Danish expedition cruise line Albatros Expeditions has conducted an intimate christening ceremony for its new vessel, Ocean Victory, which is currently operating its inaugural cruise – a 15-day total solar eclipse voyage to South Georgia.
Albatros Expeditions’ Operations Manager, Elise Grøndahl, christened the 93-stateroom expedition ship last week, as shared by the cruise line on social media below.
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“We are still checking all records, but we are pretty sure we are the first cruise vessel ever to be christened in South Georgia, possibly even the first vessel ever!” the cruise operator said.
Like many expedition cruise lines these days, Albatros Expeditions bypassed a traditional smashing of a bottle of champagne on the vessel’s hull, replaced by an “environmentally friendly” block of ice.
Ocean Victory features the distinctive Ulstein X-Bow hull being operated by a number of expedition cruise lines, due to its ability to make ocean crossings such as that of Drake Passage, more comfortable for guests onboard. The ship features the highest Polar code, Class 6, and Highest Ice Class, 1A, hull.
The next voyage of Ocean Victory is scheduled to depart Ushuaia on 10 December 2021.
Ocean Albatros’ debut postponed
Meanwhile, Albatros Expeditions President and CEO Hans Lagerweij has revealed that “global supply chain issues” have resulted in the delay of the launch of Ocean Victory‘s sister-ship, Ocean Albatros. The decision sees the cruise line cancel its planned 2022/23 season in Antarctica.
“Ocean Victory and Ocean Albatros are Scandinavian ships assembled in China, with many critical Scandinavian components. We have been told that the delivery of the ship is delayed to somewhere between December 2022 and March 2023, and in order not to disappoint our customers at the last moment, we took the difficult decision to cancel the full season,” Lagerweij said.
Impacted guests are being offered alternative sailings aboard Ocean Victory. That, in turn, leaves limited capacity for agents to sell aboard Victory.
“To keep enough choice and inventory, we, therefore, have decided to offer one more season on the Ocean Atlantic.”
Ocean Atlantic will offer a number of dedicated charters, 4 nine-night Antarctica trips and one 21-night Antarctica Circle, Weddell, South Georgia, and Falkland’s voyage.
Those guests re-accommodated on Ocean Victory for the 2022/23 season are being offered a free beverage package, or can move to any Ocean Atlantic voyage with a 10% discount on the retail price. Alternatively, impacted guests can rebook to a similar Ocean Albatros voyage in 2023/23, also including a free beverage package. A full refund is also being offered.
2023/24 Antarctic season released
For early bookers, Albatros Expeditions has released its 2023/24 season aboard both Ocean Albatros and Ocean Victory. The program includes a new six-night fly-cruise (eight nights with pre/post), that will take our guests to the Antarctic circle.
All images credit: Albatros Expeditions