Page 5 - 2022 CIN Expedition Market Report

EXPEDITION
Market

Intro

The National Geographic Endurance
The expedition cruise market is DIVERSIFIED MARKET
being characterized by new and Most expedition ships are smaller, but there is a wide of-
refreshed ships, more destinations fering of products, price points and ship sizes.
A handful of players operate in the 100-guest range, while
and new players as the market has most ships are around 200 passengers, which is the ideal num-
expanded rapidly over the last ber to balance Antarctica landing restrictions with attractive
capacity numbers.
decade. The old barebones Russian ships that generally served the
market are long gone, replaced by repurposed cruise ships
xpedition ships are smaller than mainstream con- or dedicated expedition newbuilds. Three-star products still
temporary cruise ships, carrying up to a few hundred offer an unmatched experience of going somewhere only ac-
Epassengers as opposed to thousands. They go to ex- cessible by ship, while six-star offerings include submarine
treme places, such as the Polar Regions, while commanding dives and helicopter tours.
high ticket prices and attracting wealthy guests. Most of the guest sourcing comes from the North American
The market saw its spark thanks to Silversea, who added a market, followed by the UK and Germany. Australia had been
dedicated luxury expedition ship and a big brand name in 2008. strong prior to the pandemic, as had China, which represented
Ponant was next, taking it up a notch with four purpose-built a significant amount of charter business in Antarctica.
260-guest expedition ships with a five-star onboard product. Coming out of the pandemic, most companies are building
More new ships followed for various brands, while other up sales efforts in North America, which is seen as the main
companies repurposed existing ships for expedition service. market going forward.
Guests that have been all over the world are now eyeing The majority of products are international and English-
Antarctica or the Arctic, helped in part by the conversation speaking, sourcing internationally.
around global warming and the proliferation of social media. Most of the operators pin their hopes on the Antarctica season,
For the wealthy traveler that has been everywhere, few have where ticket pricing is at a premium. The rest of the year is a
set foot on Antarctica via zodiac landing. bit more diverse, as some brands venture to warm waters, 

Cruise Industry News: 2022 Expedition Market Report 11