Earlier this week, Swan Hellenic announced the details of its 2022-2023 cultural expedition cruises. According to the release, the line is offering an extraordinary choice worldwide as its fleet grows to two and then three purpose-built, ultramodern ice-class expedition cruise ships.
Swan Hellenic is set for exploring seven continents. So, the adventurous and curious-minded can now access unique experiences previously out of reach. What’s more, Swan Hellenic is celebrating the arrival of its full fleet on the waves with Early Swan Savings of 30% off its brochure prices for all bookings made between now and the end of September 2022.*
As the 2023 season approaches, SH Minerva will be centered in the Pacific, SH Vega on the Atlantic and West Africa, and SH Diana on the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and East Africa. Swan Hellenic created this helpful interactive world map to reveal unique world exploration opportunities.
SH Vega, the twin sister ship of SH Minerva, which recently sailed from Tromsø, Norway, for a season of maiden cruises exploring the magic of the Arctic, will be making her way in a full circle around the Atlantic, coasting the Americas to cruise Antarctica from November until March 2023, when she sails up the West Coast of Africa to the Canary Islands and Western Europe for her Arctic season.
Other exceptional highlights include her “touching the islands,” crossing from Ushuaia to Cape Town via Tristan da Cunha, the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world. Then there’s the astonishing, timeless world of the Conkouati Reserve in the Republic of the Congo, home to forest elephants, lowland gorillas, buffalo, leopards, chimpanzees, red river hogs, humpback dolphins and leatherback turtles, the largest living turtle species in the world. Or how about the South Loango National Park in Gabon? Known as “Africa’s Last Eden”, it’s a paradise of savanna, pristine beach, forest, and mangroves where you can see elephants, buffalos, hippos, gorillas, and leopards make their way out onto the white sand beaches while humpback whales and orca swim by.
Equally noteworthy are the Bissagos Islands in Guinea-Bissau, another exploration opportunity unique to Swan Hellenic, with a fascinating indigenous culture featuring strong matriarchal characteristics and a history of fierce and successful resistance to early colonization.
Swan Hellenic’s third and largest next-generation ship, SH Diana, will see the pioneering company return to its roots, sailing the length and breadth of the Mediterranean but then also voyaging from the Red Sea to East Africa and beyond.
Standouts here will naturally be the many historical sites of culture and religion across the Mediterranean – including the lesser-known ancient Roman centers of North Africa – all explored with unusual insight thanks to the talks and company of international experts throughout each cruise. But many curious minds will be no less irresistibly attracted by the coral atoll of Aldabra in outer Seychelles, home to one of the very largest tortoises in the world and the last surviving flightless bird in the Indian Ocean region, the white-throated rail. Then there’s the typically Swan Hellenic opportunity to discover another Zanzibar, immersed in the comparative tranquillity of the small town of Lamu, steeped in Arabic tradition and living testimony to a fascinatingly different history of colonization.
SH Minerva (feature image) will return to Antarctica for a full season before embarking on an exceptional semi-circumnavigation of the globe from Ushuaia to Dunedin, New Zealand, exploring the vast expanses of the White Continent and islands of the South Pacific. Highlights of her Pacific season include expeditions in Bali and Komodo with their vibrant traditions and extraordinary wildlife, as well as exploring the richly rewarding lesser-known regions of Papua New Guinea.
Australia’s Kimberley will be a massive draw. One of the continent’s remotest, most unspoiled, and sparsely populated regions, it was in fact, among the first to be settled by humans (around 65,000 years ago). Here, they developed a complex culture with yam agriculture, striking art, and some of the earliest boomerangs. Swan Hellenic is offering a choice of four separate cruises to explore Kimberley’s extraordinary landscapes, fascinating wildlife, and unique Wandjina Aboriginal art, visiting unforgettable locations that are inaccessible by road. Think cliff and cave art, Horizontal Falls, humpback whales, mangroves, and sea crocodiles.
Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago is sure to prove another irresistible attraction. Straddling the Equator at the heart of the Coral Triangle, it hosts the richest marine biodiversity on earth. But then, Swan Hellenic has also ensured the allure of Japan is stronger than ever. Voyaging where others can’t, SH Minerva is not only taking guests to explore its justly famous and diverse cities but also enabling them to discover magical remote landscapes and fisher ports that have retained the vigor of their traditional lifestyles for hundreds of years.
With such an extensive choice across all 7 continents worldwide, the adventurous-minded are sure to be captivated by more than one Swan Hellenic cultural expedition cruise. Every one of them is available to explore now on an interactive world map and the Swan Hellenic website, with the company’s generous 30% Early Swan Savings immediately available.
* Terms and Conditions apply.
About Swan Hellenic
Swan Hellenic was relaunched in July 2020 to proudly continue the spirit of cultural expedition cruising the company pioneered in the 1950s. Building on its British roots, the new company has a global cultural cruising outlook dedicated to providing guests with the opportunity to ‘see what others don’t’.
Swan Hellenic’s purpose-built ships feature elegant Scandi-design interiors, extensive outdoor spaces and dedicated expedition facilities. SH Minerva and SH Vega, two new 5-star Polar Code PC 5 expedition cruise ships with ice-strengthened hulls, respectively, launched in December 2021 and arriving in July 2022, each accommodating 152 guests in 76 spacious suites and staterooms, the majority with large balconies. A slightly larger PC 6 ice-class vessel, SH Diana, accommodating 192 guests in the same distinctive comfort and style in 96 staterooms and suites, will be arriving in early 2023.
All three ships feature 3 dining venues – the Swan Restaurant, Club Lounge and Pool bar & Grill – and are being built in full compliance with SOLAS Safe Return to Port requirements. Dedicated to guests with a passion for adventure and cultural exploration, the company’s meticulously planned itineraries explore the wild landscapes, wildlife, peoples, and unique cultures of the world’s less traveled regions.
The crews each include a team of 12 seasoned expedition guides, expert speakers, and lecturers, for a total complement of 120 and 140 persons, respectively, offering outstanding staff-to-guest ratios to deliver the highest standards of attentive personal service.
Headquartered in Cyprus with offices in London, Dusseldorf, Monaco, Fort Lauderdale (serving the North America market), Hong Kong (serving Greater China and South-East Asia), Sydney (serving Australia-New Zealand), and Copenhagen (serving Scandinavia and Iceland), as well as partnerships serving India and Japan, Swan Hellenic supports the travel trade with specialist local partners to provide customers with expert personal service worldwide.
For more information about Swan Hellenic, please visit www.swanhellenic.com or call +44 (0) 207 846 0271
Source: TDN