Pleasure Cruises Scheduled as Ice Disappears in Canada’s Northwest Passage
For hundreds of years, ambitious european explorers sought a mythical Northwest Passage thru arctic ice, in the hopes of developing easier trade routes with Asia.
In many cases, frozen bones are all that is left of those thwarted dreams. The most famous of the expeditions, a well equipped British endeavor lead by Sir John Franklin, disappeared in 1846. Wreckage thought to be one of Franklin’s ships has only recently been uncovered by Canadian scientists. Thick ice and bitter weather have, until recently, defeated every European effort to navigate the passage. Norwegian explorer Roald Admundsen finally made it through, after a 3 year ordeal, in 1906.
It’s popular for climate deniers to tell themselves that scientists predictions about global warming have not turned out. Next time you year that, you can point them here.
James Hansen et al, Science, August 28, 1981
For those interested, and well heeled enough to afford the fare, Crystal Cruises will be offering a pleasure cruise to points of interest along the formerly unreachable coast, in 2016.
Case in point: the fabled Northwest Passage, where retreating ice cover is turning a route that’s traditionally been a dream of expedition-style adventurers into a 21st-century luxury-cruise destination. On Aug. 16, 2016, the 1,070-passenger Crystal Serenity will embark on a 32-day cruise from Anchorage to New York, making it the largest and most luxurious ship to ever make the trip.
“As we all know, typically expedition-style ships do this,” said Edie Rodriguez, president of Crystal Cruises. “We’re in a position to give people a different way to experience such a unique itinerary.”
That experience will combine enrichment seminars, guided shore excursions and visits to three communities in the Canadian Arctic with fine dining, spa services and slot machines, not to mention a putting green and driving range. All-inclusive fares start at $19,775 per person. (The cruise is currently fully booked but Rodriguez expects space to open up as previously booked passengers’ plans change.)
11 thoughts on “Pleasure Cruises Scheduled as Ice Disappears in Canada’s Northwest Passage”
TWENTY THOUSAND $$$$? EACH? Does that include airfare to and from and accommodations as needed in Anchorage and NYC? Will there be an “environmental cleanup fee” tacked on? You know, like when they charge you for dealing with the dirty rags from working on your car? A ship that big is going to leave some “dirt” behind.
Just another example of how f**ked up the world is when something like this is “fully booked”. These are probably some of the same people who have reserved seats on the first flight to the moon and resent feeding hungry kids because they’re “moochers”. It would be ironic if the thin-skinned cruise ship hit an iceberg and “did a Titanic”, taking its “spa services slot machines, putting green, and driving range” all to the bottom. I wonder if the “guided shore excursions” will result in polar bear attacks or walruses goring tourists, and if “visits to three communities in the Canadian Arctic” will be to native villages sinking into the melting permafrost?
Not a miracle perhaps, but it IS worthy of note that all our efforts to alter Omno’s “thinking processes” may actually be bearing fruit. Omno says he had (almost exactly) the same thoughts as DOG? Yep, that’s progress—-take a bow everyone—-it’s been a long hard battle for us all, but the tide may be turning—-Omno has gotten in touch with reality!
(PS It’s almost like watching Dr. Frankenstein’s creation come to life. I hope this is not just a ploy on Omno’s part to get me to “un-ignore” him. We will know soon enough if he comments further on this thread. Get the torches and pitchforks ready just in case we have to resume the chase.)
Alternatively your obsession with the analysis of my writings might have caused a brain circuit or two to come back to life 8)
Ps a previously unknown route already fully booked sounds like a marketing gimmick to me -to generate interest. Maybe they’ve sold all tickets yes, but to travel operators
It takes a village, etc, so I won’t take full credit for your “awakening”. Whatever “caused a brain circuit or two of yours to come back to life” is welcome. And my “obsession” is just something I do in my spare time to relieve the strain of having serious discussions about AGW on Crock. When you recover more brain circuits, you will realize that.
And you are right about “marketing gimmicks” and who may have bought the tickets if they really are sold (and not at full price either).
“The cruise is currently fully booked but Rodriguez expects space to open up as previously booked passengers’ plans change”? Uh-huh! Maybe when those imaginary passengers decide to go back to the alternate universe they came from? Or when they decide to buy Solar Roadways stock with the $20K instead?
Loading...
The average cruise ship’s mileage is about 50 ft. per gallon.
