Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) has long been chartering ships for its itineraries, a strategic approach that paid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, that doesn’t mean the last 20 months have been smooth sailing. According to Bob Simpson, vice president of expedition cruising at A&K since 2002, planning sailings for 2021-2023 has been like playing a giant game of chess.
But with two successful expedition sailings to Iceland and Greece under their belt, Simpson and the A&K expedition team are confident in the company’s new itineraries to the British Isles and the Northwest Passage, as well as its now confirmed 30th season in Antarctica, which sets sail on its first of three sailings on Nov. 28. Simpson shares all the behind-the-scenes details of planning a seamless Antarctica season that avoids unnecessary pandemic-era interruptions and delivers on top-notch experiences.
What does it feel like to have successfully operated your first COVID-19-era cruises in September?
A big weight has been lifted off our shoulders. What we are seeing is that we are able to strategically align and deploy ships to where we are able to send our passengers — fishing where the fish can go.
What we are seeing is that we are able to strategically align and deploy ships to where we are able to send our passengers — fishing where the fish can go.
It was remarkably smooth. A lot of things that we were hyper stressed about in terms of testing regimens and protocols went off with no problem. It was great to be back in action, for our team to be able to do what they do and to be able to see the clients travel. That appreciation of getting back out and doing this was remarkable.
A&K recently confirmed its Antarctica season. What contributed to that decision?
First, Argentina announced viability for tourists to come back starting in November, and recently Chile made the same announcement. Little by little, the gateways are beginning to open, which enables us to finalize our plans.
There is still a lot that can change, but at least we can go back to our guests who planned these trips last year and postponed to this season with certainty. We were right up to brink to make the same decision to push to next year, but thankfully this came together, and we are very excited and get down south and start operating again.
Are you concerned about guests securing air to Argentina?
A lot of our guests already booked their flights. Interestingly, you could book the flights before the restrictions lifted. But there is a big difference between booking the flights and the flights actually operating. Argentina, for example, has an entry quota, and that is being gradually removed starting in November.
For a while, they were only allowing up to 600 international arrivals per week, and it was limited to Argentine nationals. Air carriers are starting to react to capacity changes and are adding flights. I think there will be ample capacity. As clients are booking now, we are not seeing any issue with getting the flights on the dates we are operating.
Getting to the ships has been an issue — it’s one thing for the countries to open their borders, it’s another issue to access the ports.
Getting to the ships has been an issue — it’s one thing for the countries to open their borders, it’s another issue to access the ports. Interestingly, the first step that occurred was when, back in September, Argentina announced it would authorize approval for cruise ships to operate. We thought, that’s fine and good, but if our passengers are not able to get there, it’s a moot point. So, it’s been a step-by-step process.
So, cruises can operate, and the border is open, but what about the domestic flights needed to get clients from Buenos Aires to the southern tip of Argentina, where cruises depart?
With the borders opening, there is still the capacity issue. We would have had a great concern with getting from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia if we had to rely on the commercial flights, but we are setting up our charter flights, which guarantee lift from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia and back.
Our guests will arrive in Buenos Aires two days before the charter flights. It also makes it easy and convenient from an operational standpoint because we can do this as a single country operation.
What are the advantages of having clients fly to Buenos Aires and then charter to Ushuaia?
There was uncertainty with Argentina and the borders so there were some companies that planned to do the flights from outside of Argentina. And even some long-haul flights from Miami to Ushuaia. The issue with that is they will still have to comply with an international arrival. In Ushuaia, that requires everyone to take an antigen test on arrival and have an isolation period in a really restrictive bubble from the airport to the ship — with no external activity.
A&K will charter Antarctica expedition guests from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia.
Credit: 2021 LMspencer/stock.adobe.com
For our guests arriving in Buenos Aires, they will comply with the country’s entry requirements of full vaccination and a 72-hour PCR test. Then, once they enter Argentina, they will go through the normal immigration process. As long as they have those two components — with the registration affidavit [filled out] online 48 hours before they arrive — once they’re in the country they won’t have any more ongoing restrictions and we will have an easy operation in Ushuaia the way we normally do. It will be a normal operation for us on the ground, which was important to us to maintain.
