HX Expeditions: the Hurtigruten ships, under a new flag
Same hulls, same red-and-white heritage, different company. HX now sails five ships to both poles and the Galápagos — with a long all-inclusive list, and a balance sheet a careful buyer should read first.
HX is the value end of big-ship polar travel, with a real all-inclusive list. Gratuities, house drinks, Wi-Fi, a jacket and often the gateway hotel and charter flight are in the fare. Antarctica starts from about $10,100 for 12 days on HX’s U.S. site.
The trade is scale. Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen carry up to 490 guests — a lot of people to rotate through landings, by our reading. Kayaking and camping cost extra.
Then there’s the money. HX’s own half-year accounts flag a material uncertainty over its ability to continue as a going concern, tied to market conditions and refinancing it hasn’t yet done. The directors still adopt the going-concern basis. Book on a credit card, with cover that pays if a supplier fails.
Two companies where there used to be one
Expedition voyages worldwide
Antarctica, Svalbard, Greenland, the Northwest Passage, Alaska, the British Isles, Patagonia, Norway in winter and the Galápagos. Bought by an Arini, Cyrus and Tresidor-led group, with EUR 140 million of new junior funding.
The Norwegian coastal route
The Bergen-to-Kirkenes service and Norwegian coast cruises, nothing else. Bought by an Arini, AlbaCore and Barings-led group with a EUR 400 million investment. A separate booking, not an HX one.
HX is announced
Hurtigruten Expeditions says it will become HX from December 2023. The coastal brand drops “Norway” and goes back to plain Hurtigruten.
Maud goes home
MS Maud leaves HX, takes back its original name, Midnatsol, and rejoins Hurtigruten’s coastal route.
The split closes
Investors led by Arini, Cyrus and Tresidor complete the purchase of HX. Fram and Spitsbergen get new Science Centers that spring.
The half-year report
HX reports a EUR 44 million first-half loss, a material-uncertainty note and EUR 22 million of fresh funding.
If you sailed “Hurtigruten” to Antarctica before 2024, you sailed with what is now HX. The rebrand was announced on September 19, 2023 and rolled out from that December.
The ownership followed. On February 12, 2025, Travel Weekly reported the split finalized, with each company sold to its own investor group.
The coastal ferry is Hurtigruten’s. Antarctica is HX’s.
That matters when you shop. A Bergen-to-Kirkenes voyage is a Hurtigruten booking with its own terms — our Norwegian fjords guide covers it. HX’s own Norway product is a winter expedition from Tromsø on MS Spitsbergen.
Check which company’s name is on the invoice — HX or Hurtigruten — before you pay a deposit.
The HX year, tap by tap
Dark cells are the core months. HX’s listings run into 2029 on some voyages, so the pattern holds beyond next year.
Where HX sails, month by month
Built from the destination and voyage pages on HX’s U.S. site, November 1, 2026. Tap a month for the voyage behind it.
The two hybrid sisters do the long commute. Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen winter in Antarctica, then head north for Alaska, Greenland and the Northwest Passage. Fram splits its year between Antarctica and the European Arctic.
Spitsbergen works Svalbard, Scotland and the one Norwegian winter on the list, chasing the northern lights from Tromsø. Santa Cruz II stays in the Galápagos all year — a resident ship, not a visitor.
HX doesn’t list the Kimberley. For that coast, start with our Kimberley guide. Otherwise pick your region in our Antarctica, Arctic, Greenland, Alaska or Galápagos guide, then come back for the month.
What “all-inclusive” covers at HX
Bold means it’s in the fare. The last column is HX’s own caveat.
| Item | Polar & Alaska voyages | Norway in winter | Galápagos (Santa Cruz II) | What HX says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| House wine, beer, cocktails | Included | Included | Not itemized on the voyage page | Premium drinks extra; licensing rules apply |
| Gratuities | Included | Included | “No gratuities are expected” | No discretionary service charge added |
| Wi-Fi | Included, Starlink | Included | Limited, low bandwidth | Browsing only, no streaming |
| Expedition jacket | Included | Included | Not listed | Polar jacket or regional kit |
| Rubber boots | On loan | Not stated | Not needed | Mandatory for Antarctic landings |
| Kayaking | Usually extra, $114–$229 | Included | Free with a guide | Priced per voyage |
| Gateway hotel and connecting flight | Often included | Not included | Included, Quito–Baltra | Varies by voyage; check the page |
| International flights | Extra | Extra | Extra | Bookable through HX |
We checked every row against HX’s all-inclusive page and U.S. FAQ on October 31, 2026, and against the voyage pages on November 1. The polar voyages also list sauna and hot tubs, the onboard photographer’s album and the Science Center.
