by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 1:35 PM ET, Wed April 3, 2024
Aurora Expeditions is adding another expedition ship to its fleet: the Douglas Mawson, named after the British-born Australian geologist who led expeditions to Antarctica in the early 1900s.
The Douglas Mawson will be the Australia-based company’s third purpose-built ship. Slated to debut in December 2025, the vessel will offer new East Antarctica itineraries—the company’s first trips to the region in 15 years.
Those cruises will depart from Australia and visit Mawson’s Huts at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay and New Zealand’s Subantarctic Islands. For the journeys, Aurora Expeditions will partner with the Mawson’s Huts Foundation, a nonprofit working to preserve Australia’s Antarctic heritage.
“Aurora has pioneered expedition travel to the world’s most remote places for more than three decades, and we know that exploration is not just about what you see, but how you see it,” says Michael Heath, chief executive officer of Aurora Expeditions. “That is why we are committed to delivering life-changing experiences with the newest, most advanced technology available, and with the most experienced and passionate team in the industry.”
The vessel will be similar to sister ships the Greg Mortimer and the Sylvia Earle. It will accommodate an average of 154 passengers per sailing and will have Zodiac access points, a changing room and mudroom, and a dedicated science center. Other amenities include a gym and sauna, a library lounge, a lecture theater, a heated outdoor swimming pool, hot tubs and observation decks.
The vessel will be built in an Ulstein X-BOW shape, which should make ocean crossings smoother and faster, as well as cut down on fuel usage.
The Douglas Mawson will be decorated in the Nordic style and will have 11 different stateroom categories, most with private balconies. The ship will also have cabins designed specifically for solo travelers—the first of their kind across Aurora Expeditions’ fleet.
The vessel’s namesake has played a symbolic role in the company’s history: The explorer sailed aboard a ship named the SY Aurora for his Australasian Antarctic Expedition from 1911 to 1914—and that vessel is what inspired the name of Aurora Expeditions.
Travelers who pre-register for the ship’s first Antarctic season by April 18 can save up to $1,000 per person on their voyage.
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