Celebrity Xpedition: Deck Plan & Amenities

Table Of Content

• G Adventures Private Travel
• Eight Things That Will Surprise First Time Cruisers
• What type of Traveler should Consider an Expedition Cruise?
• Experience Galápagos From a New Perspective
• Onboard entertainment and the environment
• What's Small, Scrappy, and Super High End? The New Breed of Expedition Cruise Ships

On these trips, the focus is not on the region's towns but on its scenic wild lands and wildlife. Formerly known as the Sea adventurer, the newly named Ocean adventurer was purpose built for Arctic conditions and underwent a multi-million dollar refurbishment in 2017. All cabins are outward facing, the library and dinning rooms are both glass-lined and there is exceptional deck space. These facts mean that the Sea adventurer is one of the best Polar cruise ships for wildlife viewing. With only 132 passengers, there are frequent shore landings and the vessel will be able to navigate most channels.

G Adventures Private Travel

In a coup for Atlas, the beef is from the same butcher as Argentina's famed Don Julio restaurant, ranked number 19 on the 2023 list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants. In a nod to Atlas' Portugal-based parent company, Mystic Cruises, the menu also features a handful of typical Portuguese dishes. Austrian-born executive chef Rene Aflenzes is behind the holistic menus found throughout the ship that champion slow food, molecular gastronomy and zero-waste principles. Vegetable skins are dehydrated and turned into soup seasonings and garnishes.

Eight Things That Will Surprise First Time Cruisers

The ship is easy to navigate, with a floor plan that flows seamlessly between venues. Deck 4 is home to the main public spaces, including the lecture auditorium, lounge bar, lobby, cafe (a quick stop for juice shots, smoothies, espresso coffee, pastries and hearty snacks), a small shop and the main dining room. I put this down to Atlas' current offer that allows the second guest to sail free; the deal includes overnight accommodation and return private charter flights from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, Argentina.

What type of Traveler should Consider an Expedition Cruise?

After lunch, the ship transited the McNary Dam and Lock, the last one on the Columbia River. Guests were treated to an expert presentation on geology by Naturalist Kyle Bowman, and ‘Lewis and Clark Lead to World’s No.1 Wine’, presented by Wine Expert Eric Degerman. The evening concluded with cocktail hour, traditional recap, and dinner while sailing through the Wallula Gap. A pioneer in polar travel, Ponant has a long tradition of operating voyages to Antarctica, and this series of ship was specially designed for such trips. They all are hardy (with 1C ice class ratings from Lloyd's Register) but also stylish, with contemporary interiors and comfortable rooms. Launched between 2010 and 2015, these four sister ships are regular visitors to Antarctica -- both under the banner of Ponant, a French brand, and as vessels chartered to high-end, U.S.-based tour companies Tauck and Abercrombie & Kent.

Experience Galápagos From a New Perspective

Located at the back of the vessel, the high-tech room has sliding walls behind the spot where lecturers will stand that can open to reveal the surrounding scenery through floor-to-ceiling glass. There's never been a better time to travel to Antarctica -- at least when it comes to getting there in comfort and style. Or, maybe you’ll pick a trek across the top of a glacier, a Zodiac ride to get closer than you ever thought you could to whales and dolphins in their natural habitats, or a day visiting penguins in a glacier garden. Expedition cruises operate all over the world, so activities on a cruise in Alaska’s Northern Passages are going to look a lot different than a cruise in the Galápagos or one around the west coast of Africa. Explore the islands that inspired Darwin’s theory of evolution all while immersed in unique luxury.

Hover and click on the deck plan to explore the ship. See a PDF version of the deck plan.

Among the companies with the longest track records in offering expedition cruises to remote places are Lindblad Expeditions and Hurtigruten Expeditions. Still, many of the best-known brands in expedition cruises aren't companies you would know if all you know is traditional cruising. These luxury touches include a greater variety of dining venues, including high-end restaurants, as well as elegant bars and onboard spas. However, these amenities will play second fiddle to the off-the-ship adventures at the core of the experience.

