Kapitan Khlebnikov

[warmwinds]

So, what does everyone think of the name of the Xpeditions ship that will be doing the Arctic/Antarctic itineraries?

[Linda Lee]

In the spirit of detente, I think the name of the Soviet Kapitan Khlebnikov icebreaker has evolved into a Russian cruise ship, defined as more "Russian" than "cruise" ship. One has to wonder who Khlebnikov was and why he was honored by the Soviets with a ship. One sometimes does not want to know the answer.

 

Many years ago, when the first Russian icebreaker cruises began, two guys I knew paid $25,000 apiece to go to the Arctic and North Pole. They loved the adventure and were thrilled to be able to walk around the world in 60 seconds at the Pole.

[garykool81]

Took a look at photos of the ship -- now *that* is an unattractive vessel :-)

 

Not that it really matters, though. The idea is fantastic I think!

 

Gary Kulash

www.badelephant.com

 

Carnival Holiday 8/02

NCL Majesty 1/03

NCL Norway 5/25/03

NCL Sea 7/03

Celebrity Galaxy 3/04

Celebrity Mercury 10/04

[aagra]

I am really excited about going on the new Xpedition to the Galapagos islands. While it is a small ship I am hopeing Celebrity will deliver a high quality product and dinning experience.

Since they are only renting the K. Khlebrikov for two sailings I am not sure Celebrity will have control of the product, staff, kithchen, etc. Sounds like they are doing a test marketing effort. I would wait on this trip until they commit to a new Celebrity owned and staffed ship. I certainly would not par a premium over the other expedition vendors that do the same cruise.

 

Jag

 

Xpedition,galapagos,March05

Granduer of the Seas-New years,Western Carrib,Dec03

Constellation-Baltics,july03

Century-Easter,Western Carrib,April02

Volendam-4 of July,Alaska,July01

[dougnewmanatsea]

An interesting question and one I've not thought of. Most Soviet passenger ships were named after people or places one might have heard of (e.g. ALEXANDR PUSHKIN, BELORUSSIYA) but I have no idea who Khelbnikov might have been. A search on Google mostly pulls up a poet named Velimir Khelbnikov (1885-1922) but it seems unlikely that he would be the person in question. There is a Kiril Timofeevich Khlebnikov (1784-1838) who, according to this page, was a "voyager and writer ... one of the leading authorities of his day on Russian America ... connected to the Russian-American Company throughout his life, rising from an ordinary agent to director of the main office." Again I don't imagine that he is the Khelbnikov in question, but he's the only other historical Khelbnikov I can find.

[Linda Lee]

Perhaps one of our naval historians on the boards can tell us who Kapital Khlebnikov was. Anybody got a copy of Jane's Ships? I know the icebreaker is one of the Soviet Kapital Sorokin class ships.

 

This itinerary is for the "roughing it" adventurers out there. I'm sure that Celebrity will make a good cruise out of it as much as possible but I would urge anyone interested in these cruises to check out the cabin diagrams. They tell the tale.

 

If you cruise for the pure luxury of it, you might want to look elsewhere. If you love exotic adventure, peruse this one. I admire Celebrity for offering these options.

[dougnewmanatsea]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Linda Lee:

I admire Celebrity for offering these options.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, it's not as though they're offering anything that hasn't already been offered by someone else (that is, FESCO and Quark who they are partnering with).

 

I do admire that they have the desire to do something different, which is not very common amongst the big cruise lines these days - but I'm not sure if marketing a ship like KAPITAN KHELBNIKOV under the Celebrity brand is such a great idea...

[Linda Lee]

Howdy, Doug. I guess I should have said that I was stunned and surprised that a mass marketer like X would paste their name on a Russian ice breaker and try to offer the Celebrity "experience" in such an atmosphere.

 

I wonder about the wisdom of Celebrity doing such an offering but time will tell whether pax enjoy the adventure or were disappointed that they didn't have full satellite and DVD service in their cabins.

 

I'm on the edge of my chair waiting for posts to come in from passengers who were on the Kapitan "cruises." Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter in "As The Icebreaker Churns."

[jsea]

I agree, I am not so sure how this will work out. I think it is better if Celebrity gets their own ships, like they are doing in the Galapagos with Xpedition. That way you get some form of Celebrity service and style along with an exotic destination. The Kapitan is definitely NOT going to be anything X-like, and it was something you could get before Celebrity came along.

 

I wish Celebrity would send a ship of Horizon/Zenith proportions (or more) to farther reaches of the globe, like Africa, Asia, and Oceania.

[thesums]

For all those interested in the Kapitan Khlebnikov,

 

Having been on it the previous summer! I can answer any questions you may have. It is small and the way it is built is necessary to break ice. trust me, you will be happy with the built when you are stuck in ice. It is very different from a cruise and if you think there will be entertainment and lots of activities you will be disappointed. SO BEWARE TRADITIONAL CRUISERS!

First of all in order to own an ice breaker, would be crazy. All the ones that do expeditions are generally rented from the Russians (this one from them, then from an Asian company, then Quanark and finally Celebrity).

 

For those who want something different I recomment this. The ship holds about 100 people. The main entertainment is the lectures. Itinerary is changed in seconds (weather can really determine a lot). Most of the places on the intinerary are seen, as well as some special places. The main source off the ship is zodiac boats and helicopters. The food is made by a team from Austria and was quite yummy, the library is small. The cabins are small and the ship can get really rocky.

 

A ship this size with helicopters can do anything. Some of my favourite memories were taking a helicopter to an unchartered glacier. Everyone proceeded up and was able to slide down it. Jumping in the Arctic (only did this cause they sponsored the group I was with "Students on Ice"), it was fun but it was really cold. the children in Greenland coming up to you and asking for your name. The hikes, which were great. secretly collecting 10,000 year old shells. getting stuck in ice and walking out and touching the ship. It was a whole new world up North and I fear I can't do it justice.

[barante]

Having worked in Moscow for five years in the 1980s, my guess is that Khlebnikov is Kiril Timofeev, the czarist explorer of Alaska and Russian north. In fact, few of the Soviet-era ice-breakers were named for communist heroes -- with an obligatory Lenin, of course. Instead, many were named after top scientists.

[dougnewmanatsea]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by barante:

Instead, many were named after top scientists.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

True - in fact many of them are not "KAPITAN" somebody or other but "AKADEMIK".

[narob]

JSea,

 

My husband and I agree, that the Zenith and Horizon would be great on more exotic itineraries. We took the Zenith from Argentina and Uruguay to Chile and loved it. It was the perfect size. We are going to try Oceania Insignia to the Black Sea in September, because she is a similar size with fewer people with "country club casual". We are also booked on the Celebrity Xpedition in the Galapagos in December as a continuation of our 25th wedding anniversary. We love Celebrity--best line for the $$$$----although we never had a bad cruise.

[PatC]

You can keep the ice breaker. While on Summit in March we also were told about new Xpeditions - like NASCAR racing!!! Now that I can go for. Meeting drivers, driving the course at Daytona and sailing. Wow! We were also given the info that Celeb is expanding on these "Xpeditions" and the future looks really great for some interesting cruise ideas.

 

Dolphin - 1990

Horizon - 1994, 1995, 1995

Century - 1997, 2000, 2001

Galaxy - 1998

Zenith - 1992, 1999, 2002

Millennium - 2003

Summit 2004

Summit 2005

 

Countdown to Summit 2005

 

[thedrunkrock]

When you goto galapagos make sure you say hi to Lonely George out there, you may think i'm nuts and wonder what the heck i'm talking about, but just say hi to my buddy out there. You will understand when you get there.