Hurtigruten cancels full Antarctica season

'International travel restrictions and port closures are changing rapidly, often from day to day. There is currently a ban of cruise ship operations in many waters, and most flights to our departure ports in Argentina and Chile are canceled,' Hurtigruten Group CEO Daniel Skjeldam explained.

'Major hurdles to overcome'

'The situation is still fluid, and developments are unpredictable,' he continued. 'There are still major hurdles to overcome. As of now, they do not show much promise to be resolved in time to explore Antarctica under our strict health and safety standards in the coming months.'

Impacted travelers are invited to rebook on a similar voyage in the 2021/22 season.

Testing for all passengers

Skjeldam added that Hurtigruten plans to restart expedition cruises with stricter COVID-19 measures in place, including testing for all passengers.

In August, the company suspended its expeditions following an outbreak on Roald Amundsen in the Arctic. Skjeldam said Hurtigruten failed to follow its own coronavirus protocols, apologized and vowed to do better. Internal and external investigations were launched.