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December 2009 - Updates on the New Humboldt Explorer!
Explorer Ventures Galapagos vessel for 2010.
Explorer Ventures is pleased that the construction of M/V Humboldt Explorer is going exceeding well in Guayaquil, Ecuador. There have been no construction delays and the hull is completed, with the deckhouse now well underway and carpenters already working on the lower deck. The new vessel, named for the current that brings life to the pristine and world-renowned Galapagos Islands, has secured one of the valuable diving permits for the Galapagos Islands and will be diving Darwin and Wolf Islands for the next 15 years, which was confirmed by the Galapagos National Park in early December. She will depart on her maiden voyage from Galapagos in June 2010. Prior to the first June voyage several ‘shakedown’ cruises will be conducted to ensure all details are ready for Explorer Ventures first guests.
The Humboldt Explorer was designed by one of the premier marine architects in Ecuador, and is the first of her kind. She is a 106 foot, 2 level steel monohull vessel, built for stability on the long crossings to Darwin and Wolf, and features raised lower staterooms to allow a window in every room. The vessel offers 6 lower and 2 upper staterooms, each with private baths, full-size twin beds that can convert to queen beds and large windows. A teak sundeck features open and covered areas, a Jacuzzi, wet bar, BBQ grill and ample seating for all; the indoor dining and lounge area comfortably seats all guests as well. A large dive deck with camera rinse tank, large camera table, wetsuit drying area and hot showers accommodates 16 divers with ease.
“We at Explorer Ventures are very happy with our new product. They say sometimes it is better to wait, and in this case the wait will be worth it for all of you!” Join Explorer Ventures on this beautiful new adventure. Prices are $4,295 per person from May 15 to Jan 14, and $3,995 per person from Jan 15 to May 14. Per Galapagos National Park regulations, these cruises will be diving cruises only. It is worth guests’ time to sample what the islands themselves have to offer either before or after your diving expedition. This is an opportunity to enjoy the land creatures as well as the amazing underwater life that make the Galapagos Islands one of the world’s foremost diving wonders.
Come join Explorer Ventures in style!
August 2009 - Announcing the New Humboldt Explorer!
Explorer Ventures is pleased to announce that the M/V Humboldt Explorer is under construction in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The new vessel, named for the current that brings life to the pristine and world-renowned Galapagos Islands, has secured one of the valuable diving permits for the Galapagos Islands and will be diving Darwin and Wolf Islands for the next 15 years. She will depart on her maiden voyage from Galapagos in May 2010. The exact weekly schedule will be confirmed by the Galapagos National Park in late 2009.
The Humboldt Explorer was designed by one of the premier marine architects in Ecuador, and is the first of her kind. She is a 106 foot, 2 level steel monohull vessel, built for stability on the long crossings to Darwin and Wolf, and features raised lower staterooms to allow a window in every room. The vessel offers 6 lower and 2 upper staterooms, each with private baths, full-size twin beds that can convert to queen beds and large windows. A teak sundeck features open and covered areas, a Jacuzzi, wet bar, BBQ grill and ample seating for all; the indoor dining and lounge area comfortably seats all guests as well. A large dive deck with camera rinse tank, large camera table, wetsuit drying area and hot showers accommodates 16 divers with ease, and a cruising speed of up to 10 knots means more itinerary options than are available aboard slower vessels.
We at Explorer Ventures are very happy with our new product. They say sometimes it is better to wait, and in this case the wait will be worth it for all of you! Join us beginning in May 2010 on this beautiful new adventure. Prices are $4,295 per person from May 15 to Jan 14, and $3,995 per person from Jan 15 to May 14. Per Galapagos National Park regulations, these cruises will be diving cruises only; we would encourage you to spend time before or after your trip in the Galapagos Islands to sample what the islands themselves have to offer as well. This would give you a great opportunity to enjoy the land creatures as well as the tuna, hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, white tip sharks, whale sharks, dolphins, seahorses, moray eels, and other marine life that make the Galapagos Islands one of the world’s foremost diving wonders.
