As the creator of cultural expedition cruising, Swan Hellenic is the choice of adventurous minds across the generations seeking in-depth exploration of the Arctic, Antarctic and Rest of the World – from Brazil to the Bijagós Archipelago, Norway to Canada, Argentina to South Africa, and Madagascar to Italy.
The pioneering company's 2025 cruises on boutique ice-class ships SH Diana and SH Vega now advance this leading reputation with a choice of almost 60 expertly curated itineraries worldwide.
Building on the Polar, West Africa and Latin America voyages trailblazed to date, the big developments for 2025 are an extraordinary Amazon River exploration odyssey in Brazil and two original new cruises of the Mediterranean, where the Swan Hellenic cultural expedition cruise tradition began.
The new Mediterranean cruises explore some of the most inspiring sites of ancient and medieval culture, many with UNESCO World Heritage status. Most of these can only be accessed by smaller ships such as SH Diana, which also brings cruise guests the pleasure of mooring in the heart of Venice.
The first is the 10-night "Contrasts of Mediterranean Culture" aboard SH Diana. Departing Palermo for Venice on 20 August 2025, its imaginative itinerary follows almost the entire length of the Sicilian, Montenegrin and Croatian coasts. Exploring Lipari, Giardini Naxos and Taormina, Gallipoli, Monopoli, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Split, Hvar and Rovinj, guests will be immersed in the landscapes, cultures and histories of the many peoples who have settled these shores over the millennia.
The drily named "Exploring South America from Barbados to Brazil" on SH Vega follows an exceptional 19-night itinerary. Sailing from Bridgetown on 12 October 2025 in the Caribbean all the way down to Salvador de Bahia, this incomparable voyage takes in many of South America's most famous but also undiscovered and inaccessible cultural and natural wonders. From Port of Spain, Georgetown, Paramaribo, Îles du Salut, Belém, the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Fortaleza and Recife. However, the highlight of this superlative cruise lies in an amazing four-day detour up the Amazon River to Macapa, Iquiqui and Gurupa in the heart of the jungle, returning through the otherworldly Breves Narrows, upriver from Belém in the Thousand Islands region.
For many, Swan Hellenic's in-depth explorations of the Arctic and Antarctic will continue to be the major attraction. But others will be just as strongly drawn to its one-of-a-kind voyages in exotic regions between the poles, most of which can be daisy-chained to create unforgettable personalised odysseys.
Full details of all these expert-led 2025 cruises are already available on the Swan Hellenic Website.
Patrizia Iantorno, Chief Commercial Officer of Swan Hellenic, says: "We're delighted with the itineraries our specialists have curated for 2025. They not only build on our pioneering 2023 and 2024 cultural expedition cruises, but also bring entirely new opportunities for curious minds to expand their horizons in 2025".