Aurora Expeditions, the Australian-owned adventure cruise company, has announced the upcoming launch of its third small ship, the Douglas Mawson, set to begin sailing in late 2025.

Introducing the Douglas Mawson

Signifying Aurora Expeditions’ return to East Antarctica with new itineraries from Hobart, Tasmania, Aurora Expeditions is set to enhance its fleet with the introduction of the Douglas Mawson. The new Infinity Class vessel will debut in late 2025.

The ship, named after pioneering Australian geologist and explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, will embark on its inaugural season with a special focus on East Antarctica, Aurora’s first return to the region after 15 years.

“We’re thrilled to be launching the newest and final Infinity Class vessel,” said Michael Heath, chief executive officer, Aurora Expeditions. “We are equally delighted to be offering passengers new itineraries departing from Australia as part of the ship’s inaugural season.”

As a key figure in the “Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration,” Mawson led the Australasian Antarctic Expedition from 1911 to 1914, helping to map the Antarctic coastline. The expedition established bases, conducted extensive studies, and explored previously unknown regions. 

“Aurora takes great inspiration from the incredible legacy of Sir Douglas Mawson. It was Mawson’s SY Aurora vessel that inspired our founder, Greg Mortimer, to name our company Aurora,” said Hayley Peacock-Gower, chief marketing officer, Aurora Expeditions.

Features and Itineraries of Douglas Mawson

Designed to carry an average of 154 passengers, Douglas Mawson will join its sister ships, the 132-passenger Greg Mortimer and Sylvia Earle, also named for exploration and environmental conservation pioneers. The ships will emphasize small-group, immersive experiences.

Douglas Mawson will feature a Nordic-inspired interior with a range of staterooms and suites, most equipped with private balconies. Unique to the ship will be several single-berth cabins to cater to solo travelers. There will be 86 cabins in total.

Public areas will include diverse dining options, bars, and outdoor heated swimming pool, and wellness amenities. The ship also emphasizes educational opportunities with a citizen science center and lecture theater offering various participative and educational programs.

As an expedition ship, passengers will enjoy expansive observation decks with panoramic views of the wilderness and wildlife. Indoor lounge areas will feature floor-to-ceiling windows, and the Glass Atrium Lounge inside the bow.

For its inaugural journey, Douglas Mawson will offer a special itinerary that follows in the footsteps of Mawson’s Antarctica. Passengers will visit Mawson’s Huts at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, and New Zealand’s Subantarctic Islands.

Douglas Mawson, like its sister ships, will serve as a base camp for passengers to explore. The ship will feature Zodiac access points, a changing room and a mudroom preparing passengers for off-ship and on-shore activities, and Ulstein X-BOW technology to improve fuel efficiency while offering smoother ocean crossings.

Aurora has not revealed the full program of voyages for Douglas Mawson, but the cruise line says it will visit the polar regions and “some exciting new destinations.” The inaugural voyage is anticipated for December 2025.

Aurora Expeditions is launching its 2024 expedition season in April with a “Patagonia & Chilean Fjords” voyage aboard Sylvia Earle. Launching April 5, the 15-day cruise will explore Cape Horn, Beagle Channel, Glacier Alley, Francisco Coloane Marine Reserve, the Chilean Fjords, Torres del Paine National Park, PIO XI Glacier, Tic Toc Bay, Castro, and Puerto Montt.

One cruise line’s loss is another cruise line’s gain. American Cruise Lines, the largest river and small-ship cruise line in the United States, has gained four new ships as part of American Queen Voyages’ bankruptcy proceedings. 

Four New River Ships to Join American Cruise Lines’ Fleet

American Cruise Lines (ACL) just grew its fleet of 19 small ships and river vessels to 23 essentially overnight. The cruise line, which is based in Guildford, Connecticut, emerged victorious in an auction for American Queen Voyages’ (AQV) ships and assets. 

American Queen Voyages offered overnight river cruises and expedition cruises throughout the US and beyond, calling on destinations like Alaska, the Heartland Rivers in Mississippi, New Orleans, Columbia, the Snake Rivers of the Pacific Northwest, Central America, and even Antarctica. The cruise line operated from 2011 until February 20, 2024, when it declared bankruptcy and shuttered its doors. 

The now closed-down cruise line, which was originally called the Great American Steamboat Co., was unable to recover after the Coronavirus pandemic. AQV was ultimately put up for sale and its parent company, the Hornblower Group, got a new majority owner: Strategic Value Partners, a global alternative investment firm. As part of the sale, the cruise line’s assets had to be sold off – which is how American Cruise Lines acquired its newest vessels. 

The cruise line purchased four paddlewheelers from the dismantled cruise line, including American Queen, a 436-guest ship launched in 1995 and the largest paddlewheel steamboat ever built; American Countess, a 245-guest ship that was built in 2017 using the hull of a 1995 casino ship; American Duchess, with a capacity for 166 guests and built in 2017 using a hull from a 1995 casino ship; and American Empress, a 224 guest ship that entered service in 2003.

“American Cruise Lines is pleased to be the successful bidder for AQV’s river vessels. We look forward to announcing additional details as we move through the bankruptcy process,” Alexa Paolella, American Cruise Lines Public Relations Manager, told Cruise Hive.

While the sale still needs to be approved and finalized in the court system, ACL will be shelling out a collective $5.55 million (USD) to complete the sale. The river cruise provider also paid an additional $750,000 for AQV related assets, including trademarks, website domain names, and relevant business records.  

AQVs two coastal vessels, Ocean Voyager and Ocean Navigator, also went to auction on April 1, 2024 – although no winner has been announced. 

American Cruise Lines’ Expanding Fleet 

American Cruise Lines is the largest river and small-ship cruise line in the US. The cruise line was founded in 1972 by Charles A. Robertson, a shipbuilder, who dreamed up the business with his wife, Carol. Together, the couple built the cruise line from the ground up. 

While Robertson passed away in 2020 at the age of 72, the company he built continues to flourish. In the past five years, ACL has nearly tripled its fleet, while also introducing new riverboats on the Mississippi River every year since 2018.

These vessels will call on more than 125 ports throughout the 2024 season, visiting destinations like New England, Mississippi, national parks throughout the US, Alaska, Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, the Great Smoky Mountains, and the Hudson River in New York. 

Currently, the cruise line operates a US-flagged fleet of 19 ships, which consists of a mix of coastal ships that sail around America’s East and West Coasts, Columbia and Snake River Boats, Mississippi Riverboats, Modern Riverboats, and Coastal Cats. 

Read Also: Cruise Line Marks Launch of River Cruise High-Season

In addition to gaining four new ships from AQV, American Cruise Lines has already ordered a mix of five new riverboats and Coastal Cats to be delivered over the next two years, bringing their fleet of 19 to 28 by the end of 2025. 

With the popularity of river cruising on the rise, ACL is not the only cruise line to be expanding its fleet either. Saga Cruises also ordered the construction of a new river ship, Spirit of the Moselle, which is scheduled to enter service in July of 2025.