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Trip Report: 27Feb2023 Atlas Ocean Voyages World Traveller - Antarctic Adventures Forum

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Trip Report: 27Feb2023 Atlas Ocean Voyages World Traveller

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I just returned from our fantastic expedition to Antarctica aboard the World Traveller and wanted to share my experience since there aren’t many reviews for Atlas yet.

Short summary: We had an amazing time. The ship was lovely and the crew were exceptional – everyone was friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. The food was consistently very good and offered a good variety, including a decent selection of well-marked vegetarian options. We would not hesitate to travel with them again (and are hoping that they expand their range of destinations soon!) and can whole-heartedly recommend them.

More details in the comments below:

28 replies to this topic

I’m going to break this up into different sections and apologies in advance if it gets a bit long!

Company, Expedition Team, and Crew:

This has been a bucket-list trip for my family for a very long time but the cost was always prohibitive. When Atlas offered their “second passenger travels free” promotion around Labor Day, we jumped on it and chose the Feb 27, 9-night sailing on the new World Traveller with pretty much no research. A little more research (mostly here! Fantastic resource) showed that this was getting towards the end of season and there wasn’t much information on the company besides some fairly mediocre reviews from last season. I was a bit nervous but figured that even if the company and ship weren’t great, we were still going to get to go to Antarctica. My concerns were thankfully unfounded.

The Expedition Team having final say on any and all activities outside the ship was something that stood out to me and was very welcome. They certainly had passenger safety in mind at all times but they were also very clear about the rules regarding biosecurity, wildlife right-of-way & viewing distances, and general off-ship conduct. And they enforced them. As someone who has worked with animals and conservation, it was fantastic to see that the guidelines were followed closely, even when they ‘negatively impacted the guest experience’.

The team were a diverse and passionate group who appeared to work well together and have a good comradery, despite this being their first season together. Their love for this place was apparent and all of the briefings, recaps, and lectures were very educational and engaging. The lecture topics ranged from bird identification to Antarctica’s political situation to krill ecology to early polar photography. I wasn’t able to attend all the lectures since sitting in the auditorium was rather nausea-inducing on the Drake and the livestreams to the cabins was pretty hit or miss (the stream would freeze or cut out on a frustratingly regular basis, hopefully something they can correct) but the ones I saw were great.

The rest of the crew were just as fantastic, super friendly and helpful. Agus and Yuli were our servers in the dining room (no set seating, we just always ended up sitting in the same area) and they were great. They quickly learned our preferences and made meals easy and enjoyable. Kadek was our cabin steward and took very good care of us. We were even given a tour of the engine room by the chief engineer, which was fascinating. Excellent service overall.

This is the World Traveller’s first season (we were her 12th voyage) and she still feels very new. She is a beautiful ship, clean, comfortable, and elegant with tons of great seating areas. The Dome Lounge on deck 7 has amazing views and easy access to the outside deck – a great place to hang out, though you really feel the motion up here on rough seas. The Atlas Lounge on deck 4 was the meeting point for excursions and evening cocktails – we often watched the daily recap on the screens here. It is right next to the theater, which is lovely but many of us had issues with nausea sitting in there.

The main dining room was a comfortable size and never felt overly crowded, I think due in part to the fact there are dividers that help visually separate the space. The tables were a good size and the seating was very comfortable.

Our cabin, a Veranda (B2) on deck 5, was very comfortable and had plenty of storage for two of us. Large bathroom with a great shower and nicely contained storage. It was however rather loud at night with the movement of the ship, lots of creaking and shifting, particularly from the balcony door.

There were handrails pretty much everywhere on the ship except for reception and Paula’s Pantry (the coffee shop area) which were very useful om the Drake. The elevators were closed for pretty much the entire trip, even when we were ‘anchored’ on calm waters, which was a bit frustrating for those with mobility considerations that were trying to save their energy for the excursions.

The food was consistently very good. Breakfast and lunch were buffets with the option to order off a small daily menu for breakfast with pancakes, waffles, and made to order eggs. Lunch featured a carving station and a daily special dish in addition to the buffet options, which changed each day. Dinner was a buffet the first and last night with full-service dining the rest of the trip. There was a standard menu that was available each night and then a specialty menu that changed each night and featured a different type of cuisine. There was always two vegetarian mains (one on the standard menu and one on the specialty menu) and the soups, starters, and buffet options were clearly marked. And there was always lots of very delicious bread available! The desserts were the weak point of the food as they were rather hit-or-miss. The ice cream was generally very good with rotating flavors but the cakes and such tended to be very “stiff” with too much gelatin in the creams and frostings. The pastries however were very good and the selection at Paula’s Pantry was very good (as was their hot chocolate!). Cocktails and wine were plentiful and generally quite good.

