Orion Expedition Cruises Acquired by Lindblad Expeditions

Orion Expedition Cruises will become part of Lindblad Expeditions' existing fleet beginning with March 2014 itineraries.

Lindblad Expeditions owns five ships:  the National Geographic Explorer, the National Geographic Endeavour, the National Geographic Sea Bird, the National Geographic Sea Lion and the National Geographic Islander.  In addition, Lindblad charters five ships – the Delfin II, the Lord of the Glens, the Oceanic Discoverer, the Jahan and the Sea Cloud for seasonal expeditions.

Destinations include Arctic Svalbard, Antarctica, Alaska, Baja California, Central America, Galapagos, the Amazon, New Zealand, Africa, British Isles, Egypt, Europe, the Mediterranean, the Pacific Northwest and South America.

Trey Byus, Lindblad’s chief expedition officer, said “The geographies that Orion has explored in the past are well known to us through the decades, but I was very much impressed with the knowledge of the Orion team.  It has been a joy working with them to develop compelling ideas for the future.”

Sarina Bratton, the founder of Orion, will leave the business on completion of her current contract on April 19. In addition to the awards won by the company, Sarina herself was named Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year, Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year (Services) and Travel Innovator of the Year.

For more information, visit www.expeditions.com.