Heritage Expeditions: the Ross Sea, from home
A New Zealand family line that sails south from its own coast. Heritage takes about 140 guests to the Ross Sea and the Subantarctic Islands each summer — then follows the warm water to Japan, the Kimberley and Papua New Guinea.
Heritage is the line for the Ross Sea and New Zealand’s Subantarctic Islands. It sails both from Bluff, at the bottom of the South Island, on a 1991 polar ship rated 1A Super. Two departures a year, 28 days each.
The fare covers less than a luxury line’s. House beer and wine come with lunch and dinner, the landings and lectures are in, and gratuities, kayaking and flights are not. Heritage’s lowest “from” fare is often a three-berth cabin, so the twin you actually want costs more.
The rules are strict. Insurance is a condition of travel, with a USD 250,000 floor for Antarctica — and the 25% deposit is forfeited if you cancel inside 180 days. Read both before you fall for the itinerary.
Six coasts, one small company
Tap a card for the route. Each one comes from Heritage’s own voyage pages.
Most expedition lines are built around the Antarctic Peninsula. Heritage is built around the Southern Ocean south of New Zealand — the Peninsula arrives with its second ship, Heritage Discoverer, from a November 2026 preview voyage. Some Discoverer departures are sold by Polar Latitudes on its own terms.
The flagship goes north when the austral summer ends — Fiji and Micronesia first. Japan in spring, the Kimberley in July, Indonesia and Melanesia in October.
The Ross Sea is the reason to know this line. Everything else is the year around it.
For the polar background, start with our Antarctica guide and landing sites. Then read the Heritage fleet guide for the ship behind each region.
Where the fleet sails, month by month
Dark cells hold several departures. Pale cells are the edges, when a voyage ends or only one starts.
Nine regions, three ships
Built from Heritage’s calendar of 91 departures, November 2026 to January 2028. Tap a month for the voyages in it.
The pattern is simple once you see it. January and February belong to the Ross Sea, November and December to the Subantarctic Islands, and the yacht works New Zealand’s fiords in almost every month.
The tropics are tight — one ship, a few weeks each. The Kimberley gets two July departures in 2027, and Papua New Guinea gets two in October — book those early or wait a year.
Pick the region first, then the month. Our Kimberley, Arctic and Greenland guides cover what each window trades away.
A conservation family that went into shipping
Dates come from Heritage’s own pages and brochures, and from trade press for the ship moves.
Rodney and Shirley Russ
A Wildlife Service biologist and his wife start a company to show travelers New Zealand’s seldom-visited places.
The Subantarctic, then the Ross Sea
Heritage says it pioneered expedition cruising to the New Zealand and Australian Subantarctic Islands, and added the Ross Sea soon after.
A ship from the Russian Far East
Heritage begins chartering its ship from that region, per its Russian Far East page. Its later Russian-crewed ship, Spirit of Enderby, was a 1984 research vessel.
Aaron and Nathan take over
The two sons take the business over from their parents, per a TTG Media interview with Aaron Russ.
The former Hanseatic
Announced in May 2021 and renamed Heritage Adventurer, the 1991 polar ship was set to start Heritage service in May 2022.
Heritage Discoverer
The former Silver Explorer joins after an auction early in 2026. Heritage sails it from May 2027, after a November 2026 preview voyage, adding the Antarctic Peninsula, the high Arctic and Europe. Some departures are chartered to Polar Latitudes.
Rodney Russ worked on the kakapo and the Chatham Island black robin before he took paying guests anywhere. Heritage’s About page says that work convinced him wilderness should be shared, not locked away.
That origin still shows. The expedition staff are naturalists, botanists and historians — the people who decide where a Zodiac lingers.
Heritage calls itself Australasia’s only family-owned and -operated expedition cruise company. That’s the line’s own claim; we haven’t found one to contradict it.
What a family company means for you is mostly scale — three hulls, one office in Christchurch. Ask us who leads your departure before you pay the deposit.
What a day costs, coast by coast
The yacht starts near $570 a day. The Kimberley runs about $700, and the Ross Sea about $1,180 — the long voyage costs more by the day, not just in total.