Planning a new expedition season in the COVID-19 era has been challenging for the entire cruise industry. Do you think the result is that there will be itineraries in Antarctica that won’t make a lot of sense?
All operators had to pick a lane for what they thought would be the best option: Chile or Argentina? Which would be more viable and open first? For a long time, Chile looked like a better bet due to its vaccination rates and efficacy, and COVID-19 case counts were way better in Chile than Argentina. There was a worry that Argentina wasn’t viable. We looked at every plan and every option. At one point, we were close to pulling the trigger and moving everything to Santiago, Chile.
We did a very detailed, careful analysis of what the impact of our cruise schedule would be in and out of Punta Arenas, Chile. And it’s possible to do it, but it does come at a material impact to the itinerary. It’s farther, for one, and there are navigating realities with pilot requirements and speed limits and things like that, which would add, conservatively, 25-30% more time at sea compared to leaving from Ushuaia.
If you take 25-30% more at sea, that results in much less time in Antarctica. We did not think that would be a viable alternative. We want to feel like we can deliver the experience we have in the last 30 years — we would not compromise on that. If we could not operate from Ushuaia, then we would cancel.
What’s it been like behind the scenes to figure this all out?
I used this analogy when we did our Greece and Iceland programs: The duck on top of the water swimming looks nice and calm, but, underwater, he is paddling like crazy. That’s how we feel: There’s so much we are dealing with behind the scenes in preparation and on the ground. We just have the approach that we must be flexible. We convey it to our guest as well — we will keep you updated, and things will change.
The duck on top of the water swimming looks nice and calm, but, underwater, he is paddling like crazy.
How have booking windows changed for A&K?
As destinations are opening, short-term booking windows are still there. People have been sitting waiting to find out when and where they can go. If there’s someone who has wanted to go to Antarctica, now there is a good chance that they might make the decision to go.
We are seeing that already — this week, we are seeing a lot of inquiries for new bookings. In October or November before a [normal] season, we wouldn’t be seeing so many new inquiries.
How much capacity is left on the four Antarctica cruises?
On three of the four expeditions, we have about 30-35% capacity that is open. We stand to fill 10-15% of that based on what we are seeing now. It’s looking a lot better than it did even a few weeks ago when we were seeing attrition from folks who didn’t want to continue to wait. We are seeing clients who were booked on other operators and are picking up some of that as well.
A&K does not own its own ships. Has chartering been advantageous in the pandemic environment?
In this atmosphere, it’s been nothing but a pro to charter. Not having the ownership risk of asset is a different scenario altogether. We made the decision 19 years ago to get out of the ship owning and operating side and selectively charter ships where we want to operate and where we see client demand without having to deal with repositioning ships. And that continues to be our model.
On A&K's Indonesia sailing, guests will visit Komodo National Park.
Credit: 2021 Martina/stock.adobe.com
We align closely with Ponant and as they have grown, we continue to grow our range of operations with a consistent product wherever we are.
Antarctica was booming with new ships and more interest in the destination before the pandemic. Do you see that coming back?
I do; without question, the growth and capacity will continue. The growth has been systematic and strategic going back well over a decade.
Besides Antarctica, where else is A&K excited to offer expedition cruises?
We are returning to the British Isles for the first time in 20 years in late August/September next year, tying into the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. We’re hitting the places that are hard to get to, such as Orkney, Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides, the West Coast of Ireland and finishing in Dover in southern England.
And we have an Indonesia expedition with some great dive and snorkel opportunities, which starts in Bali and ends in Cannes, Australia, and visits Komodo National Park, Papua New Guinea and the Great Barrier Reef in November 2022.
The Northwest Passage is another area that we all are excited will be open after two full years with no ships in the Canadian Arctic. We will do that in August 2022 and Geoff Kent, our founder, will be hosting that program. It’s a bucket-list trip with elements of history and an unbelievably strong lecture program. We are seeing strong demand already looking into next year, and we are wrapping up our planning for 2023.
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