What Does Luxury Mean on an Expedition Ship?
Updated: Oct 2
Luxury Starts With Access
Luxury on an expedition ship is slightly different from luxury in a city hotel.
The destination is still the main reason you are there. The ship has to get you into places that are difficult to reach, and the expedition team needs to help you experience them properly.
For us, that access is one of the first things we look at.
Then there are the guides and experts. Having people who know the environment, wildlife, history or science can completely change the experience. You can be looking at the same landscape as everyone else and understand something entirely different because someone beside you knows what you are actually seeing.
The ship matters too. It is where you return after being outside in a remote environment. Comfort, service and what is offered on board all become part of the experience.
Your Ship Is Your Home for the Week (or longer)
On an expedition, the ship is your safe haven. You might be in the Arctic for a week or more, and if you are not accustomed to a rough environment, comfort can become surprisingly important. Having somewhere comfortable to return to changes how you experience the destination.
Space matters. Service matters. Food matters. Exactly how much they matter depends on the traveler.
Someone who normally stays in five-star hotels may have very specific expectations, and we need to understand those expectations before recommending a vessel. There are different levels of comfort and different price points, so there is usually a question of finding the right combination of ship and experience.
A smaller ship can also create a more private experience. There are fewer people around, which can mean more opportunity for one-on-one interaction.
But smaller does not automatically mean more luxurious. It depends on what the traveler actually values.
Comfort and luxury compared to the times of exploration, only 100 years ago
As we personally believe that Luxury nowadays mean more and more the special access, we need to understand how unique and amazing our travel opportunities are. When the north and south pole were visited for the first time around 1910, they had expeditions that lasted multiple years. Nowadays, with flying, cruise boats and all the logistics taken care off for us, we can explore all of it within two weeks. And some people even did it multiple times. The famous photographer Cindy Miller Hopkins already visited the North Pole a staggering eleven times! Imagine the strain for Peary and Amundsen who visited the poles for the first time, and we are now able, with PONANT for example, to visit it with a glass of Champagne in our hands. Amundesen wrote from the south pole1:
"Of course, there was a festivity in the tent that evening—not that champagne corks were popping and wine flowing—no, we contented ourselves with a little piece of seal meat each, and it tasted well and did us good"
Boats were far from as comfortable as and well equiped against the climate of the (ant)arctic. I find that the modern opportunities of travelers are something that is awe inspiring.
When the Expedition Comes First
There is a point where the expedition itself becomes more important than the luxury surrounding it.
If a traveler is choosing an expedition because of a particular interest, we should not lose sight of that interest simply because the ship has beautiful interiors or excellent food.
The experience comes first.
That does not mean comfort becomes irrelevant. It means we need to find the right balance. A traveler may want serious expedition capabilities while also wanting a certain standard of accommodation and service.
This is why comparing expedition operators simply by their luxury credentials does not tell us very much. Different operators focus on different things. We know the operators we work with, and we know that different clients are looking for different experiences.
For one person, the expedition team may be the most important part. For another, the cabin and dining experience may carry more weight. Someone else may care most about the activities available once the ship reaches the destination.
There is no universal definition of luxury that works for every traveler.
Luxury Means Getting the Journey Right
For a high-end traveler, I would not advise compromising on their interests or their demands.
If the Arctic is something you have wanted to experience for years, the question is not simply which ship has the nicest cabin. We need to understand what you want from the journey and then find a vessel that allows you to experience it in a way that feels right.
That may mean prioritizing expedition capability. It may mean putting more weight on comfort. It may mean looking for a smaller ship and a more private experience.
Luxury, in this setting, is the ability to broaden your horizons without feeling that comfort has been sacrificed unnecessarily.
The right expedition allows both parts of the journey to work together.
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Choosing Your Expedition
If the Arctic is on your list, we start with the experience rather than the ship. We ask what interests you, what level of comfort you expect and how much importance you place on the expedition itself. From there, we can look at the vessels that fit those priorities. There is no reason to pay for things you do not value, and there is little point choosing a beautiful ship if it cannot deliver the experience you actually came for.
From polar landscapes and wildlife to science, history and local communities, discover how we approach Expedition Travel.
1.McCarthy, T. (Ed.). (2004). The greatest polar exploration stories ever told. Lyons Press. P.210
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