Aurora Expeditions Review 2026: Voyage Prices, Terms, Protection and a Record Score of 58

Aurora Expeditions scores 58/100 as a company record: the Sydney line founded in 1991 publishes fares from USD 5,721, holds deposits in a passenger trust account and limits its polar voyages to 130 guests, but names none of its expedition staff, prints no 24-hour number and shows no protection number for its UK or US buyers. This record covers Aurora Travel Pty Ltd, which trades as Aurora Expeditions, and its three ships, Greg Mortimer, Sylvia Earle and Douglas Mawson.

Verified 25 September 2026 · aurora-expeditions.com terms, inclusions, contact, team, ship and voyage pages · IAATO · USTOA · Trustpilot, Cruise Critic and Tripadvisor · Cruise Industry News and Travel Market Report

How Aurora scores: 58 out of 100

Aurora scores 58 out of 100: a strong review record, published fares and a trust account for deposits, held back by an unnamed expedition team, no 24-hour number and inclusions kept apart from the fares. Its scores on our cruise indexes, from 56 to 86, measure ships, landings and voyages, where 130 guests and a detailed weather plan count for a great deal; this record scores the company on the five criteria below.

Aurora is open about its ships and quiet about its people. Fares, ship sizes, a staff ratio and a trust account for deposits are all published; the names of its expedition staff, a number that answers out of hours, its owners and a protection number for its UK and US buyers are not.

The evidence record

The record holds 18 facts about Aurora, each with its source and grade. Grade A means the company's own site or terms; grade B means a registry, review platform, awarding body or major press; grade C means a secondary source not confirmed elsewhere. Every line was read on 25 September 2026 unless its source says otherwise.

Who owns Aurora Expeditions?

Aurora Expeditions does not say who owns it: its site names the founders, Greg and Margaret Mortimer, who started it in 1991, and the company that sells its voyages, Aurora Travel Pty Ltd, but no parent, investor or shareholder.

Aurora is run from Sydney, with sales offices in Boston, New York, Dallas, Toronto, London and Chengdu. Its chief executive since 2022, Michael Heath, resigned in May 2026 after a period in which the fleet grew from one ship to three and the company became a certified B Corporation; the board began a search for a successor. Katie Malone became chief marketing officer in August 2025.

Our expedition cruise operator index describes Aurora as Australian-owned and independent. No page read for this record states its owners, so the record leaves that open.

How much does an Aurora voyage cost?

Aurora voyages read for this record cost from USD 5,721 per person for 11 days in southern Patagonia to USD 58,095 for 34 days crossing Antarctica, twin share. All prices were read on 25 September 2026 on Aurora's own voyage and destination pages and are starting prices per person.

Aurora's general inclusions cover all meals, drinks including wine and spirits, Starlink Wi-Fi, a polar jacket, boots, daily excursions and landing fees; flights to the ship are not listed. Its 26-day Ross Sea Odyssey is the only priced Ross Sea voyage in our Antarctica operator index, where Aurora ranks first. How its Antarctic voyages compare on the crossing is in the fly-cruise vs Drake crossing index.

Aurora booking terms and financial protection

Aurora takes a 25% deposit within seven working days and the balance 120 days before departure; cancel earlier and the deposit is lost, cancel inside 120 days and the whole fare is.

A future cruise credit is offered instead: the full deposit at 121 days or more, 50% between 90 and 120 days, and nothing inside 90 days, according to its terms, updated September 2026. Deposits are held in the Aurora Passenger Trust, a separate trust account, until 180 days before departure. Australia has had no national scheme for travel buyers since 2014, and no ATOL or ABTA number for UK buyers or USTOA membership for US buyers was found. How protection compares across polar lines is in the expedition cruise operator index.

Who guides an Aurora voyage

Aurora names none of its expedition staff: its team page describes naturalists, historians, marine biologists and geologists in general terms, at a stated ratio of about one staff member to seven guests.

That ratio, and a limit of 130 guests on expedition voyages, are why Aurora leads our Arctic expedition cruise lines and Antarctica indexes. Its founders are described as "two passionate explorers" on its about page, with no expedition record given. What a landing day involves is in what to expect on an expedition cruise.

Support before and during the voyage

Aurora publishes no 24-hour number: its lines in the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UK are sales lines, and the US line is open 9am to 8pm Eastern on weekdays.

On board, its general inclusions list "complimentary access to onboard expedition doctor and medical clinic". For evacuation cover on polar voyages, see our guide to personal security for high-net-worth travellers.

What Aurora reviews say

Aurora holds 4.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 297 reviews, with 4.3 on Cruise Critic from 14 and 3.0 on Tripadvisor from 21.

The Trustpilot profile is for its Australian domain and has been claimed by Aurora since 2019; the newest review was dated 17 July 2026. The Tripadvisor listing is for the Sydney office rather than the voyages. Several voyage titles call themselves "Award Winning" without naming an award. The guide to review platforms explains what each platform can tell a buyer.

Who Aurora suits, and who it does not

Aurora suits active travellers who want a 130-guest polar ship with activities such as kayaking and snowshoeing on offer, fares that include drinks, and a company that holds deposits in trust.

It suits less well a buyer who wants to know who will guide them, or a UK buyer who wants an ATOL number. Our solo cruise index records a 50% single supplement, waived when no share is found, and places Aurora joint third. For the difference between expedition ships and larger cruise ships, see expedition vs luxury cruise.

Booking Aurora: the decisions that come next

Aurora's fares cover the voyage and, on some routes, a hotel night or a charter flight, but not the long-haul flight, so the traveller still chooses how to pay, how to get there, where to stay and what to claim if a flight fails.

Where Aurora stands on Uncompromised Travel

Aurora appears on eight Uncompromised Travel pages and holds a ranked position on five of them.

Alternatives to Aurora to compare

The closest alternatives are Quark Expeditions and Lindblad Expeditions for named guides and published protection, HX for Antarctic fares with flights included, and Atlas Ocean Voyages for small ships with drinks included.

What this record does not show

Six things a buyer would want could not be found or verified for Aurora. Supplying a verifiable source closes a gap; it changes the evidence, never the rubric.

What changed at Aurora, 2024 to 2026

Between 2024 and 2026 Aurora became a B Corporation, took delivery of its third ship, ran its largest Antarctic season, appointed a new marketing chief and lost its chief executive.