The expedition cruise “Greg Mortimer” arrives in Costa Rica

The sun and the breeze from the Port of Puntarenas welcomed this Tuesday the expedition cruise ship "Greg Mortimer", coming from Ushuaia, Argentina, a region popularly known as the "end of the world", as it marks the end of the American continent at its extreme south.
 
The cruise ship arrived in Costa Rica with 74 crew members and here, 45 passengers from Australia and the United Kingdom will embark on it after visiting Puntarenas, Tortuga Island, Manuel Antonio, Quepos and Golfito, on their five-day tour of the country, to then leave for Panama.
 
The Bahamas-flagged cruise ship was built in 2019, has a length of 104 meters and a beam of 18 meters, with capacity for 160 passengers, 62 crew members and has 80 cabins.
 
It is a luxury cruise dedicated to excursions from 10 to 26 days in which the Aurora Expeditions line organizes excursions for The Luxury Cruise Company. Its operator is CMI Ship Management, based in Miami.
 
Generally, the “Greg Mortimer” carries small groups of passengers and operates in the two polar regions with passengers interested in the protection and preservation of the areas.
 
For the first time, as part of the Cruise Strategy followed by the ICT Investment Attraction Unit and carried out for three years by the private sector, the "Greg Mortimer" visits Costa Rica and has the country on its itineraries for the next seasons.
 
"The reactivation of this niche, with expedition and luxury cruises like this one, generates greater economic income for the country and the port cities they visit, allowing economic recovery in the coastal areas of tourist activities and their linkages," said Gustavo Alvarado, Minister for Tourism. 
 
The passengers of these cruise ships enter the country through the Juan Santamaría International Airport to board the cruise ship at Puerto Puntarenas and begin the journey through different national ports and continue to another international destination. In other cases, the cruise ship enters the country with passengers from international ports and disembarks at our ports to leave through the Juan Santamaría International Airport.
 
In any of the cases mentioned, cruise passengers remain in the country between two and three days prior to the start or end of the trip, generating income for the national economy.
 
Its passengers are characterized by traveling a lot, being cultured and educated, learning about history and the destinations to which the ship is headed. They are often active and adventurous recently retired people who enjoy shore excursions and prefer adventure tourism to shopping tourism.
 
In addition, they like the relaxed and informal atmosphere on board small boats.
 
Who?

"Greg Mortimer" is one of the first Australian climbers to climb Mount Everest in 1984 without oxygen assistance and hence the name of the boat.
 
Upon retiring from mountaineering, Mortimer dedicated himself to organizing luxury tours of Antarctica and due to his great passion for adventure, he and his wife Margaret Mortimer co-founded Aurora Expeditions.
 
The Greg Mortimer was the first ship built for polar adventures, to world-class standards. Some of the latest naval design and technology advantages were used.
 
Its bow design called Ulstein X-Bow or inverted bow, known as "thumblehome" (wave piercing), is used in seas with strong waves because it noticeably reduces the pitching of the ship, since the bow does not climb the wave but that crosses it and makes transit through them faster, combined with dynamic stabilizers.
 
The ship uses a virtual anchoring system protecting and minimizing damage to the ocean floor from conventional anchors, disembarking in Zodiacs, kayaks, among others, without disturbing the floor of marine areas and protecting the most fragile environments.
 
She has unique viewing platforms, with two hydraulically deployable platforms for an unobstructed view of marine life and bird watching.