Terra Nova Expeditions

Terra Nova is the newest name on the ice, and one we’ve been watching closely — Erin is already fielding client interest for the inaugural 2026/27 season. The pitch is refreshingly contrarian: while much of the expedition world races toward bigger ships and longer champagne lists, Terra Nova is sprinting the other way, back toward what the word ‘expedition’ used to mean.

Founded by Greg Carter (a co-founder of Chimu Adventures) and named for Robert Falcon Scott’s storied polar ship, the line runs on one flat, all-inclusive price — kayaking, camping, snowshoeing, the polar plunge, gratuities, and beer and wine at dinner all folded in, with no upselling and no discount roulette. The whole ethos fits on a bumper sticker: expedition first, comfort always, hidden costs never.

The fleet is small and deliberately so. Carrying the 2026/27 Antarctic season is the 98-guest Terra Nova Adventurer, an ice-strengthened veteran with more than 600 polar voyages behind her. The RMS St. Helena, a former British Royal Mail vessel and the line’s original ship, remains part of the story. Sailing alongside them is Icebird, a 61-foot ice-strengthened expedition yacht carrying just six guests — available as a day sail on select departures, or as a multi-night leg of the Ultimate Antarctic Adventure, which pairs the yacht with the ship for a genuinely unusual hybrid.

For travelers who’d rather spend their money on time ashore than on marble bathrooms, Terra Nova is one of the most interesting arrivals in polar travel in years.