That should be quite exciting, since Shell’s experience in Alaskan waters over the last two years means that it will probably be aground, sinking, or on fire. Everyone loves a good train wreck.
Thank god for James Hansen and those late 1970s/early1980’s models, although Roger Revelle was telling Congressional committees similar warnings in 1957.
“Roger Revelle, the most senior of these researchers, publicly speculated that in the 21st century the greenhouse effect might exert “a violent effect on the earth’s climate” (as Time magazine
put it). He thought the temperature rise might eventually melt the Greenland and Antarctic icecaps, raising sea level enough to flood coastlines. Noting that climate had changed abruptly in the past, perhaps bringing the downfall of entire civilizations in the ancient world, in 1957 Revelle told a Congressional committee that the greenhouse effect might someday turn Southern California and Texas into “real deserts.” He also remarked that the Arctic Ocean might become ice-free, to Russia’s advantage.”
Not enough, apparently. “…..conservatives say global warming is a hoax or a natural phenomena that is not as bad as scientists say”.
That’s from an article in today’s WashPost titled “Study: Cities at risk of daily flooding”. The study is by the UCS. The main emphasis of the article is on Washington, DC, and Annapolis, MD, our nation’s and Maryland’s capitals.
“…by 2045, DC and Annapolis will experience about 400 floods per year, sometimes twice in a single day, and several other cities on the Atlantic coast will have flooding almost as bad. The District and Annapolis now have fewer than 50 days of tidal flooding. In 15 years, that will rise to 150, and after another 15 years to 400”.
The 13 “almost as bad” cities include Miami (way down at #10 with 50 floods per year, surprisingly), Wilmington NC at #3, and Baltimore and Philadelphia at #11 and #15.
It is a well-kept secret around the country that Washington DC is going to be a poster child for tidal flooding as sea level rises. Alexandria VA right across the river is already flooded at many high tides. But have no fear, folks—-your tax dollars are at work:
“Taxpayers are paying for the construction of a new wall on the National Mall. Longer than a football field, the wall has not been built to honor the nation’s fallen heroes or great leaders from our past. It has been quietly constructed over the past 2½ years to protect a vast swath of downtown Washington from a devastating flood. No longer a theory, climate change is here. The wall is a small part of the tens of billions of dollars Americans will have to pay in the future just to take the edge off the devastating effects of climate alteration”.
“Without the flood wall the experts deem necessary, a monstrous stream of water could surge from the Potomac up 17th Street and curl for over 2½ miles through the heart of the city. Such a flood would inundate all of the national museums and the agencies along Constitution Avenue, as well as the Reflecting Pool, a piece of the Ellipse behind the White House, the Federal Triangle, the National Archives, the I-395 tunnel in front of the Capitol and the Federal Center in Southeast Washington. The damage to our national treasures would be literally beyond calculation”.
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
Yes, how many years can a mountain exist
Before it’s washed to the sea?
Yes, how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn’t see?
The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
Yes, how many times must a man look up
Before he can really see the sky?
Yes, how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
TWENTY THOUSAND $$$$? EACH? Does that include airfare to and from and accommodations as needed in Anchorage and NYC? Will there be an “environmental cleanup fee” tacked on? You know, like when they charge you for dealing with the dirty rags from working on your car? A ship that big is going to leave some “dirt” behind.
Just another example of how f**ked up the world is when something like this is “fully booked”. These are probably some of the same people who have reserved seats on the first flight to the moon and resent feeding hungry kids because they’re “moochers”. It would be ironic if the thin-skinned cruise ship hit an iceberg and “did a Titanic”, taking its “spa services slot machines, putting green, and driving range” all to the bottom. I wonder if the “guided shore excursions” will result in polar bear attacks or walruses goring tourists, and if “visits to three communities in the Canadian Arctic” will be to native villages sinking into the melting permafrost?
Pardon me while I go puke up my breakfast.
A miracle has happened
I came here to type almost exactly what our dear d.o.guy wrote
Not a miracle perhaps, but it IS worthy of note that all our efforts to alter Omno’s “thinking processes” may actually be bearing fruit. Omno says he had (almost exactly) the same thoughts as DOG? Yep, that’s progress—-take a bow everyone—-it’s been a long hard battle for us all, but the tide may be turning—-Omno has gotten in touch with reality!
(PS It’s almost like watching Dr. Frankenstein’s creation come to life. I hope this is not just a ploy on Omno’s part to get me to “un-ignore” him. We will know soon enough if he comments further on this thread. Get the torches and pitchforks ready just in case we have to resume the chase.)
