It’s not for everyone, acknowledge the travel advisors and Swan Hellenic executives who sailed with us on the U.S. inaugural of the brand-new SH Vega in October. To enjoy expedition cruising you need that fire to see someplace new, the personality looking to make new acquaintances who share your passion, the willingness to forgo a set itinerary and, literally, go with the flow of the ice, wind and sea.
For travelers who fit the profile, we all agreed, the Vega is a fine choice. There’s the bragging rights of being on a ship most others have not yet seen. There’s the amazing crew, almost 1-to-1 with the passengers. There’s the latest technology, designed to keep her stable in rough waters and moving through ice, and the unique destinations on her itineraries, from Antarctica to the national parks of the Congo and Gabon, where “there’s no infrastructure and elephants run on the beach,” says Swan Hellenic’s CEO Andrea Zito. (A famed name in shipbuilding and a self-described “serial traveler,” with 25 years of experience in the expedition business, Zito bought the brand in 2017 and set about building a fleet.)
“The ship is built to be a practical work house, very comfortable and elegant inside but meant to bring you safely and comfortably across the world,” Zito tells Recommend. “It’s a luxury product that’s not intrusive, that doesn’t distract you from the real purpose—the panorama that surrounds you outside.”
Guests seemed to agree. Passenger Byron Thomas, for example, originally booked the first sailing on Aug. 10—and then liked it so much he never got off. Travel advisor Kim Jahn of Pack Your Bags Travel began her voyage with the 16-night Atlantic passage. On the way over, staff members stayed awake all night so they could call guests when there was something to see. “We came out three nights in a row to see the Northern Lights; we saw whales, seals, tons of birds, maybe 200 whales,” Jahn says. “This is one of the nicest expedition ships we’ve ever been on; it has the absolutely best WiFi, the daily menu has five options and they are five-star; the expedition team is just amazing. And we’ve done lots of zodiac tours—a little challenging, but the safety is unrivaled.”
After the U.S. inaugural weekend, Valerie Wilson, owner of Valerie Wilson Travel in New York, agrees: “I think she is contemporary and beautiful—just fabulous.” And indeed, I agree too. Vega is beautiful, upscale and functional. The 75 staterooms are large, airy and light, with a surprising amount of shelving. The earth-toned color palette is soothing, the appointments are high-end, and there are electric plugs for both European and American appliances. There’s an assortment of staterooms, including oceanview with no balcony and some suites that connect with oceanview staterooms for larger accommodations.
Also notable is the wheelchair accessible stateroom, not something I expected on an expedition ship. But Jahn notes that her voyage had a couple who used canes to walk, and still had little trouble boarding the zodiacs. “The only person who couldn’t make it work would be someone who’s in a wheelchair 24 hours a day,” she says.
The real star of the staterooms, though, is the cozy electric fireplace, with a remote that lets you turn it on and off while you’re tucked under the covers. Even on our inaugural cruise from Canada to Boston, where the days were balmy, the fireplace added a homey touch and a warm glow.
food
The Greatest Show on Earth
On a ship headed where few ships go, “the show is all outside,” Zito says. And its design follows. Beyond the large windows in the public spaces for those watching from indoors, there are heated nooks built into the sides of the ship for those who want to brave wind and cold to sip their coffee outside in nature.
The ship features a small spa, a sauna, an outdoor pool, an Observation Lounge, a Club Lounge, a library and a gym. The main dining room, the Swan Restaurant, holds everyone at once, fostering a feeling of kinship and making it easy to make friends. There’s one large table in the corner that can hold 10 for a slightly more private group meal.
But the heart of the ship is Basecamp, where guests gear up and load the 10 heavy-duty MK5 zodiacs. It’s extremely important to catch the moment in Antarctica, where the weather window often gives you just two hours of perfect sun, Zito notes—and Vega can usually load all its guests in less than 45 minutes. On sister ship SH Minerva, for example, passengers have been averaging close to three hours a day on land in Antarctica, more than double the norm.
Recommend Standard Image Template-1667395697
The Business Model
Vega is the second of three expedition ships in the Swan Hellenic fleet, joining SH Minerva, which launched last year. SH Diana is scheduled to launch in February 2023, with 90 cabins.
The ships are a timely addition to travel advisors’ inventory, says Gang Yang, owner of Polar Dream Travel. He has sold expedition trips to almost 1,000 customers since he began focusing in the niche two years ago—including 20 who sailed on Minerva, and one who sailed Vega twice already and is now signing up for the 30-day trip in January.
Expedition cruising “is about quality rather than volume—and there are so many questions, they need a lot of professional advice,” says Yang. “They understand that there is no itinerary; you can’t expect to go kayaking at 8:30 on Tuesday. You have to have that spirit of exploration or you will be disappointed.”
Yang likes the idea that Swan Hellenic’s ships are new, that the company is young, hungry and anxious to please, and that the prices are a little more affordable as it seeks to find its footing.
Indeed, v.p. of sales for North America Gordon Dirker tells Recommend that Swan Hellenic is “aggressively pursuing partnerships with consortia, host agencies and individual agencies,” whom he expects will deliver 70 percent of the customers for its three ships, and has even promised a FAM trip to Antarctica.
To sell Vega, start with customers who like to stay in five-star hotels, and have “many boxes ticked on their bucket lists but still have places they haven’t thought of, like Papua, New Guinea, that only can be explored on vessels like this,” he suggests. “Start by talking about the destination and then lead into the ship; the destinations are the key.”
With SH Diana on the horizon, the company has just opened an office in New York to focus on the U.S. market, which it believes “on a global basis will be our biggest source market.”
In the meantime, “availability and prices are very friendly, with reductions up to 50 percent of published fares—so Antarctica is quite affordable,” he says. “We are running promotions that waive the single supplement—and we encourage travel advisors to come and join us.”