A mama polar bear and her cubs

So, you've done all the usual types of vacations, right?

• Caribbean Cruise
• Alaska Cruise
• Mediterranean Cruise
• Baltic/Northern Europe
• Panama Canal

You love to cruise and to explore, but you are looking for something... new.

Something... different

Well, you got it!

Enter the world of Expedition Cruising.  Small ship cruising to waaaay off-the-beaten-path destinations, most only accessible by zodiac. 

Places like the Galapagos Islands where you can walk the beach and get up close to sea lions, or snorkel with Galapagos penguins, turtles and marine iguanas.  Visit the Darwin center and hang out with the Galapagos Tortoises or go birding and take amazing photos of blue-footed boobies, frigate birds and albatrosses.

Or

Maybe you've traveled extensively across 6 continents, but your bucket list still does not have a check mark next to Antarctica.

An expedition cruise can get you there.  Depart from Ushuaia, the most southern city in the world, and cross the Southern Ocean and the Drake Passage to a world of stillness and untouched beauty known as the White Continent.  Arrrive early enough in the season to "park" your ship in the pack ice and see hundreds of penguins keeping their baby eggs warm in the frigid climate. 

Arrive a bit later and the babies have hatched and are waddling around in their molten baby down fur.  Sit down with your camera in hand and wait for these curious creatures to approach and check you out.

Or

Perhaps you would like to attempt to see a polar bear.  Not in the local zoo, but in the wild.  In it's natural habitat. An expedition cruise in the Arctic ocean can help make that dream come true.  Visit Greenland, Iceland, Russian Far East or the remote islands of Spitsbergen and Svalbard.  Or maybe you could even attempt to cruise to 90N - The geographical north pole - and see the world from up high in a hot air ballon or a helicopter ride.

Yes!  These are all possible with Expedition Cruising.  Along with many other far flung destination such as the South Pacific, Seychelles and even the Northwest Coast of Australia.

Cruise lines such as Silversea, Ponant, Hurtigruten, Quark, Lindblad Expeditions, Crystal Cruises and even Celebrity Cruise Lines (Galapagos Islands) can get you there.

Did you know there are more than 40 new expedition ships coming to market in the next five years? 

Companies are building amazing new ships to keep up with the ever increasing demand, and these small floating hotels are among the most environmentally friendly of any of the ships sailing the oceans today.  Some companies, such as Lindblad Expeditions are even as far along as being carbon neutral.

Many of the destinations are extremely environmentally sensitive, but the cruise lines are making huge strides to reduce and/or eliminate their carbon footprint in these destinations.

Expedition Cruising is an amazing experience which everyone should try at least once in their life.  It is truly an immersive experience which will change the way you see travel and how you choose to travel in the future.

I dare you to try an expedition cruise!