Heritage Expeditions

Is Heritage Expeditions good for the Ross Sea?

Yes, and no operator has more Ross Sea departures planned for 2026-27. IAATO's preliminary estimate lists three voyages that visit only the Ross Sea that season; two of them are Heritage Expeditions trips on Heritage Adventurer, with about 260 passengers between them.¹ In 2025-26 Heritage ran two of the five Ross Sea-only voyages and carried 281 of their 834 passengers.¹ The company calls itself the original and most experienced Ross Sea operator, with more than 35 years in the region.²

The catch is time and money. The Ross Sea trip, In the Wake of Scott & Shackleton, takes 28 days from Queenstown, New Zealand, and the lowest fare still open on its first 2027 departure was $34,285 per person in a three-berth cabin.² Heritage's cheaper way into Antarctica is a South Georgia and Antarctic Peninsula voyage on its second ship, covered below.

Who owns Heritage Expeditions, and which ships does it sail?

Heritage Expeditions is a family company based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Shirley Russ and Rodney Russ, a biologist with the New Zealand Wildlife Service, founded it in 1984, and their sons Aaron and Nathan run it today.³ IAATO's member record gives the founding year as 1985 and says Heritage has belonged to IAATO since 1993.⁴ Deposits are held on behalf of Heritage Expeditions (2018) Ltd, and the booking contract is governed by New Zealand law.⁵

Heritage Discoverer is the former Silver Explorer and Exploris One.⁹ Cruise Industry News reported that she was sold at auction in early 2026 for a reported 4.5 million euros, and in July 2026 that Polar Latitudes Expeditions had bought her jointly with Heritage and that she was being upgraded in France.⁹³⁰ A March 2026 report on a Polar Latitudes announcement said she would sail under that brand in Antarctica from 2026-27 and under the Heritage brand in other regions.¹⁰ If you see "Discoverer" on a Polar Latitudes itinerary, it is the same ship.

How much does a Heritage Expeditions Antarctica cruise cost?

Heritage's lowest open 2026-27 Antarctic fare is $21,875 per person, sharing a Deck 4 Superior Stateroom on the 21-day Ultimate South Georgia, Falklands & Antarctic Peninsula voyage from Ushuaia on November 19, 2026, aboard Heritage Discoverer, a ship Heritage had announced for May 2027 (see the Peninsula section below).¹²¹⁶ That price includes 10% off for bookings made before October 30, 2026; the regular fare is $24,250, and the cheaper Deck 3 Superior ($21,020) was waitlisted when we read the page on October 15, 2026.¹² Prices below are per person in US dollars as Heritage lists them; per-day figures are our arithmetic.

The headline "from" prices are lower but mostly waitlisted. On the Ross Sea voyage the $33,075 Main Deck Triple was waitlisted on both departures, and on the February 1 sailing every cabin except the Deck 5 Superior and the $59,516 Heritage Suite was waitlisted.² On Galapagos of the Southern Ocean everything from the $10,490 triple to the Worsley Suite was waitlisted.¹³ Book early: the calendar already lists Ross Sea departures for January 5 and January 31, 2028, from $34,750.¹¹

For a full cost picture beyond the fare, see how much an Antarctica trip costs.

What is included, and what costs extra?

The Ross Sea fare includes landing fees, transfers before and after the cruise, one hotel night in a twin room with dinner and breakfast, all meals on board, house beer, wine and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, shore excursions and lectures.² It excludes flights, visas, insurance, laundry, other drinks, gratuities and the optional kayaking excursion, whose price is not published.² The Peninsula voyages include a "local payment" instead of landing fees and also exclude kayaking.¹² The Birding Down Under and Forgotten Islands fares do not list landing fees among the inclusions.¹⁴¹⁵

Suites add perks. On Heritage Adventurer, Worsley Suites come with in-room dining, a daily-stocked minibar and a $100 per person spa credit, and Heritage Suites add free laundry.² Travel insurance is compulsory: Heritage requires at least $250,000 per person of emergency evacuation cover on Antarctic voyages and $150,000 on sub-Antarctic ones.⁵

What is a Ross Sea voyage with Heritage like?

It is a long sea voyage with about 12 days in the Ross Sea region and stops in the sub-Antarctic islands on the way down and back. After a night in Queenstown you board at the Port of Bluff, cruise The Snares by Zodiac (landings are not permitted there), land on Enderby Island in the Auckland Islands, spend two days at Macquarie Island and then cross the Antarctic Circle.² Days 11 to 22 are in the Ross Sea, and the return calls at Campbell Island for its southern royal albatross colony before you disembark at Bluff on day 28.²

Heritage names the sites it hopes to reach, none guaranteed: Cape Adare, with Borchgrevink's 1899 hut and what it calls the largest Adelie penguin rookery in Antarctica at over one million birds; Cape Hallett; Franklin Island; the Possession Islands; the Ross Ice Shelf; Shackleton's hut at Cape Royds; and Scott's hut at Cape Evans.² Visits to McMurdo Station and Scott Base depend on ice and the national programs' icebreaker work, and Heritage says its February departure is generally more successful at reaching them.² At Macquarie Island it plans landings among the royal penguins, all three million of which breed there, and a king penguin colony.²

Can you visit the sub-Antarctic islands without going to Antarctica?

