antarctica cruises, who owns what ships?

[bethaniesmom]

every time i think i have things sorted out, glad I have time to research, i get confused again....why are so many ships listed with so many agencies? i mean, if I wanted Rotterdam I would go to HAL...but if i want the Ocean Nova, or the Aleksey Maryshev, for example, they are each listed with many different companies, each one acting like they have the best excursion staff and activities....are passengers on these ships represented by different companies and therefore different people paying different rates and having a different cruise package?

 

I had about settled on an icebreaker then the agent I have talked to said be careful, that i might not be happy with that class of ship, that I might want some of the comforts of a little bit larger ship....i want to be careful and make informed decisions, but I don't want to just wave at antarctica, i want to experience it!

 

more research i guess!

 

Beverly

[Tarheelbelle]

Hi, Beverly,

It is confusing. I do not know if this website will help--in fact, you may already be familiar with it--but I found it useful.

http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/travel/index.shtml

[kuldalai]

Whilst it has just been sold to an as yet un-named buyer MARCO POLO will do its last Antarctic Cruise season at end 2007 start 2008 before going to new owners in March 2008 . MARCO POLO is currently owned (till early March 2008) by Orient lines which is owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines (based in Miami) , who in turn are owned by Star Cruises (based in KL Malayasia) who are part of the gigantic Malaysian resort/ gaming Company named the Genting Group . (The Star Cruises Group comprising Star, NCL, NCL America and Orient Lines are the third largest cruise operators in the world.)

[dougnewmanatsea]

The biggest ships you can go to Antarctica on and actually get off the ship are MARCO POLO and DISCOVERY. If you are looking for a real Antarctica experience without "roughing it" I would suggest looking at them.

 

If you have a bigger budget you might want to look at something like EXPLORER II which is a bit smaller and thus considered more desirable. That is about as small as you can go while maintaining most of the amenities of a larger ship.

 

Cruise Critic is about to publish a MARCO POLO review by yours truly (though I wasn't in Antarctica) and if you want an idea about what Antarctica is like on a ship like this, check out this blog from my friend Peter Knego.

 

I have been on both the MARCO POLO and the ROTTERDAM and they are different, ROTTERDAM obviously being much bigger, newer and more luxurious, but they are at least in the same league whereas an icebreaker is something totally different, designed for breaking ice first and passengers second and without most of the creature comforts.

[bethaniesmom]

thanks everyone for the advice.....i am thinking maybe the Ocean Nova (new name for the Sarpik Ittuk).....it takes like 82 passengers to Antartica...it seems to me that that will allow plenty of zodiac time for each passenger...I am just afraid that on the larger ships (Discovery, Marco Polo) alot of the zodiac time will be spent waiting for it to be your groups turn to get off the ship!

I am still wondering why so many companies list the same ships, are all of these people just agents or are all of these companies related...for example, Ocean Nova is listed on Quark Expeditions and on Expedition Trips....Aleksy Maryshev is listed by Expedition Trips and Adventure Associates, etc....

 

Beverly

[2552phxcrzr]

The smaller ships are chartered by different operators, that's why so many of them are listed with what looks like different owners. Sometime an operator will have relatively exclusive use, however. In some cases, they might even change the name of the ship based on the operator -- makes it all the more confusing.

 

For example, Quark had the charter for Professor Molchanov for most of the 2006-2007 season and we were on one of their sailings. However, the day we returned to Ushuaia, the expedition staff "de-Quark'd" the ship because a Dutch operator had the charter for the ship for the next 10-day sailing.

 

The crew of the ship (Captain, officers, deck hands, machinists, galley crew, etc.) stay with the ship regardless of who has the charter. The expedition staff, however, will change when the operator changes -- and yes all of the operators claim they have the best expedition staff (!). In our case, our expedition staff used their 10-days away from the ship to enjoy Patagonia because they were going to be boarding Professor Molchanov again when the ship returned after the Dutch charter.

 

Hope this helps a bit.

 

You might want to check the IAATO website - it has some great information and there was a list somewhere on the website that shows who charters which ship and for how long.

[2552phxcrzr]

I meant to mention - for those who have not noticed - that there is a specific Antarctica board now. They have not moved all of the threads there, but there are a few to get things started.

[dougnewmanatsea]

I am just afraid that on the larger ships (Discovery, Marco Polo) alot of the zodiac time will be spent waiting for it to be your groups turn to get off the ship!

Possibly. On ships like those ships you are looking at maybe 400 pax (these ships do not sail full to Antarctica) which is a big difference from under 100.

