In terms of itinerary and quality of expedition staff there is little difference between our ships, as all offer an excellent polar experience and all have ice-strengthened hulls. All our featured ships are members of IAATO and operated under strict environmental guidelines and are equipped with a fleet of Zodiac inflatables for landings and cruises.

All passengers will be fully briefed on what to do (and what not to do) ashore, and instruction will be given for travelling in Zodiacs comfortably and safely. Our brief ship guide follows, for more personal advice and the full colour brochures, simply contact us.

Prof. Multanovsky/ Prof. Molchanov/Akademik Shokalskiy/ Grigoriy Mikheev/ Polar Pioneer/ Spirit of Enderby/ Maryshev/ Orlova (100 passengers)
	Russian, former research vessels/arctic passenger ships carrying between 35 – 55 passengers. Officers and crew professional and friendly. Western expedition staff. Comfortable with good food. A real expedition feel. The smallest ships and usually make 2 (sometimes 3) landings a day.
Ioffe (Peregrine Mariner)/ Akademik Sergey Vavilov (Peregrine Voyager)
	Russian, former research vessels carrying about 100 passengers . Officers and crew professional and friendly. Western expedition staff. Comfortable with good food. A real expedition feel. Usually makes 2 (sometimes 3) landings a day. Given their relatively large size (and therefore stability), our current favourite wildlife viewing ships. WildWings birding and natural history orientated clients enjoy personal service from these ship’s onboard naturalists.
Polar Star
	A former icebreaker, this ‘go anywhere’ vessel carries about 100 passengers. The vessel has a super observation lounge with big windows.
Clipper Adventurer
	A former Russian vessel completely rebuilt in the 1990s, carrying just over 100 passengers in comfort and style. Noted for it’s superb food too. Our own Tony Marr has worked a number of seasons onboard and he has nothing but praise for the vessel.