Tag Archives: expedition ships

L’Boreal expedition ship evacuated after fire

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The French luxury expedition ship L’Boreal was evacuated after an engine room fire, but there were no casualties or injuries, according to its operator, Ponant.

The incident took place around 2 a.m. on Nov. 18 as the ship was sailing near the Falkland Islands as part of a cruise to Antarctica. The line said a fire “of a technical nature” broke out in a compartment of the engine room. As a precaution, guests were evacuated to another Ponant ship, L’Austral, which happened to be positioned nearby.

The two ships are similar: each has a capacity of 264 passengers.

Ponant said the balance of the cruise has been canceled and passengers are en route to Port Stanley, the capital of the Falklands, from where they will be “directly repatriated.”

Silversea ship to join its expedition fleet

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The Silver Cloud will be converted into an ice-class ship.

Silversea Cruises said it will shift its Silver Cloud vessel to expedition itineraries starting in November 2017.

The 296-passenger Silver Cloud will be converted into an ice-class ship during an extensive refurbishment scheduled to start in August 2017.

Silversea is scheduled to take delivery of a new ship, the 596-passenger Silver Muse, for its luxury fleet in April 2017.

The Silver Cloud, which entered service in 1994, is Silversea’s oldest ship. After conversion to an expedition ship, it will carry 260 passengers at double occupancy, and will be limited to 200 in polar regions. It will still be three times as large as the biggest expedition ship now in Silversea’s fleet.

Silversea currently has three ships in expedition service and five in luxury service.

Silversea expedition ships to explore new destinations

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By Tom Stieghorst
Silversea Cruises said its eight ships will visit a combined 845 destinations in 2016, with 107 new stops on 272 cruises.

Many of the new destinations will be visited by Silversea’s three expedition ships, which can go to very small ports not frequented by most cruise lines or by Silversea’s five luxury vessels.

Included among 88 inaugural calls on 95 expedition cruises are Gough Island, St. Helena; Lizard Island, Australia; Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles; Ko Phra Thong, Thailand; and South Cinque Island, Andaman Archipelago.

Silversea Discoverer will offer a new 17-day expedition to the Seychelles, Maldives, Mozambique, and Tanzania, with an inaugural visit to Aldabra, an raised coral atoll that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Silversea’s more traditional fleet will make 177 voyages, including a trio of 10-day cruises in South Africa aboard Silver Cloud. Among 19 new ports are Le Marin, Martinique; Shimizu, Japan; Rijeka and Rab Island, Croatia; and Bremerhaven, Germany.