08 JAN 2018: Nine–count ‘em nine. With a new order for a rugged icebreaking cruise ship capable of navigating all the way to the North Pole, there are now nine expedition ships designed to cruise in the ice of the Arctic and Antarctic oceans due to start service between now and 2021. And there’s a tenth, if you add the completely refurbished Silver Cloud of Silversea Cruises.
A sturdy newcomer from Ponant, bringing its order book to five polar-class ships, joins two polar ships being built for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and ships under construction for Scenic and Crystal Cruises as well.
It’s a trend away from the competition to build ever-larger cruise ships for warm weather cruising that’s dominated the cruise industry in recent years. These coming expedition ships will accommodate only about 200 guests at a time and do it in a style that’s in marked contrast to the rough and ready ice-strengthened ships that specialize in polar cruising today.