Orion Expedition Cruises |
Cruise Lines & Ships : Orion Expedition Cruises |
Orion Expedition Cruises is an Australian based luxury expedition cruise line that was formed in 2004, currently operating a single vessel, the German built 103m, 4000 gross tonne MV Orion.
History
Founded by Australian business woman Sarina Bratton in early 2004, Orion Expedition Cruises (OEC) began actual cruising operations in March 2005 with the repositioning cruise of the MV Orion from Papeete, Tahiti in French Polynesia to Sydney, Australia via the Cook Islands, Samoa, New Caledonia, Fiji and Lord Howe Island. Since then OEC has been operating Australian-based expedition-style cruises in areas as diverse as the Antarctic continent to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.Vision
With 25 years extensive experience in the Australian travel industry, including Vice President and General Manager Asia Pacific for Cunard Line, founder and Managing Director of Norwegian Capricorn Line and both Federal and State Government Board appointments, Sarina Bratton has long held a passion for the development of the cruise industry.Her vision has been to develop a unique product appealing to both local and international travellers alike: people who seek the mental stimulation of new experiences, places and discovery, whilst enjoying the comfort of luxurious surroundings.
It was the success of pioneering itineraries through the Great Barrier Reef and the Top End in 1999 that led her to researching further destinations, ones that would enrich and entice travellers. But the challenge was always the same: finding places along the Australian coast a cruise ship could access.
A trip on a friend’s super-yacht helped her to develop the concept for a new style of travel in Australia. Only a small, purpose-built vessel could access the truly special parts of the continent’s coastline. The vessel needed to be a ship, not just a boat, and one with a maritime pedigree enabling it to sail pristine environments from the tropics to the icy waters of the Poles. And the ship had to be crewed by master seamen, selected for their experience.
In this way travellers could begin to experience parts of Australia’s World Heritage Great Barrier Reef only passing yachtsmen visit - exploring deserted beaches and tiny sand cays in both the Southern and Northern sections of the Reef and beyond to the islands of the Torres Strait.
So too, the remote Kimberley in Australia’s north-west is best seen by sea. Here the coastline is wild, rugged and after the annual wet season, dotted with spectacular water-falls only revealed to sailors. This is a place rich with fishing, unique wildlife and art belonging to an Aboriginal culture of astonishing age.
This ship needed to be a self-sustaining environment, allowing it to sail to new destinations like the emerging nation of East Timor where the infrastructure for tourism is in its infancy. Or to sail south to the continent of Antarctica, where tourism is only permitted if what you take with you leaves with you.
Australia has some of the most pristine and sensitive wilderness areas on our planet, with little or no infrastructure to support visits by hundreds of people at one time. Understanding this, Orion Expedition Cruises has a social responsibility to develop a marine tourism blueprint that is sustainable, one that is at the forefront of eco-sensitivity and a benchmark for internationally recognizable and environmentally sound operating practices.
These guiding principals demanded a purpose-built vessel be found: one capable of sailing oceans not just seas, one offering an internationally accepted standard of luxury accommodation and facilities…Orion.
Orion is but part of the story, however. Like any success story, relationships with key business partners are integral. Each must be outstanding contributors in their own fields, and who share a similar vision and are passionate about their environment. In the Kimberley, the Paspaley family contributes knowledge gained over more than 70 years operating pearl farms in Australia’s northern waters. Not only do they know these waters intimately, they offer guests aboard Orion unique experiences such as access to their remote pearl farms throughout the region.
Orion Expedition Cruises invites you to explore with them a path less travelled. Welcome to the world of Orion!
| The Orion Expedition Cruises Fleet | |
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Orion
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Orion II
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