Suites add Champagne, unlimited dinners at Lindstrøm, laundry and turndown. Everyone else pays a EUR 25 cover charge at Lindstrøm, per the FAQ.
One wording clash to know about. The all-inclusive page says gratuities are included. The FAQ says tipping is optional, with a cash box at reception. We read that as tips covered, extra cash welcome — a courtesy, not a charge.
Look at the activity list on your exact voyage before you compare fares. Norway includes winter kayaking; Antarctica charges for it.
Start at the fare, then add the ice
Price an HX voyage
Pick a voyage. Tick the extras you’d book; HX’s own prices are filled in where it publishes them.
Fares are the lowest “from” prices per person on HX’s U.S. site, as published on November 1, 2026, most at 130th-anniversary offer pricing. We last read the optional-activity prices for Alaska, Svalbard, Norway and the Northwest Passage on October 31, 2026. Nights are HX’s day count less one and include any hotel night. HX may add a fuel surcharge up to 30 days before departure, per its terms. Rows at $0 have no published price.
The included rows do real work here. On Highlights of Antarctica the Buenos Aires–Ushuaia charter and a hotel night are in the fare, not the add-on list.
Insurance is a requirement at HX, not an option, so get a quote for it before you set this total beside another line’s.
Where an HX dollar goes furthest
The Chilean fjords run about $430 a day at HX’s lowest fare. Antarctica sits near $680 to $920. The Northwest Passage passes $1,000.
The Science Center, and the hybrid claim
The Science Center is the heart of the ship, by HX’s description. On Roald Amundsen it holds touch screens, microscopes and science equipment, lecture space, a small library and workshops for photography and biology. The expedition team works from there.
HX lists full access as part of the fare: talks with onboard scientists, sample collection and citizen-science projects. Fram and Spitsbergen each got a new Science Center in their spring 2025 refits.
Go to one session on the first day, because that’s where the expedition team starts building the next day’s landing plan.
The hybrid claim belongs to HX, so we attribute it. HX calls Roald Amundsen “one of two fully hybrid ships” in its fleet, and says the technology cuts fuel use and CO2 emissions by 20 percent. Fridtjof Nansen is the sister.
In 2019 Hurtigruten said Roald Amundsen was the first cruise ship to sail purely on battery power, and the first battery-hybrid ship through the Northwest Passage. Neither is a figure we can test, so treat them as the line’s claims, not independent findings.
Ask which ship your date uses. Fram, Spitsbergen and Santa Cruz II carry no hybrid claim on HX’s pages.
Ninety days, and four steps down
HX publishes two sets of rules. Its FAQ says a 25% non-refundable payment holds a booking made more than 90 days out. Its terms for bookings from November 3, 2025 on departures from April 1, 2027 set the deposit at 15%.
Both put the balance 90 days before departure, and a booking made inside that window is paid in full on the day, not in stages.
On the 2027-onward terms, cancelling 90 or more days out costs 25%. From 89 days it’s 50%, from 59 days 75%, and inside 30 days the whole fare.
That 25% fee lands on a 15% deposit — so an early cancellation can cost more than you’ve paid. If a price rise passes 8%, the terms let you cancel for a full refund within 14 days of the new invoice.
Ask us which terms your booking date falls under, and put the 90-day date in your calendar today.
Four things to settle before the deposit
Tap a card for the detail. The first two come from HX’s own half-year report.
This is a disclosure, not a prediction — none of it means HX will fail. Its first-half operating revenue rose to EUR 138.6 million, from EUR 120.9 million, and bookings for 2026 departures ran 22% ahead of last year by late August.
It still guides to a 2026 normalised EBITDA loss of EUR 17 million to EUR 25 million, so the recovery is a forecast, not a result.
We report these numbers because the company published them, not to scare anyone off. A careful buyer protects a five-figure deposit whatever the line.
Read our expedition insurance guide and pick a plan with financial-default cover before you pay.