The fare, then what sits around it
Price a Heritage voyage
Pick a voyage. Tick what you’ll add, and type your own numbers where Heritage doesn’t publish one.
Fares are Heritage’s regular lowest “from” prices per person in US dollars, before flights, as published on its calendar on November 1, 2026. That lowest category is often a three-berth Main Deck Triple. Heritage runs frequent sales, so the live price can be lower. On November 1, 2026 many dates showed a reduced fare about 9 to 20% below the regular one; we’ll check yours. Lines marked $0 have no published price.
The biggest swing isn’t an add-on. It’s the cabin. On the July 2027 Kimberley Explorer, the Main Deck Triple is US$7,750 and the lowest twin, Deck 4 Superior, is US$9,800 — and the Deck 4 cabin was waitlisted when we looked.
Type the twin fare into the box, not the headline. Then add the flights, which on a Ross Sea trip start with getting to Queenstown.
Inside the fare, voyage by voyage
Four voyages, eight lines. Bold means the voyage page lists it as included — silence isn’t a charge.
| Item | Subantarctic (Forgotten Islands) | Kimberley Explorer | Japan (Springtime) | South Georgia (Discoverer) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabin, meals, lectures | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| House beer, wine, soft drinks | Lunch and dinner | Lunch and dinner | Lunch and dinner | Lunch and dinner |
| Expedition shore excursions | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Pre-voyage hotel night | Included | Not listed | Included | Ushuaia, included |
| Landing fees | Not listed | Included | Included | Not listed |
| Sea kayaking | Extra | Not listed | Not listed | Extra |
| Helicopter flight | – | Extra (Mitchell Falls) | – | – |
| Gratuities, laundry, flights, insurance | Extra | Extra | Extra | Extra |
Heritage doesn’t publish one fleet-wide inclusions list. Each voyage page carries its own, and the four above don’t match line for line. “Not listed” means the page is silent, not that you’ll be charged.
The bar is a meal-time pour, not an open bar. Cocktails, spirits and drinks outside lunch and dinner go on your account.
The terms add one wrinkle. Clause 2.3 says excursions are sold separately, while the voyage pages list the expedition shore excursions as included — we read the clause as the optional extras, not the landings.
Ask us for the inclusions sheet for your exact departure before you compare it with another line.
Three clocks, and no soft landing
The deposit is non-refundable. On dates Heritage sells, it takes 25% of the total price, and from 179 days out it’s forfeited if you cancel. Before that you get your money back, less an admin fee of USD 750 a person on the ships or USD 315 on the yacht.
Insurance is required, not recommended. The terms set a floor of USD 150,000 per person on Subantarctic voyages and USD 250,000 on Antarctic ones, and want proof before final payment. The CDC puts a remote evacuation above $250,000, so treat the floor as a floor.
Changes count as cancellations. Move your date, destination or cabin and clause 8.2 treats it as a cancellation. Heritage can also raise a fare for cost increases with 20 days’ notice; over 10%, you can cancel for a refund.
Discoverer dates sold by Polar Latitudes follow its terms instead: a 20% deposit, the balance 120 days out, a USD 1,250 fee from 181 days and USD 150,000 of required cover. Check a policy against the right numbers in our expedition insurance guide before the balance is due.
Single cabins, priced on their own
Heritage publishes single-occupancy cabins as their own categories, not a percentage supplement. On the Kimberley sheet there are two: Main Deck Single and Superior Single, at US$13,300.
It’s plain pricing, in our view — you see the number before you ask. It also means the solo cabins can sell out before the twins.
Heritage doesn’t publish a share-and-match program on the pages we read. If the Kimberley is the trip, compare Ponant, which waived its solo supplement on five 2027 Kimberley departures.
Ask us which single cabins are open on your date. They’re few, so ask early.
Book Heritage, or book around it
Our judgement, built on Heritage’s published voyages. Use it to shortlist, then compare dates.
The Ross Sea is the trip of your life
Two 28-day departures a year from Bluff, on a 1A Super polar ship, with the Subantarctic Islands on the way.
You travel for birds
Birding Down Under runs 17 days in December, and the company grew out of endangered-species work.
