How we work
How We’re Paid.
The short version: you pay the same as booking direct, and the cruise line pays us. The longer version is worth reading.
You pay the same fare booking through Glacial Expeditions as booking direct with the cruise line. We charge no planning fees. The cruise line pays us a commission out of the fare you were already going to pay. Using an advisor costs you nothing and often saves you money, because we see fares and promotions that are not published.
Do I pay more by booking through you?
No. The fare is the same, and it is set by the cruise line rather than by us. Where a consortium amenity is available — an onboard credit, a shore excursion, a shipboard dinner — you get more for the same money, not less.
Then how do you get paid?
The cruise line pays us a commission from the fare. It is already built into the price whether or not you use an advisor. Book direct and the line keeps it.
Doesn't that mean you'll steer me toward whoever pays the most?
This is the fair question and it deserves a straight answer. Commission rates do vary between lines, but not by enough to make a difference worth having — and we would rather have a client who comes back than a slightly larger commission once. We book across every operator, we have sailed ships from eight lines, and the pages on this site say plainly when a ship or a line is not right for someone. If we were optimizing for commission, we would not have written the ones that talk people out of things.
What do you actually do that booking direct doesn't?
We match the ship to the traveler rather than the traveler to whatever is on the homepage. We arrange flights, pre-cruise nights and transfers, which is where most expedition trips go wrong. We check insurance and evacuation limits against what the operator actually requires, find no-single-supplement departures for solo travelers, stay reachable when something changes, and hold the voyage history to know which ship handles the Drake and which mudroom works.
Do you ever charge a fee?
No. We charge no planning fees of any kind — not for expedition cruises, not for custom land itineraries, not for group bookings, and not for air-only arrangements. There are no circumstances in which we add a fee to what the supplier charges.
What if I have already booked?
Often you can still move the booking to us, and it costs you nothing. Most mainstream cruise lines allow a direct booking to be transferred to an advisor within thirty to sixty days of the deposit, provided it is not paid in full and not inside final payment. Expedition operators vary more widely, and some do not permit transfers at all. Send us the booking number and we will check the line's rules for free.
Why we tell you all of this.
We are not a charity. Planning expedition travel is how we make a living, and the commission the cruise line pays is the whole of it. We would rather you understood the model than wondered about it — and if the honest answer is that you do not need us for a particular trip, we will tell you that too.
Written by your expedition advisor
Erika Commisso · Travel Experience Architect
CLIA Elite Cruise Counselor · ASTA Verified Travel Advisor · Signature Travel Expert
Chris and Erika have sailed on ten ships and toured seven more across eight expedition regions — and visited ten places in total, adding French Polynesia aboard the Paul Gauguin and Churchill by land.
Last updated .
Questions about any of this?
Ask us. We will answer plainly, including when the answer is that you do not need us.
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