Scenic Ocean Cruises
Expedition Cruising
Scenic Eclipse and Eclipse II are unlike anything else at sea. They're the only ships carrying both helicopters and a submarine, which means you can glacier-hop in Antarctica one morning and dive 100 metres underwater that afternoon — then return to a butler-serviced suite with a heated balcony. The all-inclusive model is truly all-inclusive, with ten restaurants, premium drinks, and shore excursions all in the fare. Antarctic departures sell out a year in advance, so plan early.
Scenic was founded in 1986 by Glen Moroney — an Australian entrepreneur from Newcastle, New South Wales — as a coach tour company running trips along the Great Ocean Road. From that single coach, Moroney and his wife Karen built what is today the Scenic Group: a privately held, Australian family-controlled luxury travel conglomerate spanning river cruises, ocean expeditions, and guided land journeys. The trajectory from regional coach operator to builder of its own ocean-going fleet is genuinely remarkable, and Moroney remains Chairman to this day.
The ocean division operates under the "Discovery Yacht" banner — a deliberate positioning choice that signals luxury-first with expedition capability. These are not rugged expedition ships that happen to have decent cabins. They are ultra-luxury small ships that happen to carry serious exploration hardware. The distinction matters, because it tells you exactly who this product is for: affluent travellers who want to see Antarctica, the Arctic, or the Kimberley without compromising on comfort, dining, or service. If you want hardcore expedition focus above all else, Aurora or Quark may be a better fit. If you want six-star comfort with genuine adventure woven through the programme, Scenic sits in a space very few competitors occupy.
The fleet currently consists of two purpose-built vessels carrying a maximum of 228 guests — reduced to 200 in polar regions. Both feature the patented Ulstein X-BOW inverted hull design, which meaningfully reduces slamming and vibration in heavy seas. Every cabin is an all-suite, all-veranda configuration with butler service, and the near one-to-one crew-to-guest ratio ensures a level of personal attention that larger ships simply cannot replicate.
The headline differentiator is straightforward: Scenic Eclipse and Eclipse II are the only expedition vessels in the world carrying both helicopters and a submarine on every voyage. Two Airbus H130 helicopters per ship offer flightseeing over glaciers, heli-hiking to remote terrain, and — in the Kimberley — half-day heli-fishing excursions for barramundi. The Scenic Neptune submarine, built by U-Boat Worx in the Netherlands, takes six guests at a time in ultra-clear acrylic viewing spheres to depths of up to 300 metres. It is a genuinely unique experience, and one that generates enormous guest excitement.
An important caveat: neither the helicopters nor the submarine are included in the fare, and neither is ever guaranteed. Weather cancellations in polar regions are common, and there have been instances of the submarine being removed from a ship ahead of a voyage without prior notice. This is the single most frequent source of guest disappointment on Scenic, because the marketing prominence of these assets sets expectations that the reality of weather-dependent operations cannot always meet. My advice is to treat helicopter and submarine experiences as a wonderful bonus if they happen, not as the reason you book.
Beyond the headline hardware, the expedition programme includes a fleet of twelve Zodiacs for shore landings and wildlife cruising, eight tandem kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, e-bikes, snorkelling gear, and snowshoes — all included in the fare. A Discovery Team of up to twenty specialists accompanies expedition voyages in polar regions, covering marine biology, geology, ornithology, and photography. On non-polar Discovery Voyages through the Mediterranean or Japan, a smaller team of around fifteen provides cultural and natural history expertise. The guide-to-guest ratio of roughly one to ten is competitive, though pure expedition operators like Aurora achieve tighter ratios.
