“All that is best and different about that first Hellenic cruise remains to this day. Now as then what makes Swan Hellenic stand apart from other cruise companies isn’t just the destinations but the manner in which everything is arranged.”

Little did our founders, Messrs WF & RK Swan, realise back in August 1954 that their first cruise – which combined thought-provoking visits to some of the world’s legendary sites, accompanied throughout by eminent Guest Speakers – would, almost 60 years later, have become
such an iconic and award winning style of cruising.

Today ‘the manner in which everything is arranged’ remains the essence of a Swan Hellenic cruise with a panel of eminent Guest Speakers accompanying each cruise to talk about the destinations and sites visited. We strive to source the finest speakers, be they eminent archaeologists engaged in current research, world-ranking historians, zoologists, geographers, volcanologists, naturalists, botanists, writers, politicians and ambassadors. A panel of Speakers, including NADFAS Guest Speakers – each chosen for their expertise relative to the cruise itinerary – will tease out the ‘what and why and when and how and where and who’, helping to make your cruise an enlightening, stimulating and memorable experience. Our Speakers in turn very much enjoy being part of Swan Hellenic and, in particular, relish the enquiring minds of our passengers.

In the early days our cruising was focused on the Mediterranean, offering voyages through the waters of antiquity. Today, our carefully designed and detailed itineraries range from the North Cape of Norway to India and the Far East, by way of the Adriatic, Black Sea, Levant, Mediterranean and North Africa.

In spring 2012 the newly upgraded Minerva returns to embark on a series of fascinating spring cruises, whilst summer highlights include traditional Swan cruises in Hellenic waters, a National Trust cruise around the UK and a programme of ‘no fly’ cruises from Portsmouth that include itineraries to France, the gardens of Ireland, Norway and the Baltic.

A dedicated on board Swan Hellenic team, including a member of the shore-side planning team, remains committed to upholding the values and ethos established by WF & RK Swan and Sir Mortimer Wheeler in 1954 and looks forward to welcoming you on board.

Lord Sterling
Chairman