Swan Hellenic pleased with Antarctica season, previews 2025/26 plans

Almost 3,000 passengers sailed with Swan Hellenic to Antarctica in the past few months, with occupancy 'just shy of' 90%. Most travelers came from the US and UK, with an increasing number from China and Brazil.

2024/25 season off to a strong start

The line said bookings for the 2024/25 Antarctic season are off to a strong start.

The newly released 2025/26 program gives a choice of nine-, 10-, 11-, 13-, 17- and 20-night itineraries. In total, the 152-passengers SH Vega and 192-passengers SH Diana will operate 12 expeditions. The season's first cruise is scheduled to depart Buenos Aires on Nov. 14, 2025, with the last cruise to sail from Ushuaia March 17.

'... We’re over the moon with the feedback we’ve received from our guests, telling us all about their life-changing experiences aboard and ashore. That’s exactly what we work so hard to achieve and our recently announced 2025-2026 Antarctica cruises have been expertly designed to build even further on everything we’ve learned,' Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito said.

SH Vega's 20-night odyssey

SH Vega's voyage to Cape Town, 20 nights, began with an in-depth exploration of the Antarctic Peninsula before striking out northeast to Paulet Island, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The ship continued on to Gough Island, part of the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, before reaching Cape Town.

Enriching the voyage as part of Swan Hellenic’s 'Explore Space at Sea Series' in partnership with the SETI Institute was planetary expert Jeffrey C. Smith, who delivered four talks with topics ranging from finding exoplanets to using AI to protect Earth from dangerous asteroids, why scientists love Antarctica and 'Will we ever really find E.T.?'