What is an expedition cruise?

An expedition cruise is a voyage built around leaving the ship. Small inflatable boats called Zodiacs carry you to beaches with no pier, a team of guides and naturalists leads every outing, and the day's plan bends to ice, wind and wildlife. AECO, the Arctic expedition operators' association, describes it as cruising "that emphasizes adventure, exploration, and educational experiences",¹ with "flexible itineraries, minimal infrastructure" on vessels that "range from under 12 to about 500 passengers, averaging 200."² In Antarctica, that size limit is a rule: ships carrying more than 500 passengers may not land anyone, and no more than 100 visitors may stand at one site at a time.³

What is the difference between a cruise and an expedition cruise?

A regular cruise shows you a place from the deck or a pier; an expedition cruise is built to put you on land, by small boat, where there is no port at all. In Antarctica the line between them is drawn by passenger count. IAATO, the Antarctic tour operators' association, files ships of more than 500 passengers as cruise only, while ships of 13 to 500 make landings.⁴ The 2025-26 season shows the split: 85,195 landed visits against 27,217 cruise-only visitors.⁵

Here is one of each for the same season, both read on October 14 and 15, 2026:

The people on board differ too. On a regular cruise the cruise director runs "onboard entertainment and activities"; on an expedition ship an expedition leader is "in charge of organizing and leading expedition activities", backed by expedition staff, field staff who go out with passengers, and lecturers who give "educational presentations".¹ For the big-ship option in full, see big-ship Antarctica cruises.

How do Zodiac landings work?

Guests go down a gangway into a Zodiac, a "small inflatable boat",¹ which runs them to shore or takes them cruising along the coast and the ice. IAATO lists the core activities as "operation of small inflatable boats (such as Zodiacs, R.I.Bs. and Naiad), shore landings, and, to a lesser extent, activities such as kayaking, climbing, and short overnight stays".¹¹ Its 2025-26 breakdown of the activities operators ran from expedition ships and yachts: ship cruising 45.37%, small-boat landings 23.15%, small-boat cruising 20.07% and other activities 12.34%.¹¹

Ashore, four rules shape every outing. No more than 100 visitors may be at a site at once, and guides and landing crew do not count toward that number. Only one ship may be at a site at a time, booked through IAATO's Ship Scheduler. There must be at least one actively guiding staff member for every 20 visitors.³ And visitors keep at least 16 feet (5 m) from wildlife on land, 50 to 80 feet (15 to 25 m) from fur seals, and wash boots and clean clothes, bags and tripods before arriving to keep out seeds and disease.¹²

The physical part is real. Oceanwide tells Ortelius passengers that to join most excursions "you must be able to get up and down the steep gangway" to the boats, that staff help you in and out, and that "conditions on shore can be slippery and rocky." Ortelius carries 10 Zodiacs with 60 hp Yamaha engines for its 108 passengers.¹³

Who runs the trip on an expedition ship?

An expedition leader and a team of guides run every outing, on top of the ship's officers and hotel crew. IAATO requires its members to hire enough expedition staff, at least 80% of them with relevant experience and 50% with Antarctic experience, to have field staff take its online assessment, and to have a captain or ice pilot with Antarctic experience on ships going south of 60°S.³ Team sizes, from each operator's own figures:

Heritage Expeditions states a guide-to-client goal of 1:12, tighter than IAATO's 1:20 minimum.²⁰ Atlas promises Zodiac trips ashore "up to twice daily under suitable conditions".¹⁶

Why does an expedition cruise itinerary change?

Because ice, weather, wildlife and the landing-slot system decide each day, the day-by-day plan you book is an outline, not a promise. Oceanwide's wording on a 2027 Hondius voyage is typical: "All itineraries are for guidance only. Programs may vary depending on ice, weather, and wildlife conditions. Landings are subject to site availabilities, permissions, and environmental concerns per IAATO regulations. Official sailing plans and landing slots are scheduled with IAATO prior to the start of the season, but the expedition leader determines the final plan. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises."²¹ Scenic says its itinerary "is a guide only and may be amended for operational reasons",²² and Intrepid warns that "there are no guarantees that you'll be able to do everything that is planned."²³

What to do about it: choose a trip for its region and the number of days in it, not for one named landing. A trip with five days in Antarctica, such as Oceanwide's 11-day Hondius voyage from March 17, 2027 (days 4 to 8),²¹ leaves more days for the plan to shift around weather than a trip with three. Our guide to how many days you need in Antarctica goes further.

What does ice class mean on an expedition ship?

Ice class tells you how much sea ice a hull is built for, and most of the expedition ships on our pages built since 2019 are Polar Class 6, rated for summer and autumn sailing in medium first-year ice. Since January 1, 2017, the IMO Polar Code has required ships in polar waters to carry a Polar Ship Certificate placing them in Category A, B or C, from ships built for at least medium first-year ice down to ships for open water or lighter ice.²⁴ The polar classes run from PC1 to PC7:²⁵

For a summer Antarctic Peninsula trip, PC6 is the norm. A higher class matters when the route goes deep into the ice: Le Commandant Charcot, the only PC2 ship we cover, sails to the Weddell Sea and the North Pole.³⁰³¹ The best expedition ships guide lists every ship's class.