July 2009 - Eric Douglas, head of training at DAN will be traveling with Explorer Ventures & ScubaRadio
Explorer Ventures is excited that Eric Douglas, head of training at Divers Alert Network (DAN), will join Greg Holt of ScubaRadio aboard Caribbean Explorer II for the Sept. 26 Diving & Wild Dolphin Expedition, departing from Freeport, Bahamas.
This trip will provide guests with a multitude of diving opportunities, and Mr. Douglas will be providing Explorer Ventures guests with two presentations. The presentations will cover the history of DAN and their ongoing safety efforts and how incidents are handled within DAN. Each guest will also be able to be a part of DAN’s Project Dive Exploration (PDE) program which gathers diver’s profiles for research. Jeff will share with guests how this information is compiled and used for ongoing diving safety research.
ScubaRadio’s Greg Holt will also be aboard and will be broadcasting that week’s show from the deck of the Caribbean Explorer II. Greg and his crew always provide an exciting element to a trip offering guests an opportunity to share their underwater experiences with dive listeners around the world.
This will also be the fourth week the Caribbean Explorer II has hosted Gene Flipse of Conscious Breath Adventures. Gene has spent over a decade guiding guests to in-water encounters with dolphins in the Bahamas. He will be aboard providing guests with these same type of dolphin opportunities as well as sharing his wealth of knowledge about the amazing creatures.
Cabins are still available for this great trip aboard the Caribbean Explorer II September 26 through October 3, 2009 departing Freeport, Bahamas. Contact Explorer Ventures for more information at 1.800.322.3577 or info@explorerventures.com. Additional information can be found online at www.explorerventures.com.
EARTH DAY - Explorer Ventures will be celebrating Earth Day, April 22 in some unique ways. Aboard the Turks & Caicos Explorer II guests will have an opportunity to view a special video presentation of Jeff Pantukhoff's "Save the Whales." Several other special events are being planned for this day by Explorer Ventures to learn more about our environment. To Join Us call 1.800.322.3577.
Be a part of Explorer Ventures! - You can now find Explorer Ventures on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and 2 WordPress blogs. Join Us!
Explorer Ventures implements program to aid dive stores in equipment and course sales - March 2009 - Explorer Ventures has implemented a unique program designed to directly aid dive store sales. The program ties in-store sales with their liveaboard dive travel packages. A dive stores’ customer can receive up to a $150 credit on their travel package with Explorer Ventures for the purchase of new equipment or a new course.
According to Explorer Ventures president, Clay McCardell, “the program was created to encourage dive stores to book individual travel, to see the tangible value in helping their individual customers book travel, as well as to encourage our clients to frequent their local dive stores. Many store owners understand the value in booking group trips, but have little interest in booking individual travel. With this program, in one phone call to us, a dive store can receive not only a commission on the booked travel with us but also have an incentive to encourage extending the customers dive training or the purchase of new gear. Equally important for their customers and our guests is that these booked trips count toward the 6th free trip credit, something dozens of our guests take advantage of annually.”
The Dive Store program is simple, with few limitations.
1. A dive store books a trip for their customer with Explorer Ventures between April 1 & June 1, 2009 for travel between April 1 and December 31, 2009 to the southern Bahamas, northeastern Caribbean or Turks & Caicos.
2. The dive store sells their customer new gear or a dive course between April 1 and 30 days before their trip.
3. The dive store customer will receive a credit off their final travel invoice of up to $150 with a receipt from dive store for their purchase!
As an example; if the dive store books one customer on one of Explorer Ventures least expensive trips at $1695. From this amount the $150 dive gear or course fees are subtracted for $1545 net. All qualified dive stores receive 10% commission; a value of $154.50, you add the $150 gear or course credit for $304.50. This can all be done with one phone call to Explorer Ventures. The program is also valid for groups and additional commission may apply. The only additional restriction to the above is that it is not valid with other offers.
