Poseidon Expeditions Recent Press Releases
POSEIDON EXPEDITIONS THWARTS TRAVEL BUG FEVER WITH POLAR ICE – VIA VIDEO
PROVIDENCE, RI, April 30, 2020 – Right now snuggling up in an armchair with travel videos is the best antidote to what the Germans call Fernweh or yearning for places far away. As the world is still in travel lock-down mode, most of us long for the day we can freely explore the world once again.
Today most of us can’t travel much farther than our corner grocery store. But there is relief to this cabin fever. Poseidon Expeditions offers up an online travel menu of virtual expedition cruises in the mystical worlds of ice — Antarctica in winter, and in summer, the wild Arctic and even the geographic North Pole. Experiences include, among others, kayaking among the icebergs, safe encounters with whales and polar bears and a helicopter flight over the Top of the World.
“If you have the travel bug fever, we recommend treating symptoms with polar ice – via our extraordinary videos,” said Steve Wellmeier of Poseidon Expeditions.
Poseidon has also introduced a “Relaxed” reservation policy for new bookings for the 2021 Arctic and 2021-22 Antarctic seasons aboard the 114-passenger Sea Spirit. For these new bookings in 2021-22 the deposit is reduced from 20% to 10%, and travelers have two months before the deposit is due. For Poseidon travelers booked on 2020 Arctic programs, please find coronavirus-related updates at: https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/coronavirus-info/
Here’s a selection of Poseidon Expeditions’ destination videos:
East Greenland
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/arctic/east-greenland-in-1-minute/ (1:13)
Franz Josef Land
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/arctic/franz-josef-land-in-1-minute/ (1:36)
North Pole
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/north-pole/on-top-of-the-world-north-pole-cruise/ (18:34)
North Pole by Helicopter
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/north-pole/north-pole-ruise-helicopter-footage/ (2:42)
Svalbard: Where Does the Ideal Adventure Lead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjC8-Gn3mE0 (1:00)
Antarctica
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/antarctica/antarctic-cruise-highlights/ (1:33)
Kayaking Antarctica
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/antarctica/kayaking-in-antarcica/ (2:06)
Ship videos
mv Sea Spirit
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/arctic/m-v-sea-spirit-video-tour/ (4:55)
Nuclear-powered Icebreaker, 50 Years of Victory
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/video-360/ (7:02)
360º virtual reality video experience
Interview with the Captain of 50 Years of Victory, Nuclear-powered Icebreaker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRDolpy54nQ&t=2s (6:02)
Additional Videos can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/user/pxpeditions
About Poseidon Expeditions
With offices in the US, UK, Germany, Russia, Cyprus and China, Poseidon Expeditions is a leading provider of polar expeditions in the cruise industry. The company is committed to safe and environmentally responsible polar travel. It is a member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO).
POSEIDON EXPEDITIONS RENEWS CHARTER CONTRACT FOR SEA SPIRIT
PROVIDENCE, RI, April 9, 2020 – Poseidon Expeditions announced today that it has signed an agreement with ship owner SunStone Ships, Inc. to extend the charter of the 114-passenger expedition ship Sea Spirit for two years. This will keep the ship flying the Poseidon Expeditions banner until May 2024.
Nikolay Saveliev, founder and president of Poseidon Expeditions (https://poseidonexpeditions.com/), a specialist in active adventure cruises in Arctic and Antarctic regions, said that the Sea Spirit has received great acceptance in the marketplace and that the company is delighted to be able to continue offering the ship to its travel partners and polar travelers around the globe.
“With the Sea Spirit, we have a smaller-capacity, premium vessel that’s perceived as very desirable compared with most of the newly announced polar-class ships in the range of 200-500 passengers. Those wanting to go to Antarctica or to the Arctic understand the advantages that a smaller vessel can provide – better access to remote areas and landing sites; more ‘face time’ with the expedition team; and a camaraderie among guests and staff that is more difficult to achieve aboard larger ships,” he added.
