Aurora Expeditions: 130 guests, ten ways off the ship
An Australian-owned line, founded in 1991 and certified as a B Corp in 2024. It sails three near-identical X-BOW ships and lists ten add-on adventures, from kayaking to scuba. The fare is clear. The activities are where the bill moves.
Aurora is the line for travelers who want to do things, not just see them. Its ships carry no more than 130 guests on expeditions, the bar and Starlink Wi-Fi are in the fare, and the menu of add-ons runs from kayaking to camping on the ice to scuba under it.
The catch is the price of those add-ons. Aurora’s pages say fees apply and then don’t print them, so a kayaker’s real total isn’t on the website. Insurance is mandatory too, with a $250,000 minimum for medical and evacuation cover.
Want the activities without the guesswork? Price Antarctica Active, where four of them are in the fare — then compare it with a plain voyage plus add-ons.
An Australian line with a mountaineer’s name on the bow
Greg and Margaret Mortimer founded Aurora Expeditions in 1991. The name honors the Aurora, the ship Sir Douglas Mawson took south — and two of today’s three ships carry the names Greg Mortimer and Douglas Mawson.
The company still calls itself Australian-owned. Your contract is with Aurora Travel Pty Ltd, an Australian company, even though Aurora lists offices in Boston, New York, Dallas and Toronto and sells in U.S. dollars.
The CEO, Michael Heath, is the name on its recent announcements.
A B Corp score of 87.5, where 80 certifies.
Aurora announced its B Corp certification in January 2024. Its B Corp page puts the score at 87.5 against a median of 50.9 and says Aurora is one of two B Corp tour operators taking travelers to Antarctica and the Arctic, alongside Intrepid. B Corps recertify every three years.
Treat the score as a governance signal — useful, but not a promise about any one voyage. Read the fleet details on our Aurora ships page next.
One ship, two operators, one year
Aurora’s own Greg Mortimer page doesn’t mention the charter. The dates below come from trade press interviews with Aurora’s executives.
Aurora’s season
Greg Mortimer stays on Aurora’s Antarctic program. Its own page lists Antarctica Through the Lens in January 2027, Antarctica Complete in February and December 2027, and Antarctica Active late in 2027.
Lindblad’s season
National Geographic-Lindblad runs the ship in Alaska from 2027. Aurora told Cruise Industry News the charter covers summer 2027 and 2028, with an option for 2029.
In December 2025 Lindblad announced an Alaska charter of Greg Mortimer from 2027 for three summers. Aurora’s CMO says two are firm and the third is an option. Aurora’s CEO then confirmed to Seatrade Cruise News that it covers six months a year, in the northern summer, and that the ship sails for Aurora the rest of the time.
That leaves one of Aurora’s three ships away each northern summer — our arithmetic, not Aurora’s. Each operator publishes its own guest count for Greg Mortimer: Aurora lists 148 (130 on expeditions), and Lindblad lists it at 154 for its Alaska charter, which is firm for 2027 and 2028 with an option for 2029.
Aurora fills the gap with the other two ships. Sylvia Earle and Douglas Mawson carry its Arctic and Europe programs while Greg Mortimer is in Alaska.
So for an Aurora Arctic voyage in 2027 or 2028, expect Sylvia Earle or Douglas Mawson, not Greg Mortimer. For Alaska on Greg Mortimer, read our Lindblad guide and Alaska expedition guide.
The Aurora year, month by month
Peak cells hold the most departures. Pale cells hold one or two voyages.
When Aurora sails
Built from Aurora’s destination and voyage pages, November 1, 2026. Tap a month for the voyage behind it.
The shape is simple. Antarctica from late October to March, the Arctic from June to September, and a spring of European small-ship cruises in between.
One region is missing from the grid. Aurora’s Americas page lists Costa Rica, Panama and Patagonia voyages from $12,495 but no departure months, so we’ve left them off rather than guess. Ask us for the dates.
Aurora’s current destination pages list no Galápagos or Kimberley voyages. For those, start with our Galápagos, Galápagos visitor sites and Kimberley guides. For the polar months, our Antarctica, Arctic and Greenland guides cover what each one trades away.
