Overview
Built in Germany by the Cassens shipyard, the 102-guest National Geographic Orion was created with a high-ice class to be able to venture safely into polar regions. A ship of her size is seldom built with such ice-cutting ability, which makes her a rarity. She is yacht-scale, yet rugged enough to venture far afield, making her a perfect addition to the Lindblad fleet, which she joined in 2013. Her size and nimbleness offer the perfect combination of safety and liberty to voyage untrammeled locations. In fact, Orion currently holds the distinction of having sailed further south than any other Lindblad vessel.
Her menu, created by famed Australian chef, Serge Dansereau, owner of Sydney’s acclaimed Bather’s Pavilion restaurant, enormously popular with Orion’s guests, so impressed Sven Lindblad, that Serge, a chef-owner who shared the Lindblad commitment to serving local and sustainable food, was enlisted to design the dining program for the entire Lindblad-National Geographic fleet.
Orion is gracious and intimate, with a rewarding, almost clubby feeling. Of her many amenities and features, the most appealing is her outside deck space which beckons in the balmy reaches of the Pacific, and on those days in Antarctica when the midnight sun and the spectacle of the ice makes going indoors, let alone going to bed, impossible.
The Details
53 outside cabins
All feature ocean views, private facilities, climate controls, hair dryers and flat-screen TV, plus Ethernet, Wi-Fi connections and USB ports for mobile devices. Some cabins have French balconies. Single cabins in Category 1 and Category 3 include #301, 322, 323, and 512.