Pioneering small-ship expedition cruise company Heritage Expeditions is proud to announce the arrival of a new iconic exploration ship, and an expansion of its expedition cruise offering, with Heritage Discoverer joining its fleet of purpose-built expedition vessels.
Formerly known as Silver Explorer, Heritage Discoverer will begin sailing alongside the family-owned and operated cruise company’s flagship Heritage Adventurer and expedition yacht Heritage Explorer from May 2027.
Purpose-built for authentic expedition cruising and adventure, at the same Finnish shipyard as sister vessel Heritage Adventurer, Heritage Expeditions owners and Directors Aaron and Nathan Russ said Heritage Discoverer’s pioneering prowess and lineage perfectly mirrors Heritage Expeditions own legacy of adventure.
“Heritage Discoverer combines decades of exploration, on expeditions from the Northwest Passage to navigating remote tropical waters, islands and atolls, and south to Antarctica, with a 1A ice class rating and wrapped in luxurious, spacious surrounds,” said Aaron.
The new addition to Heritage Expeditions fleet will see the New Zealand-based family-owned and operated company also exploring new adventures.
“Heritage Discoverer allows Heritage Expeditions to resume our renowned, authentic high Arctic and Antarctic Peninsula adventures and the return of our unique, expedition-style of travel to these regions,” said Nathan. “Her arrival also heralds new opportunities to explore European, African and South American shores announcing an exciting, truly global offering for Heritage Expeditions,” he said.
Heritage Expeditions new seven-deck, 108-metre-long expedition ship was recently refurbished and upgraded in 2023 and 2026. She features 70 ocean-view accommodation options including 12 luxurious and spacious suites from 37m2 to 67m2 with private balconies, Dining Room, Outside Grill, Presentation Lounge, Bar & Lounge, Observation Lounge, Fitness Centre, two outdoor Jacuzzis, Gift Shop, Panoramic Bridge featuring Heritage Expeditions signature Open Bridge Policy, and a fully equipped Medical Centre.
Heritage Discoverer will sail with a maximum of 130 expeditioners and an Expedition Team of 15, while a fleet of 14 Zodiacs ensures all guests are able to maximise their expedition experience.
Maiden voyage itineraries will be released shortly and commence in May 2027, with a selection of Arctic and Antarctic departures already chartered to Polar Latitudes Expeditions.
About Heritage Exeditions
Heritage Expeditions are Australasia’s only family-owned and -operated (second-generation) authentic small ship expedition cruise company.
Operated by the Russ family, a family of conservationists, biologists and adventurers, Heritage Expeditions are pioneers in conservation-based sustainable tourism and the ‘luxury of experience’.
We have been sharing and exploring New Zealand’s wildest places for more than 40 years (and supporting its conservation for more than 50 years), are the world’s most experienced Southern Ocean operators pioneering expedition cruising to the Subantarctic Islands and down to the ‘heart of Antarctica’, the Ross Sea, more than 35 years ago.
Heritage Expeditions authentic voyages also include explorations of the Kimberley coast and remote islands and shores of Indonesia, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Philippines and Japan aboard our purpose-built expedition vessels.
Heritage Expeditions offers guests exclusive experiences and authentic citizen science opportunities including an incredible cultural exchange with the Kwaio People of Malaita and assisting leading penguin scientists with their research at the world’s oldest and largest Adelie Penguin colony.
Heritage Expeditions has partnered with New Zealand iwi Ngāi Tahu on the Murihiku ki te Tonga programme – the world’s first indigenous-let Antarctic research programme, with New Zealand Nature Fund, Murihiku Regeneration and the Department of Conservation to launch the Maukahuka/Auckland Island Restoration Project, a NZ$80m project to rid wild pigs, feral cats and mice from New Zealand’s Subantarctic Auckland Island, and is a founding partner of NFP Learning Resources for Villages and has been raising funds for and delivering school supplies to remote villages in the South Pacific and in Asia with our guests since 2016.
Our voyages were included in influential travel bible Condé Nast Traveler's 'The 25 Best Places to Go in 2025' list, featured in television shows Luxury Escapes and Travel Oz, documentaries Antarctica from Above, Go Further South, and Nigel Marven’s Penultimate Penguin.