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| Tour Name | HIDDEN PARADISE ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (Kamchatka – Commander Islands – Kamchatka) (#44), Cruise |
| Location | Russia, Kamchatka |
| Route | Petropavlovsk |
| Tour Type | Cruise, class: Western Standard, effort required: Moderate |
| Price per person / per group |
| Tours | Twin non-private Cabin | Twin private Cabin | Mini-Suite | Suite |
| Prices | USD 4,400.00 | USD 6,560.00 | USD 7,740.00 | USD 8,710.00 |
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| Price per person per day | USD 440.00 |
| Price Comments | Expedition rates include:
- Group transfers between the airport and the ship;
- Luggage transfer between the airport and the ship;
- Voyage aboard the vessel "Marina Tsvetaeva" as indicated in the itinerary;
- All shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by zodiacs (as included in planned group excursions);
- Program of lectures by noted naturalists and the service of an experienced guide;
- Four meals a day;
- Pre-departure materials and expedition log;
- All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the program;
Not included:
- All airfares;
- Passport and visa expenses (if required);
- Government arrival and departure taxes (if required);
- Meals and hotel accommodation ashore;
- Luggage, cancellation and personal insurance (which is strongly recommended);
- Excess luggage charges;
- Telecommunication services laundry, bar charges aboard the vessel;
- Standard tips at the end of the voyage for stewards and other service personal aboard (at your discretion);
- Any optional excursions.
Superior, Owner's Suite , Corner Suites cabins are also available. |
| Max Group Size | 85 persons |
| Cruise size | 14442 meters (mile?) |
| Duration | 10 days |
| Included | Accommodation (Hotel), Equipment Rental, Full Board, Excursions, Transfers (Incl Arrival/Departure), Guides, Interpreters, Crew |
| Accommodation, | Cabin Description
Twin non-Private: Two lower berths, a desk, chair, wardrobes and a washbasin. Showers and toilets are located on the same deck outside the cabin. Triple accommodation is possible on request.
18 cabins on Deck 4: 340, 341, 342, 343, 344, 437, 438, 439, 445, 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 451, 452, 453, 454.
Twin Private:Two lower berths, a desk, chair, wardrobes and a private bathroom with shower, toilet and washbasin. Triple accommodation is possible on request.
9 cabins on Deck 4: 428, 429, 430, 431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436.
Mini Suite: Two lower berths (bed and divan-bed), a desk, wardrobes, refrigerator, chair, TV monitor, teakettle. Private bathroom with shower, toilet and washbasin.
9 cabins on Deck 5: 510, 512, 513, 519, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528.
Suite: Two rooms, three lower berths (2 beds and 1 divan-bed), a desk, wardrobes, refrigerator, 2 arm-chairs, chair, puff, TV monitor, teakettle. Private bathroom with shower, toilet and washbasin.
3 cabins on Deck 5: 455, 514, 523.
Superior:
2 rooms, two lower berths (bed and divan-bed), a desk, wardrobes, refrigerator, chair, puff, TV monitor, teakettle. Private bathroom with bath, shower, toilet and washbasin.
1 cabin on Deck 5: 509.
Corner Suite:
Two rooms, three lower berths (2 beds and 1 divan-bed), a desk, wardrobes, refrigerator, 2 arm-chairs, chair, puff, TV monitor, teakettle. Two windows in the bedroom face frontward and onboard. Private bathroom with shower, toilet and washbasin.
2 cabins on Deck 5: 516, 520.
Owner’s Suite:Twice the size of any other cabin. Large lounge with desk and settee. A separate bedroom has a double and a single bed. Three windows in lounge and three windows in bedroom. Private bathroom with shower, toilet and wash-basin. Ample storage. TV monitor, video player, teakettle, refrigerator. Bar counter, 2 sofas, 2 armchairs, chair, puff, country-style interior.
1 cabin on Deck 5: 535.
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| Meals | Four meals a day aboard the vessel PAV’s chefs and cooks offer.Snacks at the coffee station served in the bar at 16:30 every day. Meals can be postponed or can be earlier than it is in the schedule because of the landings that depends a lot on weather conditions at sea and ashore. Our chefs will treat you with the fine courses of International cuisine. For vegetarians and other diet adherents we can offer special meals. But don't forget to mention about it beforehand. |
| Transport | PAV provides transportation (transfers by coach between vessel and airport in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski. We operate marine vessel “Marina Tsvetaeva” during the route of the expedition and zodiac boats for landings and excursions.
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| Description | Generously endowed with various treasures of the Nature, Kamchatka is alluring and exotic place even for Russians. The unique combination of fantastic landscapes and rare wildlife makes these nooks of Russia a real “Promised Land” for exploration. It offers a wide variety of opportunities for each traveler. These are the highlights of just a general “travelers’ appreciation list”: numerous dramatic volcanoes on the peninsula, its bays and coastlines provide great sceneries for landscape photography; exclusively diverse wildlife and historical sights of Commander Islands, and the Eighth World Wonder – the Valley of Geysers –compose the versatility of the voyage. |
| Itinerary | Day 1.
We arrive at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky airport. After a short excursion around the city we embark our vessel in the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. In the evening we leave the port for our Kamchatka adventure.
Day 2.Our first destination is Zhupanova River. Many bird species have found their shelter near this shallow river. We’ll try to enter the river on our zodiacs. Hiking in the vicinities will be a good experience for fascinating views lovers. Having enjoyed the loud company of the birds in the afternoon we sail eastwards – to Commander Islands.