Saveliev continued: “This ship has delivered a consistently high level of service and performance in the polar regions from the ship’s officers, catering and hospitality team. Sunstone has done a great job keeping the passenger areas renovated and the technical features consistently updated, such as the new, state-of-the art Rolls Royce Zero Speed Stabilizers installed in 2019. Combined with our exceptional expedition staff, which curates experiences for our guests that are engaging, educational and fun, it’s no wonder the Sea Spirit achieves a 4.9 ranking out of a possible 5.0 from TrustPilot, the well-established third-party review site.”
The founder of Poseidon added that plans were still moving forward with a new build, configured for fewer than 150 passengers, but that an official announcement with details was still forthcoming.
Like a migrating bird, the Sea Spirit spends her year between the two polar regions, in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean from late October through mid-March and then in the sub-Arctic and Arctic regions of the British Isles, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land and Greenland from mid-May through September.
About Poseidon Expeditions
With offices in the US, UK, Germany, Russia, Cyprus and China, Poseidon Expeditions is a leading provider of polar expeditions in the cruise industry. The company is committed to safe and environmentally responsible polar travel. It is a member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO).
POSEIDON EXPEDITIONS SUSPENDS MARCH AND APRIL 2020 CRUISES; REVISES RE-BOOKING, FINAL PAYMENT AND DEPOSIT POLICIES
PROVIDENCE, RI, March 24 — Poseidon Expeditions announced today that it is suspending cruise operations aboard its 114-passenger expedition vessel Sea Spirit for the balance of March and April 2020.
Postponed until 2021 are a sub-charter in the mid-Atlantic and a cruise along the coastline of Portugal, Spain and France. All sales and reservation offices are available to provide assistance to booked and prospective passengers and to answer questions about upcoming Spring and Summer 2020 cruises and future cruises.
“We certainly understand the COVID-19 related concerns and questions from our travel partners and the travelers booked on our upcoming cruises. There’s no question about it: things are changing daily. We are looking at each cruise on the calendar’s horizon, and will factor into our decision-making all issues pertaining to Coronavirus-related bans, travel advisories, flight availability and any other matters that potentially might affect the health and safety of our guests, staff and crew,” said Steve Wellmeier, managing director of the company’s US office.
Following the successful completion of the company’s 2019-20 Antarctic season this past week, the Sea Spirit is currently heading north from Montevideo, Uruguay, where it disembarked passengers March 19.
“At the present time, Poseidon remains committed to its schedule of cruises in the Arctic this season. But we are giving our booked passengers and travel partners the benefit of the doubt in rescheduling their summer cruises. Those passengers with existing reservations for the upcoming season may re-book or transfer their booking to a 2021 Arctic departure, beginning from 60 days and up to seven days prior to the 2020 scheduled departure date. Final payment for 2020 Arctic voyages is pushed back from 90 days to 60 days prior to departure, and deposits on new bookings for 2020 Arctic programs are reduced from 20% to 10% of the cruise fare,” said Wellmeier.
For the next 2020-21 Antarctic season, final payment is due 60 days prior to departure rather than the customary 90 days, and deposits on new Antarctica business are also reduced from 20% to 10% of the cruise fare.
While the Russian Federation recently announced that its borders are closed to all foreign travelers until May 1, the company’s three voyages to the North Pole aboard the nuclear-powered icebreaker 50 Years of Victory remain scheduled for operation, beginning with the July 12-24, program from Murmansk, Russia. Final payment conditions are changed from 90 days to 60 days prior to the departure date.
The company recently updated its Coronavirus Travel Policy, and will continue to do so as the situation warrants.
POSEIDON EXPEDITIONS PARTNERS WITH OCEANITES, WHICH DOCUMENTS THE CHANGING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON PENGUINS
PROVIDENCE, RI, Feb. 11, 2020 – Poseidon Expeditions, the specialist in active adventure cruises in the polar latitudes, recently entered into a supportive relationship with the nonprofit organization Oceanites to help monitor and analyze penguin and seabird population changes over time in the Antarctic Peninsula.