Yes. Heritage sells three island-only trips on Heritage Adventurer in 2026-27, all boarding at the Port of Bluff, plus a longer Beyond Fiordland version of the shortest one that adds Stewart Island and Fiordland.^13141511 Galapagos of the Southern Ocean is a 12-day Queenstown round trip to The Snares, the Auckland Islands, Macquarie Island and Campbell Island, with landing fees included.¹³ Birding Down Under adds the Antipodes, Bounty and Chatham Islands over 17 days, and Forgotten Islands of the South Pacific is an 8-day loop to Campbell, the Aucklands and The Snares.¹⁴¹⁵ Most cabins on the 2026 departures were waitlisted when we checked, so these are trips to plan a year or more ahead.¹³

Does Heritage Expeditions go to the Antarctic Peninsula and the Arctic?

Yes, on Heritage Discoverer, but her first dates do not line up with Heritage's own announcement. On February 26, 2026, Heritage said she would begin sailing alongside its other ships from May 2027, with maiden itineraries starting that month and a selection of Arctic and Antarctic departures already chartered to Polar Latitudes.¹⁶ On October 15, 2026, Heritage's calendar and voyage page still sold one earlier departure on her: the 21-day Ultimate South Georgia, Falklands & Antarctic Peninsula voyage, an Ushuaia round trip from November 19 to December 9, 2026, with Deck 4 Superior cabins available.¹¹¹² It is the only Heritage Discoverer departure on the calendar before May 2, 2027.¹¹ Polar Latitudes' schedule, read the same day, starts her Antarctic season under its own brand on December 8, 2026, with guests boarding in Ushuaia on December 9, the morning Heritage's voyage ends there.²⁸²⁹ So the two published schedules fit together, but nothing Heritage has published explains a 2026 departure on a ship it announced for May 2027. Its terms also let it substitute another vessel.⁵ Ask Heritage to confirm the ship, the operator and the dates in writing before you pay the deposit.

For 2027-28, Heritage sells 12-day Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands voyages from Ushuaia from $11,020 per person (regular $13,650, 20% off for bookings made before October 30, 2026); two of its four departures were sold out.¹⁷¹¹ In the Arctic, the 15-day Svalbard, Greenland & Iceland Arctic Islands voyage leaves Paris on July 21, 2027 with a charter flight to Longyearbyen included, crosses to Greenland and ends in Reykjavik, from $11,845 per person under the same offer.¹⁸ The calendar also files an 11-day Iceland's Fire & Ice Circumnavigation on Heritage Discoverer, from June 2, 2027, under Arctic, from $7,700 (regular $9,500), and lists no Arctic departures for Heritage Adventurer in 2027.¹¹

How many guests go ashore at a time?

On Heritage Adventurer, not everyone at once on the Antarctic continent. IAATO lets no more than 100 passengers ashore at one site at a time, so a full ship of 140 lands in groups.¹⁹⁶ Both ships carry 14 Zodiacs, and Heritage says it aims for one guide for every 12 guests, tighter than IAATO's minimum of one for every 20.⁶⁷²⁰¹⁹ On the 2025-26 Ross Sea voyages the average load was about 140 passengers, and IAATO expects about 130 per voyage in 2026-27 (our arithmetic from its counts).¹ Our guide to small and large expedition ships explains the trade-offs.

Is Heritage Expeditions an IAATO and AECO member?

Heritage is an IAATO member; it says it belongs to AECO, but AECO's own directory does not list it. IAATO's directory lists Heritage, a member since 1993, and Heritage Adventurer.⁴²¹ Heritage's responsible-travel page names both IAATO and AECO, the Arctic expedition cruise operators' association, among its memberships.²⁰ AECO's member directory did not include Heritage Expeditions among its 82 members on October 15, 2026, and the directory address for a Heritage profile returned a not-found page.²² We go by AECO's list, so our facts box shows no AECO membership; ask Heritage if that matters for its 2027 Svalbard trip. The company is also a BirdLife International Species Champion for the spoon-billed sandpiper and funds New Zealand's Department of Conservation and the Antarctic Heritage Trust.²⁰

What are Heritage's booking and cancellation terms?

They are stricter than most. You pay a 25% deposit to confirm, and the balance is due 120 days before an Antarctic departure (90 days for other trips on Adventurer and Discoverer).⁵ Cancel more than 180 days out and you get a full refund less a $750 per person administration fee; for Antarctic voyages you lose the deposit from 179 to 121 days out and the whole fare within 120 days.⁵ Changing your date or cabin after booking counts as a cancellation.⁵ Heritage may raise the fare for unforeseen cost increases such as fuel or exchange rates, and it can substitute another vessel.⁵

How does Heritage compare with other Ross Sea operators?

Heritage is the default Ross Sea pick because it has the most departures and the deepest record there; the alternatives are single sailings. These are the lowest open fares we found for 2026-27, per person sharing.

Pick Heritage if you want two dates to choose from, Macquarie and Campbell Islands on the same trip, and a ship that has sailed these waters for Heritage since 2022.²⁷ Pick Ponant or Aurora if a balcony matters more than a choice of dates; Ponant's trip is also six days shorter. See also our ranking of the best Antarctica cruise lines.

Who should skip Heritage Expeditions?

Skip it if you have less than four weeks, since the Ross Sea trip takes 28 days door to door from Queenstown.² Skip it if you want a balcony on the Ross Sea: Heritage Adventurer's cabin descriptions list windows or portholes, and every cabin but the 44 m² Heritage Suite measures 22 m².² And skip it if you want flexible terms, because a date change after booking is treated as a cancellation.⁵ If you just want a first look at the Peninsula, our guide to choosing an Antarctica cruise sets out the shorter options.