Plan
Your First Expedition Cruise.
First-time expedition travelers most often get three things wrong: booking too late, buying gear they don't need, and choosing the month that's convenient rather than the month with the wildlife they want to see. Timing matters more than the ship, and the ship matters more than the cabin.
Book earlier than feels reasonable
Expedition ships are small, so the cabins that suit most travelers — and every solo cabin — go long before the sailing date. Booking twelve to eighteen months out is normal in this part of travel, and it is what gives you a choice of ship, season, and cabin rather than whatever is left.
Don't buy gear yet
Most expedition operators supply the parka and loan waterproof boots, so the expensive items are already covered. Wait until you have the packing list for your specific ship before buying anything, and then buy layers rather than a whole new wardrobe.
Our packing guide covers what the ship provides and what you genuinely need to bring.
Choose the pole before anything else
The Arctic and Antarctica look alike in photographs and feel nothing alike in person. The Arctic is an ocean ringed by inhabited land, sailed May to August, milder, and the only place with polar bears. Antarctica is an uninhabited continent, sailed November to March, colder, and unmatched for penguins and whales.
Our full comparison is in Antarctica versus the Arctic.
Choose the season before the ship
The month you sail decides what you see: which animals are present, whether there are chicks or pups, how much ice is in the way, and how long the light lasts. Pick the season that matches the wildlife you want, then choose among the ships sailing in it.
See when to go for how the seasons work region by region.
What a day actually looks like
A typical expedition day is built around one or two landings or Zodiac cruises, called by the expedition leader according to the weather and the ice. Between them there are meals, talks from the naturalists, and time on deck. Plans change often, and that is normal rather than a problem.
If you are still weighing whether this style of travel suits you, read ten expedition cruising myths, busted.
The misconceptions we hear most
Clients arrive wondering whether an expedition will be too rugged, too physically demanding, or whether they will feel out of place. In practice there is a wide range of expedition styles, from rugged small ships to genuinely luxurious ones, and most people find one that fits how they like to travel.
We work through the rest of them in ten expedition cruising myths, busted.
How fit do you need to be
You need to be steady on your feet rather than athletic. The physical part is stepping in and out of a Zodiac in a swell and walking on uneven, sometimes slippery ground. If you can manage that comfortably, you can manage an expedition voyage.
You don't have to take the harder option
Most expedition days offer graded choices: a longer hike or an easier walk, a deep-water snorkel or a beach entry. Choosing the easier one is not settling, and it does not mean you saw less. The two options are usually different mornings rather than a better one and a worse one.
At Espumilla Beach in the Galápagos there was a choice between a mountain trail and staying down on the beach. Chris took the trail and saw Darwin’s finches; Erika stayed on the beach and watched green turtles nesting. Neither of us had the better morning, and we were both glad we had chosen what we chose.
If you are nervous about keeping up, this is the thing worth holding on to: you do not have to be the person hiking every hill to have the trip. The full account is in our Galápagos journal entry.
What about seasickness?
Open-water stretches can be rough — the Drake Passage most famously. If you are prone to motion sickness, speak to your doctor before you travel and bring your remedy of choice; a mid-ship cabin on a lower deck moves least. Modern expedition ships also have stabilisers, and much of a polar itinerary is spent in sheltered water.
For Antarctica specifically, see sailing or flying the Drake, and costs and what’s included for what the fare does and does not cover.
What is a Zodiac, and what are wet and dry landings?
A Zodiac is the small inflatable boat that carries ten or so guests from the ship to shore and along ice edges and coastlines. A wet landing means stepping over the side into shallow water and walking up the beach in loaned boots. A dry landing means stepping straight onto rock, a jetty, or a dock.
What is included, and why is the price higher?
Expedition fares usually cover the cabin, all meals aboard, Zodiac landings, and the expedition team and its lectures, often with a parka and loaned boots. The price is higher because the ships are small, carry specialist staff and equipment, and operate in remote places with no economies of scale. Flights, hotels, transfers, insurance, and optional activities are normally extra.
What happens when the schedule changes?
It will change, and that is the product working as intended. The expedition leader calls landings around weather, ice, and wildlife, so a printed itinerary is a plan rather than a promise. Travelers who enjoy expedition cruising most are the ones who treat the change as the reason they came. It is not always weather: on day six of our Southeast Greenland voyage a guest medical emergency turned the ship north and we ran at fifteen knots for Kulusuk so the guest could be transferred ashore. Expedition ships carry a clinic with a doctor and a nurse, but some situations need care on land, and the plan changes for everyone when that happens.
Which operator is right for me?
That is the question we spend the most time on, because the ships differ far more than the brochures suggest — in size, in dining, in how much time you get ashore, in the lecture programme and guiding style. We have sailed and toured these ships ourselves and match you to the one that fits how you want to travel.
Written by your expedition advisor
Chris Commisso · Expedition Expert
Signature Travel Expert
Chris and Erika have sailed ten expedition voyages and toured seven more expedition ships. Favorite explorations so far: Antarctica, Svalbard, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Alaska, the Galápagos, the Scottish Hebrides, Churchill and French Polynesia.
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