Albatros Expeditions’ ships, now Polar Latitudes: Ocean Albatros and Ocean Victory
Albatros’s two ships look alike from the dock. Both are 104-meter Ulstein X-BOW hulls from SunStone’s Infinity class. One is owned by the line, by its April 2025 account, and the other is chartered from SunStone, though the group’s chair has described owning both. They sail different summers.
Albatros Expeditions is now Polar Latitudes, and its two ships sail on under the new name. Inside, they’re close to interchangeable. Same cabin ladder from a 14 m² single to a two-bedroom suite, same two hydraulic viewing platforms, the same heated mudroom with four doors. Ocean Albatros adds a 50 m² Family Suite and — on the line’s page, at least — a sauna.
The real difference is the calendar. Ocean Albatros spends its northern summer in Svalbard and East Greenland; Ocean Victory sails Ireland, Scotland, Iceland and West Greenland.
So choose the summer first. The ship follows.
Four ships, two of them Albatros’s
Tap a sort button and the meters redraw against the largest ship. Guest and crew counts are the line’s 2027 deck-plan figures.
The two X-BOW ships are the Albatros fleet. Discoverer and Ocean Nova are Polar Latitudes ships, shown so you can see what else sells under the same name.
“Not stated” means we couldn’t find the figure in the line’s pages or a trade source — so we left it blank, not estimated. Ocean Victory’s 8,000 gross tons is Ulstein’s “just over 8,000”. Sort by staff and crew if attention matters more than space.
Where Ocean Albatros and Ocean Victory actually differ
Svalbard, East Greenland, the long Antarctic voyages
The newer ship, delivered April 20, 2023. It carries 18 Zodiacs and 104 crew on the 2027 deck plan, a sauna on the line’s page and the 50 m² Family Suite. In 2026–27 it runs Antarctica, the Falklands and South Georgia, then Svalbard from May to early September 2027 and East Greenland in September.
Ireland to West Greenland, then Antarctica
Two years older, with 120 expedition staff and crew on its 2027 deck plan. Its northern season runs April to July 2027 through Ireland, Scotland, Iceland and West Greenland. Its largest cabin is the two-bedroom Premium Suite of about 42 m².
| Spec | Ocean Albatros | Ocean Victory |
|---|---|---|
| Length and beam | 104.4 m × 18.4 m | 104.4 m × 18.4 m |
| Ice notation | 1A, Polar Class 6 | 1A, Polar Class 6 |
| Guests (2027 deck plan) | 175; up to 180 on some voyages | 175 |
| Staff and crew | 104 | 120 |
| Zodiacs | 18 | Not stated |
| Wellness | Two hot tubs, sauna, spa, gym | Two hot tubs, spa, gym |
| Largest cabin | Family Suite, 50 m² | Premium Suite, about 42 m² |
| Speed | 12 kn cruising, 15.5 kn top | 13–15 kn cruising |
Both have two diesel and two electric engines, which the line says cut the carbon footprint by about half against older expedition ships. That’s the line’s claim, not an audited figure.
Read the 15-crew gap with care. Ocean Victory’s figure is “expedition staff and crew”; Ocean Albatros’s is “crew”, so they may not count the same people. Ask us for the expedition-team size on your departure.
Cabin sizes, from single to suite
Switch ships with the tabs. Gold bars are the suite categories.
Category C is the workhorse: a private balcony at about 194 to 237 square feet, on Decks 4 and 6. Most cabins on both ships have one — though not the D, E and G categories.
The E cabins are a trap only if you don’t read the name. “French balcony” means floor-to-ceiling glass, not a walk-out balcony.
Solo travelers get real options here. The G and E S categories are sized for one, about 151 square feet, and a private twin costs 1.7 times the per-person rate.
Agree to share in Category C or above and the line matches you with a same-gender traveler at no supplement. Ask us which single cabins are left before you price a twin.
