68 INTERVIEW Evolving expedition experiences HX Expeditions’ Gebhard Rainer shares with Laura Hyde his plans to build on 130 years of heritage to steer the newly independent brand towards a more experience-focused future While Swedish-American explorer and entrepreneur Lars-Eric Lindblad led the first just-for-fun expedition cruise in Antarctica in January 1966, the concept of expedition cruising for pleasure actually dates back to the 1890s. Adventurous travellers would sail routes along the coast of Norway with the shipping company that went on to become Hurtigruten. “These travellers possessed a true explorer spirit,” says Gebhard Rainer, CEO of HX Expeditions. “Imagine being in a kayak amongst icebergs in 1896 – what an incredible achievement it must have been. While expedition cruising has since become more commercialised, HX Expeditions has retained that explorer spirit, welcoming guests who are curious by nature, interested in where they go and why they go there, and enjoy science and learning in general.” In 2025, HX Expeditions legally separated from Hurtigruten to create a new, dedicated expedition cruise brand with 130 years of experience and history behind it. “The separation into two companies has enabled each to explore their full potential,” says Rainer. “Each company offers a very different product; Hurtigruten services the Norwegian coast extremely well and HX Expeditions offers exceptional, high-end expedition voyages to difficult-to-reach regions of the globe. Trying to do both as one company with one team limited the opportunities for growth and for each to offer an enriching customer experience. By becoming independent, we now have a clearly defined mission and purpose as an expedition cruise line with a focus on science, education and sustainability.” Moving forward, Rainer is steering HX Expeditions away from comparisons to larger, more traditional cruise operators. “We’re not a cruise company; we’re an experience company,” says Rainer. “Our focus is on the overall experience and that’s the biggest difference between us and the more mainstream cruise brands who are branching out to offer expedition-style itineraries. If you cruise to Alaska with a larger cruise company, you’re at risk of passing by from a distance; you can go into port in the major destinations, but you don’t experience Alaska as it is. “If you go to Alaska with HX Expeditions, you’ll go onto the land and experience Alaskan wildlife firsthand, and you’ll sail into fjords the “By becoming independent, we now have a clearly defined mission and purpose as an expedition cruise line”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=