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Antarctica has been described by many as an unforgettable, life-changing experience of stark, otherworldly surroundings and beguiling wildlife — which is why the experience should be accessible to more luxury travelers.

Which has been — until now — a challenge. Voyages to Antarctica, which depart from Argentina’s Ushuaia, must sail for two days across the notoriously choppy Drake Passage to get to the White Continent. Returning, there’s another two days on the Drake.

What if you could eliminate those four days at sea on a 10-day sailing — and still have six days to explore Antarctica? Now you can, on Silversea Cruises’ newly acquired Silver Endeavour, which offers Antarctica Bridge itineraries from November 2022.

With the creation of Silversea’s Antarctica Bridge fly-cruise program, those with limited time — or those who have previously sailed the full itinerary — can step foot in the continent just over 90 minutes after takeoff from Punta Arenas, Chile. The chartered, business class flights are piloted by skilled Chilean navy pilots with 10,000 hours of flight time.

Gateway to the Last Continent

The fly-cruise program begins and ends on King George Island in the South Shetlands, known as the Gateway to the Last Continent. The journey brings Silversea guests on unscheduled experiences kayaking, boating, or simply walking along the icy shoreline to admire and explore Antarctica’s natural wonders. Guests might see penguins, seals, or towering rock-and-ice formations — all with just days spent on the Seventh Continent.

“Flying to Antarctica is an incredible experience,” says Conrad Combrink, Silversea’s SVP of Expedition, Destinations, and Itinerary Management. Even if guests have been to the destination before, he mentions that flying in is a completely unique experience to the two-day ocean voyage. There is an announcement to put on your rubber boots and parkas about 15 minutes prior to landing, which is unlike a Drake Passage crossing or a typical flight.

Combrink says the fly-cruise program has been a dream of his since Silversea Expeditions launched in 2008. “Today, with Antarctica Bridge, the White Continent has never been closer.” And Combrink would know; he has been to Antarctica more than 76 times and maintains that no matter how many times you go, “It’s always a dream destination.”

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First published at Travel Industry Today

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Rescue crews piloted boats and waded through flooded streets Thursday to save thousands of Floridians trapped after Hurricane Ian destroyed homes and businesses and left millions in the dark.

The devastation began to come into focus a day after Ian made landfall in Florida as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to hit the US. The storm flooded homes on both the state’s coasts, cut off the only bridge to a barrier island, destroyed a historic waterfront pier and knocked out electricity to 2.67 million Florida homes and businesses – nearly a quarter of utility customers. At least one man was confirmed dead.

Aerial photos from the Fort Myers area, a few miles west of where Ian struck land, showed homes ripped from their slabs and deposited among shredded wreckage. Businesses near the beach were completely razed, leaving just twisted debris. Broken docks floated at odd angles beside damaged boats, and fires smoldered on lots where houses once stood.

“We’ve never seen storm surge of this magnitude,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “The amount of water that’s been rising, and will likely continue to rise today even as the storm is passing, is basically a 500-year flooding event.”

Though downgraded to a tropical storm by Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center said storm surge and flooding rains remained a threat as Ian crept across the Florida peninsula and emerged in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cape Canaveral. Forecasters predicted Ian would regain strength while turning northward.

A hurricane warning was issued for the South Carolina coast, where the storm was expected to again make landfall.

Sheriffs in southwest Florida said 911 centers were inundated by thousands of stranded callers, some with life-threatening emergencies. The US Coast Guard began rescue efforts hours before daybreak on barrier islands near where Ian struck, DeSantis said. More than 800 members of federal urban search-and-rescue teams were also in the area.

In the Orlando area, Orange County firefighters used boats to reach people in a flooded neighborhood. At an area nursing home, patients were carried on stretchers across floodwaters to a waiting bus.

Despite the utter devastation in parts of Fort Myers, some people left shelters to return home Thursday afternoon. Long lines formed at gas stations and a Home Depot opened, letting in a few customers at a time.

Authorities confirmed at least one Florida death – a 72-year-old man in Deltona who fell into a canal while using a hose to drain his pool in the heavy rain, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said. Two other storm deaths were reported in Cuba.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said his office was scrambling to respond to thousands of 911 calls in the Fort Myers area, but many roads and bridges were impassable.

“We still cannot access many of the people that are in need,” Marceno told ABC’s “Good Morning America.