Who holds each hull
- Built for
- SunStone Ships, as its sixth Infinity-class vessel; delivered April 20, 2023
- 2023
- Year-round charter to Albatros, per Cruise Industry News
- 2025
- Albatros became sole owner, per the line’s April 2025 announcement
- Flag
- Bahamas, per Baird Maritime
- Owner
- SunStone Ships, per Ulstein’s reference page
- Charter
- Long-term Albatros charter for Antarctic operations, per the line, April 2025
- 2026 Arctic
- Departures sold by Adventure Canada and Polar Latitudes, per Cruise Industry News
- Conflict
- The group’s chair described principal ownership of both ships in July 2026
- History
- Prince Albert II, Silver Explorer, Exploris One; built in Rauma, Finland
- Owner
- Reported as a joint purchase: Cruise Industry News (July 2026) reports that Polar Latitudes co-purchased it with Heritage Expeditions; Heritage describes itself as operating the ship.
- Two brands
- Sold as Heritage Discoverer by Heritage on most dates (from May 2027, plus a November 2026 preview), and as Discoverer by Polar Latitudes on its 2026–27 Antarctic season, March–April 2027 Patagonia and August–September 2027 Svalbard. Check which company’s terms apply to your date.
- Replaces
- Seaventure, from 2026–27
- Size
- About 75 guests, per Cruise Industry News
- Owner
- Long-term charter; the owner isn’t named in the sources we read
- 2026–27
- Regular voyages from Ushuaia
- From 2027–28
- A fly-the-Drake program
Ownership sounds like trivia. It isn’t: a charter can end, and a ship can change brands between the season you book and the season you sail.
Ocean Victory has done it more than once. Read the next two sections before you book it far ahead.
Seven sisters, one silhouette
Order and years from Cruise Industry News and the sibling fleet pages on this site. Operators are as of November 1, 2026.
| Ship | In service | Operator on our pages | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Mortimer | 2019; the first of the class | Aurora; Lindblad charter from 2027 | Aurora fleet |
| Ocean Explorer | 2021 | Quark, since 2024–25 | Quark fleet |
| Ocean Victory | 2021 | Polar Latitudes (ex-Albatros) | This page |
| Sylvia Earle | 2022 | Aurora | Aurora fleet |
| Ocean Odyssey | Delivered before April 2023 | Not covered on our pages | — |
| Ocean Albatros | 2023; the sixth | Polar Latitudes (ex-Albatros) | This page |
| Douglas Mawson | 2025; the seventh and last | Aurora | Aurora fleet |
SunStone ordered seven of these from China Merchants Heavy Industry in Haimen, and Cruise Industry News listed the five already delivered when Ocean Albatros arrived in April 2023. Every one of them on our pages uses the Ulstein X-BOW.
That’s why the ships look alike in every brochure — and why the price gap between brands can surprise you. The guest count, the cabin plan and the program don’t.
Aurora lists Greg Mortimer at 148 guests and caps its expeditions at 130; Polar Latitudes runs its two at about 175. Same hull, different crowd at the landing — about 45 more people.
If you’re cross-shopping, compare the operator’s guest limit and inclusions, not the ship’s silhouette.
Ocean Victory’s winding road
Expedition ships change hands fast. This one has had four operators in five years.
A new X-BOW ship
Ocean Victory is delivered on October 12, 2021, built for SunStone and designed by Ulstein.
Two operators a year
American Queen Voyages runs it in the northern summers; Albatros runs it in the Antarctic winters.
The sisters meet
Ocean Victory and the new Ocean Albatros cross paths for the first time in Antarctica’s Lemaire Channel.
Alma Cruceros, then layup
After American Queen Voyages stops operating, the ship goes on charter to Spain’s Alma Cruceros. Spanish authorities arrest it weeks into that service, and it spends most of summer 2025 laid up in Funchal.
Two sellers
Late-July to early-October Arctic voyages go on sale through Adventure Canada and Polar Latitudes.
A full Polar Latitudes year
Antarctica to February, then Ireland, Scotland, Iceland and West Greenland from April 23 to July 20, 2027.
None of this changes the ship itself — the hull is the same steel. It does explain why reviews of “Ocean Victory” can describe very different trips: an Alaska cruise, a Mediterranean charter, an Antarctic expedition.
Read reviews by year and by operator, not by ship name.
Before you book either ship
Tap a card for the detail.
All four come from the line’s own pages. None is a reason to skip these ships — each just changes the total or the plan. For the voyages themselves, read our Greenland, Arctic and Antarctica landing sites guides.
Bring these four questions to the quote, not to the cabin.
