Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) Expedition Cruises

Abercrombie & Kent began with safaris in East Africa in the 1960s, and its expedition cruises carry the same habits to sea: small groups, expert guides and a good deal of attention paid to comfort in places that offer little of it. The company charters small, ice-capable ships for each voyage rather than filling them alongside other operators, so the whole vessel sails as a single A&K party.

Its own expedition team travels on board, typically a mix of naturalists, historians and polar veterans who lecture between landings and lead the Zodiac excursions ashore. Antarctica and the Arctic are the core of the programme, with occasional voyages to other remote coasts. The tone is closer to a well-run private journey than to a conventional cruise.