WHY IT RATES: The inaugural voyage of Quark Expeditions' highly anticipated new vessel, Ultramarine, is scheduled November 25 to December 14 to coincide with a rare celestial event that will be visible from the remote regions of Antarctica. - Laurie Baratti, TravelPulse Associate Writer
Quark Expeditions has confirmed that the inaugural voyage of its technologically-advanced ship Ultramarine will be the highly-anticipated "Solar Eclipse 2021: Totality in Antarctica, with South Georgia and Falkland Islands" trip-which enables guests to participate in a special milestone in polar history.
"Ultramarine is more than a new ship. It will be an unrivaled operational base for polar adventures," said Andrew White, President of Quark Expeditions.
"And after five years of dedicated work and considerable financial resources, we wanted the maiden voyage of this game-changing ship to be incredibly special. What our guests will experience in our Total Solar Eclipse voyage (November 25 to December 14) can never be recreated in this lifetime. Not only will they witness the Total Solar Eclipse in Antarctica-and with the world's top three eclipse experts onboard-but they'll do so on the inaugural voyage of Ultramarine, which, with its two twin-engine helicopters, 20 quick-deploy Zodiacs and the most robust portfolio of off-ship adventure options in the industry, totally changes the way travelers can explore the Polar Regions. This one-of-a-kind voyage is an opportunity for our guests to be part of polar history in the making."
A combination of factors means this Total Solar Eclipse voyage-with its unique guest experiences-can never be recreated in the future:
-This rare Total Eclipse in Antarctica won't happen again until the year 2039: In 2003, Quark Expeditions became the very first operator to enable travelers to witness a solar eclipse in Antarctica. After December 4, 2021, there won't be a Total Eclipse in Antarctica until 2039. Plus, on this trip you'll also get to explore the remote Falkland Islands and the hard-to-reach South Georgia in addition to Antarctica.
-Sail on the maiden voyage of Ultramarine: Only once in our lifetime! As the very first guests to travel on Ultramarine, you'll be among the first-ever humans to fly over the Antarctic landscape on one of Ultramarine's two twin-engine helicopters. You'll also be the first to explore remote, hard-to-reach parts of the Antarctic on Ultramarine's 20 quick-deploy Zodiacs-visiting polar destinations few humans have ever set foot or cast their eyes!
-Three of the world's leading eclipse experts will be onboard to make the voyage even more memorable: Award-winning National Geographic night-sky photographer Babak Tafreshi and retired NASA scientist Fred Espenak-both of whom were on our 2003 Antarctic eclipse voyage-reunite with some of the same crew, and are joined by "American Eclipse" author David Baron.
Learn more about Solar Eclipse 2021: Totality in Antarctica, with South Georgia and Falkland Islands on the inaugural voyage of Ultramarine.
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