Cruise Talk: Marco Polo

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»	Cruise Talk » Cruise Ships » Marco Polo - Antartica

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Topic: Marco Polo - Antartica

Malcolm @ cruisepage
Cruise Director
Member # 301

posted 06-23-2000 03:17 PM

My dream cruise is to visit Antarctica on the Marco Polo. Not just the cruising to the Antarctic Peninsula, but the longer itinerary to Cape Evans, to visit Captain Scotts Hut. Admittedly, it was very unlikely that I would have ever been able to afford the cruise at a cost £5000+ ($7500+).

However, my dream is well and truly shattered. The Marco Polo only cruises as far as the Peninsula now, the tip of Antarctica. Does anyone know why Orient Lines have abandoned this itinerary?

(Don't reply "not enough rich people" - the World's full of them)

Posts: 19210 | From: Essex (Just Outside London) | Registered: A Long Time Ago! | IP: Logged

gohaze
First Class Passenger
Member # 586

posted 06-23-2000 03:35 PM

Malcolm....we did the long one last year..FANTASTIC. The only one of 40+ cruises that we would really like to repeat. It seems that with the Crown Odyssey doing the Aus/NZ bit and then carrying on around the world [we're on for 33days from Auckland to LA] they decided to take the MP back up the West Coast on the way back to Europe...Ocean used to do that with the Ocean Princess in the old days when she went to the Antarctic.
Looking forward to the Crown as we did a couple on her when she was Royal Cruise Line..a very nice ship actually designed for world cruising....peter

Posts: 1909 | From: Vancouver.BC | Registered: Sep 99 | IP: Logged

James
First Class Passenger
Member # 1351

posted 06-24-2000 06:55 PM

I cruised the Marco Polo to Antarctica on the "circumnavigation" cruise you would like to have taken in 1999. I have two guesses as to why this trip was discontinued:
1. Captain Erik who was quite at home in the difficult ice conditions in the Ross Sea will retire this year.
2. Orient line was greedy and took more than the 400 passengers to which they were supposed to limit their visitors to the continent - we had 460 on our voyage.
International convention monitors and controls the visitation to Antarctica.
I too am diappointed because I would consider going again, and Captain Erik is such a personable fellow I would go almost anywhere with him.

Posts: 202 | From: Illinois, Home of Lincoln and great graft | Registered: Jun 2000 | IP: Logged

gohaze
First Class Passenger
Member # 586

posted 06-24-2000 07:51 PM

Hi...agree with you that Captain 'Erik' is a great Master to sail with, but Roland Andersson had her for the last long one...btw.they made it into McMurdo twice as there was no ice, and were well recieved, so maybe the complaints from the previous year had some effect. Captain Erik has gone to bring out the Crown odyssey.
The reason she is not going back to the Ross Sea for now is the new scheduling with the CO...that's what we were told on the MP this spring. They did say that we should all write to the company and tell them we're disappointed and want it back...and that's right from Capt. Andersson.....peter

Posts: 1909 | From: Vancouver.BC | Registered: Sep 99 | IP: Logged

EricCruises-RBCCL
First Class Passenger
Member # 1396

posted 06-30-2000 11:21 AM

DOnt you think it is to cold to go to Antarctica????

Posts: 46 | From: Miami FL United States | Registered: Jun 2000 | IP: Logged

gohaze
First Class Passenger
Member # 586

posted 06-30-2000 07:12 PM

Well, don't forget to take your swimsuit as you can have a swim if you go to Deception Island....peter

Posts: 1909 | From: Vancouver.BC | Registered: Sep 99 | IP: Logged

Ascendancy
First Class Passenger
Member # 840

posted 07-01-2000 10:03 AM

Antartica is truly an amazing continent, but the shopping and the beaches are lousy. The excursions would be very interesting.

I'm not an explorer.

Posts: 354 | From: Aurora, CO | Registered: Oct 1999 | IP: Logged

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