Press Digest 26th March 2007

For a guaranteed white Christmas, join Latin American specialist Trips Worldwide on a special 17-night holiday incorporating an 11-night Antarctic expedition voyage aboard the converted Swedish Icebreaker M/V Polar Star. For a limited period Trips Worldwide is offering a generous £250 p/p discount – an added incentive (if needed!) to book early! Departing London by air on 15th December.

After setting sail from Ushuaia for the bays and channels of Antarctica, the ship’s Zodiac inflatables will allow explorations in all but the most inaccessible areas. Landings may be made at historically important sites and penguin rookeries such as Port Lockroy, Petermann Island and Fish Island. Spend Christmas Day watching seals basking on ice floes, soaring Albatross, playful whales surfacing and blowing as they travel through their summer feeding grounds and penguins in their thousands attending to newborn chicks. The South Shetland Islands are noted for their spectacular penguin rookeries and the flooded volcanic caldera of Deception Island for some of Antarctica's most dramatic scenery, including the site of an abandoned whaling station. On the outward and return voyage across Drake Passage the ship will pass over the Antarctic Convergence where the cold waters of the Antarctic meet the nutrient rich seas of the Atlantic and Pacific, providing an irresistible attraction to many seabirds and whales. In addition to a full programme of shore excursions, lectures, presentations and superb wildlife viewing, a special component to this Christmas voyage is a daily vignette honouring the different traditions of the season found across the world. On each day it could be the traditional Christmas markets of Germany, a Russian New Year, the Jewish story of Hanukah, Kwanzaa of Africa or a traditional Argentinean Christmas. Just as Antarctica is owned by no one and is a collaborative effort of many, shipboard celebrations seek to reflect diverse origins of the winter holiday.

The holiday costs from £5,755 p/p including scheduled flights, 5-nights pre and post cruise hotel accommodation in Beunos Aires and Ushuaia, onboard accommodation with all meals and expertly guided viewing activities.