Dec 5, 2019
The world’s “Best New Luxury Ship”*, Scenic Eclipse, has wowed guests on her inaugural voyage to Antarctica with a rare sighting of Emperor Penguins in the Weddell Sea.
“Snow Hill Island is home to a large rookery of Emperor Penguins,” said Lisa Bolton, GM Product for Scenic Group. “However, it is very rare that we get to see them, particularly at this time of year when the sea ice limits access. This really was a once in a lifetime experience for our guests on board.”
Scenic Eclipse Captain James Griffiths says: “The Weddell Sea is a stunning part of Antarctica but presents a significantly greater challenge to expedition ships than the west side of the Antarctic Peninsular due to the presence of much heavier ice concentrations. Scenic Eclipse was originally only scheduled for a single stop at the Northern part of the Weddell, but on examining the ice charts we realized that we had the opportunity to push the ship south towards Snow Hill Island. During our transit south we spent twelve hours in the ice where Scenic Eclipse excelled and demonstrated the value of her Polar Code 6 classification and unmatched maneuverability. I am genuinely excited to see what other amazing opportunities this exceptional ship will give us to show Antarctica to our guests.”
Scenic Neptune photo by fStop Movies
The ships submarine, Scenic Neptune, was no less busy, with 14 dives over a five-day period, carrying up to six guests per dive. Descending as deep as 466 feet (rated maximum depth is 980ft), guests were wowed by the sights of colorful coral and sea sponges, huge jellyfish and octopus, and always on the lookout for those fast-moving penguins and seals.
Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours has grown over its 33-year history to include award-winning, all-inclusive river cruises and handcrafted land tours that take participants to many of the world’s most fascinating destinations. Since 2008, Scenic has offered river cruises in Europe, SE Asia, Russia and Egypt on its 15 Space-Ships. Sister brand Emerald Waterways has eight Star-Ships offering European river sailings and, new this year, Southeast Asia’s Mekong River.