Polar Latitudes Expeditions is launching new Fly & Cruise voyages to Antarctica onboard the Ocean Nova starting in early 2028.

According to the company’s Director of Product Development, Steffan Danino, the new product was designed to offer a time-efficient and comfortable way to visit the destination.

Cruise Industry News, the company will offer packages that include hotel stays in Chile, charter flights to King George Island, and expedition cruises to Antarctica.

As passengers head to Antarctica on a plane, the product avoids the traditional transit through the Drake Passage.

“If you are flying across the Drake Passage, you are not sailing across the Drake Passage, a region that can be very rough and challenging, and some of our guests can get a little seasick,” he explained.

“It’s also a quicker journey: two hours flying across the Drake Passage rather than days crossing it by sea,” Danino added.

He said that the product is a great option for “folks who are working and want a time-efficient Antarctic trip.”

Besides avoiding the crossing of the Drake Passage, the new Fly & Cruise voyages offer the same expedition experience in Antarctica, Danino continued.

“The full Antarctica experience is what you’ll get on these voyages once you are onboard,” he added, highlighting nature and encounters with wildlife.

In addition to charter flights to and from King George Island, Polar Latitudes fly-cruise packages also include pre-cruise stays in the Chilean city of Punta Arenas, where guests will be prepared for their sailings.

“You’ll arrive the day before at our partner hotel, Cabo Hornos, where our team will meet you and give you all your expedition equipment,” Danino explained.

They will also provide guests with all the information needed in terms of regulations for the expeditions.

“Essentially, they will get you ready so that when you step out of the plane in Antarctica, you are ready to get on the ship and explore.”

The Ocean Nova will then be waiting for guests anchored off King George Island, where Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin Airfield (TNM) is located.

Most of the cruises include a four-night ocean expedition in Antarctica before guests are flown back to Punta Arenas for a two-night post-voyage hotel stay.

“We have an advantage in using the Ocean Nova, which is the smallest vessel in our fleet,” Danino said, noting that the ship can carry up to 70 guests.

“We can fill the vessel with just one aircraft departure from Punta Arenas. That means that our fly-cruise voyages are much more weatherproof,” he added.

Other cruise lines are filling ships in King George Island with up to 200 passengers, Danino added, which demands more flights and makes them more susceptible to weather-related disruptions.

He also noted that, given its size, the Ocean Nova allows all guests to disembark and explore ashore at once.

Polar Latitudes will offer guests options to explore Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego after returning to Punta Arenas.

He said that the company chose the Chilean city as the basis for its new fly-cruise operations due to logistical factors.

“Where we land is a Chilean station and therefore it is considered a domestic flight within Chile. Punta Arenas is the main gateway for flight operations to Antarctica.”

The company’s hotel partner in the city was also chosen due to its expertise in similar operations, Danino noted.

“Hotel Cabo de Hornos is well used to running fly-cruises for other operators, which really makes them our absolute first choice for running these operations,” he said.

“They know what they are doing, they’ve done it before, and they are very much our essential ground partner through this season.”

The pre- and post-hotel stays are also part of the company’s efforts to “build as much resiliency into these voyages as possible,” Danino added.

In addition to needing a much smaller weather window to fill the ship with just one flight, Polar Latitudes planned the voyages with two post-voyage nights in Punta Arenas.

“Along with the first night before the cruise, that essentially gives us a three-day window to attempt to get guests down to Antarctica,” he explained.

“Should you not be able to fly on the scheduled day, that’s okay; we’ve got hotel rooms to accommodate you in comfort until we can get you to the airport and Antarctica,” he added.

If the company is not able to operate the flight charters before the fourth day of the voyage, guests who didn’t make it will be eligible for a full refund.