Oceans Away...Dive of a Lifetime

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Trip Overview

In Spring 2020, Nekton launches its next mission – First Descent: Midnight Zone. Kensington Tours, in partnership with Nekton, would like to provide one VIP explorer with the chance to join Nekton on a once-in-a-lifetime experience to dive in unexplored waters in a state-of-the-art submersible.


Proposed Trip Dates: April 13 - April 23, 2020

  • VIP airport meet and greet for you and your guest
  • All-Inclusive 5-night stay at the 5-star Shangri-La Villingili Resort & Spa for two in a Sunset Overwater Villa
  • Scuba diving with manta rays with private guide, scuba diving the British Loyalty shipwreck with private guide (for PADI Advanced certified divers), OR snorkeling with sea turtles with private guide
  • 5-night stay at the 5-star Soneva Fushi for two adults in a Crusoe Villa with Pool and Breakfast
  • Sonu’s Picnic – enjoy lunch on a castaway desert island prepared by your personal chef
  • Sunset Dolphin Cruise – watch dozens of dolphins play at sunset while enjoying canapes and champagne
  • Private charter flights between Shangri-La Villingili and Soneva Fushi, and Soneva Fushi and Male for departure
  • Private speed boat transfers for you and your guest, guided by your trip host, to the Nekton Mothership, DSSV Pressure Drop

International flights are not included in trip or trip price

Nekton Dive information

  • Submersible science dive for one in DSV Limiting Factor, the world’s most advanced deep diving manned submersible, piloted by Victor Vescovo – the first person to reach the deepest point in each of the world’s five oceans
  • Undertake a First Decent to visit unexplored seamounts in the Midnight Zone, down to 3,000 meters below sea level where biodiversity peaks
  • Create the first maps of seamounts and previously unchartered seabed of the Maldives
  • Be the first to witness species new to science, likely found nowhere else on the planet
  • Conduct a live broadcast from the Mission Vessel to family, friends, or a school of your choosing
  • Receive a documentary about your Nekton experience including interior and exterior submersible footage
  • Anticipated dive duration of 2-3 hours depending on weather, research goals, subsea topography, target depth. One additional dive day for inclement weather included
  • All net proceeds will be re-invested into Nekton to support their ongoing conservation efforts. Nekton undertakes these missions to galvanise the protection and management of our oceans, aiming to support the protection of at least 30% of the ocean by 2030

Please note: Dive passenger max weight is 100KG/ 220LB, passenger must be able to fit through the submersible hatch. Dive passenger must sign Nekton’s standard waiver form, be in good health, have full mobility without reliance on any mobility aides, like wheelchairs, canes, walkers or other similar aides, have the ability to fit through the hatch door of the submersible – the hatch door is oval with dimensions 18 1/8 inches x 14 1/4 inches, and not have claustrophobia or otherwise have difficulty in small, enclosed spaces.


About Us

Kensington Tours is an award-winning travel company specializing in tailor-made journeys to the world's most extraordinary destinations. Kensington's customized tours are carefully crafted to deliver enriching experiences curated just for you and put the best private guides at your service. Kensington Tours is a founding partner of Nekton and has provided support for the not-for-profit for the last four years. The aim of Nekton is to help change the understanding and provide more information on the world’s oceans to speed up the protection and governance of our last great wilderness, the deep ocean. Now on board as a Mission Partner, Kensington Tours is the exclusive travel partner of Nekton, gaining access to unrivaled submersible travel experiences for our clients. Kensington Tours believes in Giving Back to our global community through ocean conservation and supporting the protection of 30% of the worlds oceans by 2030. For more information on both partners please visit: http://www.kensingtontours.com and http://nektonmission.org

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Terms & Conditions

  • General

This auction is being hosted by ClickBid, LLC (“ClickBid”). By participating in this auction, you agree to ClickBid’s terms of service found at: https://clickbidonline.com/tos/, the terms and conditions set out below and the Kensington Tours Ltd. (“Kensington Tours”) terms and conditions found at https://www.kensingtontours.com/terms-and-conditions. [NTD: think about KT’s cancellation terms…trip only becomes fully non-refundable 30 days out.] Kensington Tours reserves all legal remedies that it may have at law or in equity in the event of a violation of the terms applicable to this auction.

