HX Expeditions Reviews 34

Have recently returned from a very memorable trip to The Falklands , South Georgia and Antarctica aboard the MS Fram with Hx Expeditions. The trip ran from 28th Feb to 21st March 2026.

The trip was everything we hoped it would be with the stunning wildlife and scenery along the way.
I wont detail too much about the trip as you can see all that from Hx’s website.

The points of note were ,as I’ve mentioned ,the wild life but importantly the Expedition team who facilitated all of our landings and Zodiac cruises and excursions ashore to see the masses of Penguins & Seals of all varieties.
The expedition team , led by Tomski were thoroughly professional and helpful and never tired of sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm for nature and the wildlife. My sincere thanks to all of them , they truly made the trip exceptional.

Highlight of the trip for me was actually South Georgia rather than the Antarctic itself surprisingly. The sheer variety and volume of wildlife there was just mind boggling.

On board the wonderful MS Fram the service provided by all the crew was first class and Fram truly felt like home from home as the trip went on.

In particular the food was excellent throughout. We ate in both the Aune and the Lindstrom restaurants and food in both was excellent . Many thanks to the head chef Tomas and all his team in the kitchen. Also my particular thanks to Roger who was our server for most of our meals. Rogers happy demeanour and professional service made every mealtime an enjoyable experience.

Our cabin was extremely clean , well appointed and was kept in immaculate condition by our cabin service staff in particular Mark.
Finally a mention for the bar staff , Arnold , Michael and Gladys who always provided a first class service with a smile and a friendly conversation. Thank you for looking after us!

I highly recommend this trip and this company if you are looking to see Antarctica in a smallish ship with all the facilities (there were only 130 guests on board our trip). Make sure your trip includes south Georgia is my advice.

Many thanks to all aboard MS Fram – we enjoyed it so much we are going to do the trip with you again next year !

Can’t yet comment on trip to Alaska as it isn't until 2027. However, HX marketing practices have left me very disappointed and I (naively) expected more.
Advertised big savings available for bookings made by 23 March - rushed to book, missing out on a bucket list experience only to find the sale was still available on 24 March, extended to end of April.
Why put dates on these sales if you have no intention of ending them on that date?
Top tip to potential customers - don’t trust HX adverts.

I had an amazing experience on my recent expedition cruise to Antarctica. The ship was well appointed, and this was truly an all-inclusive experience with daily zodiac cruises and landings, food and alcohol, seamless wifi and entertainment all provided for in the price.

The crew were absolutely fantastic. I can't stress how this made a difference to the whole experience.
The team on the MS Roald Admunsen were just stellar in their professionalism and kindness. Everyone seemed to be multi-talented and took on different roles.

All the scientists and guides were friendly and knowledgeable.

Reading some other reviews, I must say we were fortunate to have had good weather but credit must also be given to the dedication of the team who, even on days of bad weather, would take pains to shift plans around, so that we might head out once the weather cleared on the same day or make up for missed excursions on better days.

What a fantastic trip from start to finish. Great welcome from all staff. Lovely food. Scientists were so knowledgeable. Expedition staff were brilliant. What more can I say. Will definitely be booking another one. Thank you

Having enjoyed a wonderful Chilean Fjord cruise in November, we paid a deposit onboard for a subsequent cruise for the North-West Passage. Our salesman, was extremely helpful and stated quite categorically that should we need to cancel, there would be no problem in doing so, and our refund would be speedily refunded. We decided, within the cooling off period, that the financial commitment was too great to accept at that moment in time, so I phoned HX and the rep I spoke to told me to send an e-mail to a particular address to confirm same. (We were never advised to fill in an official refund form).We did this and heard no more for a couple of weeks, so phoned again and were told that our e-mail would have gone to a general inbox and most probably not been read yet. We had this same pattern every fortnight until Christmas, when we had to pay our credit card off, by having to take out savings to cover the £4k cost. I have spoken to 5 different reps, all well mannered , but not one could actually tell me anything. I eventually found and filled in an official refund form, which has been acknowledged and yet I have now received a further e-mail, on the 9th January, saying that I need to fill in the HX refund form, not the Hurtigruten form. As far as I can see, they are one and the same thing, and given that I have been given a case number and an acknowledgement I feel no need to re-send the form. I can imagine this is going to take longer, and I have already threatened legal action should the matter not be resolved quickly.
Needless to say, we shall not be booking the alternative HX cruise we had in mind and shall book elsewhere in future. This company is a disgrace, which is such a shame given how good the on-board staff were.

