Frequently Asked Questions
Five ships in our inventory — 5 hulls — and 208 distinct departures across 179 dates and 67 routes, from 18 July 2026 to 27 March 2028.
HX is the former expedition business of the same group. Operational separation in January 2021, renaming in September 2023, sale confirmed in late November 2024 and closed in early 2025; the head office moved from Oslo to London. Hurtigruten runs the Norwegian coastal line, HX sails for the polar regions and the Galápagos. Two products, two catalogues.
Yes. It counted six ships at the time of the renaming and now counts five: the sixth went back to Hurtigruten in 2024 and took back her original name, MS Finnmarken, in 2025.
No, and that is worth knowing. She belongs to Metropolitan Touring, an Ecuadorian owner; she flies the Ecuadorian flag and her home port is Guayaquil. HX has chartered her since June 2021, with a first departure under its colours on 5 January 2022, and the charter was extended to 2029 in an announcement of 8 December 2025.
No, but you should know it before comparing. The owner sells the same hull under its own brand, with its own itineraries: same cabins, same guides, two signs. In the Galápagos that is the market norm — nearly all ships there are operated by Ecuadorian companies — but a client who finds out after booking will wonder why nobody said so.
The line describes it three incompatible ways on its own site, and we will not decide in its place. A commercial announcement of March 2024 promises all-inclusive; the ship pages announce excursions, meals, gratuities and drinks, followed by an asterisk whose note appears on no page; its own FAQ reserves gratuities for suite guests and describes most excursions as optional. Have what your departure covers confirmed in writing.
No: MS Santa Cruz II carries no departure under the HX sign on our calendar, while carrying 377 under Tauck's. It is the same hull, entered twice in our inventory. We have flagged it for correction.
We will not say it in the line's place. What the fare covers changes here from one departure, market and cabin grade to the next, and we have not measured it departure by departure. Ask your advisor for the written list of the exact departure before booking, not after.
One ship on one date. If the same ship leaves on the same day, that is one departure, not two. Our database holds more records than departures, and what we publish is the number of departures.
No. Everything given here — number of hulls, number of departures, dates, routes — comes from OUR inventory, measured on 31 August. A zero with us is not a zero with them.
Often, yes. Your advisor can look beyond what appears here. The online catalogue is a way in, not the limit of what exists.
Because a chartered ship can leave the brand mid-year, and because the same ship is sometimes sold under two signs on different terms. It is not contract small print: it decides what you are comparing.
It depends on the departure and the market, not on the line. If French matters to you, say so before booking: it is checked departure by departure.
On small fleets and expedition ships, yes: few cabins, and the best go early. Talk cancellation terms through with your advisor before you decide.
Your agency, and it alone. Voyages AquaTerra operates under a licence from Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur, your payments pass through a trust account, and the compensation fund for travel agency clients covers your departure. That holds whichever line you choose.
