Source : the age
If you hanker after more adventurous styles of holiday, there’s never been a better time to cruise. A small flotilla of new expedition ships has launched in recent years and more expedition ships are arriving soon, including Atlas Ocean’s World Adventurer and World Discoverer, and Aurora Expedition’s Douglas Mawson.
You can now head to more wilderness and far-flung locations than ever, some accessible no other way except by cruise ship. Many of us are seizing the opportunity. Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) says the number of people taking expedition cruises is up more than 70 per cent since 2019.
Sailing the Arctic with Silversea Expeditions.
CLIA managing director in Australasia Joel Katz says this reflects a desire for more unspoiled locations and cultural authenticity, greater awareness of environmental issues, and more available opportunities.
Other reasons to choose an expedition cruise include crossing off bucket-list destinations, a desire for wildlife encounters, a wider demand for more immersive and exclusive experiences, and a post-pandemic trend towards smaller ships.
Although the first sightseeing travellers visited Antarctica back in 1966, expedition cruising long remained a niche market often involving basic stays on repurposed Russian icebreakers. By 2012, expedition ships still carried just 67,000 passengers a year.
A Travel Market Report sponsored by HX (formerly Hurtigruten) says expedition cruises are the fastest-growing cruise segment, with about 400,000 passengers now taking an expedition cruise annually.
More than 20 cruise lines operate some 100 expedition ships worldwide. Traditional lines such as Celebrity, Seabourn, Silversea and Viking have entered the market, and expedition ships provide luxury for those who want wilderness without sacrificing thread count and red wine.
Penthouse suite on Seabourn’s ultra-luxury expedition ships, Venture and Pursuit.
Among other international expedition lines are Aqua, Aranui, G Adventures, Heritage, HX, Lindblad, Ponant, Quark, Ponant and UnCruise Adventures.
Australian companies are well represented by Aurora Expeditions, Chimu Adventures, Coral Expeditions, On Board, Scenic and True North. APT offers expedition cruises on exclusively chartered ships.
Expedition ships average 160 passengers and carry expedition teams of professional geologists, naturalists and other experts to give lectures and take passengers on excursions by zodiac. They typically offer adventure options such as hiking, kayaking and scuba-diving.
Expedition cruises aren’t cheap, costing an average $US1000 ($1560) a person a night and lasting an average 11 days.
Passengers were once mostly retired, but millennial and Gen Z travellers are showing growing interest in expedition cruising. Intergenerational and solo bookings have also increased significantly, according to the Expedition Cruise Network.
The first expedition experience for many is the Arctic, Antarctic, Galapagos or the Kimberley. Destinations are however as diverse as Pacific islands, Indonesia, Japan and Central America.
Warm-water destinations such as West Africa and the Indian Ocean are trending, although polar destinations remain the bread-and-butter of expedition companies.
You can, however, do expeditions in well-cruised destinations such as Alaska, the Caribbean and Mediterranean, with itineraries featuring small ports and islands inaccessible to larger ships, though often taking in mainstream destinations too.