Alternatively your obsession with the analysis of my writings might have caused a brain circuit or two to come back to life 8)
Ps a previously unknown route already fully booked sounds like a marketing gimmick to me -to generate interest. Maybe they’ve sold all tickets yes, but to travel operators
It takes a village, etc, so I won’t take full credit for your “awakening”. Whatever “caused a brain circuit or two of yours to come back to life” is welcome. And my “obsession” is just something I do in my spare time to relieve the strain of having serious discussions about AGW on Crock. When you recover more brain circuits, you will realize that.
And you are right about “marketing gimmicks” and who may have bought the tickets if they really are sold (and not at full price either).
“The cruise is currently fully booked but Rodriguez expects space to open up as previously booked passengers’ plans change”? Uh-huh! Maybe when those imaginary passengers decide to go back to the alternate universe they came from? Or when they decide to buy Solar Roadways stock with the $20K instead?
The average cruise ship’s mileage is about 50 ft. per gallon.
The “adventure, romance, and discovery” of cruising the Chukchi Sea on Aug 24 will surely include Shell’s Arctic Challenger drilling platform.
That should be quite exciting, since Shell’s experience in Alaskan waters over the last two years means that it will probably be aground, sinking, or on fire. Everyone loves a good train wreck.
Thank god for James Hansen and those late 1970s/early1980’s models, although Roger Revelle was telling Congressional committees similar warnings in 1957.
“Roger Revelle, the most senior of these researchers, publicly speculated that in the 21st century the greenhouse effect might exert “a violent effect on the earth’s climate” (as Time magazine
put it). He thought the temperature rise might eventually melt the Greenland and Antarctic icecaps, raising sea level enough to flood coastlines. Noting that climate had changed abruptly in the past, perhaps bringing the downfall of entire civilizations in the ancient world, in 1957 Revelle told a Congressional committee that the greenhouse effect might someday turn Southern California and Texas into “real deserts.” He also remarked that the Arctic Ocean might become ice-free, to Russia’s advantage.”
Are they listening yet ?????
http://www.aip.org/history/climate/impacts.htm
Are they listening yet ?????
Not enough, apparently. “…..conservatives say global warming is a hoax or a natural phenomena that is not as bad as scientists say”.
That’s from an article in today’s WashPost titled “Study: Cities at risk of daily flooding”. The study is by the UCS. The main emphasis of the article is on Washington, DC, and Annapolis, MD, our nation’s and Maryland’s capitals.
“…by 2045, DC and Annapolis will experience about 400 floods per year, sometimes twice in a single day, and several other cities on the Atlantic coast will have flooding almost as bad. The District and Annapolis now have fewer than 50 days of tidal flooding. In 15 years, that will rise to 150, and after another 15 years to 400”.
The 13 “almost as bad” cities include Miami (way down at #10 with 50 floods per year, surprisingly), Wilmington NC at #3, and Baltimore and Philadelphia at #11 and #15.
It is a well-kept secret around the country that Washington DC is going to be a poster child for tidal flooding as sea level rises. Alexandria VA right across the river is already flooded at many high tides. But have no fear, folks—-your tax dollars are at work:
“Taxpayers are paying for the construction of a new wall on the National Mall. Longer than a football field, the wall has not been built to honor the nation’s fallen heroes or great leaders from our past. It has been quietly constructed over the past 2½ years to protect a vast swath of downtown Washington from a devastating flood. No longer a theory, climate change is here. The wall is a small part of the tens of billions of dollars Americans will have to pay in the future just to take the edge off the devastating effects of climate alteration”.
“Without the flood wall the experts deem necessary, a monstrous stream of water could surge from the Potomac up 17th Street and curl for over 2½ miles through the heart of the city. Such a flood would inundate all of the national museums and the agencies along Constitution Avenue, as well as the Reflecting Pool, a piece of the Ellipse behind the White House, the Federal Triangle, the National Archives, the I-395 tunnel in front of the Capitol and the Federal Center in Southeast Washington. The damage to our national treasures would be literally beyond calculation”.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/new-dc-monument-the-mall-flood-wall-92150.html#ixzz3FYEZSOws
An old favourite of mine springs to mind:
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
Yes, how many years can a mountain exist
Before it’s washed to the sea?
Yes, how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn’t see?
The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
Yes, how many times must a man look up
Before he can really see the sky?
Yes, how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.