This is the first season in Antarctica (2019-2020) that Oceanites and Poseidon are working together. Through an in-kind donation of space on several Poseidon voyages each year, Oceanites (https://oceanites.org/) is able to bring researchers to Antarctica to carry out its work in counting and documenting nesting birds at established sites.
During the cruise Poseidon Expeditions helps to both orchestrate an auction to raise money for Oceanites and provide information on Oceanites’ work to generate additional donations from passengers. In turn, while on a cruise with Poseidon, Oceanites researchers present an evening slide show about their work and the changes they are witnessing in penguin populations and the environment.
“For 25 years Oceanites has been an important partner of the Antarctic scientific community, working on the front line to provide vital statistics on penguin populations at the Antarctic Peninsula,” said Steve Wellmeier of Poseidon Expeditions. “Our passengers really appreciate the opportunity to learn firsthand about penguins and changes affecting various colonies. They return home with a much better understanding of the White Continent and the need to preserve its unique ecosystem.”
Oceanites’ Mapping Application for Penguin Populations and Projected Dynamics (MAPPPD) database launched in October 2016. This database makes publicly available continent-wide Antarctic penguin population data and descriptive information. MAPPPD now comprises data from over 660 sites across the entire Antarctic continent.
“Oceanites’ longstanding credibility promotes a better understanding of the singular issue of our time — adaptation — because Antarctica and its penguins are incubators foretelling our planet’s future,” said Oceanites founder and principal, Ron Naveen. A former Antarctic expedition leader, Naveen began his love affair with birds when he was 14 years old. He became enraptured with penguins and their unique challenge being on the front lines of climate change.
Oceanites uses penguin population trends to focus public attention on climate change ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ and whether penguins – and humans can adapt to a warming future.
“This is the world’s only publicly supported, scientific research initiative in Antarctica,” explains Naveen. The US-based, tax-exempt nonprofit §501(c)(3) organization has been driving science-based conservation under the Antarctic Treaty for more than two decades (since 1994).
Over the years, Oceanites has supported successful efforts to establish both general guidance for all Antarctic visitors and a series of site-specific management guidelines.
“Climate change is real and the most important challenge facing mankind today. We just want more people to get outside and smell the guano and then to become a part of the conversation and solution,” said Naveen.
Following are observations Oceanites has tracked over 1, 713 site visits at 223 data collection stations over 22 seasons in Antarctica:
- Over the past 60 years winter temperatures in Antarctica, the coldest and windiest place on Earth, have risen by 9* F (5*C);
- Gentoo Penguin populations seem to be increasing and increasing their range southward;
- Adélie and Chinstrap Penguin populations seem to be on the decline.
Naveen explains why Antarctica is so important in the understanding of climate change:
- Antarctica is ‘ground zero’ for understanding how a changing climate affects Earth’s living organisms. What happens to Antarctica’s penguins, wildlife, land, ice, and ocean affects us all. Oceanites has inaugurated a major, long-term Climate Challenge research project that will help distinguish the direct and interactive effects of climate change, fishing, tourism, and national operations in the Antarctic Peninsula, which, in turn, is expected to assist improved environmental management in this vastly warming region;
- Its 5.4 million square miles are the size of the United States and Mexico combined, and equal 10 percent of earth’s land surface;
- During the austral winter, sea ice may double the size of the continent;
- 99 percent of Antarctica is covered by a permanent ice sheet, which averages over a mile in thickness, and in some places is almost three miles thick;
- 80 percent of the world’s ice and 70 percent of the world’s fresh water are locked in this ice pack;
- Antarctica’s surrounding Southern Ocean ecosystem is the largest and most fertile in the world, comprising 13.9 million square miles, equal to 10 percent of the world’s oceans.
