Heritage Expeditions now has three very different ships in its fleet, and three very different parts of the world to match. Before you start comparing cabin categories or Zodiac fleets, the real first question is simpler: where do you actually want to go? Once you know that, the right ship tends to choose itself.
As specialists in off the beaten track travel since 1984, we’ve been placing travellers on Heritage Expeditions voyages for years, and a few of our own team have sailed with them firsthand. Here’s how the fleet breaks down by destination, what each ship is actually like on board, and how to work out which voyage belongs on your list.
Start With Where You Want to Go
Heritage Expeditions is a family-owned New Zealand company, now in its second generation under the Russ family, with more than 40 years spent exploring New Zealand’s wildest places and beyond, and over 50 years supporting its conservation. That experience shows up in an unusually wide spread of destinations, split across the three ships.
Antarctica, the Ross Sea and the Subantarctic Islands.
Heritage Expeditions pioneered expedition voyages to the Subantarctic Islands and the Ross Sea more than 35 years ago, and remains one of the most experienced operators in the Southern Ocean. This is where Heritage Adventurer spends over two months of the year.
The Kimberley Coast, the South Pacific and Japan.
Closer to home for Australian travellers, Heritage Adventurer also visits the Kimberley Coast, along with voyages through Indonesia, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, the Philippines and Japan.
The Antarctic Peninsula, the Arctic and Europe.
Heritage Discoverer is bringing Heritage Expeditions back into these waters, with voyages to the Antarctic Peninsula, the Falklands and South Shetland Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Svalbard, and through Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Faroe Islands, Spain, France, Portugal and the wider United Kingdom.
New Zealand’s own backyard.
The smallest ship in the fleet, Heritage Explorer, stays close to home in the Marlborough Sounds, Abel Tasman, Stewart Island and Fiordland, a completely different kind of voyage to the polar programs.
Once you’ve landed on the region that’s calling you, you’ve usually landed on the ship as well.
Meet the Fleet: Three Ships, Three Different Ways to Explore
Every Heritage Expeditions voyage runs on the same philosophy: small guest numbers, a full complement of Zodiacs so nobody misses a landing, and a changing expedition team of experts including naturalists, ornithologists and conservation specialists who genuinely know the places they’re taking you. What differs is the ship itself, and the kind of voyage it’s built for.
Heritage Adventurer: Access to the Remote and the Wild
Heritage Adventurer joined the Heritage Expeditions fleet in 2023, and she carries around 140 guests with a fleet of 14 Zodiacs, so every landing is possible for every guest on board, not just the first ones off. She holds one of the highest ice classifications given to a passenger ship, which is what allows her into the Ross Sea and the Subantarctic islands with real authority.
The legacy worth talking about here isn’t how long she’s worn the Heritage Expeditions name. It’s what Heritage Expeditions brings to her: decades of relationships with conservation programs, government agencies and remote communities that open doors other operators simply don’t have, an expedition team who lead with genuine expertise rather than a script, and voyages that regularly involve real citizen science alongside the sightseeing.
Inside, she’s spacious and quietly elegant rather than flashy, with a library, comfortable lounges and dining that brings the group together. The cabins on Heritage Adventurer are generous, view-focused rooms designed to keep your attention on what’s happening off the ship, ideal for travellers who’d rather be out on deck than tucked away in their own space. Everything is genuinely included, meals, house wine and beer, lectures from the expedition team, and every Zodiac excursion on the itinerary.
Heritage Adventurer suits travellers whose priority is the destination itself, especially the Ross Sea, the Subantarctic and the Kimberley, and who want a team with the access and expertise to get them properly into it.
Heritage Discoverer: New Ground, a Little More Room
Heritage Discoverer is where Heritage Expeditions is building out a full programme in the Antarctic Peninsula, the Arctic and Europe, regions the company has visited before through charters and other ships, now on a vessel acquired and refurbished specifically for this purpose. She carries a maximum of 130 guests with an expedition team of 15 and a fleet of 14 Zodiacs, so the guest-to-crew ratio is high.