Book HX, or book around it
You want Antarctica with the extras already paid
Charter flight, hotel night, tips, drinks, Wi-Fi and a jacket are in the fare on Highlights of Antarctica, from about $10,100.
You’re traveling solo
Selected departures carry no solo supplement on the cruise portion, and many others run 25% to 70%, per HX’s FAQ.
You want the Arctic in a smaller hull
Fram and Spitsbergen carry about 200 and 150 guests on Svalbard, Greenland, Norway and Scotland.
You want fewer than 200 people in Antarctica
The two hybrid sisters carry up to 490 guests. Price Lindblad, whose four polar ships carry 102 to 148 guests, and see Aurora.
What buyers ask about HX
Is HX the same company as Hurtigruten?
Not anymore. Hurtigruten Expeditions began trading as HX from December 2023, and the split from Hurtigruten Group was finalized on February 12, 2025, when investors led by Arini Capital Management, Cyrus Capital Partners and Tresidor Investment Management bought HX. Hurtigruten now sells only the Norwegian coastal voyages. HX runs the expedition ships, from a London headquarters.
What does an HX fare include?
HX's all-inclusive page lists meals, house wine, beer and cocktails, coffee, tea and soft drinks, gratuities with no service charge added, Starlink Wi-Fi without streaming, a polar expedition jacket or regional kit, the onboard photographer's album, Science Center access and the daily landings and lectures. Many voyages also include a gateway hotel night and the connecting flight, such as Buenos Aires to Ushuaia. Kayaking, camping, premium drinks, international flights and insurance are extra.
Is travel insurance mandatory on HX?
Yes. HX's insurance page says every guest needs travel insurance covering cancellation, medical care and repatriation. For Antarctica the policy must include medical evacuation and repatriation, and HX recommends at least US$200,000 of cover. HX says insurance is required for all guests, though in the Galápagos it isn't a condition of entry.
Is HX financially stable?
We can only report what HX has published, and we don't give financial advice. HX's results for the first half of 2026, published August 28, 2026, use the words 'material uncertainty' about its ability to continue as a going concern. The report names two causes: market uncertainty from the Middle East conflict, and refinancing it hasn't yet undertaken. HX's directors still concluded that preparing the accounts on a going-concern basis is appropriate. The report describes customer funds protected under ATOL, which is a UK scheme, so U.S. bookers shouldn't assume it applies. Paying by credit card and choosing insurance with supplier-default cover are the usual safeguards, and booking through an advisor means someone tracks your booking and works the options if a line changes its plans.
How much is the deposit, and when is final payment due?
HX's FAQ says a 25% non-refundable payment holds a booking made more than 90 days out, with the balance due 90 days before departure. Its terms for bookings made from November 3, 2025 on departures from April 1, 2027 set a 15% non-refundable deposit instead, with the same 90-day balance date. Cancellation fees on those terms are 25% if you cancel 90 or more days out, 50% from 89 days, 75% from 59 days and 100% inside 30 days.
Is there a solo supplement on HX?
Sometimes none at all. HX's FAQ says selected departures carry no solo supplement on the cruise portion, as long as there are no hotel nights, and many others carry reduced supplements of typically 25% to 70%. When the solo allocation sells out, standard pricing may apply. HX’s Iconic Antarctica page listed no solo supplement on select departures on November 1, 2026.
What is the minimum age on HX?
Five years for Antarctica and the Galápagos, per HX's FAQ. Children under 12 may join small-boat landings at the captain's discretion. For other regions, ask us for the rule on your voyage.
Weighing HX? We’ll price it and protect it.
Tell us the region, the month and who’s traveling. We’ll pull the live HX fare, the solo offer if there is one, and the add-ons you’d actually book, then set the total beside another line.
- Which terms and deposit apply to your date
- Live solo and anniversary pricing
- Insurance that meets HX’s rule and covers supplier default
No fee, no obligation. You pay the cruise line’s own fare. A real advisor replies, usually within one business day.
Ask about HX
Answers come straight from this guide.
Answers come from our guides and are general information. Confirm details with us before you book.
Where each figure came from
Fares, inclusions, terms, ship details and financial figures are HX’s own published numbers on the date shown; the hybrid and “first” claims are HX’s and Hurtigruten’s, not ours. The per-day costs, the risk cards and the fit verdicts are our arithmetic and judgement. HX’s prices move with its offers, and your invoice governs.
Next stops
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.