I mentioned yesterday about the Antarctica Celebrity Cruise and today is about Quark Expeditions that I came across some time ago.

The North Pole cruise seems interesting.

Day 1 Helsinki, Finland

Day 2 Embarkation Day in Murmansk

Day 3-7 Northbound in the Arctic Ocean

Day 8 90° North

Day 9 Southbound in the Arctic Ocean

Day 10-11 Franz Josef Land and the Arctic Ocean

Day 12 Southbound at Sea

Day 13 Disembarkation in Murmansk

Day 14 Helsinki, Finland

And the price is … from $23,995, a little bit steep but it is the North Pole after all.

From the Quark site: To reach the North Pole is the pinnacle of Arctic expedition endeavors. Few people can say they stood at the one earthly spot where every direction is south

And you get there only with the largest nuclear-powered icebreaker ever launched, capable of crushing through the toughest pack ice the Arctic Ocean can dish up.

The ship is called ’50 Years of Victory’ (!), kind of strange name, is she 50 years old? I would like to think she is safe, after all your are traveling with a nuclear plant (2 nuclear reactors 74,000 horsepower).

50 Years of Victory Expedition Ship

• Comfortable, friendly atmosphere: just 128 guests.
• Icebreaking capabilities to the top of the world where regular ships cannot go
• 74,000 hp generated by 2 nuclear reactors get you where few have ever been
• Helicopter for aerial-sightseeing.
• 4 fully enclosed lifeboats ensure your safety in all conditions
• Onboard helicopters allow spectacular aerial-sightseeing
• Fleet of Zodiacs bring you up-close and personal with Arctic wildlife, icebergs and more
• Every cabin has exterior views and private facilities, for your comfort and enjoyment
• Onboard gym, two saunas, small swimming pool, and library allow you to relax between shore visits

Twitter @curbexcitement

And Antarctica drew my attention:

Exotic 14-night cruises on Celebrity Infinity depart from Buenos Aires, with visits to Ushuaia and Puerto Madryn, Argentina; Cape Horn, Chile; Schollart Channel and Dalhan Bay, Paradise Bay, Gerlache Strait, and Elephant Island, Antarctica; Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, and Montevideo, Uruguay.

I have always wanted to go to Antarctica, I wonder how much it will cost.

You could read about the other itineraries here

Twitter @curbexcitement

I have accidentally come across this project and I am already excited about it. BlueSeed (the name of the business) aims to become the first sea based co-working (and co-living) space for tech-entrepreneurs who want to be close to Silicon Valley but they don’t have a working visa. The ship will anchored half an hour (12 miles) from Silicon Valley, in international waters outside the jurisdiction of the United States and most likely this will be a used cruise ship, that will be retrofitted. 

I would not fulfill the criteria to get aboard: “How can I get aboard? – Do something that matters, and be awesome Get referred to us through a reputable angel, venture capital firm, entrepreneurs network, or trusted contact. Or surprise us.”, but I would like to visit this kind of place (as a matter of fact I have never been on a cruise ship before). Their site didn’t mention anything about a hotel on the ship so I sent them this suggestion (my ‘favorite’ pastime, sending suggestions/ideas to companies and organizations). I have been to San Francisco before but I’d go for the second time just to visit Blueseed. However, it is a long time before launching, sometime between Q3 2013 and Q1 2014 (unless the end of world comes before ).

How the vessel might look like (click for higher image size): 

Top 10 Facts about Blueseed

I went there on a Sunday and the street was blocked because of a food festival. I would have liked to go while the stores were open, maybe I could have seen a celebrity, someone famous. 

On Rodeo Drive, there is a small square – a mini-mall, for the lack of a better term; it is called Rodeo Collection.

Notice all the plastic surgery and anti-ageing services. I bet they don’t lack clients.

But what is this? Facebook and Twitter signs on the window?! Facebook and Twitter are for the plebeians. Where is the ‘luxury’ police to demand their immediate removal? They affect the image of Rodeo Drive.

If there are stores who really want to have a cyber-social presence, let it only be asmallworld.net. I don’t know how many people have heard of this social site as it is very exclusive (by invitation only and only a few members have invitation privileges).

And in this patisserie: tea bags that can be found in any supermarket!!! There are some very good high quality teas out there and they sell these mundane teas?! This should not be allowed.

And chips! Again, where are the ‘luxury’ police? I wonder how much of these teas and chips must be sold to pay the rent around here; it must be exorbitant for a place on Rodeo Drive.

And this is ‘Utopia’, the luxury residential cruise ship that will have residences for purchases, and a hotel. You may notice in the photos, on the TV in the background, images of beautiful women, clearly a subliminal marketing scheme.

To discuss purchasing a residence, you cannot just drop by; you have to make an appointment.

‘Utopia’s' construction will finish by 2014, but, really, they should be trying to finish by the end of the world – December 21st, 2012, according to the Mayan calendar – so that, if the world comes to an end, at least one can go down in style.

I went to their website, found the contact information, and asked about the prices of the residences (which were not available on the website). They did not answer so I used Wikipedia, even though I prefer to get information direct from the source. The residences will cost between US$3.9 million and US$26 million For the moment, I am a few million short, so my residency there will have to wait.

I also asked how many points and what kind (Hilton, Marriott, etc.) I would need to book a room in the on-board hotel. Again, no answer, whatever, it is their loss.

Other photos:

Esmeralda is the Chilean Navy’s training ship and she also acts as a goodwill ambassador for her country. But Esmeralda has a troubled past, during Augusto Pinochet’s regime she was used as a place to jail and torture political prisoners, and now her arrival is often met with protests.
I usually enjoy visiting ships, especially when it’s free, but I had mixed feelings about this one because of its dark history.

I eventually decided to go while she was docked in Victoria, BC, I wanted to see some cruiser ships as well, and three of them were arriving in port that evening.
There were no protests on this occasion, so I was able to see the ship without any trouble. I can say that Esmeralda is a nice ship, not that I know much about sailing ships in general.

However, I saw a coat of arms inside the ship carrying the words Por la razón o la fuerza. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have paid too much attention to this – just another one of those ‘macho mottos’ – but in this case it was somehow unsettling, and forced me to think harder about where I was.

Translated into English, the motto means By reason or force, or By might or right.

In concluding this post I should say that Chile has now been a democratic country for over two decades, and its coat of arms was adopted some 200 years ago; the people who work and train on the ship have nothing to do with the events of its past. You can read more about this coat of arms on Wikipedia.

Esmeralda