Which ship, for which trip
Our judgement, built on the line’s published specs and 2027 schedule.
Ocean Albatros
It’s the only one of the two scheduled there in 2027, and it carries 18 Zodiacs on the deck plan.
Ocean Victory
The West Greenland fly-in voyages and the Ireland, Scotland and Iceland run are all on Victory.
Ocean Albatros’s Family Suite
Two bedrooms in about 538 square feet, the largest cabin in either ship.
Either ship, G or E S
About 151 square feet, sized for one. Book early; they’re the cheapest way to avoid the 1.7 multiplier.
You want a smaller group
About 175 guests is mid-size for polar ships. Aurora runs the same hull at 130 on expeditions, and the group’s own Discoverer carries 132.
Straight answers on the ships
Which ships did Albatros Expeditions sail?
Two current ships: Ocean Albatros, delivered in April 2023, and Ocean Victory, in service since 2021. Both are Ulstein X-BOW ships from SunStone's Infinity class, and both now sail for Polar Latitudes Expeditions, which absorbed the Albatros brand. Albatros also chartered the much older Ocean Atlantic until mid-2022; SunStone sent that ship for recycling in Turkey in May 2025.
Are Ocean Albatros and Ocean Victory owned or chartered?
They differ. Ocean Albatros was built for SunStone and went on year-round charter to Albatros in 2023; Polar Latitudes' April 2025 announcement says Albatros became its sole owner. Ocean Victory is SunStone's ship, and the same announcement describes a long-term Albatros charter for Antarctic operations. In July 2026 the group's chair described principal ownership of both ships, so ask us which applies if it matters to your booking.
Are these the same ships as Quark's Ocean Explorer and Aurora's fleet?
Same design, different ships. SunStone built seven Infinity-class X-BOW ships in China: Greg Mortimer, Ocean Explorer, Ocean Victory, Sylvia Earle, Ocean Odyssey, Ocean Albatros and Douglas Mawson. Quark sails Ocean Explorer, Aurora sails Greg Mortimer (chartered to Lindblad for Alaska summers from 2027), Sylvia Earle and Douglas Mawson, and Polar Latitudes sails Ocean Victory and Ocean Albatros. Cabins, guest limits and the program on board differ by operator.
What ice class are Ocean Albatros and Ocean Victory?
Both carry Ice Class 1A and Polar Class 6, per the line's ship pages, with Baird Maritime and Ulstein reporting the same notations. That's a capable polar rating for the Antarctic Peninsula, Svalbard and Greenland in season, not an icebreaker rating.
How many guests do the ships carry?
The line's 2027 deck plans give 175 passengers for each, with some Ocean Albatros voyages carrying up to 180. The same pages also print higher figures (192 and 194), and the ships were designed for more, so expect about 175 on most expeditions. Polar Latitudes says its ships never carry more than 180.
What happened to Seaventure and Ocean Atlantic?
Seaventure left the Polar Latitudes program after 2025-26. Discoverer, the former Exploris One, replaces it from 2026-27, and Seaventure moves to full-time operation under 66 Degrees Expeditions. Ocean Atlantic, an older SunStone ship Albatros chartered until mid-2022, arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, for recycling on May 3, 2025.
Deciding between the two X-BOW ships? Tell us the summer.
Send the region, the month and who’s traveling. We’ll check which ship sails your date, who’s selling it, which cabins are left, and what the charter flight adds.
- Which ship and which seller runs your date
- Single and Family Suite availability
- The charter flight priced in
No fee, no obligation. You pay the cruise line’s own fare. A real advisor replies, usually within one business day.
Ask about the Albatros ships
Answers come straight from this guide.
Answers come from our guides and are general information. Confirm details with us before you book.
Where every spec came from
Ship figures are the line’s own, then the builder’s and the trade press where the line is silent. Where sources conflict, as on guest counts and Ocean Victory’s ownership, we say so on the page. Square-foot conversions, the ship picks and the reading of the crew figures are our arithmetic and judgement.
Where to go next
The voyage, the gateway night, and the cover that matters out there.
Expedition trips have more moving parts than a Caribbean week: a charter flight, a night in a gateway city, gear lists and an evacuation clause the line sets for you. We book them together and check that the dates and the fine print agree.