As cruise travel begins to rebound overall and expedition cruising specifically continues to boom, Lindblad Expeditions has launched the latest addition to its fleet: National Geographic Endurance. The highly anticipated new vessel was christened in Reykjavik, Iceland, on July 22, 2021.
“The energy, the enthusiasm, the dedication that has been put in to the making of this ship was for one purpose only — to make it possible for you folks to go out and explore the world, and to appreciate the world and all its wonders and then to face together some of the challenges that we inevitably must as it relates to the natural world,” said Sven Lindblad, founder and co-chair of the board of Lindblad, in a press release.
“I have not seen the ship since January of 2020, and arriving today and walking through, it just took my breath away,” he added. “I really hope you like this ship.”
Also in attendance at the christening event were Endurance’s first guests, along with the ship’s captain, Aaron Wood, and Dolf Berle, CEO of Lindblad.
The energy, the enthusiasm, the dedication that has been put in to the making of this ship was for one purpose only — to make it possible for you folks to go out and explore the world.
“What was wonderful for me to witness was a number of you meeting staff from our ships that you knew, sometimes more than 10 years ago, and so there is a family feeling already, and that is a big part of who we are,” said Berle. “The environmental aspect of what we are doing and the importance of this ship to promote research, raise funds for Pristine Seas and for the people in the communities we explore carries on the great Lindblad tradition.”
The champagne bottle was broken over the hull by Jen Martin, the line’s director of field staff and expedition development, and Ana Esteves, director of hotel operations.
The 126-guest Endurance has now embarked on its inaugural 19-day voyage to Iceland and Greenland. It will soon traverse the most extreme polar regions as a PC5 Category A ice-class ship featuring an advanced X-Bow for smoother sailing.
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