HX Expeditions Review 2026: Voyage Prices, Owners, the Hurtigruten Split and a Record Score of 59

HX scores 59/100 as a company record: the expedition line that split from Hurtigruten in February 2025 publishes fares from USD 6,154 with flights often included, prints a five-step cancellation scale and carries ATOL, ABTA and USTOA cover, but names none of its guides and holds 2.9 on Trustpilot. This record covers HX, formerly Hurtigruten Expeditions, not the Norwegian coastal voyages, which belong to a separate company, Hurtigruten Group. HX's own marketing still uses the coastal company's 1896 founding date; the record explains why it does not.

Verified 25 September 2026 · travelhx.com terms, ATOL page, FAQs, ship and voyage pages · HX press releases · USTOA · Trustpilot · Seatrade Cruise and Travel Agent Central

How HX scores: 59 out of 100

HX scores 59 out of 100: strong on published fares, terms and financial protection, held back by an unnamed expedition team, no 24-hour number and a weak review record. Its scores on the cruise indexes differ because they measure ships and voyages, where HX's 490-guest ships count against it in polar water; this record scores the company.

HX is open about money and quiet about people. Fares, inclusions, a dated cancellation scale and scheme numbers for both the UK and US are all on its pages; the names of the people who guide ashore, a number that answers at night and a review record that matches its size are not. Its marketing also borrows 130 years of history from a company it no longer belongs to.

The evidence record

The record holds 18 facts about HX, 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 HX?

HX is owned by an investor group of Arini Capital Management, Cyrus Capital Partners and Tresidor Investment Management, which completed its purchase on 12 February 2025, the day HX became a separate company from Hurtigruten Group.

The deal, first reported in November 2024, put about EUR 140 million of new funding into the expedition business and completed in February 2025. Chief executive Gebhard Rainer stayed on, based in a new London headquarters, while Hurtigruten Group kept the Norwegian coastal voyages under its own management in Oslo.

HX's marketing has not fully caught up: its ships page says "Since 1896", a Greenland page calls it "operating since 1896", and in May 2026 it launched an "1896 Cabin" for a 130th anniversary. Those dates belong to the coastal service. Our comparison of seven expedition lines still describes HX as Hurtigruten's expedition arm, a line this record corrects.

How much does an HX voyage cost?

HX voyages read for this record cost from USD 6,154 per person for ten days on the Norwegian coast at Christmas to USD 20,899 for 23 days to Antarctica in spring. All prices were read on 25 September 2026 on HX's own voyage pages and are starting prices per person.

Antarctic fares include economy flights between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia, a hotel night with breakfast, all drinks, an expedition jacket and Wi-Fi. HX's Antarctic fares are among the lowest published, as the fly-cruise vs Drake crossing index found, where HX ranks fourth. Ship size matters as much as price: see the expedition cruise operator index on how many guests can land at once.

HX booking terms and financial protection

HX takes a 25% deposit and the balance 90 days before departure, and from 90 days out a cancellation costs 25% of the fare, rising to 100% inside 14 days.

For departures from 1 April 2027, US bookings take a 15% deposit and the scale runs 15%, 50%, 75% and 100%; UK bookings keep 25%. Four dated versions of the US terms were on the terms page at once; the current one dates from 1 June 2026. UK buyers are covered by ATOL 12642 and ABTA Y6835, and US buyers by USTOA membership, which USTOA lists separately from Hurtigruten's. How protection compares across polar lines is in the Antarctica operator index.

Who guides an HX voyage

HX names none of its expedition staff: its pages describe a "hand-picked Expedition Team" that gives lectures and escorts landings, with no names, backgrounds or guest-to-guide ratio.

The exception is the Galápagos, where HX says its team "is comprised of local Galápagos experts", on the Galápagos page. Ships of 490 guests land in shifts where polar rules allow 100 ashore at once, which is why guide numbers matter; what a landing day involves is in what to expect on an expedition cruise.

Support before and during the voyage

HX publishes no 24-hour number: its US line, +1 (888) 568-9793, gives 10am to 12pm Pacific as the best time to call, and no UK number was found.

On board, every ship carries "an English-speaking medical team with a doctor and at least one nurse, supported 24/7 by dedicated land-based experts", according to the health and safety page; consultations and medicines are charged to the guest, and HX requires insurance. For evacuation cover on polar voyages, see our guide to personal security for high-net-worth travellers.

What HX reviews say

HX holds 2.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 44 reviews, the only review figure that belongs to HX alone.

Cruise Critic's Hurtigruten page shows 4.2 from 625 reviews under the Hurtigruten name; whether it covers HX's expedition ships alone, after the 2025 split, could not be confirmed, so this record does not count it. HX lists many awards on its awards page, including Travel Weekly Globes for 2025 and 2026; none was checked at the awarding body. The guide to review platforms explains why this matters.

Who HX suits, and who it does not

HX suits travellers who want a published Antarctic fare that includes flights from Buenos Aires, a wide range of regions from Alaska to the Galápagos, and ATOL or USTOA protection.

It suits less well a traveller who wants a small landing group: two of its ships carry 490 guests. Solo travellers pay supplements of 25% to 70% depending on region, which is why HX scores 40 on our solo cruise index. For the difference between expedition ships and larger cruise ships, see expedition vs luxury cruise.

Booking HX: the decisions that come next

Many HX fares include the flight to the ship but not the international flight, so the traveller still chooses how to pay, how to reach the gateway, where to stay and what to claim if a flight fails.

Where HX stands on Uncompromised Travel

HX appears on seven Uncompromised Travel pages and holds a ranked position on four of them.

Alternatives to HX to compare

The closest alternatives are Quark Expeditions and Lindblad Expeditions for named guides and published terms, Atlas Ocean Voyages for smaller ships, and Aurora Expeditions for 130-guest polar voyages.

What this record does not show

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

What changed at HX, 2024 to 2026

HX was sold to new investors and separated from Hurtigruten Group, lost its finance chief, named a new head of marketing and rewrote its terms between late 2024 and 2026.