Editorial Policy

Operator Inclusion Criteria

To be considered for inclusion in our rankings, an operator must:

• Operate at least one dedicated voyage covering the full Falklands–South Georgia–Antarctic Peninsula route
• Be a member of IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators) or demonstrate equivalent compliance with Antarctic Treaty System protocols
• Have operated the route for at least two consecutive Antarctic seasons
• Have a verifiable safety record with no serious incidents in the past three years
• Publish transparent fleet specifications including passenger capacity and Zodiac capability

Operator Exclusion

We exclude operators from our rankings if they:

• Cannot demonstrate IAATO membership or equivalent environmental compliance
• Have received significant regulatory sanctions from the Antarctic Treaty System or IAATO
• Have withdrawn the route entirely since the last ranking update
• Do not publish verifiable passenger capacity information

Scoring Methodology

Our scoring is built on four weighted criteria. See our full methodology page for detailed explanations of each factor. Scores are calculated independently for each operator and are not influenced by operators themselves.

Data Sources

We rely on the following primary sources:

• IAATO published data — membership lists, compliance status, landing statistics
• Operator official documentation — fleet specifications, itinerary descriptions, activity manifests
• Passenger review platforms — Trustpilot, Google Reviews, TripAdvisor, specialised polar travel forums
• Polar travel community forums — Reddit r/Cruise, Polar Latitude forums, Lonely Planet travel forums
• Academic and conservation sources — South Georgia Heritage Trust, British Antarctic Survey publications

Update Frequency

Rankings are updated on the following schedule:

• Annual full review: every April–May, ahead of the Antarctic season booking peak
• Mid-season update: if a significant event (new vessel launch, serious incident, IAATO status change) warrants re-scoring
• Operator removals: immediately if an operator ceases the route or loses IAATO status

All rankings pages carry a "Last Updated" date. The current rankings were last updated in May 2026.

Independence & Commercial Relationships

This site has no commercial relationships with any expedition cruise operator. We do not accept:

• Payment for inclusion, placement, or positive coverage
• Complimentary voyages in exchange for editorial review
• Referral commission or affiliate fees from operator booking systems
• Advertising from operators whose products we rank

The external links to operator websites on our rankings page are provided as a convenience for readers. We do not earn revenue from clicks on these links.

Corrections Policy

If you identify a factual error in our rankings or content, please contact us. We will review the information within 5 business days and, where corrections are warranted, update the content and note the change with a correction notice.