Emergency crews sawed through toppled trees to reach stranded people. Many in the hardest-hit areas were unable to call for help because of electrical and cellular outages.

A chunk of the Sanibel Causeway fell into the sea, cutting off access to the barrier island where 6,300 people live. It was unknown how many heeded orders to evacuate, but Charlotte County Emergency Management Director Patrick Fuller expressed cautious optimism.

No deaths or injuries have been confirmed in the county, and flyovers of barrier islands show “the integrity of the homes is far better than we anticipated,” Fuller said.

South of Sanibel Island, the historic beachfront pier in Naples was destroyed, with even the pilings underneath torn out. “Right now, there is no pier,” said Penny Taylor, a Collier County commissioner.

In Port Charlotte, a hospital’s emergency room flooded and fierce winds ripped away part of the roof, sending water gushing into the intensive care unit. The sickest patients – some on ventilators – were crowded into the middle two floors as the staff prepared for storm victims to arrive, said Dr. Birgit Bodine of HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital.

Ian struck Florida as a monstrous Category 4 storm, with 150 mph (241 kph) winds that tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane ever to hit the US.

While scientists generally avoid blaming climate change for specific storms without detailed analysis, Ian’s watery destruction fits what scientists have predicted for a warmer world: stronger and wetter hurricanes, though not necessarily more of them.

“This business about very, very heavy rain is something we’ve expected to see because of climate change,” said MIT atmospheric scientist Kerry Emanuel. “We’ll see more storms like Ian.”

Even after weakening, Ian’s tropical storm-force winds still reached 415 miles (667 kilometers) from its center. Forecasters predicted the Atlantic waters would strengthen it to a Category 1 hurricane before it makes landfall Friday in South Carolina.

The National Hurricane Center warned storm surge of 6 feet (1.83 meters) or more was possible from Daytona Beach, Florida, to north of Charleston, South Carolina. Rainfall of up to 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) threatened flooding in the Carolinas and Virginia.

First published at Travel Industry Today

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Carnaby is back in fashion. Famous as a style centre of the swinging ‘60s, punk outpost in the ‘70s and designer depot in the ‘80s, the district (with pedestrianized Carnaby Street at the centre) had languished under gentrification in recent years, only to re-emerge as a vibrant shopping and dining destination in London with over 150 brands, boutiques, concept stores, and 60 independent restaurants, bars, and cafés.

Located just off Oxford Street and running parallel to Regent Street half-way down to Piccadilly, Carnaby is buzzing again, not least at the new three-storey Kingly Court, itself home to nearly dozen restaurants (featuring varied global fare) and central courtyard.

There are, of course, multiple bars and pubs in the area, ideal for pre- or post dinner drinks (London’s theatres are nearby), or as respite after shopping on Carnaby.

An interesting and fun choice is Cahoots cocktail bar, which fronts Kingly Street (beside the aforementioned Kingly Court) in the form of a train station, but is accessible from the Carnaby Street side too.

The venue – which channels its history as a former London underground station/air raid shelter from the war – is themed as a late 1940s/early ‘50s speakeasy set up in a disused station, and dressed up with authentic railway and post-war paraphernalia across multiple floors and three spaces (the ticket hall, control room and underground) comprising an “illicit base… flouting the rules of rationing, selling top-notch bootlegging cocktails and throwing sensational swinging parties late into the night!”

Cocktail names – presented in a newspaper-style menu – recall the era, ranging from a Winston Churchill to a Marilyn Monroe, Ginger Rogers, or Vera Lynn, or the cheeky “Eiffel in Love with a Soldier.”

Wine, spirits, and craft beers compliment the drinks menu, while “rations” range from steak and ale pie to desserts like Nana’s Classic Coffee Cake.

The trip to the blitz (without the bombing) is all good fun and follows the energetic theming of other bars in London, like Around the World in 80 Days. Music kicks in in the evenings, and a Saturday night (which is basically every night in London) probably requires reservations. Also check the web site for opening hours – it varies from mid-afternoonish to late (3 a.m.) depending on the day of the week.

With glass purposefully in hand, we at Travel Industry Today continue our series on some of the planet’s best bars, patios and rooftop venues. For more articles in the series, click here:

PREVIOUS ARTICLES: https://travelindustrytoday.com/pub-patio/

First published at Travel Industry Today

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News