What the fare already covers
Bold means it’s in the fare. Columns follow Aurora’s general inclusions page, which says Trip Notes for each voyage have the final word.
| Item | Polar expeditions | Small-ship cruises | Junior & Captain’s Suites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beer, wine, cocktails, liqueurs | Included | Included | Included |
| Premium spirits | Included from Antarctica 2026/27 | Not stated | Included from Antarctica 2026/27 |
| Starlink Wi-Fi | Included | Included | Included |
| 3-in-1 polar jacket | Yours on polar voyages | No | Yours on polar voyages |
| Muck boots | To use on the voyage | Not stated | To use on the voyage |
| Pre-voyage hotel night | Included on all Antarctic voyages | Selected voyages | As for the voyage |
| Crew gratuities | Not included | Not included | Included, USD $20 a day |
| Flights | Only those in the itinerary | Only those in the itinerary | Only those in the itinerary |
The bar is generous on paper. Beer, wine, cocktails and liqueurs are included, and from the 2026/27 Antarctic season premium spirits join them. Bar hours start at lunchtime on sea days and at 3 p.m. on excursion days.
The polar jacket is yours to keep — the boots are only a loan.
Gratuities are the line to watch. Aurora includes them only in the Junior and Captain’s Suites, at USD $20 per person per day, and its inclusions page names no amount for other cabins.
Aurora says each voyage’s Trip Notes define what’s included. Ask us for the Trip Notes before you compare totals.
The add-ons, and the prices Aurora keeps off the page
Tap a card for the detail. Each one comes from Aurora’s own activity pages.
Aurora’s optional activities page lists ten adventures and says additional fees apply. None of the activity pages we read on November 1, 2026 printed a fee.
The terms do set one rule: a 25% deposit for each activity, on top of the voyage deposit.
That’s a different approach from some rivals. Our HX guide logs a published price for its guided kayak outing; Aurora’s figure comes on request, not on the page.
Ask us for the activity prices on your exact departure before you pay the voyage deposit.
Start with the fare, then add the adventure
Price an Aurora voyage
Pick a voyage, tick what you’ll add, and type in the prices we get you for the rows Aurora doesn’t publish.
Fares are Aurora’s lowest published “from” prices per person, twin share, in USD, as published on November 1, 2026. Most are sale prices, and Aurora runs frequent sales, so the fare on your date may differ. Rows at $0 have no published price.
Switch between Spirit of Antarctica and Antarctica Active. The Active voyage costs about $1,300 more per person and runs three days longer, with paddling, camping, snowshoeing and snorkeling built in.
If you’d book two of those on a standard voyage, get both activity prices first, then decide.
What an Aurora day costs, and what one traveler pays
Antarctica mostly costs $1,200 to $1,450 a day at Aurora’s sale fares. Fly the Drake costs more. Europe costs far less.
Most Antarctic voyages land near $1,200 to $1,450 a day on these fares. Fly the Drake is the outlier at about $2,300 a day, on an eight-day voyage that flies over the Drake Passage.
Europe is a different product altogether — the Mediterranean small-ship cruises run under $600 a day on a 2027 offer where a companion travels free.
Solo cabins are listed on all three ships as Balcony Solo categories. Douglas Mawson adds Aurora Single and Superior Single staterooms, by Aurora’s ship page.
Ask us for solo pricing on Douglas Mawson departures first. Single cabins tend to go early.
Aurora’s clock, set by your sail date
Insurance is required, not suggested. Aurora’s terms, updated September 2026, require travel insurance with at least USD $250,000 of medical and evacuation cover.
The CDC says an evacuation from a remote place can run above $250,000. Aurora’s minimum is a floor, not a target.
Two more dates to diary. A medical self-assessment arrives 90 days out and is due back 45 days before sailing.
Weather cancellations come back as credit — not cash. Compare plans in our expedition insurance guide before final payment.
Deposit
Due within seven working days. Each optional activity takes its own 25% deposit on top.
Deposit kept, credit issued
Cancel now and Aurora keeps the deposit but issues a Future Cruise Credit for the same amount, valid 24 months.
Fare kept, half back as credit
Final payment is due at 120 days. Cancel from then and Aurora keeps 100%, with a credit worth 50% of the ticket price paid.
All of it, gone
No credit at all. Only your required insurance stands between you and the full loss.
How Aurora scores, for the traveler this page is for
Activities and group size lead. Price transparency trails, and it’s the easiest one for us to fix for you.
Aurora’s fleet page caps expeditions at 130 passengers, and its About Us page gives an Expedition Team-to-Expeditioner ratio of 1:7.
Ten optional activities, from kayaking to a three-day Shackleton’s Crossing of South Georgia.
Fares are clear and in USD — activity prices aren’t printed on the pages we read, so the true cost needs a phone call.
The bar, Starlink Wi-Fi, a parka and a gateway hotel night on Antarctic voyages. Crew gratuities are included only in the top two suites.