This is also the ship for travellers who want a touch more space to themselves. Heritage Discoverer’s cabins lean larger, and she offers private balcony suites. She carries the same 1A ice class credentials that let Heritage Expeditions operate confidently in polar waters, along with the line’s signature open bridge policy, so guests can see exactly how an expedition is planned and navigated in real time.
If your destination is on Heritage Discoverer’s newer routes, or you simply like the idea of a bit more room and a private balcony without giving up the small-ship, expedition-led style of travel, this is the one to ask us about.
Heritage Explorer: New Zealand, Up Close
Heritage Explorer is the most intimate in the fleet, an 18-guest, New Zealand-built expedition yacht exploring the Marlborough Sounds, Abel Tasman, Stewart Island and Fiordland. With kayaks and fishing gear on board and two zodiacs for closer exploration, she’s a genuinely different style of voyage to the polar ships, personal, flexible and entirely focused on New Zealand’s own wild coastline.
Heritage Explorer suits travellers who want the small-ship philosophy without leaving the region, or who are looking for a shorter, more accessible way to experience Heritage Expeditions for the first time.
How to Choose Between Them
A few questions tend to make the decision clear.
Where do you actually want to go? This is the biggest factor by far. Antarctica, the Ross Sea and the Kimberley point you to Heritage Adventurer. The Arctic and Europe point you to Heritage Discoverer. New Zealand’s own coastline points you to Heritage Explorer.
How many guests, and how much space, do you want around you? Heritage Explorer is the most intimate at 18 guests, Heritage Discoverer sits at up to 130, and Heritage Adventurer at around 140.
Do you want a private balcony? Only Heritage Discoverer offers one. If that matters to you, it’s a genuine point of difference, just not the first thing to decide on.
Are you travelling solo? Heritage Expeditions doesn’t charge single supplements, with dedicated single, twin and triple-share cabin options across the fleet, so travelling alone doesn’t mean missing out. Solo travellers can also opt for a cabin share, paired with another traveller of the same gender.
None of these questions have a wrong answer. They simply help us match you to the voyage, and the ship, that suits the way you like to travel.
Why Book Your Heritage Expeditions Voyage With Us
We’ve been doing this since 1984, and several of our own team have sailed with Heritage Expeditions themselves, so when we talk you through a voyage, it’s not just from a brochure. We know what a day on Zodiacs actually feels like, what the cabins are really like to live in, and which ship suits which kind of traveller.
We’ll talk you through current departures, cabin categories and what to expect on board each ship, and help you weigh up destinations against the time of year you want to travel. Heritage Expeditions also runs special offers from time to time, so ask our team for current details when you get in touch, we’ll make sure you know exactly what’s available.
Ready to Find Your Ship?
Whether you’re drawn to the reach and expertise of Heritage Adventurer, the new ground Heritage Discoverer is opening up, or the intimacy of Heritage Explorer closer to home, we’d love to talk it through with you. Get in touch with our team for current availability, special offers and honest advice on which Heritage Expeditions voyage suits you best.
FAQs
What’s the difference between Heritage Adventurer, Heritage Discoverer and Heritage Explorer? Heritage Adventurer is the 140-guest flagship, focused on the Ross Sea, Subantarctic and Kimberley Coast. Heritage Discoverer carries up to 130 guests with private balcony suites and is opening up new Antarctic Peninsula, Arctic and European routes. Heritage Explorer is an intimate 18-guest expedition yacht exploring New Zealand’s Marlborough Sounds, Abel Tasman, Stewart Island and Fiordland.
Which Heritage Expeditions ship goes to the Kimberley Coast? Kimberley Coast voyages currently operate on Heritage Adventurer, whose shallow draft and full fleet of Zodiacs suit the tidal conditions around the Horizontal Falls and Montgomery Reef.
Can solo travellers book a Heritage Expeditions voyage? Yes. There are no single supplements, with dedicated single, twin and triple-share cabin options across the fleet, so solo travellers can join without paying for space they don’t need.
Is there a smaller, more accessible way to try a Heritage Expeditions voyage? Heritage Explorer, the 18-guest yacht exploring New Zealand, offers a more compact and personal introduction to the Heritage Expeditions style before considering one of the larger polar ships.