Excursions:

We got very lucky with the weather overall and were able to do 9 excursions over 4.5 days. The last one did get cut short and two groups were unable to go due to incoming weather and we had some itinerary changes but everything was handled smoothly and created a wonderful overall experience. There were ~150 passengers on our trip and we were split into 6 groups for excursions, A-F, and they rotated the order of the groups.

Our first stop was Yankee Harbor on Greenwich Island in the South Shetlands – a rocky little spit of land with a large colony of Gentoo penguins, elephant seals asleep on the beach, and several fur seals romping around making a ruckus. A great first excursion after a day and a half on the Drake – light snowfall, wildlife everywhere you looked, and a relatively easy on-and-off the zodiacs.

The next morning was Hydruga Rocks, which was, as the name suggests, a collection of large rocks (not big enough to be an island) with two chin-strap penguin colonies. It was a difficult landing on very slippery boulders in the snow but the team were fantastic at getting everyone on and off safely and keeping them on the safe path they’d marked out. Tons of wildlife here! Weddell seals, fur seals, giant petrels, and of course penguins everywhere and a very dynamic landscape.

Next up was Danco Island, where we were given three options – the long hike to the top, the short hike to the rookery, or a zodiac cruise around the island. This changed group order a bit as the long hike participants went first regardless of group, then the short hikers went by group order, and finally the zodiac cruisers. But it felt very smooth and everything was well communicated. It was snowing pretty heavily that morning and the skies were very low so I was glad that Dad and I had chosen to do the zodiacs (Mom and Sister did the long hike and said that the views were very disappointing because of the clouds). We saw a male fur seal, a very pregnant Weddell seal, and to top it off, spent about 15min watching a beautiful humpback feeding. What an experience.

Neko Harbor was next and was our one continental landing. The skies cleared and we had an absolutely spectacular afternoon. Adorable Gentoo penguins, calving glaciers, beautiful light, and stunning landscapes everywhere you looked. It was also officially Continent #7 for us as a family – a pretty special moment.

The polar plunge took place that evening and it was very interesting to be contemplating jumping into water where we had seen glaciers calving only a few hours ago. The water was 32.5d F and I can say I did it and I never want to be in water that cold ever again.

At sunrise (around 6:30am) we started our navigation through the stunning Lemaire Channel. It took about twice as long as expected due to an unexpected about of ice (the captain said it was quite a challenging passage) but it was absolutely gorgeous and we got the unexpected treat of being escorted by two curious and playful Minke whales!

The morning landing at Port Charcot had to be changed because the ship couldn’t get there because of the ice conditions. So instead we did a zodiac cruise through an iceberg graveyard near Pleneau Island. And this ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. Dark clouds had moved in after our glorious morning passage and moving through the massive bergs felt like moving through a surreal dreamscape. The colors in the ice were stunning and our driver, team lead Jean-Roch, provided a fascinating commentary throughout. There was also a curious leopard seal circling the zodiacs, which was very cool.

The afternoon landing was Petermann Island and the weather lifted and we had beautiful light for our excursion. A very slippery landing (they even had towels down over the rocks to help with the footing – these get sterilized back on the ship and are only ever used for this purpose) but we got to see Adelie penguins! Beautiful location.

We then started moving north again a bit earlier than planned because of weather forecasts for the Drake so our final excursions were at Orne Islands (near Danco) and Fournier Bay (Brabant Island). Orne Island was beautiful and an interesting experience of how quickly the weather can change here. High, cloudy skies when we landed, then painful driving sleet, then gorgeous sun streaking through scudding clouds, and then heavy, wet snow (huge flakes!). They actually had to delay our return to the ship because the visibility was pretty much none – even with all the fog lights on the ship, we couldn’t see it. Fournier Bay is generally a good spot for humpback whales due to an upwelling of the currents but we didn’t get to see any sadly. Did see some interesting ice and we were able to get fairly close to the ice cliffs (apparently they’re much more stable than the glaciers). The weather turned while we were out and the winds picked up significantly – causing the team to cut the excursion short and rush to get everyone back on board. Two of the groups didn’t get to go sadly but the weather did continue to get worse and the idea of being out on a zodiac was not appealing.

Hopefully this was helpful to someone and I’m happy to answer any questions!

Fantastic to get a trip report for a new vessel. Love the detail. I will add it to the trip reports digest later in the day.