Scenic markets its offering as "truly all-inclusive," and compared to the broader expedition market, the claim holds up well. The fare covers all meals across up to ten dining venues with no surcharges or reservation fees, twenty-four-hour in-suite dining, premium spirits and wines including champagnes, a daily-restocked minibar personalised to your preferences in higher suite categories, butler service in every cabin from the entry-level Verandah Suite upward, all shore excursions on Discovery Voyages and all Scenic Discovery Excursions on expedition sailings, Starlink-powered Wi-Fi, all gratuities both onboard and ashore, complimentary self-service and butler-assisted laundry, port charges and taxes, and transfers on embarkation and disembarkation days. Antarctic voyages also include charter flights between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia.
The butler-in-every-cabin policy is a genuine differentiator. Competitors like Silversea and Seabourn restrict butler service to higher suite categories. On Scenic, even the entry-level guest receives morning coffee delivery, restaurant reservations, laundry management, minibar restocking, and evening turndown from a dedicated butler. Complimentary laundry is another inclusion that sounds minor until you are living out of a suitcase for three weeks in Antarctica — it is a meaningful quality-of-life detail that most competitors charge for.
What is not included: helicopter excursions, submarine dives, spa treatments at the Senses Spa, the Chairman's Cellar reserve wine list, international flights (unless a promotional offer applies), and travel insurance. The helicopter and submarine exclusions are the ones that catch people out, because the "truly all-inclusive" messaging can create the impression that everything onboard is covered. It is worth setting that expectation clearly before you book.
Up to ten dining experiences are spread across roughly seven distinct venues, which is exceptional variety for a ship of this size. Elements serves as the main restaurant with an a la carte menu featuring Italian-influenced fare, steaks, and seafood. Lumiere offers French fine dining — traditional and lighter French cuisine with an adjacent champagne bar. Koko's houses three concepts under one roof: an Asian fusion restaurant, an eighteen-seat sushi counter where chefs prepare fresh sushi in front of you, and a teppanyaki-style Night Market drawing on flavours from across Asia, India, and the Middle East. The sushi counter at Koko's is consistently cited by guests as the single best dining experience onboard. The exclusive Chef's Table seats only eight to ten guests by invitation for a multi-course degustation with molecular gastronomy influences. Azure Bar and Cafe provides relaxed all-day grazing, and the Yacht Club on the pool deck handles casual outdoor dining.
The wine programme is curated by Keith Isaac, one of only around four hundred Master of Wine holders globally. Roughly fifty wines sit on the complimentary pouring programme, with selections tailored to each restaurant's cuisine. The Chairman's Cellar offers a reserve list for purchase, including first-growth Bordeaux, Penfolds Grange, and prestige cuvee champagnes. Over one hundred whiskies are available at the Whisky Bar, all complimentary, and a full sake selection accompanies the Japanese dining at Koko's.
Dietary requirements are accommodated with advance notice for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and common allergens. The dining is very good across the board, though I should note that food quality is the most polarising aspect of the Scenic Eclipse experience in guest reviews. Some travellers — particularly those comparing against Silversea or Seabourn — find certain dishes uneven. My view is that the breadth of choice and the all-inclusive access to every venue more than compensate, but if you are a guest for whom food is the single most important criterion, it is worth calibrating expectations accordingly.
The ship feels more like a boutique luxury hotel than a cruise ship. Evenings revolve around intimate bars and lounges, expert lectures in the theatre on expedition voyages, and live music in select venues. The Observation Lounge — with its 270-degree views — is the natural gathering point for sundowner drinks and expedition briefings. There is no casino, no Broadway-style production shows, and no midnight buffet. The vibe is quiet, refined, and social in a wine-bar-rather-than-nightclub sort of way.
The passenger demographic skews towards well-travelled couples aged fifty and over. Australian guests are strongly represented on most sailings, which creates a relaxed, less formal atmosphere than some European luxury lines. North Americans and British travellers round out the mix. Children aged twelve and over are welcomed but rarely seen in practice. This is a couples-dominated ship, with some solo travellers and small groups of friends. If you are looking for a lively, party-oriented cruise experience, this is not it. If you want to spend your evenings in thoughtful conversation over good wine with interesting people who have been everywhere, you will be very much at home.
