What is Expedition Cruising? Ultimate Guide With Planning Tips

Here at Secret Atlas, as pioneers of the Expedition Micro Cruise, it’s fair to say we know a thing or two about expedition cruising. But what exactly is expedition cruising? And what’s our ‘secret’? Read on to find out more…

What is expedition cruising?

Expedition cruising offers an alternative way of exploring than you would experience on a large cruise ship. 

Often expedition cruise ships are smaller and are kitted out with Zodiac landing craft. A large part of the experience is to spend time out exploring the wilderness, accompanied by a knowledgeable and safety-trained expedition team. Often we explore places that are not accessible to our guests in any other way.

​​As the name implies, expedition cruising is a way to rid yourself of your fernweh, or 'far sickness' (a longing to experience far-off places), on a small-vessel adventure to remote destinations, such as the Arctic and the North Pole, Svalbard, Greenland, the shores of Antarctica, and the island of South Georgia.

Expedition cruises are different from traditional cruises in the following ways:

• They often explore remote and hard to reach places. At Secret Atlas, we specialise in the polar regions.

• The ship sizes are smaller than traditional cruise ships. The average cruise ship carries over 2,000 guests, whereas expedition cruise ships take anywhere from 12 to 500 guests. At Secret Atlas we specialise in 12-guest experiences and offer the smallest group sizes in the destinations we visit.

• Expedition cruising involves ships kitted out with landing craft for off-ship exploration.

• Expeditions are led by highly trained guides.

• Guests are more interested in experiencing a place rather than going on a ‘cruise’.

How to choose your expedition cruise

Our top tip for planning your expedition cruise is to go with a smaller group size. We would always recommend a ship with 50 guests or under.

Vessels larger than 50 guests have many disadvantages, such as longer waiting times to join the Zodiacs. When going ashore with a larger group of people, guests are often split into groups, so only half the guests can land at one time. In short, the smaller the vessel the more you will get to experience – and the closer the bond with your team.

Here at Secret Atlas, we offer the smallest group sizes on our expedition cruises, from as low as 12 guests per voyage. This means all guests enjoy maximum expedition cruise benefits, including no waiting or queueing, the longest and freest shore times, control over destinations, and more.

Our expedition cruises visit hard to reach places in the polar regions that would otherwise be inaccessible, including the quieter, lesser-seen corners of Svalbard, Greenland, Antarctica, and South Georgia.

Cruising style

An expedition cruise is not just about the amazing experiences you will have ashore. Between shore landings, you can enjoy cruising and wildlife spotting out on deck and inside enjoy lectures and memorable discussions with experts and aficionados from around the world, including your expedition leaders and fellow adventure seekers.

Expedition cruises pluck you out of the mundane, guide you to the ends of the Earth, and place you in the middle of unforgettable wildlife and nature adventures. Imagine yourself inside your own Wes Anderson movie filled with colour and an array of spectacular scenery. Now, blend that image with a scene from the best nature documentaries – that’s what your expedition cruise experience will be like!

The ability to be flexible is one of the primary differences between a typical cruise and an expedition cruise. Is your goal to spot a polar bear, or would you prefer to spend longer at the dazzling cliffs watching snow buntings and the kittiwakes? On a small expedition cruise, the vessel is able to switch the itinerary to fit guest preferences.

An expedition cruise places education and exploration at the heart of the experience. Guests become immersed in the lands they enter, witnessing more and leaving with newfound expertise and passions. 

On a Secret Atlas cruise, you are guaranteed to have the best possible expert/guest ratio. Whether in a workshop or when trekking through the wilderness, no question goes unanswered, no guest misses out.

How much does an expedition cruise cost?

The budget per person for an expedition cruise is typically around 1000 euros per day. The costs are higher than a traditional cruise due to the small group number. You can travel on an Expedition Micro Cruise for a similar cost to a larger cabin on a vessel carrying 500. But on a small ship you have the benefit of travelling with much less than 500 guests.

People you’ll encounter aboard

Expedition cruises also attract different guests and employees than typical cruises. Take the following into account when you are deciding whether you would like the option of socialising, making friends, or even lifelong connections on your cruise holiday.

While the requirements for the staff aboard a typical cruise ship can vary and be specialised in the entertainment category, the requirements to work on an expedition cruise tend to be quite demanding. 

Apart from having speciality skills needed for certain expeditions (think rifle handling and polar bear protection), expedition leaders are usually required to have relevant university degrees and often have PhDs in their fields. Their lectures around the culture, history, geology, ecology, and politics of the destinations are profound. 

Some expeditions are curated for speciality groups, so we send specialists in addition to the expedition leaders. For example, on a Secret Atlas photography expedition, your vessel comes with both an expedition team and a pro photographer to give additional workshops.

Travellers on an expedition cruise also tend to be a little different than the typical cruising type. At Secret Atlas, we find that expedition travellers are more interested in active excursions that focus on nature, wildlife, and environmentally friendly practices. 

Because accessing remote destinations requires good mobility and agility, the expedition traveller must also be physically fit enough to participate in the activities, able to transfer to and from the vessel onto Zodiac crafts, and once ashore, have to be able to dismount from the Zodiac onto the beach or rocky shoreline (no piers or walkways here!).

Once everyone has dismounted from the Zodiacs, travellers have the option of choosing to explore with a group based on their interests and fitness level. Robust travellers head out on hikes, while those who choose to stay behind stroll along the shoreline to observe the wildlife close to shore. 

