Spanning five continents with more than 150 different itineraries, Hurtigruten Expeditions’ 2023-24 season will be the most extensive in its 127-year history.
Its ships will be cruising the Galápagos, Antarctica, Arctic and West Africa, along with off-the-beaten-path Alaska small-ship exploration.
“We are thrilled to offer the greatest ever selection of adventure travel opportunities covering some of the most extraordinary areas of our planet,” said Hurtigruten’s CEO Asta Lassesen.
“This broad offering of unique small-ship expedition cruises is perfect for modern adventure travellers looking for one-of-a-kind experiences while exploring with authenticity, learning and sustainability at the core.”
In addition to new destinations, a growing fleet also means more opportunities in some of Hurtigruten’s most popular and iconic expedition destinations.
Floreana Island in the Galapagos, above, and MS Roald Amundsen in Orne Harbour, Antarctica, below. Images by John Chardine and Oscar Farrera. Top of page: Exploring Svalbard
Highlights of the 2023-24 season include:
- Four different, year-round itineraries in the Galápagos Islands aboard the newly upgraded MS Santa Cruz II
- Greener exploration on board MS Fridtjof Nansen, which was recently named “world’s most sustainable cruise ship”, and sister ship MS Roald Amundsen
- Year-round expedition cruises to Norway and the Arctic with the growing popularity of closer-to-home departures from Hamburg, Germany, and Dover, UK, with MS Otto Sverdrup and MS Maud
- 34 different Antarctica departures with three ships exploring Falkland Islands and South Georgia. Expeditions from 12-23 days include several 16-day attempts to push south of the Antarctic Circle and into the remote wilderness
- A series of Pole-to-Pole expedition cruises – epic 66-94 days explorations from the Arctic to Antarctica – combining bucket-list destinations such as Alaska, Iceland, Greenland, the Northwest Passage, South America and Antarctica with fabled crossings such as the Arctic Circle, the Panama Canal and the Drake Passage
- More off-the-beaten-track Alaska expedition cruises
- Unique opportunities to explore the cradle of expedition cruising – the remote Arctic gem of Svalbard
- Other expeditions include exploration of both the East and West coasts of Greenland, eight full circumnavigations of spectacular Iceland, exploration of the Chilean fjords, and more
The cruises will feature larger on-board expedition teams with experts specifically handpicked for each itinerary, and more expedition equipment will be added to the ships.
“Great will get even better. Sharing passion, knowledge, and expertise of the areas we explore, is the core of the Hurtigruten Expeditions experience. Bigger expedition teams mean more of everything – more experts, more knowledge, more activities, and more options for our guests,” said Lassesen.