Scenic Eclipse makes small work of Antarctic pack ice

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Scenic Eclipse has wowed guests on her inaugural voyage to Antarctica this week with a rare sighting of emperor penguins in the Weddell Sea. “Snow Hill Island is home to a large rookery of emperor penguins,” said Lisa Bolton, General Manager Product for Scenic Group. “However it is very rare that we get to see them, particularly at this time of year when the sea ice limits access. This really was a once in a lifetime experience for our guests on board”.

According to Captain James Griffiths the Weddell Sea, while stunning, presents a significantly greater challenge to expedition ships than the west side of the peninsula due to the presence of much heavier ice concentrations. “Scenic Eclipse was originally only scheduled for a single stop at the northern part of the Weddell, but on examining the ice charts we realised that we had the opportunity to push south towards Snow Hill Island. “During our transit south we spent around 12 hours in the ice where Scenic Eclipse excelled and demonstrated the value of her Polar Code 6 classification, 1A Super Ice Class and unmatched manoeuvrability.”I am genuinely excited to see what other amazing opportunities this exceptional ship will give us to show Antarctica to our Guests,” Captain Griffiths said.

Antarctica live cross, next week on TODAY

In celebration of the inaugural sailing season for Scenic Eclipse, Channel Nine’s Stevie Jacobs will broadcast live with the TODAY show every morning from Antarctica next week.

Jacobs will be on board the World’s First Discovery Yacht, showcasing the pristine wonders of the region and the ultra-luxury experience of travelling with Scenic Eclipse.

Travel advisors are encouraged to tune in to watch the crossover to Scenic Eclipse, from Monday 9 to Friday 13 December, with the chance to win great prizes.

“To celebrate our inaugural season in Antarctica, agents have the opportunity to win great prizes in our daily Watch and Win competition”, said Emma Davie, Director Trade Sales and Commercial Partnerships Scenic.

“They simply need to tune into the TODAY show every days next week, join or log onto our Agent Facebook page, answer a daily question and complete the new Scenic Eclipse modules as part of Agent Academy.”

“Agent Academy provides custom-built product training courses for travel agent partners across our portfolio of brands. It provides invaluable information for agents on the on board experiences, our unique Scenic Freechoice and Scenic Enrich experiences, dining, wellness and more,” Davie said.

To date, more than 4,000 travel advisors have signed up for the program across Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States.

“These latest modules give agents an insight into Scenic Eclipse and detailed information on our Antarctica product as well as the 2020 – 2022 land extensions in the Americas,” added Davie.

Australian agents can access Scenic Agent Academy – hub.scenic.com.au/hub/watch-and-win

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