It's a striking value for a nine-night Antarctica trip that, after adjusting for the second guest traveling free, starts at just $6,299 per person. In this way, the ship straddles big-ship entertainment and small-ship adventure. It's early days, and the team is still finding its sea legs — not unusual for a new ship. However, there is talk of getting the expedition team to dine with guests.

It's not for everyone: 3 things to know about Antarctica expedition cruises - USA TODAY

It's not for everyone: 3 things to know about Antarctica expedition cruises.

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Antarctica Cruise Atlas Insider Expeditions - Not Quite Nigella

Antarctica Cruise Atlas Insider Expeditions.

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On offer is an enormous open deck space that is ideal for wildlife watching and photography. There is a good sized lecture theatre and the cabins are clean, although basic. The Ocean Nova is the smallest Polar cruise ship carrying just 78 passengers. Purpose built to navigate small channels and bays, the Ocean Nova is an intimate ship with excellent viewing areas.

What's Small, Scrappy, and Super High End? The New Breed of Expedition Cruise Ships

The Galapagos comprises 19 larger islands, all but four uninhabited, and the typical weeklong Galapagos cruise includes stops at just five or six of them. That said, many lines offer back-to-back itineraries that include stops at different islands, allowing you to create a longer sailing that is more diverse in its stops. The wildlife-filled Galapagos, where most islands are uninhabited, is another classic expedition cruise market — one with an expedition vessel ecosystem all its own, thanks to unusual local regulations. It's also one of the most spectacularly scenic places you will ever see, with wildlife found nowhere else. Getting to experience Antarctica on an expedition cruise — something I've done several times and hope to do again — is a true trip of a lifetime. Welcome to ExpeditionCruise.net, the web’s most authoritative information portal on adventure and expedition cruising.

“Expedition vessels limit their impact and operate in an environmentally responsible way—in all aspects of their visit, into those sensitive areas—in order to protect the destination,” Adie says. On some expedition cruises, the focus might be more on culture and history. Some adventure cruises can get you to archeological sites that traditional cruise ships just can’t visit. Or maybe they drop anchor just offshore of a remote island with a culinary tradition you’d never be able to experience otherwise. One of the most famous expedition cruise ships, the National Geographic Explorer is a state of the art cruise ship that boast full stabilization and luxury facilities. Accommodating 148 passengers, the Explorer is actually quite small which allows it to navigate many of the smaller passages.

My first voyage to Antarctica, back in 2004, for instance, was on Akademik Ioffe -- a hardy, ice-class Russian oceanographic research vessel that was often chartered by adventure tour companies in those days for polar trips. I slept in a no-frills cabin originally designed for Russian oceanography researchers and ate with my fellow tourgoers in a cafeteria-like dining space. Traditional luxury cruise operator Silversea Cruises, for instance, in 2008 began building up a separate expedition cruise division that has become a major player in expedition cruises. In just the last two years, traditional cruise brands Viking and Seabourn also have gotten into expedition cruising with new, specialized expedition ships. Many expedition cruise ships will spend nearly all their time in either Antarctica or the Arctic, oscillating between the two destinations based on the changing seasons.

What's less well-known, however, is the cruise aspect of an expedition voyage. It's how much an expedition cruise is both like -- and quite unlike -- traditional cruises. Since discovery off your ship is the point of an expedition voyage, you won't find big ship features like Broadway-style theater performances, water slides and massive casinos. Set foot aboard our state-of-the-art Celebrity Xpedition® and be prepared for an experience like no other.

When we cruised with Quark Expeditions, we were able to discover untouched fjords by kayak, we explored the West coast of Greenland and were in awe of massive icebergs and calving glaciers. What makes an Arctic cruise different from Antarctica is how you can immerse and learn Indigenous peoples of the Arctic. As we cruised its coast, we stopped at different villages to learn about their way of life. Travelers had the chance to sample local cuisine, learn about the impacts of tourism, and spend an afternoon with a local family. An expedition cruise to the Arctic is a journey to the top of the world, offering unparalleled opportunities to witness wildlife and landscapes that few have seen.