HX Expeditions opened its 2028-29 season, and APT Travel Group detailed a new ship that will put Quark Expeditions in Antarctica for half the year. Atlas Ocean Voyages published a fly-cruise planning guide, and two science stories moved: emperor penguins were tracked through the polar night from space, and researchers linked a recent Antarctic expansion to tropical heat.
HX launches 2028-29 season with 57 voyages and a new Antarctica and South Georgia sailing
HX Expeditions launched its 2028-29 season with 57 voyages across 14 destinations, including 26 new itineraries. The season adds two destinations new to the company and five product innovations. The new 19-day Antarctica and South Georgia voyage sails aboard the Roald Amundsen. Seatrade Cruise News reports that the season also includes shorter itineraries for time-poor travellers, new Greenland and Alaska routes, more Scandinavia and Svalbard, and a Northwest Passage. For a buyer planning a 2028-29 trip, the list is the first full look at where HX will deploy its ships.
APT Travel Group's new ship will split its year between the Mediterranean and Antarctica
APT Travel Group provided more details on its new ocean vessel. The ship will be operated by Travelmarvel and Quark Expeditions and will spend half the year in the Mediterranean and half in Antarctica. The deployment gives Quark Expeditions a new Antarctic platform and adds another vessel to the expedition fleet.
Atlas Ocean Voyages publishes a guide to visiting Antarctica without the Drake Passage
Atlas Ocean Voyages published a guide to fly-cruise travel, which reaches Antarctica by air instead of a two-way Drake Passage crossing. The blog post explains how the option works for someone planning an Antarctic itinerary. For a buyer who wants to avoid the Drake, it describes the alternative.
Emperor penguin colonies tracked from space through the polar night
Researchers have now tracked emperor penguin colony movements through an entire Antarctic winter using satellites, something not done before. PolarJournal reports the work succeeded in the polar night, when direct observation is nearly impossible. The method opens a way to monitor colonies that are hard to reach in the season when they are most isolated.
Tropical heat linked to a temporary Antarctic expansion
For decades, Antarctica has lost large amounts of ice. Between 2021 and 2023, however, it expanded. PolarJournal reports that tropical heat caused the expansion. The short reversal is a reminder that Antarctic ice can move against the longer-term trend for a year or two at a time.