We travelled with HX along the Alaskan inside passage last year and after that wonderful experience had no hesitation in choosing them for our trip to Antarctica. As in Alaska, everything was well organised and went like clockwork. The cabins were large and comfortable, the food always of a high standard*, and the service friendly and efficient. As for Antarctica, it is breathtakingly beautiful. The daily landings were well organised, and we especially enjoyed the kayaking. It was early in the season so everything was pristine and white. There were plenty of penguins, but only a few seals and whales - we were a few weeks early for them. My only negative comments are that, compared to when we were with HX in Alaska, the zodiac drivers weren’t always as knowledgeable and informative about the surroundings - some were just drivers - and the kitchen has started using inedible fake meat in their *veggie burgers rather than burgers that are made of actual vegetables as we had on the Alaska trip. A small thing, but disappointing.

Such a fantastic trip! From the very start to the very end, the whole trip was a 10/10. The ship was so clean and well looked after, the staff go above and beyond and make the whole experience amazing, and the food was also great.

The excursions were extremely fun, and very relaxed. I loved that any questions you had were answered straight away by the amazing expedition team, and we saw so much wildlife.

Will be booking again very soon, and recommending it to all of my friends!

Attentive staff, knowledgeable scientists, Inuit ambassadors were incredible, lots of lectures and hands on experiences aboard ms Roald Amundsen
What surprised me on this cruise?
Incredible beauty, icebergs, polar bears, northern lights, scenic cruising with the zodiacs, the ship’s captain slowing down the ship so that we can all view wildlife when sighted. He turned off the outside ship lights for a short period of time so that we can enjoy the northern lights. Announcements of whale sightings. This sailing had no single supplement,
Great food, open dining, wine with lunch and dinner. Hiking poles, waterproof boots and an expedition jacket provided. Spacious cabin, kettle in room, outdoor pool, sauna and 2 jacuzzis.

I have been trying to book a holiday to Antarctica for about two months. No one will call me back, just sends emails. I have three times asked for a brochure, only to be told it will be ordered but I never receive it. I have all the emails to back up my complaint.
Are you a genuine company or not?

My husband and I (and our friends who traveled with us) went on the "Grand Greenland – Mythical Lands of the North" on the Fridtjof Nansen ship. Our main expectation was to see Greenland, icebergs, and the life in Innuit communities. Beyond that we did not have any specific expectations because we simply did not go there for the food, luxury, or for chatting with people on the ship.

But we were very pleasantly surprised. We did see many amazing places and Greenland will always have a special place in our heart. But besides that, we also loved the experience of the ship, the science center, the rooms, the food, the sauna, but above all the expedition team. They were all incredibly kind, helpful, funny, resourceful, and obviously cared about us having a good time. We loved going to different lectures and having different guides on our zodiac outings, because every member of the team had a different personality and different perspective, yet everyone was amazing. We did not interact to the same level with everyone, so I am sure I am leaving out some amazing people, but our special thanks for being the most amazing guides go to Jeanne, Sidsel, Aurelia, Bob, Rike, Geraldine, Marion, Tim, and of course Aleq, who left us speechless (in the best way) after almost each of his presentations.

The start of the cruise was delayed by a day because of issues at the Nuuk airport, yet the planning and adjusting to the conditions was done so well, that we covered most of the planned adventures and some unplanned ones, because we traveled all the way north, where the (mostly) continuous sea ice starts, and we were taken out in the zodiacs to step on the ice, which was very cool. The captain and his crew did all they could (and all that weather allowed) to give us an experience of a lifetime.

Also, I have to mention amazing Claire, that worked in Aune restaurant and made us smile every day.

Thank you everyone!

Very bad experience and the HR are not professional

This company is completely unprofessional. Poor communication, zero organization, and no respect for customers. Total waste of time and money. I’ll be sharing this awful experience across all platforms.

10 day Scottish Isles, Island Hopping on MS Spitsbergen was out of this world. Fantastic service and ship team were friendly and helpful. Stops were incredible, everyone enjoyable for different reasons. Some stunning scenery, beautiful wildlife and extremely lucky with the weather.

I do not recommend taking part in the recruitment process for this company. Recruiters arrange a meeting and then do not show up and are unable to answer the phone. Childishness and a waste of time

I've just got back from Roald Amundsen and what an amazing trip to Antarctica.

The ship is fantastic with everything you need, food exceeded expectations and the cabin had everything needed.