The dress code is elegant casual for dinner — collared shirts and trousers for men, dresses or smart separates for women — with no formal nights. In practice, the standard is comfortably relaxed, and some guests wear smart jeans without raising an eyebrow. Daytime is resort casual, with expedition layers for Zodiac activities.
Scenic and Emerald Rewards launched in February 2026 as a unified global loyalty programme replacing the former Scenic Club. It is free to join after your first paid journey and spans the full Scenic Group portfolio — ocean and expedition cruises, river cruises, Emerald Cruises, and guided land journeys. The cross-brand recognition is useful if you are considering Scenic's river product or the Emerald sister brand alongside the ocean fleet.
The programme runs across four tiers: Gold (entry after first trip), Diamond (five thousand status points), Emerald (ten thousand points), and Chairman's Club (twenty-five thousand points). Benefits escalate through member-only offers, pre-release access to new sailings, private transfers, complimentary accommodation nights, and at Chairman's Club level, complimentary suite upgrades when available and invitations to an annual Chairman's Club event. A MyRewards feature earns one percent of your eligible booking value as a monetary credit redeemable towards future travel. For Chairman's Club members, complimentary helicopter or flightseeing experiences on select departures are being introduced from 2028.
Scenic is one of the most recognised luxury travel brands in Australia, and the company's domestic roots run deep. Founded in Newcastle, headquartered in Newcastle, and still family-controlled — this is an Australian company through and through. That heritage shows in the onboard atmosphere: a warmth and informality that Australian travellers find immediately comfortable, and a service culture that is personal rather than stiff.
The Kimberley programme is where Scenic's Australian identity is most visible. Eclipse II's deployments along Australia's remote northwest coastline — between Broome and Darwin during the dry season — carry particular credibility with the domestic market. She is the only ship operating the Kimberley with two onboard helicopters, enabling heli-fishing, aerial gorge access, and flightseeing experiences that no competitor in the region can match. Antarctic departures marketed through Australian channels also draw a strong local contingent, so you will not feel like the only Australians onboard.
All pricing on the Australian website is displayed in AUD, and Scenic maintains an Australian phone number and local office for booking support. The company regularly runs promotional offers through Australian channels, including reduced single supplements, early-booking savings, and periodic fly-free offers on select sailings. For Australians who have sailed Scenic's European river cruises — and many have — the ocean product represents a natural and compelling step up.
Scenic sits at the premium end of the expedition market, but the all-inclusive model means the sticker price is closer to the true cost of the voyage than many competitors where drinks, excursions, and gratuities add up quickly. At entry-level Verandah Suite categories, the per-diem rate is competitive with and often lower than Silversea, Seabourn, and Ponant, while offering a more comprehensive inclusion set — butler service in every cabin, complimentary laundry, and a daily minibar restock that those competitors do not match at equivalent price points.
The value proposition is strongest at the entry level. You access the full all-inclusive package, the same expedition hardware, the same Discovery Team, and the same dining venues as the guest in the Owner's Penthouse — the difference is suite size and priority booking privileges. At higher suite categories, the per-diem premium over competitors increases, and the incremental benefits become more about space and exclusivity than transformative new inclusions. Solo travellers should note that single supplements apply across all categories, though Scenic periodically offers reduced or waived supplements on entry-level suites for a limited number of cabins per departure.
Booking timing matters. Scenic typically releases new seasons twelve to eighteen months in advance with early-booking savings, and the strongest promotional offers appear during wave season in the first quarter of the year. Antarctic and Kimberley departures sell particularly quickly — if you have your eye on a specific sailing, early commitment is advisable. Deposits are typically ten to twenty percent of the fare at time of booking, with final payment due ninety to one hundred and twenty days before departure. Scenic also offers a Platinum Protection Plan for cancellation flexibility, and comprehensive travel insurance is strongly recommended regardless.
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