Expedition cruises are very different from regular cruises, and not only because they are designed to take travellers off the beaten track.
Many destinations – ranging from Antarctica, the North Pole, the Amazon and the South Sea – also have an upper limit of how many people can visit these places.
This is meant to protect these mostly untouched environments – for instance in Antarctica, where only 100 people are allowed to be on land at any one time.
Nevertheless, the market is booming, despite the often very expensive price tags. Experts estimate that in the next few years, at least 25 more expedition ships from around the world will be crossing the seas.
Norwegian shipping company Hurtigruten is currently building three hybrid expedition ships for tourism purposes. This year, the “Roald Amundsen” is scheduled to set sail, in 2020 it will be joined by the “Fridtjof Nansen” and a year later by a third, yet-unnamed ship.
These ships will carry around 530 passengers each to the polar regions. They are all supposed to become some of the most environmentally friendly ships in the world.
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is also building more ships. The “Hanseatic nature” and “Hanseatic inspiration” should both set sail in 2019, followed by the “Hanseatic spirit” in 2021.
The company has said that none of its expedition ships would be relying on heavy fuel by July 2020, but would instead run on Marine Gasoil.
Nicko Cruises is preparing its “World Explorer” to leave port in May 2019, and the company has commissioned two more deep sea cruisers for expedition tours, which should be ready in 2020 and 2021. – dpa
