Swan Hellenic announces South Africa and Antarctica cruises saw 90% occupancy

Swan Hellenic has ended its near sell-out Antarctic season with a 20-night voyage from Ushuaia to Cape Town aboard SH Vega, bringing the cultural expedition cruise pioneer’s 2023/24 Antarctic season to a close.

The cruise line carried more than 3,000 guests aboard its boutique expeditionary ships to discover the continent, with stateroom occupancy just shy of 90% on most voyages. 

Swan Hellenic, catering primarily to the US and UK markets, with guests from Brazil and China as well, says bookings for the 2024/25 Antarctic season are already equally strong.

Swan Hellenic’s cultural expedition cruises have built a strong reputation for being different, with their elegant but informal boutique ships, expertly curated itineraries, gourmet cuisine, specialist talks and hands-on expeditions, the company said in a statement.

Offering a wide choice of vacation lengths, the 2024/25 season includes 9, 10, 11, 13, 17 and 20-night itineraries on 12 cultural expedition cruises aboard the five-star SH Vega and SH Diana, accommodating 152 and 192 guests respectively. 

The first cruise of the season departs Buenos Aires on November 14th, 2025, and the concluding cruise sails from Ushuaia on March 17th, 2026 for Cape Town. 

The voyage to Cape Town at the end of the current season was a spectacular 20-night cruise from Ushuaia, Argentina. 

After crossing the notorious Drake Passage, SH Vega explored the Antarctic Peninsula in depth and then struck out northeast to Paulet Island, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, subsequently sailing on to Gough Island, part of the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, before finally reaching Cape Town.

Enriching the voyage as part of Swan Hellenic’s Explore Space at Sea Series in partnership with the SETI Institute, cruise guests were accompanied aboard and ashore by Dr. Jeffrey C. Smith, Expert in Planetary Science, AI and Data Analytics. 

“We’re delighted with the booming popularity and outstanding reputation we’ve earned for our Antarctica cultural expedition cruises – all true adventures of discovery while always being conducted to the highest standards of safety and environmental responsibility,” said Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito. 

“But, above all, 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,” he added. “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.”