Porthole Cruise News Briefs – Dec. 23, 2016

Porthole Cruise News Briefs – Dec. 23, 2016

• Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic has given a sneak peek at the construction of their first newbuild, National Geographic Quest, in a video shot at the Nichols Brothers Boat Builders on Washington’s Whidbey Island, just outside Seattle. The 100-guest ship will offer expedition cruises in the Pacific Northwest as well as Alaska, Belize, and the Panama Canal.
• Viking Ocean Cruises has floated out its fourth ship, Viking Sun, at Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard. Mrs. Yi Lou, vice president of China Merchant Bank Financial Leasing, served as madrina, welding coins under the ship’s mast and cutting a cord that allowed water to flow into the ship’s dock. Once the finishing touches are done, the ship will begin her maiden season in Cuba before embarking on a 141-day Miami-to-London world cruise.
• Ultra-luxury line Seabourn has unveiled new shore excursions for its return to Alaska starting June 2017. They include Ventures by Seabourn guided kayak and Zodiac tours, as well as wildlife watching by catamaran, fishing for salmon, dog-sledding on Mendenhall Glacier, and a crab boil at the Burro Creek Lodge Waterfall retreat.
• British luxury line Cunard has revealed a new brand film, part of its “Everything you wanted, nothing you expected” campaign. The artful ad highlights three themes – time, space, and a life less ordinary – and was shot by creative agency Alpha Century over seven days aboard Queen Mary 2. The film follows 12 actual Cunard guests on a trans-Atlantic voyage from Southampton to New York, and can be viewed here: http://www.cunard.com/cunard-experience/.

^{Photo: Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic}