SH Minerva

Is SH Minerva a good ship for Antarctica?

Yes, and it is the Swan Hellenic ship to pick for long voyages. SH Minerva is a 152-guest PC5 expedition ship from 2021 whose 2026-27 Antarctic season includes the line's longest voyage, 33 nights from Ushuaia across the Ross Sea to Dunedin, New Zealand, and an 18-night trip to the Falklands, South Georgia and the Peninsula.¹² Its fares run from $11,675 per person for 9 nights to $30,725 for the New Zealand crossing, with a Buenos Aires hotel night and the charter to Ushuaia included.³⁴

It is also the ship with a history. Minerva spent almost three years out of service before returning in November 2025, and after Antarctica it heads for the Pacific rather than the Arctic.⁵² We have not sailed on SH Minerva; this page draws on Swan Hellenic's ship and voyage pages read on October 15, 2026, IAATO records and Cruise Industry News.

Why was SH Minerva out of service?

Sanctions froze it. Minerva was the first ship built for Swan Hellenic after its relaunch, entering service in late 2021 with a name chosen to honor an earlier Swan Hellenic ship, and a few months later it had to suspend operations because sanctions linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict affected the ship's financing arrangement.⁶⁵

It then sat for almost three years at the port of Fray Bentos in Uruguay. Swan Hellenic reacquired it in mid-August 2025, prepared it in Montevideo, and held a ceremony there before its first voyage back, a 17-night Antarctic trip from Buenos Aires in November 2025; it left Montevideo alongside its sister SH Vega, the first time two of the line's ships sailed from a port together.⁵ IAATO counted 11 Minerva voyages and 1,382 passengers on the Peninsula in that 2025-26 season.⁷ In March 2026 Minerva reached George VI Sound, the furthest south Swan Hellenic has sailed on the Peninsula.⁸

What are SH Minerva's specifications?

Minerva matches SH Vega almost exactly: 113.5 m (372 ft) long, 10,617 gross tons and 76 staterooms on nine decks.¹

We use Swan Hellenic's 152 guests, which is two in each of the 76 staterooms. IAATO does not say how it reaches 159 and no source we found explains it; the deck plan does mark some staterooms for a third or fourth guest, which would allow more than 152, and IAATO lists SH Vega, built to the same plan, at 152.¹¹⁷ The crew figures differ too, and neither source explains why. The spec panel also lists one wheelchair-accessible stateroom, two fully closed lifeboats and a Liberian registry.¹ Transport Canada rates PC5 for year-round operation in medium first-year ice, and Swan Hellenic says Minerva can hold about 6 knots in sea ice 1.9 ft (0.58 m) thick.¹⁰⁸

Staterooms come in four sizes: Oceanview at 215 sq ft (20 m²), Balcony at 269 sq ft (25 m²), Suite at 431 sq ft (40 m²) and Premium Suite at 506 sq ft (47 m²) with a walk-in wardrobe; there are no Junior Suites.¹¹ Minerva's 152 guests are 40 fewer than on SH Diana, but still more than IAATO's limit of 100 ashore at one site, so a full ship lands in two groups or more.¹²

Where does SH Minerva sail in 2026-27?

Six Antarctic departures are listed, all from Ushuaia, between November 11, 2026 and March 8, 2027.²

On the November 11 and January 23 sailings the Oceanview category showed Price on request, so the lowest bookable fare is a Balcony.³¹³ The Weddell Sea fare is still the lowest of the three ships on that route; SH Diana's January 17 departure starts at $15,725.¹⁴ For a shorter trip, the November 11 Antarctic Wonders plans four days on the Antarctic Peninsula, and the Weddell Sea trip six days in the Peninsula and Weddell Sea area.³¹³

What is the Ushuaia to Dunedin voyage like?

It is a 33-night one-way expedition that begins in the South Shetlands and on the Antarctic Peninsula, crosses the Bellingshausen Sea, passes the Marie Byrd Land coast and spends eight days in the Ross Sea before reaching New Zealand.⁴ IAATO lists it as Minerva's single Ross Sea and Peninsula voyage of 2026-27, with 115 passengers expected.⁷

Most of the other days are at sea, and the ship loses a day crossing the International Date Line.⁴ The February 3, 2027 fare starts at $30,725 in an Oceanview stateroom, about $931 a night, with Balcony at $32,200 and Premium Suites at $58,525.⁴ It includes a Buenos Aires hotel night on February 2 and the charter to Ushuaia, but no flight home from Dunedin.⁴ Minerva then stays in the South Pacific: its next listed voyage is New Zealand in Depth from Dunedin to Auckland on March 8.²

What does In Shackleton's Footsteps include?

Four days at South Georgia, five on the Peninsula and two in the Falkland Islands, over 18 nights from Ushuaia.¹¹ The November 20, 2026 departure calls at West Point and Saunders islands, then Stanley, where a Gypsy Cove visit and a Stanley Highlights bus tour are listed as included excursions and a Mount William hike is optional.¹¹ South Georgia's landing sites include colonies of tens of thousands of king penguins and Grytviken, where Ernest Shackleton is buried.¹¹

The fare starts at $18,675 in an Oceanview stateroom, or about $1,038 a night, less per night than Minerva's 9-night trip; Balconies are $23,325 and Suites $32,975.¹¹ A Buenos Aires hotel night and charter flights both ways are included. Each guest may pre-book one 2-hour kayak outing on the Peninsula at extra cost, shared in a two-person kayak.¹¹ Our guide to whether South Georgia is worth it weighs the extra days.

Does SH Minerva go to the Arctic?

No. After Dunedin it sails New Zealand, the southwest Pacific, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan and Korea until June 30, 2027, and the listing shows nothing for it again until a November 21, 2027 Antarctic trip from Ushuaia.² For the Arctic in 2027, Swan Hellenic uses SH Vega and SH Diana, which sail Svalbard, Iceland and Greenland.¹⁵

How does SH Minerva compare with SH Vega and SH Diana?

Minerva and Vega share a hull and stateroom plan, so the difference is the schedule.¹⁶

Diana is cheaper and larger, Vega has the most Antarctic Circle dates, and Minerva goes furthest, to the Ross Sea. Our guides to choosing an Antarctica cruise and how many days to spend in Antarctica help decide whether the longer trips are worth it.

Who should book SH Minerva?

Book Minerva for the Ross Sea crossing, for South Georgia on a PC5 ship, or for the cheapest Weddell Sea fare in the fleet.²¹⁴ Choose another ship if you want an Oceanview stateroom on a short November trip, the lowest Antarctic fare (SH Diana's $9,800), or an Arctic voyage in 2027.¹⁴