One of the most remarkable things about sailing aboard the Scenic Eclipse in the Antarctic is the contrast between the wild remoteness just outside… and feeling like you’re a guest at a chic boutique hotel in any stylish urban hot spot in the world.
One minute, you’re in a zodiac heading towards a colony of penguins on an ice and snow-covered hill at the edge of an iceberg-filled sea…
and the next minute, you’re sipping a bespoke cocktail made with ice fished out of the sea, seated at a backlit-marble, floor-to-ceiling whisky bar…
Or dining on French cuisine that rivals any authentic French restaurant at home…
Or basking in the sauna after a well-deserved massage in a luxury spa…
Or sipping champagne brought by your butler to your suite as you gaze beyond the rail of your suite terrace to glaciers and icebergs on the 7th continent.
People ask me for advice all the time when they are planning a cruise. And one of the things I most often hear is “How important is the suite I choose?”
“It’s not like I’ll ever be in my suite.”
On the one hand, it’s true. Especially for expedition cruising, the goal is to be outdoors, among the action, having those adventures you’ll talk about forever.
On the other hand, having the sanctuary of a truly luxurious suite to come ‘home’ to every day makes an enormous difference to your expedition cruise experience.
WATCH THE VIDEO to tour my Panorama Suite aboard the Scenic Eclipse
They call the Scenic Eclipse sister ships ‘Discovery Yachts’, with all the bells and whistles of expedition cruising, and only 114 suites for a maximum of 228 guests – fewer in Antarctica, where Scenic caps guest numbers in order to ensure the best guest experience on shore while conscientiously limiting the impact of our presence in this precious and sensitive environment.
Every suite has a private verandah or terrace so you have your own space outdoors as well as indoors.
Although there are 7 categories of suites, every suite has a few delightful things in common. Like the rest of the Scenic Eclipse, the design is sophisticated, urban and contemporary, with sleek, high-gloss surfaces and all the comforts of home:
a bar stocked with your preferences by your butler,
a coffee station (or in my case, tea, and my butler ensured I always had plenty of my favorite tea plus milk in the fridge so I could make myself a soothing cup of tea at any hour of day or night),
discrete TV screens hidden in mirrored surfaces so you don’t see the technology until you turn it on,
a workspace with plenty of plugs and USB connections for devices, Starlink wifi so I was perfectly connected (it is a work trip for me, after all!) even at the end of the world!),
separate lounge and sleep areas,
a spacious bathroom…
and of course, a sumptuous, soothing and welcoming king-sized bed that welcomed me after long and exciting days.
You may think you won’t spend much time in your suite on board the Scenic Eclipse with so much to do on the rest of the ship and on shore anywhere you’re sailing in the world, but take it from me: you’ll fall in love with your suite, and your butler, and you’ll be sad to say goodbye to both when it’s time to disembark!
START YOUR LUXURY EXPEDITION CRUISE!
By: Lynn Elmhirst, cruise/ travel journalist
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