Unveiling “UN-CRUISE Adventures” for its combined fleet of upscale yachts and expedition vessels, InnerSea Discoveries/American Safari Cruises inaugurated two boats in time for a full summer in Southeast Alaska.
Friends, family, employees, travel industry and other business partners gathered dockside outside the company’s Seattle office at Fishermen’s Terminal on Friday, May 18 to welcome the 86-guest Safari Endeavour and 76-guest Wilderness Explorer into the UN-CRUISE fleet.
CEO and Principal Dan Blanchard led a traditional maritime christening ceremony, and together with Tim Jacox, executive vice president of sales and marketing, unrolled a banner announcing the line as the UN-CRUISE.
Blanchard presented the Safari Endeavour’s Captain Jill Russell and the Wilderness Explorer’s Captain Marce Branniff each with a four-foot evergreen branch symbolizing dry land and a safe return home.
“I ask that this be symbolic of us handing the keys over to you and giving you the responsibility,” said Blanchard. “Bring these boats and our crew back safe.”
The Captains keep the branch and toss it over the side of the boat as they return home.
Margaret Propper, a Birmingham, AL based travel agent and a long-term top producer for the company, inaugurated the Safari Endeavour with a crack of a champagne bottle against the hull. Linda Reist, a sales counselor and longtime employee at InnerSea Discoveries, christened the Wilderness Explorer with another champagne bottle successfully cracked against its hull. The champagne christening is a maritime tradition to ensure good luck and safe voyages.
Propper was also officially named godmother of UN-CRUISE Adventures, the company’s brand name encompassing cruising styles aboard the yachts of American Safari Cruises and the expedition vessels of InnerSea Discoveries. Propper has been a travel consultant with Brownell Travel for 35 years and is recognized as the top Alaska travel expert by both Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler magazines for the last six years.
“Margaret was a natural choice for us at this turn in our company’s history,” said Tim Jacox, executive vice president of sales and marketing. “Her expertise in Alaska and fondness for UN-mainstream cruises matches with our style of Un-Cruise Adventures.”
The UN-CRUISE Adventures fleet includes three yachts currently offering Luxury Adventures and three expedition vessels offering Active Adventures. In 2013, the 88-guest Safari Legacy joins the fleet of yachts to offer Heritage Adventures. Destinations for un-cruises include Alaska, Hawaiian Islands, Mexico’s Sea of Cortés, Columbia and Snake Rivers and Washington and British Columbia.
According to Jacox, Un-Cruise Adventures are fully-focused on the luxury of experience: quality over quantity, wildlife over night life, and life changing encounters over fleeting entertainment. Un-Cruise Adventures are hands-on with ‘tools’ provided – kayak, snorkel, paddle board, explore by skiff, hike, beachcomb; view whales, bears, dolphins, eagles, sea turtles and other wildlife.
The Safari Endeavour sails weeklong un-cruises in Alaska’s Inside Passage from May-August, roundtrip Juneau. In celebration of its May 18 christening, guests can enjoy a $518 per couple travel credit on theme cruises in Alaska this summer. In fall, the yacht begins sailing weeklong Baja’s Bounty cruises in Mexico’s Sea of Cortés, roundtrip La Paz.
The Wilderness Explorer sails weeklong active adventures in Alaska’s Inside Passage from May through August. The itinerary sails between Juneau and Sitka, AK (and reverse) with an exclusive three days spent exploring inside Glacier Bay National Park.