 

If you are looking for a real expedition experience you should be fine with the small ships though I don't know much about most of them so I can't make much of a recommendation. You might want to look at the CLIPPER ADVENTURER or NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENDEAVOUR which are small ships that I have heard very good things about. (They are small ice-strengthened cruise ships, not icebreakers.)

 

I am still wondering why so many companies list the same ships, are all of these people just agents or are all of these companies related...

Some of them are just agents and some of the charter the same ships for different voyages.

 

It is certainly confusing - I have never cared enough to really attempt to decipher it all.

 

I know Quark has a good reputation though.

[joelk]

I've been down to Antarctica on Marco Polo, so it is sad to hear she has been sold.

 

I recently travelled on Orion, and she does some amazing itineraries down to Antarctica from Australia/New Zealand which adds a whole new perspective. She visits the sub-antarctic islands and Commonwealth Bay/Ross Sea region which the ships out of South America just cannot get to. Being just 100 passengers and 75 crew, it sounds as Antarctica on Orion is more like going down there on a luxury private yacht than on a cruise, and lives up to its expedition name. With an almost brand new ship with an ice strengthened hull, she would be perfect for these trips. Listening to the Captain talk about the building of the ship, it sounds as if she was built specifically for Antarctic cruising. We were told that they have a specially recruited Antarcic Expedition team of at least 10 experienced antarctic guides who are experts in everything about the region, including some who have spent a year down there. I think when I read about how many ships are heading down to the Antarctic peninsula from South America, that to be able to do something unique and completely different from the Australian/NZ side sounds like the next must do experience.

[ricki]

Has anyone heard anything about a 44 day Viking cruise to Antarctica on the MS Fram. Evidently, the Fram is a new ship just built for cruising Artic waters (it features decor by Greenland artists). However, I don't see anything on the Viking site. The travel agency calls it a cruise by Norwegian Coastal Voyage. I'm confused!!! Is Viking the same as Viking River Cruises? Is Norwegian Coastal Voyages a cruiseline? Thanks for any help!

Ricki

[Druke I]

Norwegian Coastal Voyages is one of the names for the fleet of ships doing the "milk run" along the coast of Norway. (Hurtigruten or some such is another name.) They are on the web at http://www.norwegiancoastalvoyage.com

 

They are the owners also of Midnatsol and Nordnorge,which have been down in Antarctica during US winters.

 

Fram is their newest ship.

[ricki]

Thank you Druke I, but why is it called a Viking cruise?

[Druke I]

I don't know why it is called a Viking cruise - nor do I know why you are called Ricki!

 

Perhaps Viking because it is doing exploring.

[minke]

Ricki, "Norwegian coastal voyages" officially changed their name to "Hurtigruten" last year after the two companies that comprised NCV merged their holdings. Your USTA is probably using the old name in USA as he knows Hurtigruten will not be known by Americans who have been known to be confused by name changes in the past.

A Viking was the name given to the peoples of Scandinavia ie Norway, Denmark etc who were known in the middle ages as fearsome warriors who raided many places around the north sea then. The term Viking is still used for marketing purposes by many cruise lines who travel to Greenland/Iceland/Norway area. I think the cruise you refer to starts in Iceland.

[ricki]

Thank you Minke and Michael, but actually I DO know what a Viking is: Dragon boats, explorers, Eric the Red, etc.

 

But the travel agent is stating this is a Viking (brand name) cruise. This cruise begins in NYC, so I don't believe it has anything to do with a Scandinavian heritage or history. I thought it was a line that I was unfamiliar with. Interesting about Norwegian Coastal Voyages changing their name, though.

 

Ricki

[Dutchman010]

every time i think i have things sorted out, glad I have time to research, i get confused again....why are so many ships listed with so many agencies? i mean, if I wanted Rotterdam I would go to HAL...but if i want the Ocean Nova, or the Aleksey Maryshev, for example, they are each listed with many different companies, each one acting like they have the best excursion staff and activities....are passengers on these ships represented by different companies and therefore different people paying different rates and having a different cruise package?

 

I had about settled on an icebreaker then the agent I have talked to said be careful, that i might not be happy with that class of ship, that I might want some of the comforts of a little bit larger ship....i want to be careful and make informed decisions, but I don't want to just wave at antarctica, i want to experience it!

 

more research i guess!

 

Beverly

 

 

The Hanseatic ( Hapag Lloyd ) is the best ship for antarctica.

http://www.hl-cruises.com/redwork/do.php?layoutid=100&node=39718&language=2

 

I made the cruise from Ushuaia in feb. 2006

http://www.freewebs.com/hanseaticcruise/index.htm