HX Expeditions Unveils 2028-29 Season With New Itineraries

HX Expeditions has unveiled its 2028-29 season, with 57 voyages across 14 destinations, including 26 new itineraries, two destinations new to the expedition company and five new product offerings.

Among the highlights are new Antarctic departures from Stanley in the Falkland Islands, the first such departures by a major cruise company in more than a decade, as well as new itineraries in Alaska, Greenland, Scandinavia and Arctic Canada.

The season also will introduce nine Ocean Crossing voyages, giving travelers the option to spend extended periods at sea between the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

“The voyages may be new, but the expertise behind them is not,” says Gebhard Rainer, chief executive officer of HX Expeditions. “At HX, exploration is about more than reaching remote destinations. It’s about how you experience them: with insight, intention and respect.”

New Routes in Alaska and Greenland

In Alaska, HX will introduce two eight-day, seven-night “Alaska’s Inside Passage – Wilderness & Culture” expeditions between Vancouver and Sitka. The northbound and southbound itineraries have no ports in common, allowing travelers to combine them into a 15-day Vancouver-to-Vancouver voyage without repeating destinations.

The new sailings replace the company's previous 10- and 13-day Inside Passage itineraries and include five full days in Southeast Alaska and one sea day.

HX also will introduce two 17-day “Aleutians to Katmai: Wild Alaska Revealed” expeditions between Vancouver and Whittier. The itineraries were developed with Indigenous communities and local stakeholders and include calls at Kake on the northbound sailing and Elfin Cove on the southbound itinerary.

In Greenland, HX will introduce an eight-day, seven-night “Discovering West Greenland – Icebergs & Communities of Disko Bay” itinerary. The voyage includes Nuuk, Disko Bay, the UNESCO-listed Ilulissat Icefjord and communities including Kangaamiut and Maniitsoq, with no sea days.

The company also will offer “Exploring the Garden of Greenland” sailings between Reykjavik and Nuuk. The new itineraries give HX a Greenland program ranging from eight to 15 days and spanning the western, southern, eastern and northern parts of the country.

New Antarctic Gateway

HX's Antarctic program will include a new 19-day “Antarctica & South Georgia – Kingdoms of Ice and Wildlife” voyage combining the Antarctic Peninsula with South Georgia.

The company also will begin Antarctic voyages from Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Its “In-Depth Antarctica, Falklands & South Georgia Expedition” will visit the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica in a shorter-format expedition.

HX says the Stanley departures will be the first time in more than a decade that a major cruise company has used the Falkland Islands as a gateway to Antarctica.

HX Expands Into Scandinavia

The 2028-29 season also marks HX's first dedicated Scandinavia program and its first sailings into the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia.

The “Sweden & Finland: Autumn in the Gulf of Bothnia” itinerary will sail between Sweden and Finland, including the UNESCO-listed Kvarken Archipelago and coastal communities along both countries.

Another new itinerary, “Southern Scandinavia: Between Norwegian Fjords and Swedish Isles,” will sail between Copenhagen and Bergen, visiting destinations in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

“Norway Cape to Cape – Beyond the Arctic Circle” will travel between Lindesnes and the North Cape and include opportunities to see the Northern Lights.

Baffin Island Circumnavigation

HX also is introducing a 19-day “Into the Northwest Passage – Circumnavigating Baffin Island” expedition in Arctic Canada.

The voyage will attempt to navigate the Fury and Hecla Strait, a rarely traveled route for expedition vessels, while exploring eastern Baffin Island, Foxe Basin and other Arctic waterways. The itinerary also includes visits to Inuit communities including Qikiqtarjuaq and Kinngait, known as a center of Inuit art.

Svalbard and Galápagos

HX will operate 23 departures to Svalbard in 2028, its longest season in the archipelago. For the first time, the program will extend into September, allowing travelers to experience the transition from the Midnight Sun toward darker nights and potential Northern Lights viewing.

The company also will continue its year-round Galápagos program aboard MS Santa Cruz II, with itineraries including “Galápagos Islands – In Darwin’s Footsteps” and “Galápagos Islands – Nine of the Best Isles,” along with extensions to Machu Picchu.

Nine New Ocean Crossings

For travelers interested in longer stretches at sea, HX is adding nine Ocean Crossing voyages spanning the Atlantic and Pacific.

The voyages will include extended time at sea with onboard lectures, workshops, wildlife viewing and opportunities to interact with HX's expedition teams. Selected port calls include Bermuda, Cape Verde, Salvador, Recife and Golfito.

Several of the new voyages will cross the Equator, connecting northern and southern hemisphere destinations and expedition regions. Other additions include a sailing to Seville via the Guadalquivir River and Pacific itineraries calling at Huatulco and La Paz. 

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