Going Wild in Style—Demand Is Booming for Luxury Expedition Cruises
Donna Robinson, an interior designer in Miami, had long had an Antarctica cruise at the top of her travel wish list. She had spent years poring over photos of the continent’s dramatic landscapes—towering icebergs, vast glaciers, and colonies of penguins—and dreamed of seeing them in person, she says.
Yet the rugged nature of traditional expedition cruises, which several of her friends had taken, deterred her.
“They told me that the sights were amazing, but the ships and onboard activities not so much,” Robinson says. “I only wanted a luxury experience with other things to do and engage with beyond the excursions.”
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Her hesitation changed when her Miami-based travel adviser Selma Weisbein, of the Global Travel Collection, assured her that the Seabourne Pursuit would offer exactly the kind of high-end cruise she was seeking.
Her 10-day Antarctica itinerary in January 2025, with two friends, more than delivered on adventure and indulgence, she says. The vessel’s amenities include eight lounges and bars, multiple restaurants, an infinity pool, a spa, and even two submarines. Every suite has a veranda.
“We had amazing multicourse meals, and drank great wines,” Robinson says. “I also got facials and massages and took advantage of the educational lectures about Antarctica.” She describes the voyage as “an ultimate dream come true.”
Robinson’s cruise reflects a broader change in expedition cruises, which were long characterized by utilitarian ships built solely for exploring remote, hard-to-reach spots—namely, polar regions such as Antarctica and Greenland. Ming Tappin, a freelance cruise writer based in New Brunswick, Canada, who has been on seven expedition cruises, says that two and three decades ago, they took place on “old research vessels where accommodations and meals were very basic.”
“You slept in bunks and ate in the crew mess,” she says.
But for the luxury-seeking set, today’s expedition cruises rival the world’s top resorts in amenities, design, and cuisine. Beyond pure adventure, their journeys encompass robust onboard programming, wellness, and cultural enrichment on both land and at sea. Expedition cruises are a growing segment of the travel market, according to research from Internova Travel Group, a New York-based company with more than $20 billion in annual travel sales.
Sales of these expedition voyages increased 10% across the company in 2025, compared with the previous year, and are pacing to be 16% ahead in 2026. Internova’s research found the average length of an expedition cruise is 11 days, with the average cost running approximately $10,000 a person, exclusive of airfare.
“These travelers seek meaningful adventures paired with five-star service,” says Weisbein, of Global Travel Collection (a division within Internova Travel Group). The adviser’s expedition-cruise sales have surged in the last year: She planned 10 trips in 2025 that cost $30,000 per person or more, up from three in 2022.
These days, expedition ships resemble private yachts, according to Weisbein. On-board programming includes activities such as photography workshops and talks by experts, including marine biologists and ornithologists. “You’re out on excursions by day to see fantastic sights, and come back to a decked-out ship, where you can enjoy Michelin-quality food and get the best massage or take a meditation class,” she says.
Examples of this reimagined expedition cruise abound.
The luxury travel company Kensington expanded into the adventure space in September 2025 with the launch of Kensington Expeditions, a division offering private, ultraluxury journeys centered on exploration. A 10-day cruise through Costa Rica, with a starting price of $1.2 million, is one standout example: The trip’s expedition yacht features six suites, a 19-person crew, including multiple chefs and a diving instructor, and a wellness deck, complete with a gym, hammam, and cold plunge.
Guests, guided by conservationists and naturalists, can take part in activities such as diving at Caño Island, dolphin encounters, rainforest trekking, wildlife tracking, and hands-on conservation projects. Other diversions include bioluminescence night tours, waterfall rappelling, river rafting, and horseback riding.
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According to Neil Bateman, head of Kensington Expeditions, the destination inspires the wellness program for each itinerary. “This holistic approach treats wellness not as a luxury extra, but as an essential part of reconnection,” he says.
The membership-based Fischer Travel is also booking more expedition cruises, mainly private charters, according to adviser Peter Michaelis.
“A huge part of what is so appealing about an expedition yacht charter is that anyone can do it,” he says. “Most clients requesting this type of trip are 50-plus.”
In the last year, Fischer Travel has booked private expeditions to Indonesia, northern Norway, and northwest Greenland, which few ships have previously visited.
One of the most lavish was a $1 million, three-week journey in October 2025 from Indonesia’s Spice Islands to West Papua. Michaelis says that he arranged for high-end wines and spirits to be flown in to stock the ship at his clients’ request. “They wanted rare bourbons and mezcals and the best wines from France and Italy,” he says.
While private charters represent the pinnacle of bespoke adventure, the broader expedition market also encompasses small-group voyages that offer a similar high level of comfort. They include Seabourne Pursuit’s itineraries and Delfin Amazon Cruises, part of the prestigious Relais & Châteaux travel association.
Delfin’s founder, Aldo Macchiavello, says trips range from $1,250 to $1,800 per person per day. Macchiavello founded Delfin in 2006 to share the “incredible Amazon with travelers,” he says. “But the point was to do it with a level of luxury.”
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National Geographic–Lindblad Expeditions also offers high-end, small-group journeys. The company was established in 1979 under the name Lindblad Expeditions and mainly offered voyages to Antarctica and the Galápagos Islands in its early days. It has since expanded its reach to 100 destinations, including Egypt, India, Vietnam, Greece, Turkey, and Croatia.
The brand’s partnership with National Geographic underscores its commitment to education. Natalya Leahy, the company’s CEO, says that “the depth of the experience” distinguishes its journeys.
“Our expedition teams—over 450 strong—include naturalists, scientists, National Geographic experts and photographers, and local experts deeply rooted in the places we visit,” she says. “Guests don’t just go somewhere—they see it through a different lens.”
This article first appeared in the winter 2026 issue of Mansion Global Experience Luxury.
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