Sure Travel Journey Vol 3.3 Winter 2017 | Page 26

DEPARTURE LOUNGE // WINTER 2017
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Some cruises even offer you the option to explore a bit on your own steam.
DID
YOU KNOW?
Antarctica is a desert.
While we typically think of
deserts as being hot, sandy
and dry as camel bones, the
geographical definition is a
landscape that receives little
precipitation (rain, snow,
avoided the dreaded
drizzle or hail), making
Cape Horn. Countless
Antarctica a polar
desert.
ships and men were lost
join Quark Expeditions’
© DOETHION/ADOBESTOCK
voyage of discovery,
dubbed “Explorers and
Kings” (23 November
– 12 December 2017).
Leaving Ushuaia, the
Ocean Endeavour sets
sail on a 20-day journey
that takes in the Falkand
Islands, South Shetland
Islands and the Antarctic
Peninsula. These are
waters once sailed by
They call it Paradise Bay for a reason.
acclaimed Antarctic
explorer Sir Ernest
Cruises’ six-star rated luxury cruise ships.
Shackleton, and a highlight of the voyage
This year she’ll be departing from snowy
is a visit to the island of South Georgia,
Beijing on 29 December and sailing
where Shackleton lies buried. The island
across the Yellow Sea to icy Shanghai
is also home to 30 breeding bird species
for a New Year’s Eve party to remember.
and four species of penguin.
And it’s going to be exclusive: the
Leaving the wildlife and glaciers behind,
all-suite, all-balcony Seven Seas Voyager
the Ocean Explorer sets a course south
accommodates only 700 passengers
for the white desert of Antarctica,
– tiny in today’s world of mega liners.
where four days are spent exploring this
The cruise then makes its way to
remarkable continent. Along with zodiac
warmer climes, stopping in Vietnam and
and walking excursions, Quark offers
Thailand before ending in Singapore (29
a range of adventures, including kayak
December – 17 January 2017).
adventures, mountaineering and even
stand-up paddle boarding.
MODERN-DAY ADVENTURER
For generations of seafarers the North
ICY OLD LANG SYNE
West Passage linking the Atlantic and
Dreaming of a white New Year with
Pacific Oceans across the top of North
luxury trappings? Step aboard the Seven
America was the Holy Grail of navigation;
Seas Voyager, one of Regent Seven Seas
a shortcut between Europe and Asia that
26 // MAKE MEMORIES FOR LIFE
beneath the crushing sea
ice in search of the fabled route.
Today, thinning sea ice has allowed
Crystal Cruises to pioneer a leisure
voyage that links Alaska and New York
in a remarkable month-long odyssey
along the legendary sea route (15
August – 16 September 2017). From
the Bering Sea to Ulukhaktok, Baffin
Island and the Labrador Sea, the journey
aboard the luxurious Crystal Serenity
will deliver glaciers, fjords and rare
wildlife sightings on a once-in-a-lifetime
high seas adventure. In addition to
planned port calls, spur-of-the-moment
shore excursions by