CRUISE WEST’S EPIC WORLD VOYAGE PAIRS LEGENDARY SEA ROUTES WITH EXTRAORDINARY SHORE EXCURSIONS

Ultimate Explorers Experience Echoes the Adventures of the Great Explorers

          Seattle, WA – When Cruise West’s Voyages of the Great Explorers embarks on its 335-day circumnavigation of the world next March, guests will find that this spirit of discovery also extends to the remarkable shore excursions.

While guests will enjoy an included shore excursion at every port including visits to 85 UNESCO World Heritage sites, the specially designed Ultimate Explorers Experience included on each of the 24 voyages are designed to bring guests into direct personal contact with fascinating peoples, cultures and natural wonders. Think  “aha.”

Departing Singapore on March 5, 2010, the Voyages of the Great Explorers begins with a visit to Rangoon’s 2500-year-old Shwedagon Pagoda where guests will help deliver food offerings to the monks who live there.  From there, the 120-guest, all-suite Spirit of Oceanus will sail follow the sun westward as it re-visits the legendary sea routes of Marco Polo, Odysseus, Leif Eriksson, Christopher Columbus, James Cook, and Ferdinand Magellan before returning to Singapore on February 3, 2011.

A sampling of the Ultimate Explorers Experience includes:

• A visit to Ephesus to explore the abundant Greek and Roman ruins, including the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, concluding with an exclusive concert and reception at the Grand Library, an impressive structure completed in A.D. 135. 
• Attending a unique and quintessentially Scottish event – the gala evening performance at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the famous fife and drum celebration on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.
• Boarding a charter flight to Shiraz for a full day of tours to ornate mosques, tombs and bazaars including Persepolis, seat of the glorious Persian Empire; the holy complex of Shah Cheraq; and Vakil Mosque dating back to 1773.
• A journey into the heart of the Darién Jungle for an extended visit with the Emberá people, a native tribe that clings to ancient ways of life, and a side trip to UNESCO World Heritage Site Cocos Island that boasts prolific bird life with some 90 species and the world’s largest hammerhead shark population. 
• A visit to the remote and inspiring Easter Island where nearly 900 massive stone statues  – stylized human figures whose huge eyes gaze placidly out to sea – grace the island’s grassy plains. Guests will walk among these imposing figures, whose mysteries have never been unraveled, before enjoying a celebratory dinner.
• A drive across Java’s plains to the massive and spectacular temple complex of Borobudur, dazzling with the sheer size and elegance of its Buddhist stupas that rise above the plains like a hill. After touring the temple complex, guests enjoy an Indonesian lunch complete with gamelan music and a dance performance.

“We designed our Ultimate Explorers Experiences to deliver a memorable travel experience that our guests have come to expect -- genuine encounters that enlighten, enrich and are the core of what we do best at Cruise West,” said Dietmar Wertanzl, president and chief executive officer Cruise West.  

Cruise West explorers can purchase individual voyages, sets of multiple voyages or the full circumnavigation.  Prices per voyage start at $4,995 (US dollars) and include a hotel night pre-cruise.  For maximum savings book and pay in full by October 15, 2009 and save up to 21 percent.  Book more than one voyage and save an additional five percent.  B[Back to Press Releases Main]