The staff are great but the real success are the expedition staff. Engaging, genuinely caring about their area of expertise and the lectures and lessons were superb.

Great organisation of the trips on and off the ship, Zodiacs were brilliant, the kayaking amazing and the choice of destinations each day worked really well.

The onboard app is excellent and works well and the communication throughout was spot on.

I can't fault any aspect of the trip.

This company seems to be having a number of issues. Since paying in full there has been no communication as to further details of the trip which is now 18 days away. Emails go unanswered for lengths of time and contact details are confusing with different email addresses and phone numbers across the USA, UK and Estonia. Finally did manage to talk with someone who was helpful but couldn't answer questions. It would appear that my travel documents had gone to junk mail. The 'travel document' are a website that seems to be advertising extensions and telling you what a fabulous time you will have but absolutely no specifics. In spite of transfers to and from Quito airport being included I was told I was not eligible as I arrive a day early so having paid a considerable sum of money and under the illusion the transfer is included I will now land and need to find my own way ...penny pinching and putting clients at risk. The website is clunky apparently I haven't filled in the manifest form although I have done so twice. I have repeatedly asked about return times to Quito to be told this will be advised 'later' although no definition of later and no help in organising ongoing travel. I chose this provider following a great trip to Norway last year but HX are no longer part of that company and it shows in the poor communication, awful platforms and penny pinching. Apparently the issues with emails, the website, and communication is due to the newness of the company although they have no problem grabbing as much money as they can and then providing very little in return. I have no option now but to travel but it has tainted the entire trip, made me as a solo traveller very wary and has ensured that my trip to the Antarctic in 2026 is with another provider. Beware!

So it took more than five weeks for a response. Just to update HX outsource to an Ecuadorian company called Metropolitan Tours. They are patchy. The cruise on Santa Cruz II was excellent but delivers because of the exceptional staff: expedition, hotel services and crew to a person work huge hours and really want you to see the Galapagos at its best. Metropolitan tour services in Quito fell short. Tour guides seem to go through the motions with a big focus on tips. One poor client who had had all her credit cards and phone stolen was left at the airport because her bag was delayed and told to take a taxi (she had no means of paying for it). The representative left her because ‘the other passengers were getting angry’. It would seem that HX isn’t really aware of what is happening on the ground and quality control is non-existent. In fact HX seem to be focused on aggressive sales and marketing in the US, the UK and other parts of Europe and Australia. Once paid up you get whatever Metropolitan Tours provides. This also means that much of what you pay leaves Ecuador. Had I known this I would have used another provider.
2 May update so in spite of reaching out and claiming they want to do a full investigation there has been no response to detailed issues raised with them. Their last correspondence was to assert they had investigated but there were no details or an apology. Offered 250 Euro credit off my next booking which will never occur. Again don't expect any response if issues arise.

Trip to Antarctica was cancelled due to technical faults with MS Nansen. Lack of straight communication, when stranded in Buenos Aires. Subsequent endless string of e-mails with customer service to get compensation for ruined vacation.

I have just been onboard MS Roald Amundsen visiting Antarctica and I cannot fault my experience.
The expedition team onboard in particular are amazing. Their lectures were engaging and interesting with Henryk and Niek being a standout for me.
Antarctica itself is indescribable and is worth the long journey here. It is a stunning and beautiful destination with HX putting together a great itinerary with landings in Antarctica each day.
I would highly recommend an additional night in Buenos Aires to break up the travelling.
I would recommend HX Expeditions to anyone looking for a once in a lifetime cruise.

The cruise was good
But be warned the add ons or pre and post cruise excursions are sub contracted to another company and are truly awful and chaotic
Our experience was not good
I’ve made a claim for a refund and await the outcome

The cruise itself is 10/10 Customer Service is very poor.

I have done 7 HX cruises with 3 more booked so I am a very loyal customer. Unfortunately I had to cancel a cruise due to cancer. All the other bookings, British Airways, Iberia, LATAM, Marriott, Gatwick Parking they either refunded or gave me a voucher to use at a future date. Despite escalating this to senior management I was told to claim off my travel insurance!! Come on HX this is no way to treat a loyal customer. You have a fantastic time on board, but read the reviews here, you destroy your brand by poor customer service when the staff on board make it an unforgettable experience. The last thing I needed was to make an insurance claim while trying to sort out my health issues. All I asked for was to transfer the deposit to a future booking or hold the deposit for future use but you declined that request. You are lucky you still have a customer.

Once on board you will have a wonderful time made possible by the excellent staff.