  • Product Information

This auction is for a unique VIP experience (the “Trip”) provided by Kensington Tours and includes a descent on Nekton Mothership, DSSV Pressuredrop (the “Descent”) provided by the Nekton Foundation (“Nekton”). Kensington Tours has provided a planned itinerary from the proposed trip dates of April 13, 2020 to April 22, 2020, which includes, among other things, a stay at the Shangri-La Villingili Resort & Spa for two in a Sunset Overwater Villa, snorkeling with manta rays, a stay at the Soneva Fushi for two in a Crusoe Villa with Pool and the Descent (the “Itinerary”). Kensington Tours will use its best efforts to provide the Itinerary as set out above, but the Itinerary is not guaranteed and is subject to change depending on, among other things, the actual dates of the Trip, weather and sea conditions. 

In order to participate in the Descent, the Trip participants must: (a) sign Nekton’s standard waiver form; (b) be in good health; (c) have full mobility without reliance on any mobility aides, like wheelchairs, canes, walkers or other similar aides; (d) weigh under 100kg; (e) have the ability to fit through the hatch door of the submersible – the hatch door is oval with dimensions 18 1/8 inches x 14 1/4 inches; and (f) not have claustrophobia or otherwise have difficulty in small, enclosed spaces.  The Descent is anticipated to last two to three hours. The duration of the Descent depends on weather, research goals, subsea topography and target depth. The Descent will not occur in the event of inclement weather or adverse sea conditions. The Itinerary includes one extra day to account for bad conditions on the originally scheduled day for the Descent. In the event of inclement weather on both available days for the Descent, you will not be able to participate in the Descent and no refund will be issued. Decisions regarding the Descent are made solely by Nekton. By participating on the Trip, you grant permission to Kensington Tours to use photographs and/or video of you taken during the Trip in publications, news releases, social media and in other communication related to the business of Kensington Tours.

  • Bid Process

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In order to participate in this auction, you must register with the ClickBid platform by providing your email, mobile phone number, name and credit card information in order to verify who you are. You must be at least 18 years of age to bid. The information about you that is collected by ClickBid is encrypted and protected. Making bids with false information or with an invalid or stolen credit card information is prohibited and illegal. Your username and password are required in order to place a bid. Kensington Tours reserves the right to request that ClickBid suspend or terminate the account of anyone who Kensington Tours believes may be in violation of any of the terms of service applicable to this auction. Please see ClickBid’s Acceptable Use Policy for more information: https://clickbidonline.com/aup/. 

The information you provide to ClickBid is subject to ClickBid’s terms of service and privacy policy. You can find all of ClickBid’s legal terms, including a link to its privacy policy here: https://clickbidonline.com/legalese/. Kensington Tours will not automatically receive your information when you register for ClickBid.

Bidding will open on [February 26, 2020 at 12:00 AM] and will close on [February 28, 2020 at 12:00 PM] (“Auction Closing”).  All times referenced are Eastern Standard Time. The highest bid submitted as at Auction Closing that is higher than the Minimum Bid will be the winning bid. In the event of equal bids, the earliest bid received will be the winning bid.

If you are the winning bidder, you will be notified by Kensington Tours. Upon notification, payment must be made by wire transfer of immediately available funds in United States Dollars (“USD”) to the account details provided to you by Kensington Tours no later than 24 hours after Auction Closing. If payment is not made within the 24-hour deadline, Kensington Tours reserves the right to award the winning bid to the next highest bidder. 

Bidding is in USD. Bid amount can be increased, but not decreased. The starting bid must not be lower than $125,000 USD (the “Minimum Bid”). Kensington tours may, in its sole discretion, work with ClickBid to withdraw and resubmit a bid in the case a bid contains an obvious typographical error. If you think your bid contains such an error, you must contact Kensington Tours immediately after making the error. There are no guarantees that such errors will be withdrawn. 

Bids are binding. By entering a bid, you are committing to make payment of 100% of the winning bid amount to Kensington Tours within 24 hours after Auction Closing, subject to any contractual right or other right at law to rescind the contract in certain circumstances. Failure to complete the transaction without lawful reason is a breach of these terms and your agreement with Kensington Tours and ClickBid. Recognizing the global nature of the internet, you agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable content. You shall comply with all applicable domestic and international laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations regarding your participation in this auction.

Following payment to Kensington Tours, Kensington Tours will contact the winning bidder to arrange for all details of the Trip. 

  • Proceeds

Proceeds from the winning bid will be allocated as follows: (a) 10% of the winning bid will be paid as commission to the travel agent representing the winning bidder, (b) costs of the services of the Trip will be paid for and (c) 100% of the remaining proceeds after payment of the items described in (a) and (b) above will be paid by Kensington Tours to Nekton. 

Nekton Foundation is a registered charity in the UK (1162666) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England (9644797)

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