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'Clipper Odyssey' Catalog

Insider Access
'Clipper Odyssey' brings you into direct contact with the exciting world around you for a voyage of hands-on active participation. As a result, you experience much more than others who are only able to watch the world scroll past from the rail of a cruise ship’s promenade deck. In addition, our fleet of easy-to-launch Zodiac auxiliary craft takes you to remote shores where there are no piers or docking facilities. As exploratory vessels, they provide you with "up close and personal" encounters with marine life, indigenous wildlife and the exotic cultures rarely experienced by Western travellers.

Expert Lecturers and Guides
A&K's 'Clipper Odyssey' expedition team conducts stimulating and entertaining in-depth presentations and lectures during each voyage, planned around the daily expedition schedule. Topics include marine biology, cultural history, geology, archaeology and ornithology.

Fine Dining and Amenities
Nothing introduces a foreign destination as quickly – and as pleasurably – as a good meal, and the 'Clipper Odyssey' with its fine dining offers many opportunities to savor unique cuisines and cultures at their authentic best. Indulge in a sit-down dinner in the open seating dining room, casual dining by poolside or room service expertly crafted by 'Clipper Odyssey's' award-winning chefs and kitchen staff. For your convenience, all soft drinks, juices, coffee, bottled water, bar drinks and house wines are included in the cruise price.

Intimate Ship Experience
Visiting such remote environments doesn't mean roughing it. The attentive staff and crew (which number better than one to every 1.5 passengers) service your every need in a way that can only be accomplished on a small ship. Every detail is attended to, from a special birthday or anniversary celebration to your nightly turndown service. Our international crew is dedicated to making your time on board unforgettable.

MV 'Clipper Odyssey'
Treasures of Japan

In the early 17th century a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years, this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture - a culture today that is still largely influenced by its history.

In late May of 2008, Abercrombie & Kent launches a 12-night Pacific adventure cruise aboard the luxurious, award-winning 118-passenger 'Clipper Odyssey,' exploring Japan, South Korea and the islands of Japan's inland Sea. Our unique itinerary is a marvelous balance of ancient castles, serenely beautiful gardens and opulent temples and shrines, combined with Japan's lovely natural landscapes. Visit some of the best-known highlights as well as some hidden treasures and areas rarely experienced by Western travellers.

The 'Odyssey's' small size allows maneuvering to out-of-the-way islands and remote stretches of coast which would be otherwise inaccessible by land or a larger cruise ship. The prize is timeless villages, rural landscapes and a rich cultural heritage that allows you to immerse yourself in the myth and mystique of this ancient land. And the late-May departure is the ideal time to see the famed gardens in full bloom.

Please join A&K's award-winning expedition staff and experts on this historic voyage to the "Land of the Rising Sun."

The Abercrombie & Kent Difference

Insider Access
The unique itinerary is a marvelous balance of ancient castles, serenely beautiful gardens and opulent temples and shrines combined with Japan's lovely natural landscapes. This voyage will offer some of the country's best-known highlights, as well as some hidden treasures in areas rarely visited by Western travellers.

Fine Dining and Entertainment
Nothing introduces a foreign destination as quickly - and as pleasurably - as a good meal, and the 'Clipper Odyssey' with its five-star dining offers many opportunities to savor unique cuisines and cultures at their authentic best. Indulge in a sit down dinner in the Dining room, casual dining by poolside or room service. To ensure convenience while on the voyage, all soft drinks, juices, coffee, bottled water, bar drinks and house wines are included in the cruise price.

Intimate Ship Experience
A&K's new 118-passenger 'Clipper Odyssey' takes you to exotic, unspoiled and otherwise inaccessible ports in Japan. Explore anywhere nature or curiosity dictates - to places often unreachable by larger cruise ships and land programs. And with an intimate atmosphere and better than a 1:2 crew to passenger ratio, your needs are met in a timely and efficient manner.

Expert Lecturers and Guides
A&K's 'Clipper Odyssey' voyages are highlighted by an in-depth enrichment experience. On each voyage, you will travel in the company of leading experts, chosen based on their education, experience and knowledge in the destination. The expedition staff will accompany guests while on shore and conduct stimulating lectures and discussions while on board.

Traveling with you on the Treasures of Japan will be:

Cruise Director
Lynne Grieg
A South African, Lynne was a teacher before her love for travel led her around the globe, eventually leading to a career in the adventure travel industry. Since 1995 she has travelled to every continent and across every ocean aboard expedition vessels ranging from Russian icebreakers to Australian catamarans. She has tried to settle down on numerous occasions; however, the lure of the sea is too strong. Lynne returns to the field every time, where her cheery personality, abundant energy, and industry knowledge serve her well in her positions as expedition leader and Cruise Director.

Natural Historian
Dr. Mark Brazil
Mark developed his fascination with the natural world, especially birds, during his boyhood in the landlocked English county of Worcestershire. He then pursued his academic interest in biology during studies in England and Scotland, while exploring the coasts and mountains of Britain in search of birds. Mark earned his PhD from Stirling University, Scotland, for his work on avian ecology and behavior in Iceland. Ornithological research, natural history consultancy for TV productions, and guiding naturalists and wildlife photographers, have taken him to all seven continents. He currently works as a professor of biodiversity and conservation at Rakuno Gakuen University near Sapporo. In addition to being a field naturalist, he is a columnist, author, and editor. His books include Wild Asia: Spirit of a Continent, The Birds of Japan (the definitive text of bird biology and distribution in the Japanese archipelago), the recently published monograph The Whooper Swan, and the forthcoming Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia.

Horticulturalist
Dr. John Harwood
Dr. John Harwood was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England receiving a First Class Honours degree in Botany from the University of London in 1966 and a Doctorate in Microbiology in 1970. In 1978 Dr. Harwood was appointed a full-time researcher Brazil's Government's National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) where he investigated non-petroleum energy resources, especially forest biomass. Since 1986, Dr. Harwood had worked and traveled the world studying microbiology as a naturalist and lecturer working with individual, specialist groups, academics and media including projects for CBS, BBC and National Geographic.

Japanese Culturalist
Kazumi Matsuda

* Accompanying the above team will be experienced specialist guides and experts in additional fields of study.

About the Clipper Odyssey

The Ultimate Passenger Experience
The 118-passenger 'Clipper Odyssey' provides superior on board comfort while sailing to remote and off-the-beaten-path destinations. A fleet of on board Zodiac landing craft enables all passengers to explore and land anywhere nature or curiosity dictates, and a customized glass-bottomed excursion boat affords a magnificent glimpse of the underwater world. All of A&K's 'Odyssey' voyages are accompanied by destination experts and educators individually selected for each voyage, so that you know the stories behind all that you see. All staterooms have an ocean view, private well-appointed bathroom, sitting area with sofa, individual temperature controls, in-room music system and television. A passenger elevator allows easy access to all decks and passenger areas and an INMARSAT telecommunications system permits 24-hour email access. Public areas include a window-lined dining room featuring international cuisine, a lounge, library, gym, outdoor pool, hair salon and a well-stocked gift shop. An infirmary is staffed with an accredited physician on every voyage.

Clipper Odyssey Treasures of Japan Itinerary