Why Sail With Road Scholar?
Meet the Experts
When you come away from an expedition cruise, you will be fulfilled with newfound knowledge and firsthand experiences like you were in a National Geographic or David Attenborough documentary. Instead of lounging by the pool and watching an extravagant performance, onboard activities are centered on a host of experts who are part of the journey to share their expertise with you. Expedition cruises bring professional photographers, biologists, geologists, anthropologists and other experts to serve as resources for the environment and cultures you will experience. Throughout the journey, they present lectures and host discussions to ensure you are getting the most out of your expedition. When you travel with Road Scholar, there will often be additional opportunities to meet with these experts so no questions are left unanswered.
The World is Your Classroom
Craggy coasts and iceberg-filled bays await as your expedition ship gracefully lowers anchor. Become fully immersed in the destination as you’re transported into the heart of untouched wilderness and authentic cultures on itineraries as exciting as the destinations in store. These ships are often built for a specific destination with exact measurements — shallow drafts, narrow bodies or ice-strengthened hulls — in order to access select ports of call. Smaller expedition ships can sail tight waterways and shallow outlets to off-the-beaten-path locales and across open water to iconic destinations that have been dreamed of from a world away. From the remote fishing villages in northern Iceland to the Galápagos’ hidden coves, expedition cruises will return your focus to the world around you and leave you longing for more.
Intimate Experiences
The days of having to face the crowds while you’re on vacation are behind you. With an average size of fewer than 200 passengers, public areas will never feel too crowded and there will always be a cozy corner to relax with book-in-hand or grab a seat at the bar to schmooze with your new friends. Lectures with onboard experts will fill with familiar faces and open seats in the dining room will seem to summon you. Plus, you will develop a relationship with the crew as you interact every day, making the cruise feel more like a home away from home than a floating hotel. When you embark on an expedition cruise with Hurtigruten, their custom-built ships are designed to offer the intimate expedition experience while accommodating a greater number of passengers, more in line with ocean voyages.
Sustainability is Key
As concerns about environmental sustainability have become more prominent in the collective conscious, a greater emphasis has been placed on responsible travel practices. Expedition cruises value the environment above all else and are constantly developing and implementing new sustainable practices and technologies onboard the ships. From only serving sustainably sourced food to seeking alternative fuel methods — the Norwegian expedition company, Hurtigruten, launched its first hybrid-powered ship in 2018 — and contributing to local charities and NGOs in the regions of the world they visit, expedition cruise lines are rising to the occasion.