The luxury expedition cruise space keeps getting bigger: Lindblad Expeditions has signed a deal for a new polar expedition cruise ship. Slated for delivery in 2021, the new, as-yet-unnamed ship will join the line’s other new expedition ships: the National Geographic Quest, which launched July 2017; the National Geographic Venture, launching this December; and the National Geographic Endurance, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2020.
In a statement announcing the new ship Lindblad said it is expanding capacity to respond to increasing demand for expedition travel, both due to market expansion and investment in the cruise line’s marketing and sales infrastructure.
The new ship will be the fourth polar vessel in the Lindblad Expeditions – National Geographic fleet, joining the National Geographic Explorer and the National Geographic Orion, currently in operation, and the National Geographic Endurance.
Further design details on the new ship have not yet been announced.
The new ship is the latest expansion in the expedition cruise market. Luxury operator Scenic has two new “discovery yacht” expedition ships on tap: the Scenic Eclipse (January 2019) and the Scenic Eclipse II (2020). Fellow luxury line Seabourn recently announced plans for two of its own expedition vessels (June 2021 and May 2022), while this year Silversea celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Silversea Expeditions brand. Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is launching three new expedition ships over the news few years, and smaller ship lines, such as Quark Expeditions and Ponant, are also adding or recently added new vessels.
This story originally appeared on www.travelagentcentral.com.
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