Antarctica and the Arctic at sea: the back story

About Antarctica and the Arctic at sea: the back story

By the ULTIMATE the world’s cruise lines Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Antarctica is visited under rules set by the Antarctic Treaty and guidance from IAATO; the Arctic summer opens Iceland and Greenland’s west coast. Both reward a small ship, a flexible plan and a night ashore before you sail.

Two ends of the earth

Polar cruising is the one kind of voyage where the ship is not the destination but the means of reaching places that have no other way in. In the south, expedition ships leave Ushuaia, on the Beagle Channel, or Punta Arenas, on the Strait of Magellan, for the Antarctic Peninsula and the old whaling harbours of South Georgia. In the north, the summer route runs from Reykjavík to the fjords of Iceland and on to the west coast of Greenland, where Nuuk and Ilulissat sit beside the ice.

The rules of the south

Antarctica is governed by the Antarctic Treaty and its Protocol on Environmental Protection, and visits follow guidelines adopted by the Treaty’s consultative meeting. The General Guidelines for Visitors (Resolution 4, 2021) are clear: only one ship may visit a site at any one time; ships carrying more than 500 passengers may not make landings; no more than 100 passengers from a vessel may be ashore at once, with one guide for every 20; and on land you keep at least 5 metres from wildlife. The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, IAATO, founded in 1991, adds its own practical advice, from cleaning boots to taking nothing home but photographs.

In Antarctica, no more than 100 passengers from a ship may be ashore at any one time.

Why the small ship wins

Those rules shape the whole experience. On a small expedition ship, everyone can go ashore by Zodiac at each landing; the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat publishes site guidelines for 45 of the most visited places, from Neko Harbour to Petermann Island and Half Moon Island. Several of our lines cap numbers further in Antarctica: Hapag-Lloyd’s HANSEATIC ships carry no more than 199 guests there, and Scenic’s Discovery Yachts 200.

South Georgia

South Georgia is reached only by sea, and there is no visitor accommodation ashore. At Grytviken, where Carl Anton Larsen opened the first whaling station in 1904, the South Georgia Museum fills the old manager’s villa, and Sir Ernest Shackleton lies in the whalers’ cemetery. He died aboard the Quest in King Edward Cove on 5 January 1922.

The Arctic summer

The Arctic season is the mirror image: expedition voyages most often run from May to September, when the sea ice allows. Reykjavík opened Vör, Iceland’s first purpose-built cruise terminal, in May 2026; Akureyri and Ísafjörður are small harbours a walk from town; and in Greenland, Nuuk’s colonial harbour and the UNESCO-listed Ilulissat Icefjord are the great calls. Svalbard and Longyearbyen are covered in our Northern Europe guide.

Our advice: choose the ship before the itinerary. In Antarctica, a ship small enough to land everyone at every stop is worth more than an extra port; in the Arctic, pick the month for what you want to see, whether early-season ice or late-summer light, and book the night before you sail in Ushuaia, Punta Arenas or Reykjavík, because polar flights and weather leave little room for delay.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Antarctica and the Arctic at sea: the back story before you go.