Poseidon Expeditions will restart its expedition cruises to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean aboard the 114-passenger Sea Spirit on Dec. 20, 2021. According to a press release, the voyage is a Christmas holiday special cruise that ends on Dec. 30.
Seven voyages in total are planned for the upcoming season following the COVID-related shutdown of the entire 2020-21 Antarctic season and the suspension of the first four Sea Spirit trips that had been scheduled to operate earlier this coming season.
“I join our crew, expedition staff and office personnel in expressing both enthusiasm and joy at once again getting started with what we do best – exploring the earth’s polar realm with small groups of adventurous and curious travelers. We want to sincerely thank our customers and travel partners for their patience in waiting out this pandemic with us,” Nikolay Saveliev, president of Poseidon Expeditions, said.
“The loyalty and determination of our guests to travel with us to Antarctica is gratifying, with nearly a 90-percent retention rate of those Poseidon passengers who were booked for the non-existent 2020-21 season. Travelers are clearly resolute about visiting this unique, remote destination. It took a concerted effort on the part of our ship management team – along with other outside organizations and authorities tasked with getting Argentina’s borders open for tourism – to establish safety standards for our travelers joining the Sea Spirit,” he added.
Poseidon’s COVID-19 safety protocols for Antarctica factor in the recently released requirements from Argentina, which include presenting proof of a valid COVID vaccination, plus providing negative results of a PCR test administered within 72 hours of entering Argentina. With Argentina opening its borders for tourism on Nov. 1, Sea Spirit passengers will be able to book commercial flights into Ushuaia (Poseidon’s turnaround port for Antarctica cruises) as they would during a normal season, the cruise line said.
Guests will enjoy a pre-cruise night at Arakur Ushuaia Resort and Spa before transferring to the ship. An additional antigen test will be administered at the Arakur by Poseidon prior to the transfer to help ensure a safe and secure environment onboard. Testing regimens aboard the Sea Spirit will also be offered to fulfil Argentina disembarkation requirements as well as for those passengers whose home countries have such re-entry requirements.
