Congratulations to Todd English for being nominated for a prestigious James Beard House Foundation Award!

Todd English and his crew from PBS’ Food Trip with Todd English recently spent several days with Aqua Expeditions’ Executive Chef, Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, exploring the Peruvian Amazon and its unique cuisine. The 30-minute piece they filmed in Iquitos and onboard the M/V Aqua — along with the 30-minute piece they filmed in Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley — secured the nomination for a 2010 James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Award for Best Television Special.

The James Beard House Foundation will hold its annual gala event on May 2, 2010, in New York City to announce the 2010 award winners.

Good luck to Todd and his staff; or as we say in Spanish, “buena suerte!”

Each year, readers of Travel+Leisure, the top travel magazine in the US, choose from among the world’s top hotels, resorts, spas, cruise lines, airlines, travel companies and destinations, to determine the winners of the World’s Best Awards.  This is the first year that Aqua Expeditions is included on the prestigious readers’ ballots.

Readers who cast votes in the readers’ poll at www.tlworldsbest.com through March 31, 2010, are also entered to win a $10,000 dream trip to the destination of their choice.  Results of the survey will be announced in the August 2011 issue of Travel+Leisure magazine. Log on to the site and vote for us!

The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) has recognized Aqua Expeditions and its PR firm, WEILL (Geoffrey Weill Associates), with a gold award for public relations excellence in the 53^rd annual Adrian Awards Competition; the world’s largest and most prestigious travel marketing competition. The Adrian Awards are considered the “Oscars” of travel and tourism promotion, attracting nearly 1,100 entries from around the world this year.

Aqua Expeditions’ gold award came as a result of the PR and media campaign during the pre- and post-launch of its vessel, the M/V Aqua.

Congratulations to WEILL PR and to the entire Aqua Expeditions staff for making the launch of the M/V Aqua a huge success!

This October 2009, Condé Nast Traveler listed Aqua Expeditions among 26 travel and tourism companies that it recognizes as “World Savers.” The list honored those companies that, according to the magazine, are “turning travel’s enormous potential to improve the planet into reality.”

Nominations were made for excellence in the areas of education, poverty, wildlife, preservation, and health. Aqua Expeditions, however, was honored to find itself on the “doing it all” list, reflecting its efforts in every one of the above categories.

Aqua Expeditions is dedicated to delivering a world-class Amazon experience, in an environment of comfort and safety. Its team onboard the M/V Aqua equals that of the finest small ship operators, anywhere in the world. Management has a total commitment to excellence.