Scenic Eclipse crew becomes reality TV stars as her owner sets sail for Australia next year
NewsScenic’s owner Glen Moroney is already hard at work on the next generation of luxury discovery yachts as his last creation, the world’s first discovery yacht Scenic Eclipse, stars in a new reality television show with a global audience of 20 million viewers.
Maritime Masters debuts on the Discovery Channel and Fox in Australia next month, with five episodes that will turn the Scenic Eclipse and her crew into worldwide stars.
Scenic Eclipse is unique in polar expeditions, sailing into the ice with just 200 passengers in unrivalled luxury. She has ten dining venues, one of the biggest spas in adventure sailing, two helicopters, and a submarine.
Mr Moroney is on board Scenic Eclipse II on its inaugural cruise in Europe. The ship has even more luxury, and the company announced this week the vessel will be permanently based in the Oceania region next year, with sailings in the Kimberley, the eastern seaboard of Australia, and to the Top End, around New Zealand, and in Asia.
Anthony Laver, the Scenic Group’s General Manager of Sales and Marketing in Australasia told Cruise Passenger Mr Moroney will be taking the best aspects of the first of their two yachts, before starting construction of a new generation of ships.
“Glen wants to fill both ships at full capacity before he starts construction, and they need to be sailing for a while as we can get customer feedback in order to get the best aspects from both yachts to put onto the next vessels,” said Mr Laver.
The Scenic Eclipse II will be homeported in Australia from April 2024. Mr Laver hopes it will attract a new market for expedition cruising who can travel to the White Continent from Australia without the arduous flights to South America.
“Cruisers won’t have to fly from Sydney to Ushuaia to sail to Antarctica. They can board the Scenic Eclipse II from Sydney and sail directly to the White Continent and eliminate the rigmarole of having to fly to South America,” he said.
Scenic will explore more untouched areas of Antarctica during the 2024/25 season in Australia and New Zealand.
“There will be two main areas which we will be visiting in the eastern Ross Sea which will provide guests the opportunity to see things that no other cruise guest has ever seen,” he said.
“The Scenic Eclipse II will be based in the Oceania region year-round, so we will also look at scoping to see more undiscovered areas around the South Pacific and Polynesia.”
The Scenic Eclipse II makes her way toward Australia from her 2023/24 season in Antarctica. She will travel through the South Pacific before sailing the Kimberley. She will also spend time sailing in Indonesia at the end of 2024 before heading to New Zealand.
Here are some of our favourite itineraries over the next two years:
- 19-day Journey Across the Pacific: Easter Island & French Polynesia from Valparaiso to Papéte departing March 14, 2024
- 9-day Mysteries of Melanesia from Lautoka to Sydney departing April 12, 2024
- 9-day The Chairman’s Voyage: East Coast Islands and Reefs from Newcastle to Cairns departing on April 22, 2024
- 11-day Discover the Kimberley Coastline: An Ancient Wilderness from Darwin to Broome departing from July 29, 2024
- 13-day Secrets of Indonesia: Spice Islands & Raja Ampat from Darwin to Darwin departing from September 7, 2024
Mr Laver, who was on the ship during the filming of Maritime Masters, said the huge audience would soon connect with the crew, who would become superstars alongside the revolutionary ship they sail.
In particular, the ship’s dashing captain, Erwan Le Rouz, seems destined to become a favourite alongside rugged expedition leader Jason Flesher and chef Tom Goetter.