What rules do IAATO and AECO set?

IAATO's bylaws govern landings in Antarctica, and AECO's guidelines, which are "mandatory for all members to follow", govern its members in Svalbard, Jan Mayen, Greenland, Arctic Canada and Iceland.² Treaty Measure 15 of 2009, under which governments would hold their own tour operators to the 500-passenger and 100-ashore limits, still has the status "Not yet effective",³² so in Antarctica the limits hold through IAATO membership. Only one of the 59 passenger ships working in the Treaty area in 2025-26 was outside IAATO, and it did not land anyone; IAATO operators account for 98% of all Antarctic tourism.¹¹

AECO's members also ban heavy fuel oil in the Arctic, wash footwear in a disinfectant such as Virkon after landings, and carry an AECO observer once every five years.³⁴ Its guidelines tell guests never to go closer than about 110 yards (100 m) to musk oxen.³⁴ In Svalbard, the Governor's rules add more: since January 1, 2025, tourist landings in protected areas are allowed only at 43 mapped sites,³³ only with a guide, and visitors must keep at least about 330 yards (300 m) from polar bears, or about 550 yards (500 m) from March 1 to June 30.³⁵ Those protected areas cover about 65% of Svalbard's land and 84% of its territorial waters.³⁶ Our planned Antarctica visitor rules guide covers the Antarctic side in more detail.

How much does an expedition cruise cost?

On the fares we checked, an Antarctic expedition cruise runs from about $705 per person per day on Plancius³⁷ to about $2,114 on Le Commandant Charcot,³⁰ roughly three to eight times the $253 a day of Holland America's Oosterdam, which cannot land.⁸ Each fare below is the lowest the operator published for that departure, per person, read on October 14 or 15, 2026; per-day figures are our arithmetic.

Arctic trips for summer 2027 follow the same pattern: $6,250 for a shared berth on Hondius around Spitsbergen, 10 days from June 29 (about $625 a day),⁴¹ $8,590 in an Explorer Triple on Ultramarine's 8-day Spitsbergen trip from June 25 with charter flights included (about $1,074 a day),³⁹ and $44,370 in an upper decks balcony stateroom for Le Commandant Charcot's 13-day North Pole voyage from August 8 (about $3,413 a day).³¹ For the full cost of a trip, including flights and gear, see how much an Antarctica trip costs and the cheapest way to Antarctica.

Why are expedition cruises so expensive?

Operators do not publish their costs, but their own figures show three things the fare pays for: a large crew and guide team for few guests, a short season, and travel that is often bundled in. Ultramarine carries 140 staff and crew for 199 guests,¹⁸ and Le Commandant Charcot 215 crew for up to 245 guests.²⁶ Antarctic voyages run only in the seven-month austral summer, October to April.¹¹ And many fares include the flights to the port: HX, Quark and Seabourn all fold a Buenos Aires hotel night and flights to Ushuaia into the trips in the table above.³⁸³⁹⁴⁰ Compare like with like: Oceanwide's fares above leave flights out.³⁷

Who is an expedition cruise for, and who should skip it?

It suits travelers who want to spend most of each day outdoors in cold, wet conditions and can climb in and out of a small boat; it does not suit anyone who needs a wheelchair ashore or a fixed schedule. Intrepid says "a fair level of mobility is needed for wet and dry landings from the boat, as well as on steep terrain, snow and other uneven surfaces", and that elevators may close in rough seas.²³ Atlas says that because Zodiacs carry guests ashore, "we cannot transport wheelchairs with guests".⁴² Oceanwide says passengers on a typical Ortelius voyage range from their 30s to their 80s.¹³

Families can go: Lindblad Expeditions takes children who are at least 4 years old at embarkation on its Antarctic and Arctic voyages and runs a family program called National Geographic Explorers-in-Training.⁴³ If seasickness worries you, read whether to fly or sail the Drake Passage and our planned Drake Passage seasickness guide before you book.

What is the best expedition cruise line or ship?

The best choice turns on three numbers: how many passengers share each landing, what you pay per day, and the ice class your route needs. Ships of about 130 guests, such as Sylvia Earle and Douglas Mawson, can put most of the ship ashore in one go; some of the lowest daily fares are on Oceanwide's Plancius and Hondius; only Le Commandant Charcot reaches PC2. Our best expedition ships guide picks one ship for each kind of traveler, small vs large expedition ships explains what ship size changes, and how to choose an Antarctica cruise walks through the whole decision. For operators, see best Antarctica cruise lines, luxury Antarctica cruises and Quark vs Lindblad.