A traveller in an orange expedition jacket stands on a glacier in Greenland, looking towards a mountain

Expedition cruises

Expedition cruises to the Arctic and Antarctica

On small ships to places large ones cannot reach. We advise from our own experience on which ship, route and season suit you.

To ArcticDesire.com

Greenland · Photo: Meinhard Mooslechner

What it is about

A journey where the destination sets the pace

On an expedition cruise, ice, weather and wildlife shape the day, not a timetable. Most guests take such a journey only once in their lives and have many questions beforehand. For us, these questions are everyday work: we have been to Antarctica, Greenland, Svalbard and the Arctic ourselves and advise travellers on exactly these journeys every day.

What makes it special

How an expedition differs from a cruise

Small ships

Expedition ships are small and manoeuvrable. That opens up landings and bays that remain closed to large cruise ships.

Antarctica. Photo: Meinhard Mooslechner, ArcticDesire.com
Landings by Zodiac

Zodiacs take you ashore: to penguin colonies, to huts of early expeditions and close to glaciers and icebergs.

Pictured: a Zodiac cruise with Scenic Luxury Cruises in Wilhelmina Bay.
An expedition team on board

Biologists, geologists and historians guide the excursions and explain on board what you see along the way.

Pictured: an expedition guide from Seabourn.
A route that adapts

The captain and expedition leader plan each day anew, depending on ice and weather. That is part of an expedition.

Antarctica. Photo: Meinhard Mooslechner, ArcticDesire.com
Big differences on board

From the simple expedition vessel to the yacht with helicopter and suites: comfort and price vary widely.

Pictured: the helicopter of Scenic Eclipse, Scenic Luxury Cruises.
The right season

Antarctic voyages run from November to March, Arctic voyages from May to September. Every month shows something different.

Antarctica in the southern summer. Photo: Meinhard Mooslechner, ArcticDesire.com

A man standing on a rock opposite Uummannaq in West Greenland, icebergs drifting in the water — Opposite Uummannaq, West Greenland. Photo: Meinhard Mooslechner

Destinations

Where expeditions go

Antarctica: the Antarctic Peninsula, the Weddell Sea with its emperor penguins and, for a few ships, the Ross Sea. If the Drake Passage is not for you, fly in and board the ship there.

South Georgia and the Falkland Islands: king penguins by the hundreds of thousands and Shackleton’s grave in Grytviken.

Arctic: Svalbard with polar bears, Greenland with its ice fjords, the Canadian Arctic with the Northwest Passage and, by icebreaker, the North Pole.

Hikers climbing a snow slope in Antarctica, an expedition ship in the bay — Landing in Antarctica. Photo: Meinhard Mooslechner, ArcticDesire.com

Our advice

What we talk about with you

Which ship suits you and which cabin is worth it. Whether a route has more landings or more sea days. Whether to sail or fly across the Drake Passage. Which equipment you need and which insurance covers such a journey.

Advice and booking are handled by our polar travel agency, ArcticDesire.com (in German).

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Cruise lines