14, 2019, will travel from the Scotland Highlands to the Arctic Glaciers. Guests depart on Sea Spirit from Leith (Edinburgh), Scotland, and cruise to Norway’s Longyearbyen (Spitsbergen), tracking routes of Vikings who invaded Scotland’s coastlines in search of land and gold. Guests visit:
- Skara Brae, a 5,000-year-old village and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Orkney Islands
- Bird-watching on Fair Isle in the Shetland Islands (over 345 species recorded)
- Denmark’s Faroe Islands
- Norway’s Jan Mayen
- The High Arctic wilderness of Svalbard, inhabited by polar bears, reindeer, walrus, whale and more
A second 12-day Sea Spirit itinerary, called the Best of the British Isles, will sail from May 21-June 3, 2019. The journey will not involve the Arctic or Antarctica, marking a new direction for Poseidon Expeditions.
The trip begins in Plymouth, UK, and proceeds along the Scottish coast among islands of both Scotland and Ireland, ending in Leith (Edinburgh), Scotland. Many stops will introduce designated birding habitats. Highlights include:
- The high cliffs of Scotland’s St. Kilda
- The basalt columns of Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway
- Castles and monasteries, including Iona Abbey
- Waterford (home of Waterford Crystal)
- Snowdonia National Park and a 13th-century castle in Wales
- Shetland ponies
- A Highland distillery
Expanded Sea Spirit Departures in 2019
Poseidon Expeditions has added a second departure of the itinerary, East Greenland Under the Dome of Northern Lights. This 11-day trip departs on September 6 and September 15, 2019. This cruise—round trip from Reykjavik—has sold out for four consecutive seasons.
There will also be two departures of the Franz Josef Land Archipelago on the Russian High Arctic itinerary, a 14-day program. Departures in 2019 are August 1-14 and August 13-26.
Sea Spirit in Antarctica 2019-2020
For the 2019-20 Antarctic season, Poseidon Expeditions will offer classic Antarctic Peninsula programs as well as three longer Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands voyages, all aboard Sea Spirit. The 23-day Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctic Islands “Antarctica Awakening” program will travel from October 20 to November 11, 2019, embarking in Montevideo, Uruguay, and ending in Ushuaia, Argentina. The final voyage of the season from February 25-March 18, 2020, also 23 days, includes the same Southern Ocean destinations, embarking in Ushuaia and disembarking in Montevideo.
50 Years of Victory and 2019 at the North Pole
Poseidon Expeditions will offer three prime season departures in 2019—July 7, 18 and 29—of its signature Expedition to the Top of the World, a 13-day voyage to the North Pole aboard the nuclear-powered 50 Years of Victory. The gateway is Murmansk, Russia. The voyage north includes sightseeing helicopter flights.
After celebrations at the North Pole, on the south-bound voyage Poseidon Expeditions brings passengers through Franz Josef Land, an archipelago of 191 uninhabited, volcanic, mostly glaciated islands (part of the Russian Arctic National Park).
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