Fans of polar exploration might want to take a look at a one-time Antarctic trip being offered by Ice Tracks Expeditions. The cruise, Nov. 30 to Dec. 18, will visit South Georgia Island, where a small whalers cemetery contains the grave of legendary Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. On this trip, the ashes of modern-day polar explorer Henry Worsley will be laid to rest in the cemetery. In late 2015, Worsley set out to cross the Antarctic continent as a tribute to Shackleton, but as he neared his goal he had to be airlifted to a hospital, where he died. In addition to the South Georgia stop, there will be landings in the Falkland Islands, South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic mainland. The trip aboard the 348-foot expedition ship Akademik Ioffe is priced from $13,695 per person, double occupancy. International air is extra. Sea kayaking is an option during the voyage, too. http://tinyurl.com/mj5abtf
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Northwest Passage savings
Speaking of polar exploration, Abercrombie & Kent has knocked $3,000 off a 24-day Northwest Passage cruise scheduled for Aug. 18 to Sept. 10, 2018. But if you can afford to drop $30,000 on a vacation, you probably consider $3,000 pocket change. The cruise aboard Le Boreal will accommodate just 199 passengers. It will traverse the entire Northwest Passage, from Greenland through the Canadian Arctic, finally ending in Alaska. Shore expeditions will explore Arctic history and native cultures, and wildlife that may be sighted include whales, walrus, musk oxen, Arctic fox, moose and polar bear. The cruise is priced from $30,995 per person, double occupancy, but you can deduct $3,000 if you book by Oct. 31. Internal air will pretty much wipe out that $3,000, and air to and from the starting and end points is extra. Info: 800-433-8410, http://tinyurl.com/mc2bllm
Website fetes travel favorites
Time for more of those “best ofs,” this time courtesy of the folks at SmarterTravel.com. The 2017 awards consist of winners picked by the website’s experts, as well as separate winners chosen by polling users of the site. Categories cover such areas as airline rankings, hotel loyalty programs and best credit card for travel awards. Among U.S.-based airlines, the editors gave the top nod to Alaska Airlines. I’ve flown Alaska and would agree that it does a terrific job of keeping customers satisfied. Still, SmarterTravel users gave their nod to Southwest Airlines. No doubt a big reason for that is Southwest has a larger footprint than Alaska, plus it hasn’t gone crazy on extra fees the way most of the major carriers have. Best family travel destination was an area where editors and readers agreed. It wasn’t Disney-related; it was the very French city of Montreal. All of the winners and runners-up are at http://tinyurl.com/l6d8gye.
Phil Marty is a freelance reporter.