It sounds like you all had a marvellous time and I'm so glad they were able to accomodate your dad.

We did notice that the aft elevators were working more often than the front elevators. I wish we had gone on the Zodiac at Danco, but we changed our minds too late. That was the one stop where a handful of passengers infringed on the penguins, and a member of the expedition team had to keep getting them to obey the regulations, more forcefully each time. But I don't think that ever happened again, at least not that we saw.

We both thought the expedition team was wonderful. They were all so knowledgeable and experienced, and yet at times it felt as if we were all experiencing Antarctica for the first time. I loved how they stationed members at different areas of some of the landing spots to give on-the-spot lectures and answer questions. Cruising around the icebergs at Pleneau with Jean-Roch is something we'll always remember.

I really enjoyed the open bridge. I went up there during the Lemaire passage and saw how hard the captain and his crew were working. I later said to him, "I wasn't sure we'd get through," and he said, "Neither was I."

The leopard seals playing in the snow at Orne was a highlight for me and Carol, but, really, the entire nine days were one highlight after another, even the kayaking (we were the worst kayakers ever).

Regards to you and your family,

Hello! Awesome summary!👍🏻 In Feb did you find a lot of snow and sunny skies in Antarctica? Look forward to your reply...thank you! 😃

GREAT DETAIL - what were the specific dates you went? We're trying to decide on January versus February.

Feb, 27-March 8.

It snowed every day in Antarctica but never much or all day. We had some sun but not much, certainly not nearly as much as we had in 2020 in late January/early February.

Late January/early March: many more penguins, including chicks and penguins sitting on top of eggs. At times the landscape was packed with penguins.

First week of March: penguins still plentiful but maybe 25% as many as the earlier trip. You will not feel like you’re lacking penguins. Far more seals and whales, but that might have had to do with where we went. Just as much ice/icebergs.

Far more hours of daylight in the earlier trip, which does make a difference. In early February, I was out on the deck at 3:30 one morning and had plenty of late.

I loved both trips. I guess if I had to choose, I’d pick late January/early February.

In that second paragraph, I meant "Late January/early February." And in the fourth paragraph, I meant "plenty of light." Sorry. I was on an ipad.

One big thing: The first trip was on a ship with about 350 passengers. The second trip was on a ship with about 150 passengers. Huge difference. You absolutely want to be on a smaller ship. You land more often, get to see twice as many places and don't have to sit around waiting to land (at least not as much as on a bigger ship). But a smaller ship does mean a go-go-go experience, which we liked.

Thank you for the detailed trip report, I could find anywhere if there is internet connection on the ship and if there is an additional charge .