About 50% more for a solo cabin on the voyage we priced. Douglas Mawson adds true single staterooms.
Minimum age 6, and children from 6 to 15 pay the adult fare.
Fit scores, not quality scores. They’re our judgement of how each row serves an American couple booking a first or second expedition. The facts underneath are Aurora’s own, checked November 1, 2026.
Book Aurora, or book around it
You want to paddle, camp or dive, not only land
Ten optional activities, small activity groups, and Antarctica Active for travelers who want four of them in the fare.
You like a bar tab and Wi-Fi in the fare
Drinks, Starlink and a polar jacket are included, so the onboard bill stays short.
The Ross Sea or East Antarctica is on your list
Aurora lists a 26-day Ross Sea Odyssey, and Douglas Mawson has already sailed south from Hobart.
You’re bringing a child under 6
Aurora’s minimum age is 6. Lindblad takes younger children on many voyages.
Before you book Aurora
What does an Aurora Expeditions fare include?
Aurora's general inclusions page lists beer, wine, cocktails and liqueurs, with premium spirits from the 2026/27 Antarctic season onward, complimentary Starlink Wi-Fi, a 3-in-1 polar jacket on polar voyages, the use of Muck boots, luggage transfers to and from the ship, and one pre-voyage hotel night on every Antarctic voyage. Guided hikes, Zodiac cruises, lectures and the polar plunge are included. Flights are included only where the itinerary names them. Crew gratuities are included only for Junior Suite and Captain's Suite guests, at USD $20 per person per day.
Are kayaking, camping and diving extra on Aurora?
On most voyages, yes. Aurora's optional activities page says sea kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling, skiing, camping, snowshoeing, paddling, stand-up paddleboarding, alpine climbing and Shackleton's Crossing are add-ons and that additional fees apply, with places limited. Aurora doesn't print the activity prices on the pages we read, so ask us for them. The exception is Antarctica Active, a 14-day voyage that includes paddling, camping, snowshoeing and snorkeling in the fare.
Is Greg Mortimer still an Aurora ship?
Yes, for half of each year. National Geographic-Lindblad charters Greg Mortimer for about six months of the northern summer, starting in 2027. Aurora's chief marketing officer told Cruise Industry News in July 2026 that the charter covers summer 2027 and 2028, with an option for 2029. For the rest of the year the ship sails for Aurora. It's listed on Aurora's Antarctic departures in early 2027 and again from October 2027.
Does Aurora require travel insurance?
Yes. Aurora's terms, updated September 2026, require every passenger to carry insurance, with at least USD $250,000 of medical and evacuation cover. You must send the policy details before final payment.
How much more does a solo traveler pay?
About 50% more on the voyage we priced. On Spirit of Antarctica, Aurora's lowest solo fare was $23,454 against $15,636 twin share, as published on November 1, 2026. Suites cost double for one person: the Junior Suite was $32,895 shared and $65,790 solo on the December 29, 2026 departure. Douglas Mawson adds dedicated single staterooms.
When is final payment due, and what if I cancel?
Aurora takes a 25% deposit within seven working days of booking and the balance 120 days before departure. Cancel 121 or more days out and Aurora keeps the deposit but issues a Future Cruise Credit for the same amount. From 120 days it keeps 100% of the fare, though cancelling between 120 and 90 days still earns a credit worth 50% of the ticket price paid. Credits are valid for 24 months.
Is Aurora Expeditions an Australian company?
Yes. Aurora calls itself an Australian-owned expedition company, and its booking contract is with Aurora Travel Pty Ltd. Greg and Margaret Mortimer founded it in 1991. It also lists offices in Boston, New York, Dallas and Toronto, and it prices voyages in U.S. dollars for American travelers.
Weighing an Aurora voyage? We’ll get the activity prices it doesn’t print.
Tell us the region, the month and what you want to do off the ship. We’ll ask Aurora for the kayaking, camping or diving prices on your departure and set the full total beside one or two other lines.
- Activity prices and places left on your date
- Which ship runs your departure
- Solo and single-cabin availability
No fee, no obligation. You pay the cruise line’s own fare. A real advisor replies, usually within one business day.
Ask about Aurora
Answers come straight from this guide.
Answers come from our guides and are general information. Confirm details with us before you book.
Every figure, and where it came from
Fares, inclusions, terms and ship details are Aurora’s own published figures on the date shown, and most fares are sale prices. The day rates, the 50% solo figure, the scores and the fit verdicts are our arithmetic and judgement, not Aurora’s. Your invoice governs.
Carry on planning
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.