US ADVENTURE travel specialist Zegrahm Expeditions is launching a 20-day chartered luxury expedition to Philippine island destinations that are difficult to access by land.
Running from February 7-27, 2015, the cruise on board Noble Caledonia’s 100-pax MS Caledonian Sky will depart Sandakan, Malaysia with 70 North American visitors.
There will be explorers, divers, birdwatchers, geologists and naturalists joining the trip, said Lourdes Banzon, executive vice president and COO, Sharp Travel Service, Zegrahm’s partner and groundhandler in the Philippines.
“It is the longest expedition for a cruise in the Philippines,” said Benjie Bernal, OIC for inbound and outbound tours, Sharp Travel Service, who remarked that most leisure cruise liners visit the Philippines for about three days and call on major ports.
Travellers on this expedition, on the other hand, Bernal said, will have the chance for immersive experiences in areas like Sibuyan Island in Romblon, Capul Island in Samar, Limasawa in Sogod Bay, Leyte and Camiguin Island, some of which are difficult to reach overland.
Meanwhile, river cruise operator Noble Caledonia is selling a 13-day leisure programme in May featuring Japan, Taiwan and northern Philippines, another first, Bernal confirmed.
Prior to that, MS Caledonian Sky, which has visited the Philippines before, will again be spending two days in Palawan, this time on the tail-end of a 16-day Noble Caledonia leisure cruise highlighting Indonesia and East Malaysia.
