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Some countries on our expedition cruises require a tourist visa. Requirements vary according to nationality and cruise departure country and port. Check your itinerary which countries are covered, and look up the consular services at their embassy in your home country. Most countries require you to have at least 6 months’ validity on your passport. Prior to boarding, at the departure port, you may be asked to present return tickets and show evidence of your itinerary. Do I need a visa to visit Antarctica? No visa is required to visit Antarctica. The same goes for South Georgia and the...

SWAN HELLENIC: PRESS RELEASE (31 March 2021)Swan Hellenic reservations exceed expectations as inaugural cruise books to capacityResurgent cultural expedition cruise pioneer in spires solid interestNicosia, Cyprus: Today, Wednesday the 31st of March, Swan Hellenic announced that interest in its cultural expedition cruises is translating into buoyant bookings across the board. Driven by renewed consumer confidence, this uptick is particularly strong for the iconic company's cruises of New Zealand & the Pacific Islands, UK & Northern France, the Scottish Islands and Antarctica. Indeed, it...

SWAN HELLENIC: PRESS RELEASE (16 March 2021)SH Minerva reveals her cabin designs as structure completed ahead of scheduleFirst cultural expedition cruise ship in new-build fleet maintains ambitious momentumNicosia, Cyprus,Today, Wednesday the 16 of March, Swan Hellenic announced that the hull sections and deck modules of its first vessel, the purpose-designed cultural expedition cruise ship SH Minerva, had all been completed in advance of its ambitious schedule. Marking the occasion, the company released a time-lapse video of the work at Helsinki Shipyard that shows the ship assuming its grace...

The Birds You’re Likely To See Cruising Around The Falkland Islands Around 230 species of bird have been recorded on the Falkland Islands including two endemic species. The penguins are undoubtably the star attraction, with as many as million nesting on the islands every summer. On a Falkland Island cruise, keen ornithologists are not only likely to spot several penguin species but many other rare and fascinating bird species. Visit the Falkland Islands on an expedition cruise in the Antarctic with Swan Hellenic. Our Antarctica In depth: Antarctica, South Georgia & Falklands i...

SWAN HELLENIC and HELSINKI SHIPYARD PRESS-RELEASE (31 March 2021)Swan Hellenic reservations exceed expectations as inaugural cruise books to capacityResurgent cultural expedition cruise pioneer inspires solid interestNicosia, Cyprus: Today, Wednesday the 31st of March, Swan Hellenic announced that interest in its cultural expedition cruises is translating into buoyant bookings across the board.Driven by renewed consumer confidence, this uptick is particularly strong for the iconic company's cruises of New Zealand & the Pacific Islands, UK & Northern France, the Scottish Islands and Ant...

An expedition cruise to the world’s polar realms offers the chance to take photographs, the like of which you will have never thought possible. From blue-hued tabular icebergs to sunset-burnished mountain peaks, there will be riotous penguin colonies and large-eyed Weddell seals in the Antarctic and lumbering polar bears and belching walruses in the Arctic that will fill up your memory card before you can say trip-of-a-lifetime.; What photography equipment should I bring on a polar expedition cruise? Whether you shoot like a professional, and have the gear to match, or are travelling lig...

SWAN HELLENIC: PRESS RELEASE (18 February 2021)Swan Hellenic partners with Cruise Online to provide close trade support across Australia, New Zealand and the PacificCultural expedition cruise leader nears global specialist trade support for outstanding customer serviceToday, Thursday 18 February 2021, Swan Hellenic announced it is partnering with Cruise Online, a division of Aviation Online Pty Ltd, with offices in Sydney and Auckland, to provide close support to the travel trade across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.Cruise Online offers trade operators the highest standards of service...

Five incredible things to do in Svalbard The pristine Svalbard archipelago is situated between Norway and the North Pole. A land of midnight sun with more polar bears than people, this is a wild, and irresistibly magical, corner of the earth. Incorporated by Norway in 1925, the region’s first settlers arrived with the whaling trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. Later the coal mining industry boomed. Nowadays tourism is Svalbard's most lucrative source of income. On a Svalbard cruise with Swan Hellenic, you’ll explore this unspoiled wilderness up close on our expedition landings. Much m...