Crystal Cruises is a cruise line now headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Following insolvency in 2022, the Crystal Cruises brand and two cruise ships were bought by A&K Travel Group, to recommence operations in 2023. The new company has announced major refurbishments and enhancements for the two award-winning ships in a Fincantieri shipyard in Trieste, Italy including increasing the number of butler suites and reducing guest capacity, with plans to resume service in June 2023 with shore excursions curated by Abercrombie & Kent.
MS National Geographic Endeavour was a small expedition ship operated by Lindblad Expeditions for cruising in remote areas, particularly the polar regions.
Swedish American Line was a Swedish passenger shipping line. It was founded in December 1914 under the name Rederiaktiebolaget Sverige-Nordamerika and began ocean liner service from Gothenburg to New York in 1915. In 1925 the company changed its name to Svenska Amerika Linien / Swedish American Line.
Orion Expedition Cruises (OEC) is a former Australian-based luxury expedition cruise line that operated the German-built 103 m, 4000 gross tonne MV Orion in Australasian and Antarctic waters.
National Geographic Orion is operated by New York City-based Lindblad Expeditions - National Geographic.
Silversea Cruises is a luxury cruise line headquartered in Monaco. Founded in 1994 by the Vlasov Group of Monaco and the Lefebvre family of Rome, it pioneered all-inclusive cruising with its first ship, Silver Cloud. Since July 2020, it has been owned by Royal Caribbean Group.
MS Explorer was a Liberian-registered cruise ship, the first vessel of that kind used specifically to sail the icy waters of the Antarctic Ocean. She was the first cruise ship to sink there, after striking an iceberg on 23 November 2007. All passengers and crew were rescued.
Lars-Eric Lindblad was a Swedish-American entrepreneur and explorer, who pioneered tourism to many remote and exotic parts of the world. He led the first tourist expedition to Antarctica in 1966 in a chartered Argentine navy ship, and for many years operated his own vessel, the MS Lindblad Explorer, in the region. Observers point to the Lindblad Explorer’s 1969 expeditionary cruise to Antarctica as the frontrunner to today's sea-based tourism there.
Viking is a cruise line providing river, ocean, and expedition cruises. Its operating headquarters are in Basel, Switzerland, and its marketing headquarters are in Los Angeles, California.
Silver Explorer is an expedition ship operated by Silversea Cruises. The ship typically hosts cruises to Norway, the South Pacific, and Antarctica. It is the first ship of Silversea involved in expedition cruising.
Heritage Adventurer is an ice-strengthened expedition cruise ship built in 1991 by Rauma shipyard in Finland. She was originally named Society Adventurer, but after Discoverer Reederei was unable to take delivery of the vessel due to financial troubles, the completed ship was laid up at the shipyard for almost two years. In 1993, she was acquired by Hanseatic Tours and renamed Hanseatic. In 2018, she was chartered to One Ocean Expeditions and renamed RCGS Resolute. In 2021, she was acquired by Heritage Expeditions and, following an extensive refit, given her current name.
MS World Discoverer was a cruise ship designed for and built by Schichau Unterweser, Germany in 1974. During construction called BEWA Discoverer, the ship was completed in Bremerhaven, Germany. In 2000, the ship struck an underwater obstacle and was damaged; it was subsequently grounded – to prevent sinking – and abandoned in the Solomon Islands.
La Belle Des Oceans is a small, yacht-type cruise ship operated by CroisiEurope. She has previously been operated by a number of cruise lines under different names, the most recent of which was Silver Discoverer.
MV Viking Star is the lead ship of the Viking Star class of cruise ships, and the first such ship operated by Viking Ocean Cruises, a division of Viking Cruises. She entered service in April 2015. Two Viking Star-class sister ships, Viking Sea and Viking Sky, joined her in the Viking Ocean Cruises fleet in 2016.
Hebridean Sky is a cruise ship owned by London-based cruise company Noble Caledonia. As an ice-rated vessel she has operated as an expedition cruise ship in Antarctica and in the Arctic. She was also known under the names Renaissance VII, Regina Renaissance, Renai I, Sun, Island Sun, Corinthian II, Sea Explorer, Sea Explorer I.
Seven Seas Explorer is an Explorer-class cruise ship currently operated by Regent Seven Seas Cruises, a subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. Debuting in 2016, she became the first new-build ship for Regent in more than a decade and the largest ship to ever operate for Regent.
National Geographic Partners, LLC is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the namesake non-profit scientific organization National Geographic Society. The company oversees all commercial activities related to the Society, including magazine publications and television channels. The company's board of managers is evenly divided between the Society and Disney.
Crystal Esprit is a cruise ship previously operated by Crystal Cruises. Built by Flender Werft in Lübeck, Germany, she was laid down in 1988 and floated out as Lady Diana in 1989. She was completed in December 1991 as Aurora I. She and sister ship Aurora II were purchased by Star Cruises in 1994. Aurora I was renamed Megastar Taurus and served from 1994 until being laid up in 2008.
Lindblad Expeditions is an expedition travel company headquartered in New York, NY. The company currently offers expedition cruises to destinations on all seven continents aboard 15 ships with capacities ranging from 28 to 150 guests.
Bahamas 