Scenic is dazzling your clients again, this time with three new 23- and 25-day explorations in the East Antarctic and Ross Sea region.
The new itineraries, included in Scenic’s 2024/2025 program and sailing on board Scenic Eclipse II, gives guests the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the world’s greatest explorers including Dr Douglas Mawson, Robert Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton. Scenic guests will be among just a few who make it that far south each year, immersing themselves in wild landscapes teeming with seabirds, penguins, whales and seal species.
The 25-day Mawson’s Hut & Commonwealth Bay, Australia’s Antarctic Expedition sails from the Milford Sound fjord on New Zealand South Island to Hobart, Tasmania. One of many highlights is a visit to the Mawson’s Huts complex at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, in the far eastern sector of the Australian Antarctic Territory. The buildings here were built and occupied by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911–14, led by geologist and explorer Dr Douglas Mawson, a close friend and contemporary of Sir Ernest Shackleton. Subject to permits, Scenic Eclipse II will make a landing on Macquarie Island, one of the most wildlife-rich places in the world, giving guests the chance to see the endemic royal penguins. Balleny Islands are windswept, remote and heavily glaciated and have received few human visitors since their discovery in 1839. The surrounding food-rich waters result in diverse wildlife including humpback, fin and minke whales along with crabeater, Weddell, elephant and leopard seals.
Scenic Takes Your Guests to Faraway Lands
The 24-day Antarctica’s Ross Sea – Majestic Ice & Wildlife has two sailings—from Hobart, Australia to Dunedin, New Zealand or round-trip sailing from Dunedin. Both itineraries (weather permitting) include a visit to Ross Island, the ultimate in Antarctic experience. Here, on a clear day guests can view Mount Erebus, the southernmost active volcano on earth and visit the historical hut of Sir Ernest Shackleton. The Ross Sea Ice Shelf is the largest floating body of ice on the planet, estimated to be the size of France, with cliffs of up to 165 ft. and ice extending across 500 miles. On Cape Adare, guests will be able to take a Zodiac trip to view the largest Adelie penguin rookery in Antarctica, while the volcanic past of Franklin Island offers another opportunity to explore the Adelie penguins and otherworldly landscapes such as the Mars-like Dry Valley, only accessible by helicopter, of which Scenic Eclipse II has two.
“We have introduced these new voyages in response to travelers’ demand for exclusive destinations combined with ultra-luxury experiences,” commented Claudius Docekal, v.p., Scenic ocean deployment, in a press release statement. “Scenic Eclipse II will be the newest and most modern luxury expedition ship operating in remote East Antarctica and the Ross Sea region, setting the benchmark in providing once-in-a-lifetime journeys for our guests. As the only ships to offer an abundance of exploration on Zodiac, helicopter, submarine, kayak and stand-up paddleboard, guests will enjoy exclusive experiences such as exploring the McMurdo Dry Valleys, a landscape that has been compared to the surface of Mars and is only accessible by helicopter.”
Booking early and paying in full at least 12 months prior to departure means savings of up to $7,000 per cabin and free economy or business class airfare, depending on stateroom selected.
For more information, visit scenicusa.com/agent-portal.
