Somewhere off French Polynesia sits an island most cruise itineraries skip entirely. Makatea rises out of the sea in limestone cliffs, and inside one of them sits a stalactite grotto you can swim into. Only one expedition line sails there, and starting in 2028, you’ll have more chances to see it for yourself.
That’s the idea behind National Geographic-Lindblad’s newly announced 2028-29 season. Captains and naturalists who’ve spent decades on these waters lead every voyage, and it shows in where they take you.
New routes reach deeper into fjords. Arctic and Antarctic voyages run longer than before. A few islands that only a handful of travelers ever see are back on the itinerary, so you’ll have new chances to reach them.
The Line Has Sailed These Routes Since the 1960s
National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions has run trips like this since the 1960s, and that history shows. Crews build every itinerary around six decades of watching ice, weather and wildlife up close. That know-how is what puts you in the right place at the right moment.
Where the New Season Takes You
Here’s where you’ll go, by region:
- French Polynesia: A rare new route links Easter Island, Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, Makatea and the Tuamotus in one continuous voyage. Select trips sail with Tua Pittman, one of fewer than 10 living Pwo navigators who still guide traditional wayfinding across the chain.
- Southeast Alaska and the British and Irish Isles: New longer voyages in Alaska add landings on the Inian Islands, plus onboard Alaska Whale Foundation researchers on select trips. In the British and Irish Isles, ethnomusicologist Jacob Edgar traces Celtic music between ports, and a Cobh, Ireland stop covers Titanic, Lusitania and Great Famine history.
- Antarctica: Holiday departures are back this year. Longer voyages regularly cross the Antarctic Circle, and a new Southern Ocean Odyssey combines Patagonia, the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica in one trip.
- The Arctic: Iceland gets a new 10-night circumnavigation route, and some voyages spend more than five days on Baffin Island. Naturalists also track a newly discovered polar bear population in Greenland, and in Canada, new departures follow the Northwest Passage.
- European river voyages: You can meet Holocaust survivors in Amsterdam, tour Melk Abbey and Clam Castle after hours, or sail through Danube Christmas markets over the holidays.
If a swimmable cave carved into a coral atoll sounds like your kind of trip, now’s the time to look at dates. These itineraries book up fast, especially limited departures like the French Polynesia sailings with Tua Pittman. Start planning early, since the best cabins go first.