Day 3-5. Commander Islands. The archipelago consists of two main islands (Bering Island and Medny (Copper) Island) and a dozen or so small rocky islets. The islands are named in honor of outstanding explorer – Commander Vitus Bering. Often there is tragedy and heroism under the geographical names of remote and difficult to access lands. Vitus Bering was the first who discovered that Asia and Americas are separate continents and mapped the west coast of Alaska – thus making a great contribution to science. He sacrificed his life for this discovery: Vitus Bering died and was buried on the island, which was named after him – Beringa Island. We plan to visit his grave marked with a tombstone.
Two days on these islands will be full of discoveries and surprises. Hardly ever you’ve seen such numerous breeding grounds of sea mammals: there are four large rookeries on the islands counting thousands of Fur Seals, Eared Seals, Steller's Sea Lions, Sea Otters and Spotted Larga Seals. Hardly ever you’ve seen mushrooms to be higher than trees: incredible number of mushrooms late in summer rise above dwarf birches and willows. Hardly ever you’ve heard such extraordinary geographic names: Baby Plakali (“Ladies were crying”), Benedict Upal (Benedict had fallen) – these are the names of the capes on Medny Island.
These islands are frequented by Polar Fox.
Both of the islands belong to Kommandorsky Nature Reserve. In 2002 they were designated as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. The surrounding waters provide habitats for some whale species (Sperm Whale, Killer Whale and Humpback Whale are among them). One of the rarest whale species – Stejneger’s Beaked Whale also inhabits waters of the Bering Sea.
Huge number of sea birds have found their home on the Commandors (Red-faced Cormorants, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Northern Fulmars, Tufted and Horned Puffins, Pigeon Guillemots…). We will visit some bays, each of them having zests on their own: beautiful waterfall in Gladkovskaya Bay, spectacular rocks in Bobrovaya Bay, numerous nesting places of Thin-billed and Thick-billed Murres on ladder-like rocks in Dikaya Bay.
Day 6. The coastline of the Kamchatka Peninsula between Cape Kamchatsky and Cape Shipunskiy offers great exploration opportunities. We start our exploration here with the picturesque coasts of Kamchatsky Sound. Having already seen quite a number of beautiful places with variety of wildlife you will not refrain from admiring these sites. Here we’ll have good chances to spot big Kamchatka Bears wandering around the mouths of local rivers flowing into Kamchatka Sound. Its southern shoreline is a part of Kronotsky Nature Reserve. There are many amazing things to see even for experienced travelers here: magnificent volcanoes with steaming tops, noisy bird colonies, picturesque waterfalls flowing down from rocks.
We plan to anchor at Kamenistaya Bay to observe nearby rivers with rich birdlife. Abundance of fish in local rivers attracts Kamchatka Bears. We will try to cruise around the mouths of these rivers on our zodiacs to get spectacular photos.
Kamchatka coastline might be quite stony, so that after our Zodiac-drivers successfully avoid the underwater rocks, please, be ready for a wet landing sometimes!
Day 7. We start our exploration day with landing at Olga Bay – also part of Kronotsky Nature Reserve. We go on discovering treasures of the Nature here. On the territory of 9,5 thousand sq km of the Reserve all the Kamchatian landscapes are combined: coastal tundra lowlands, forest and shrubby highlands and volcanic mountains with glaciers. Only at Kronotsky it is possible to see Kamchatka Fir (Abies gracilis) growing naturally. There are 33 species of mammals here (Ermines, Gluttons, Otters, Red Kamchatian Fox, uncommonly big Kamchatian Sable, Kamchatian Bears, Big Horns, wild Reindeers, Kamchatian Marmots, Ground Squirrels are among them). The coastlines are the prime habitat for Sea Lions and Ringed Seals. The birdlife is presented by Woodpeckers, Bullfinches, Thrushes, Cuckoos, Black-billed Capercaillies, Rock Ptarmigans, Willow Ptarmigans, Waterfowls, and White-tailed Eagles.
Kronotsky River is undoubtedly worth our attention. It flows out of a wide-known Kronotsky Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. This place is also appreciated by Kamchatka Bears.
In the evening we plan to call at Shipunsky Peninsula.
Day 8. We discover numerous northern fiords of Shipunsky Peninsula. They are famous for picturesque views and spectacular birdlife. Discovering fiords aboard zodiac is a good experience. Our expedition team will do their best to make the most of it here!
Day 9. Vilyuchinskaya Bay is our next landing site. It is known as a habitat of rare Steller’s Sea Eagle, the biggest eagle on Earth.
Starichkov Island is another good chance to observe bird colonies. This island is favored by the residents of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. They come here to enjoy loud birds companies and to fish near the island.
Day 10. On the way to the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky we observe beautiful coastlines of Avacha Bay. From the sea we observe volcanoes: Koryaksky, Avchinsky and Kozelsky. The citizens of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky call them Domashniy (Home) volcanoes, as they watch this volcanic landscape every day from their home’s windows.
We anchor at the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Having disembarked, you will be able to take some optional excursions in the city and its suburbs or take your flight home – it will depend on your own after-trip schedule.
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| Available |
| From |
Till |
| 2007-06-30 |
2007-07-09 |
| 2007-07-09 |
2007-07-18 |
| 2007-07-18 |
2007-07-27 |
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| m/s Marina Tsvetaeva |
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- Length: 89.98 m
- Beam: 17.20m
- Draft: 5.25 m
- Tonnage: 4575 GRT
- Cruising Speed: 12 knots
- Flag: Russian Federation
- Crew: 40
- Passengers: 86 (up to115)
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| Volcanic Mountains of Kamchatka |
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| Sea Otter |
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| Sea Otter on the Kamchatian beach |
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| Arctic Fox |
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| Arctiv Fox on the Commanders |
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| Wildflowers |
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| Watefall on Commander Islands |
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| Poseidon Arctic Voyages |
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