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Etna)  (1) Zakynthos, Greece  (2) Katakolon (Olympia), Greece  (3) Puerto Banus (Marbella), Spain  (2) Trapani (Sicily), Italy  (3) Patmos, Greece  (1) Corinth Canal Transit  (4) Itea (Delphi), Greece  (3) Naples (Pompeii), Italy  (2) Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy  (9) Marseilles (Aix-en-Provence), France  (5) Valencia, Spain  (1) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  (3) Funchal (Madeira), Portugal  (3) Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands  (4) Recife, Brazil  (1) Ilhabela, Brazil  (1) Punta del Este, Uruguay  (3) Montevideo, Uruguay  (4) Ushuaia, Argentina  (69) Buenos Aires, Argentina  (4) Port Stanley, Falkland Islands - Captain’s Choice  (9) Puerto Madryn, Argentina  (1) Exploring the South Sandwich Islands – Captain’s Choice  (8) Exploring the South Shetland Islands - Captain’s Choice, Antarctica  (65) Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey  (1) Itajai/Florianopolis, Brazil  (1) Drake Passage Navigation  (65) Crossing the Antarctic Circle — Captain’s Choice  (32) Santorini, Greece  (2) Motril (Alhambra), Spain  (1) Praia (Santiago), Cape Verde  (2) Arrecife (Lanzarote), Canary Islands  (5) Casablanca, Morocco  (8) Portimão, Portugal  (10) Sagres, Portugal  (2) Seville, Spain  (6) Ibiza, Spain  (4) Monte Carlo, Monaco  (3) Sorrento (Pompeii), Italy  (1) Porto-Vecchio (Corsica), France  (2) Sete (Montpellier), France  (2) Cadiz, Spain  (3) Leixoes (Porto), Portugal  (8) La Coruña, Spain  (6) Bordeaux, France  (10) St. Peter Port,( Guernsey) Channel Islands  (7) London (Tower Bridge), England  (7) St Mary’s (Isles of Scilly), England  (2) Cork (Cobh), Ireland  (3) Galway, Ireland  (2) Killybegs, Ireland  (2) Londonderry, Northern Ireland  (2) Bangor (Belfast), Northern Ireland  (7) Dublin, Ireland  (10) Lerwick (Shetland Islands), Scotland  (2) Glasgow (Greenock), Scotland  (2) Fort William (Loch Ness), Scotland  (1) Stornoway (Isles of Lewis), Scotland  (4) Bergen, Norway  (8) Flåm, Norway  (8) Olden, Norway  (1) Geiranger, Norway  (7) Kristiansund, Norway  (1) Trondheim, Norway  (5) Leknes (Lofoten Islands), Norway  (4) Arctic Circle Crossing  (2) Tromsø, Norway  (8) Longyearbyen (Svalbard), Norway  (14) Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard), Norway  (10) Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland  (3) Isafjörður, Iceland  (9) Reykjavik, Iceland  (8) Heimaey (Vestmannaeyjar), Iceland  (6) Tórshavn (Faroe Islands), Denmark  (5) Kirkwall (Orkney Islands), Scotland  (2) Invergordon (Loch Ness), Scotland  (2) Leith (Edinburgh), Scotland  (5) Douglas, Isle of Man  (5) Liverpool, England  (1) Riga, Latvia  (1) Tallinn, Estonia  (1) Helsinki, Finland  (1) Stockholm, Sweden  (1) Gdansk, Poland  (1) Ijmuiden (Amsterdam), The Netherlands  (5) Honfleur (Paris/Normandy), France  (6) St. Malo, France  (6) Punta Arenas, Chile — Captain’s Choice  (1) Hydra, Greece  (1) Nafplion (Mycenae/Epidaurus), Greece  (3) Cassis (Aix-En-Provence), France  (1) Nice, France  (11) Corfu, Greece  (3) Dubrovnik (Old Town), Croatia  (7) Las Palmas (Gran Canaria), Canary Islands, Spain  (8) Hvar Island, Croatia  (4) Kotor, Montenegro  (10) Porto Santo, Madeira, Portugal  (2) Portoferraio (Tuscany), Italy  (3) Porto Venere, (Cinque Terre), Italy  (4) Sanary-Sur-Mer (Bandol), France  (1) Saranda (Butrint), Albania  (3) Stromboli Volcano Circumnavigation  (2) Tangier, Morocco  (9) Trogir, Croatia  (2) Venice, Italy  (8) Rabat (Casablanca), Morocco  (1) Glacier Alley - Captain’s Choice  (1) Magdalena Island, Chile — Captain’s Choice  (2) New Island, Falkland Islands — Captain’s Choice  (5) West Point Island, Falkland Islands — Captain’s Choice  (3) Lipari Island (Sicily), Italy  (5) Fiskardo (Kefalonia), Greece  (3) Sibenik, Croatia  (1) Monopoli, Italy  (1) San Remo, Italy  (1) Saint-Tropez, France  (3) Port Vendres, France  (3) Roses, Spain  (1) Alicante, Spain  (3) Almeria (Granada), Spain  (3) Puerto del Rosario(Fuerteventura), Canary Islands, Spain  (3) Safi, Morocco  (7) San Sebastian (La Gomera), Canary Islands, Spain  (4) Santa Cruz (La Palma), Canary Islands, Spain  (5) Santander, Spain  (2) Akureyri, Iceland  (8) Grundarfjörður, Iceland  (6) Kangerlussuaq, Greenland  (6) Nuuk, Greenland  (6) Narsarsuaq, Greenland  (3) Ilulissat (Disko Bay), Greenland  (4) Sisimiut, Greenland  (1) Kangaamiut, Greenland  (1) Arsuk, Greenland  (3) Nanortalik, Greenland  (1) Itilleq, Greenland  (1) Crossing N80 Moffen,Captain’s Choice  (8) Patreksfjörður, Iceland  (1) Seyðisfjörður, Iceland  (7) Gudvangen, Norway  (7) Kristiansand, Norway  (2) Arendal, Norway  (2) Porto Cervo (Sardinia), Italy  (4) Zeebrugge (Bruges), Belgium  (2) Oslo, Norway  (3) Ilheus, Brazil  (1) Ålesund, Norway  (8) Exploring Greenland-Captain’s Choice  (3) Exploring Svalbard - Captain’s Choice  (14) Fjords of Greenland — Captain’s Choice  (3) Eskifjordur, Iceland  (2) Grimsey, Iceland  (2) Hammerfest, Norway  (3) Exploring the Antarctic Peninsula – Captain’s Choice  (69) Gijon, Spain  (5) Agadir, Morocco  (5) Palamós, Spain  (1) Parga, Greece  (2) Split, Croatia  (1) Saint-Raphael , France  (2) Toulon, France  (2) Garibaldi Glacier, Chile — Captain’s Choice  (4) Skagen, Denmark  (2) Stavanger, Norway  (4) Sisimiut, Greenland  (2) Praia da Vitoria (Azores), Portugal  (1) Bilbao, Spain  (6) Holyhead, Wales  (1) Surtsey Island Scenic Navigation  (1) Eqi Glacier (Disko Bay), Greenland  (4) Prince Christian Sound – Captain’s Choice  (6) Reykjavik, Iceland  (13) Copenhagen, Denmark  (3) La Goulette, Tunisia  (1) Mindelo (Sao Vicente), Cape Verde  (1) Menton, France  (1) Mykonos, Greece  (3) Igoumenitsa, Greece  (2) King George Island, South Shetland Islands  (8) Ilha Grande, Brazil  (1) Newcastle upon Tyne, England  (2) Molde, Norway  (2) Reine, Norway  (2) Lofoten & Vaerøy Islands Cruising  (2) Skarsvåg (North Cape), Norway  (3) Qaqortoq, Greenland  (2) Paamiut, Greenland  (2) Akulleq Island, Greenland  (2) Waterford, Ireland  (2) Bantry, Ireland  (3) Falmouth, England  (1) Poole, England  (1) Ancona, Italy  (3) Durres (Tirana), Albania  (3) Sao Francisco do Sul, Brazil  (1) Isla de los Estados, Argentina  (3) Magdalena, Chile - Captain’s Choice  (1) Exploring the South Orkney Islands - Captain’s Choice, Antarctica  (8) At Sea  (73) Spetses, Greece  (1) Messina (Sicily), Italy  (1) Aberdeen, Scotland  (3) Scrabster, Scotland  (3) Måløy, Norway  (3) Crotone (Calabria), Italy  (1) Porto Santo Stefano, Italy  (1) Kongsbreen Glacier Cruising — Captain’s Choice  (2) Caen (Normandy), France  (2) Dunkirk, France  (2) La Rochelle, France  (1) Rouen (Paris), France  (2) Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France  (4) Bodø, Norway  (2) Alta, Norway  (2) Höfn, Iceland  (3) Siglufjörður, Iceland  (1) Greenock (Glasgow), Scotland  (1) Tobermory, Scotland  (3) Ullapool, Scotland, UK  (1) Tilbury (London), England  (1) Klaipeda, Lithuania  (1) Vilagarcía (Santiago de Compostela), Spain  (2) Zadar, Croatia  (1) Select
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Atlas: ALL-INCLUSIVE Luxury Expedition Cruises

