When Was the Last Time You Were on Top of the World? Literally?

Please consider this an invitation to join the folks behind AllThingsCruise & CruiseCompete in the North Pole. We have put together an extraordinary cruise expedition for your perusal.

In partnership with Expedition Cruises, we are offering an extraordinary journey to the North Pole on the Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker “50 Years of Victory.” The 50 Years of Victory is the world’s most powerful and sophisticated expedition vessel.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be on top of the world? Polar bears, arctic foxes, walruses and seals and snow owls are only a few of the species native to this wild, untamed land. A land so varied that it can be covered by ice so white it looks blue or with a carpet of mosses and lichens the colors of which would stir the imagination of even the most seasoned of artists. An expedition voyage to the Arctic or beyond is a sense-arousing, heart-opening experience that touches the very soul of all who have ever ventured into this unique domain where beauty, silence, and awe all intermingle to create an image so intense it brands itself into the mind forever.

For those looking for extraordinary adventure, exploration and a bird’s eye view of the Arctic, the 15-day Expedition Cruise to the North Pole is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Crown Cruise Collection and CruiseCompete, in partnership with Expedition Cruises, are offering an extraordinary journey to the North Pole on the Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker “50 Years of Victory.” The 50 Years of Victory is the world’s most powerful and sophisticated expedition vessel.

The adventure begins July 23, 2010, and ends Aug. 06, 2010. If that’s too soon for your planning purposes, there will be another opportunity in 2011.

Travelers will depart Helsinki by charter flight to Murmansk, then voyage on the Barents Sea to the North Pole and the islands and archipelagos of the Russian Arctic aboard the icebreaker 50 Years of Victory, with power, state-of-the-art technology and comfort all rolled into one.

Itinerary:

Day 1               Welcome to Helsinki, the cozy Finnish capital

Day 2               Helsinki-Murmansk flight and ship embarkation

Day 3               The Barents Sea

Days 4 -6         Voyage to the North Pole

Day 7               The North Pole

Days 8-11        The Islands and Archipelagos of the Russian Arctic

Days 12-14      Barents Sea revisited

Day 15                         Farewell to Helsinki

Since its first North Pole icebreaker cruise in 2001, Expedition Cruises has been leading expeditions into the Russian Arctic on its chartered icebreakers and expedition cruise ships. Today, Expedition Cruises are the market leader in Arctic-bound adventure tourism. Expedition Cruises is justifiably proud of their reputation as having assisted to open up Russia’s magnificent and awe-inspiring Arctic territories, much of which are still virgin and unexplored.

Travel broadens the mind and widens our horizons or so the old cliché goes. Yet, despite the triteness of this expression, Expedition Cruises firmly believe that there is no better way to see the world and experience all that it has to offer than by taking an expedition cruise. Nowhere on Mother Earth can the excitement of a new experience be any greater than by taking a voyage into the Arctic or even beyond, by braving the polar ice cap to reach the North Pole.

Expedition Package Includes:

• 2 nights in a 4- to 5-star hotel in Helsinki, breakfast included (one night before the cruise and one night after)
• Voyage aboard the ship as described in the itinerary
• All shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by helicopters (as included in planned group excursions)
• Program of lectures and informal talks by experienced Expedition team and guest lecturers
• Four meals a day (including afternoon fresh bakery items daily) and tea / coffee station and drinking water dispenser round the clock
• Special expedition parka
• Waterproof boots for the duration of the cruise
• In-cabin: bathrobe and hairdryer
• Informative pre-departure materials and expedition log with picture album on DVD
• All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the program
• Personalized medical insurance covering such events as evacuation and repatriation
• Letter of invitation. This document should be presented to the Russian Consulate in your area in order to obtain a Russian Visa (required for the trip). Please contact the Russian Consulate to learn more about the procedure for obtaining a Russian Visa. Do not hesitate to contact Crown Cruise Collection or Expedition Cruises if any questions appear. Let us know if you have any difficulties in the visa processing.

Not included:

• Travel expenses to and from Helsinki
• Airfares Helsinki–Murmansk–Helsinki (US$1,350 per person) – Free if expedition is booked by February 28, 2010.
• Passport and visa expenses
• State arrival and departure taxes (if levied)
• Meals ashore and supplements in respect of single hotel accommodation (if required)
• Luggage and cancellation insurance (strongly recommended and host can suggest a reliable provider of such insurance)
• Excess luggage charges on international and local flights
• Telecommunication services, laundry, bar and beverage charges aboard the vessel.
• Tips for stewards and other service personal aboard (at your discretion)

COST: Prices begin at US$19,200 per person (double occupancy) for the cruise, plus US$1,350 for charter air between Helsinki and Murmansk. Right now the $1,350 per person charter air free if cruise is booked by February 28, 2010.

Please consider this an invitation to join the folks behind CruiseCompete in the North Pole. We have put together an extraordinary cruise expedition for your perusal.

Let us know if you are interested in joining us in New York City for a presentation on this exciting journey from the key management team of Expedition Cruises. Just send me an email at HShane@CruiseCompete.com

To discuss this extraordinary opportunity, feel free to email Heidi, Executive VP & Group Publisher of AllThingsCruise, at HShane@CruiseCompete.com or call Ross Spalding, President of Crown Cruise Collection, at +1 (877) 222-8404 or +1 (609) 945-9803.