VIEW FINDER
Beyond the Ice
Beyond the Ice
HX brings together exploration and environmental purpose in the world’s wildest places.
The wind whips across the deck as the ship leans into the Drake Passage, slicing through a stretch of sea where weather writes its own rules. Swells build while the ship presses south, chasing a continent still shaped by wind and ice. In the lounge, a marine biologist traces plankton migration across a screen while coffee trembles in porcelain cups. This is HX, where the swells are real, the data matters, and impact becomes part of the day.
Science that Doesn’t Stay on the Ship
Each day aboard HX starts with a briefing, but not the kind tethered to cabana rentals or poolside trivia. Instead, you might hear about satellite-tagged whales circling the Antarctic Peninsula or the latest results from a penguin census. Glaciologists, ornithologists, and climate researchers work alongside the crew, transforming the ship into a floating field station. Guests are encouraged to join in logging wildlife sightings, collecting water samples, or analyzing data in the onboard Science Center.
Conservation with a Propeller & a Purpose
As the first cruise line to eliminate heavy fuel oil, HX chose long-term vision over short-term ease. Its hybrid-powered ships—MS Roald Amundsen and MS Fridtjof Nansen—run with battery packs, heat recovery systems, and a hydrodynamic hull that cuts emissions by over 20% compared to similar vessels. They represent the most ambitious investment in HX’s 130-year history.
HX helped found the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators and remains a member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. These two organizations set rigorous environmental standards in the polar regions. Together, they restrict ship sizes, regulate shore visits, and enforce wildlife guidelines to protect the places that define this kind of travel.
Transformative, Not Transactional
To explore with HX is to witness a change in the landscape and maybe in yourself. You watch a glacier calve, then learn how satellite imagery measures the loss. You help map plastic pollution or spot krill blooms that forecast the planet’s health. The questions linger longer than the itinerary: What does it mean to see what’s vanishing? To stand at the edge of a continent and feel small but newly aware? HX believes travel can shift perspective. And when guests disembark, that shift often sticks. Some reduce their own carbon footprints, others fund science they learned about onboard. Many become climate advocates not out of guilt but from a deeper understanding.
After the Anchor Lifts
Beyond the horizon, the impact continues. HX currently supports 41 environmental, cultural, and social projects across 11 countries. In the Pacific Northwest, efforts focus on protecting endangered orcas. In the Galápagos, teams monitor seabird colonies facing rising threats. In Greenland, funding helps create safe spaces for vulnerable children. And in Canada’s Arctic, Inuit elders preserve oral histories through community-led storytelling.
They’re real lives, real places, and part of the reason HX sails the way it does.
Change the way you see the world.
VIEW FINDER
Beyond the Ice
Beyond the Ice
HX brings together exploration and environmental purpose in the world’s wildest places.
The wind whips across the deck as the ship leans into the Drake Passage, slicing through a stretch of sea where weather writes its own rules. Swells build while the ship presses south, chasing a continent still shaped by wind and ice. In the lounge, a marine biologist traces plankton migration across a screen while coffee trembles in porcelain cups. This is HX, where the swells are real, the data matters, and impact becomes part of the day.
Science that Doesn’t Stay on the Ship
Each day aboard HX starts with a briefing, but not the kind tethered to cabana rentals or poolside trivia. Instead, you might hear about satellite-tagged whales circling the Antarctic Peninsula or the latest results from a penguin census. Glaciologists, ornithologists, and climate researchers work alongside the crew, transforming the ship into a floating field station. Guests are encouraged to join in logging wildlife sightings, collecting water samples, or analyzing data in the onboard Science Center.
Conservation with a Propeller & a Purpose
As the first cruise line to eliminate heavy fuel oil, HX chose long-term vision over short-term ease. Its hybrid-powered ships—MS Roald Amundsen and MS Fridtjof Nansen—run with battery packs, heat recovery systems, and a hydrodynamic hull that cuts emissions by over 20% compared to similar vessels. They represent the most ambitious investment in HX’s 130-year history.
HX helped found the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators and remains a member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. These two organizations set rigorous environmental standards in the polar regions. Together, they restrict ship sizes, regulate shore visits, and enforce wildlife guidelines to protect the places that define this kind of travel.
Transformative, Not Transactional
To explore with HX is to witness a change in the landscape and maybe in yourself. You watch a glacier calve, then learn how satellite imagery measures the loss. You help map plastic pollution or spot krill blooms that forecast the planet’s health. The questions linger longer than the itinerary: What does it mean to see what’s vanishing? To stand at the edge of a continent and feel small but newly aware? HX believes travel can shift perspective. And when guests disembark, that shift often sticks. Some reduce their own carbon footprints, others fund science they learned about onboard. Many become climate advocates not out of guilt but from a deeper understanding.
After the Anchor Lifts
Beyond the horizon, the impact continues. HX currently supports 41 environmental, cultural, and social projects across 11 countries. In the Pacific Northwest, efforts focus on protecting endangered orcas. In the Galápagos, teams monitor seabird colonies facing rising threats. In Greenland, funding helps create safe spaces for vulnerable children. And in Canada’s Arctic, Inuit elders preserve oral histories through community-led storytelling.
They’re real lives, real places, and part of the reason HX sails the way it does.
Change the way you see the world.
MORE STORIES
What to Read Next
What to Read Next
Destination GPS
Victoria, British Columbia blends sustainability and style in every traveler's experience.
Point of View
Mediterranean Sailing at Its Best
Fresh off Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Editor at Large Ignacio Maza shares his experience.
Point of View
As an African-born company, Micato Safaris has a special responsibility to its homeland.
With more than 30 years of experience in the travel agency industry, I sensed the need for a qualified educated travel professional to assist others in making their travel dreams come true. I founded The Bespoke Traveller to share my experiences journeying through 6 continents. Having navigated over 70 countries, crossed lands near and far by train, and taken passage on over 30 ocean cruises, I am ready to guide you.
The travel industry has been in a state of turmoil the last few years and a new world of travel has evolved. Travellers are no longer comfortable researching destinations, accommodations and safety and health issues by themselves. At the same time, finding experienced, committed and professional travel advisors has become difficult.
I’m here to service all your travel needs.