A new program with Australian
Geographic and more diverse
expeditions are on the way next
year.
The founder of Lindblad Expeditions-
National Geographic arrived in Sydney last
week to launch the company’s 120-page
Explorations brochure to its burgeoning
market of Australian passengers.
Sven Lindblad was keen to introduce the 40
itineraries to be explored next year by the
recently acquired Orion as well as the line’s
other nine expedition-style ships.
“When we bought Orion, I wasn’t excited
to buy the ship, I was excited about getting
involved with Orion the company because that
got us involved with Australia and bringing
Australians to different parts of the world,” he
said to the crowd of past passengers and travel
agents at Taronga Zoo.
Lindblad also revealed he had met with
the Australian Geographical Society to work
together on new programs, “but nothing is
official yet”.
Other highlights of the 2014 program include
itineraries ranging from seven to 24 nights in
Arctic Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Antarctica,
Panama, Costa Rica, Galapagos, Northwest
Passage, Borneo, Alaska, the upper reaches
of the Amazon River, the South Pacific and
Australia.
While some people in the audience
questioned changes to be made to the original
Orion, Lindblad remained confident that
passengers would love the revamped and
renamed National Geographic Orion.
Also at the event was Jeremy Lindblad, the
recently appointed business development
director for Australia, who told Cruise Weekly
the overall response had been “unbelievably
positive”.
“The ship is not the number-one thing that
we do; the number-one thing that we do is
provide unbelievable experiences around the
world,” he said.
National Geographic Orion will be christened
in Auckland on 21 March 2014 by marine
conservationist and underwater filmmaker
Valerie Taylor before the 100-passenger ship
weighs anchor for an inaugural 21-night cruise
to Cairns via Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and
the Solomon Islands.
Its other destinations include the Spice
Islands and the Coral Triangle, followed by nine
Kimberley Coast cruises between May and
August, before sailing from Broome to Bali and
operating in Indonesia, Tahiti, Spice Islands,
Easter Island and Antarctica.
To obtain a copy of the brochure, phone (02)
9033 8777 (Sydney), 1300 361 012 (regional
and interstate), 0800 444 462 (New Zealand)
or see your travel agent.
