CT Partners spent three days in Christchurch, New Zealand last week with 11 members from the consortia enjoying a famil hosted by PONANT and Emirates.
Participants had the opportunity to step aboard and inspect the world’s first luxury icebreaker, Le Commandant Charcot, whilst the vessel was in port at Lyttelton, just outside Christchurch. The 270-passenger hybrid electric polar exploration ship – powered by liquified natural gas – was in port on its annual turnaround after a semi-circumnavigation of Antarctica.
Le Commandant Charcot is now making its way back to Ushuaia on a nearly month-long voyage encompassing the Antarctic Peninsula, Ross Island and Drake Passage, arriving at the Argentine port on 3 March 2024.
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The CT Partners’ travel advisors also visited The George, one of only a few members of Small Luxury Hotels of the World in New Zealand and the only property in Christchurch, where they toured the five-star hotel and enjoyed a hosted lunch.
Their trip included a scenic road trip to the small French-influenced seaside village of Akaroa, 1.5 hours out of Christchurch on the Banks Peninsula.
Flying to New Zealand with Emirates, the advisors also had the opportunity to sample EK’s increasingly popular Premium Economy cabin and a quick movie from the extensive i.c.e. inflight entertainment system. On the return leg, the advisors travelled in the luxurious retrofitted Business class cabin, also experiencing the A380 Business Bar towards the rear of the upper-deck cabin.