Can you imagine yourself on a Zodiac, hair whipping in the wind, followed by an hour hike into the unknown and back again? Then into the warm and cosy vessel, sharing stories with everyone at the onboard bar later that day? If so, you might be well suited to expedition cruising.

What you’ll encounter aboard your vessel

It is common that traditional cruisers want bells and whistles aboard for entertainment. If you are looking for pools, multiple restaurant options, and a nightclub, a traditional cruise would be your best bet. 

Expedition cruises, on the other hand, offer warm, safe, and comfortable places to rest and relax between experiences ashore.

These days, depending on the size of your ship, the destination, and the company you choose to tour with, you can expect your expedition vessel to have one dining room (or more), a bar, shared or independent cabins, viewing decks, and a couple of special amenities that will fit aboard a smaller ship. 

On Secret Atlas vessels, special facilities include mini gyms, saunas, on-deck hot tubs, and small libraries.

The cabins of an expedition ship are similarly designed for comfort rather than the luxury staterooms available on a mega cruise ship. While the cabin sizes on an expedition cruise vary, they are likely to feature single or double berths, a desk or sitting area with a viewing window, closets and storage areas, an en suite or private bathroom (shower only). 

For expedition adventure travellers, this is more than enough, since they are more interested in spending time exploring the ends of the Earth than spending time in their cabins.

That said, for those interested in the most personalised experience possible, it is an option to charter your own yacht expedition (crew and chef included), which can be tailored for a higher level of luxury. 

With Secret Atlas private charters, your only limits are your own creativity. You can decide whether to splurge for extras like white-gloved butlers on hand, meals served to you in multiple courses, cookery workshops with renowned chefs, and more.

Eat well, skip the excess

If your sincerest cruising wish is to overload your plate from a never-ending buffet, a traditional cruise will have what you’re looking for. 

On an expedition cruise, you can expect to eat and drink well, without getting out of control. At Secret Atlas, we offer tasty, freshly cooked food on board for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

Outside of set meal times, your expedition may offer snacks like afternoon cookies and tea. The offerings are far from sparse – many people still head home a kilo or so heavier from the delectable local cuisine available on their expeditions!

Expedition cruise ships: small ships vs. large ships

When it comes to expedition cruises, they can be broken down into three categories. Large ships are considered to carry more than 50 guests, small ships carry around 50, and then the micro cruise vessel carries less than 50 guests. 

Most in the expedition industry agree that having less than 200 passengers is important since ships with over 200 passengers are restricted from landing at certain sites. They have to be very careful about the land traversed once ashore, and in some remote areas like Antarctica, no more than 100 guests are allowed to land ashore at a time. 

When this happens, larger expeditions dispatch small groups ashore and bring them back to make space for the next group, with wait times of up to an hour. 

While this is a widespread practice, it means that the boats, and the number of passengers, have a big impact on the locations you can actually reach, the time it takes to disembark ashore, and the way activities on land are carried out. 

The lower the number of passengers, the less time and manpower it takes to get on land, hike further through the wilderness, and get everyone back safe and sound on the boat, so you can go directly from one adventure to the next. 

Here at Secret Atlas, we take the smallest boats possible, with a passenger count of just 12 guests. That’s the smallest size possible for the destinations we are proud to explore.

Expedition cruise destinations

Many travellers like to book their expedition cruises far in advance, so if you are interested in planning a trip like this several months to a few years beforehand, you’re not alone. For the 2025–26 season, there are currently expedition cruises available around the world for warm exotic destinations like:

• Africa & The Indian Ocean

• West Africa & Cape Verde

• Galapagos Islands

• Panama Canal

• Coastal Tanzania

• And French Polynesia & Easter Island

But if you are ready for an adventure that will really open your eyes to a whole new world, we suggest going to mesmerising colder weather destinations like: 

Svalbard. If you haven’t been to the Arctic before, Svalbard is the perfect place to start. It offers everything, from diverse wildlife to fascinating human history and some of the most beautiful glaciers and Arctic landscapes on the planet.

Greenland. One of the least known and isolated places in the world, replete with wildlife and stunning landscapes – a true wilderness.

South Georgia. Encounter 100,000’s of king penguins and some of the largest concentrations of wildlife on the planet.

Antarctica. ​​With no permanent population and SEVEN species of penguin, it is the perfect place to explore, full of natural beauty, incredible scenery, ice, a diverse array of wildlife, and interesting historical sites.

Planning your expedition cruise

Wondering where to begin to plan for such an out-of-the-ordinary experience? Look no further. 

Expedition cruise travel tips

Expedition Micro Cruises is a privileged experience that only a select few take. If you do go on one, make it count. Take the time to investigate the cruise provider, and make sure it’s the type of expedition you want to take. 

Size makes a difference in many ways, so don’t be afraid to ask questions critically. Don’t just read other people’s accounts of the experience; if you can, find video footage of the locations and cruises to decide if it’s the right place for you.

Little things, like earplugs and an eye mask, can make a big difference in places with 24 hours of daylight, so take time to not only investigate the locations, but also what those locations will be like at the time of your visit (with a Secret Atlas cruise, you will receive a detailed packing list and expert information so this isn’t necessary). 

Some tour providers even supply you with some of the gear so that you don’t have to lug it out yourself – for example, Secret Atlas provide you with the boots you will need to hike ashore.

The main takeaway for those interested in expedition cruising is that, with a little planning, expedition cruises are just as accessible as traditional cruises, yet offer a far more rewarding experience.