For more information contact Explorer Ventures at 1.800.322.3577, info@explorerventures.com
March 18, 2009 - Caribbean Explorer II departed this past Monday morning from St. Maarten, enroute to her new itinerary in the Bahamas – Capt. Dave Guldin just reported that all is well, and he is several hours away from a fuel stop in Puerto Plata, enroute to Great Exuma.
St. Eustatius says good bye to legendary island historian Mr. Josser Daniel - On March 3, 2009 St. Eustatius (Statia) lost legendary island historian and tour guide Mr. Josser Daniel. All guests of Explorer Ventures’ northeastern itinerary who had the privilege of hearing his historical accounts of Statia’s past will feel this loss, and remember the original copy of the Declaration of Independence which traveled with him wherever he went. More about Mr. Daniel >>
Earth Hour - Join Us in this world-wide event on Saturday, March 28 from 8:30pm to9:30pm by turning off the lights and using as little energy as possible for this one hour. World-wide, over1400 cities in 80 countries have committed to participate. Cities such as Las Vegas, Singapore, and New York will be darkened. Both the Eiffel Tower and the Acropolis, among other landmarks, will be dark. To sign up go to www.earthhour.org/ and "Vote Earth."
Explorer Ventures announces Special trips with ScubaRadio - February 2009 - Scuba Radio and Explorer Ventures have teamed up to bring you some exciting trips from birthdays celebrations to demo weeks. All current details are available online.
Explorer Ventures confirms 2009 Galapagos diving expeditions
January 2009 - Explorer Ventures is please to announce that an official copy of their 2009 permit to offer diving expeditions to Darwin and Wolf Islands in the Galapagos aboard Estrella del Mar is now available!
As the Galapagos National Park authorities have continued to revise their announced regulatory changes and the timeframe to implement them, the company has again been forced to delay plans for a new vessel in the Galapagos. Work on the Humboldt Explorer in on hold pending further information on the development of the new diving permit system for the Galapagos Islands, but Explorer Ventures will be operating one of only 5 vessels offering regularly-scheduled diving itineraries within the central and northern islands of Galapagos Archipelago in 2009.
The Estrella del Mar, which served Explorer Ventures guests in 2008 as well, is a well-appointed and very comfortable yacht equipped with dual compressors, watermakers and nitrox system. She will be going into drydock in early 2009 in order to prepare her for the upcoming diving charters, and to further improve the upper deck layout for the company’s guests. Changes to the dive deck to allow better storage for passengers and expanding the camera table space and adding a refreshment table on the dive deck are also scheduled.
As was the case in 2008, the GNP (which must approve all itineraries of any sort on a weekly basis) is still mandating that all vessels focus on either land itineraries or diving itineraries, and is not approving itineraries which involve both diving and tours on the same day. Night diving and snorkeling with the penguins are no longer permitted to be done by any diving operator within the National Park. As Explorer Ventures focus is on diving, the chosen itinerary offers the greatest number of opportunities to dive the wonders of the Galapagos Islands.
Explorer Ventures announces ‘Ventures into the Reef" contest winners
November 2008 - View winning entries.
Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Diving announces a special trip ‘Pink Fins not Required’
November 2008 - ‘Pink Fins not Required’ is a special girls only getaway designed to provide women with a unique travel adventure. This special seven night eight day trip aboard the Caribbean Explorer II will depart George Town, Exuma on July 11, 2009. Guests will dive sites near Long Island, Conceptions Island and San Salvador. Each site offers diverse and distinct diving opportunities, as well as a historic land tour on San Salvador. Guests will also receive loads of giveaways, a commemorate gift of this special trip and a chance to win a new BCD. During the week guests will also be treated to several special events such as a slide show on the female species of the area – their habitat and habits.
Explorer Ventures continues their commitment to providing guests with dive vacations filled with underwater and topside experiences unique in their variety. The ideals of the company remain the same – to provide guests with world-class liveaboard diving vacations at an exceptional value.
For more information contact info@explorerventures or call or click here.
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