You want New Zealand’s fiords in a small group
Eighteen guests on Heritage Explorer, from US$2,860 for five days.
You want butlers and an open bar
Heritage pours with meals and leaves tips to you. Price Silversea or Seabourn for all-suite service.
You want the Ross Sea on a newer ship
Aurora lists a 26-day Ross Sea Odyssey from $32,936; Ponant’s Charcot reaches it on a 62-day circumnavigation from January 2028.
You want helicopters in Antarctica
Heritage lists helicopter flights only as Kimberley and Fiordland extras. Quark is the first line we’d price.
What buyers ask about Heritage
Are Heritage Expeditions prices in US or New Zealand dollars?
Heritage's website calendar shows fares in US dollars, and that's what we quote on this page. Its printed 2025-26 brochure priced voyages in New Zealand dollars, and its terms list cancellation fees in both US and New Zealand dollars, so check which currency your invoice uses before you compare lines.
What does a Heritage Expeditions fare include?
On the voyage pages we read, the fare includes your cabin and meals, house beer, wine and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, the expedition shore excursions, the naturalist lectures and the transfers, plus a pre-voyage hotel night on several Southern Ocean and Antarctic trips. Flights, gratuities, laundry, other drinks, visas, travel insurance, sea kayaking and helicopter flights are extra. Inclusions vary by voyage, so read the one you're booking.
How much travel insurance does Heritage require?
Insurance is a condition of travel. Heritage's terms set a minimum of USD 150,000 per person on Subantarctic expeditions and USD 250,000 on Antarctic expeditions, covering medical, evacuation, cancellation and baggage, and Heritage recommends more evacuation cover than that. Proof is due before final payment, and Heritage can cancel the booking without a refund if it isn't supplied.
When is final payment due on Heritage?
On dates Heritage sells, a non-refundable 25% deposit confirms the booking. The balance is due 90 days before departure on Heritage Adventurer and Heritage Discoverer, 120 days before on Antarctic voyages, and 60 days before on the yacht Heritage Explorer. Cancel more than 180 days out and you get a refund less a per-person admin fee of USD 750 on the two ships or USD 315 on the yacht. Some Discoverer departures are chartered to Polar Latitudes Expeditions and sold on its terms, including its 2026-27 Antarctic season. Check which company sells your date. Polar Latitudes' terms set a 20% deposit, a balance 120 days out and a USD 1,250 fee from 181 days.
Does Heritage still sail the Russian Far East?
Not on its current calendar. Heritage chartered a ship from the region from 1993, and its 2020-21 brochure still listed Russian Far East voyages on Spirit of Enderby. The calendar we read on November 1, 2026, running to January 2028, lists no Russian departures.
Who runs Heritage Expeditions?
The Russ family. Rodney and Shirley Russ founded the company in 1984; Rodney had been a biologist with the New Zealand Wildlife Service. Their sons Aaron and Nathan took over in 2018, according to a TTG Media interview, and run it from Christchurch.
Is there a single supplement on Heritage?
Heritage prices dedicated single cabins on some voyages rather than publishing one supplement. On the July 2027 Kimberley Explorer, a Main Deck Single is US$12,700 against US$9,800 for the lowest twin cabin, about 30% more by our arithmetic. Ask us which single cabins are open on your date.
Weighing the Ross Sea? We’ll price the whole 28 days.
Tell us the region, the month and who’s traveling. We’ll get the live fare for the cabin you want, not the triple, and check your insurance against Heritage’s floor before the balance is due.
- The twin or single fare for your departure, and any current sale
- Kayaking and helicopter prices Heritage doesn’t publish
- Whether your policy meets the USD 150,000 or 250,000 minimum
No fee, no obligation. You pay the cruise line’s own fare. A real advisor replies, usually within one business day.
Ask about Heritage
Answers come straight from this guide.
Answers come from our guides and are general information. Confirm details with us before you book.
Where every number came from
Fares, inclusions, terms, dates and ship details are Heritage’s own published figures on the date shown, in US dollars from its calendar. The per-day costs, the solo percentages, the region verdicts and the fit picks are our arithmetic and judgement, not Heritage’s. Heritage runs frequent sales; the fare on your invoice governs.
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.