Atlas Ocean Voyages' Antarctica cruises from $5,999*

3 Ships in the Atlas Ocean Voyages fleet

Ship:  .

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World Traveller Overview

World Traveller is the latest in Atlas Ocean Voyages’ luxury, yacht style ships and she does not disappoint. Relax and enjoy your cruise aboard World Traveller and her inspired Italian design. From spacious all-suite accommodations, cuisine from around the world and perfectly personalized service, you might never want to go home. In classic small-ship style, World Traveller ’s intimate public spaces encourage camaraderie and conversation between like-minded adventurers – those who love an adventure, but enjoy the finer things in life and living, as the Italians’ would say, La Dolce Vita. For more information on World Traveller and the elevated luxury of Atlas Ocean Voyages and their exclusive, included private charter flights, call our cruising experts at 1-800-377-9383.

• Passenger Capacity: 198 (double occupancy)
• Year Built: 2022
• Last Refurbished: N/A

Dining on World Traveller

Lisboa, exclusively on World Traveller

Paying homage to the Portuguese conception of Atlas Ocean Voyages, Lisboa offers indulgent buffets for breakfast and lunch, topped off with a fabulous five-course dinner, showcasing daily delicacies like aged Angus steaks and a rotating regional menu.

Paula’s Pantry

The onboard spot for snacks, Paula’s Pantry serves up munchies for any time of day, including freshly roasted, small batch coffee and fresh pressed juices! The perfect spot to grab something to go before spending your day exploring your destination.

In Room Dining on World Traveller

For an intimate dining experience, opt for in-room dining on World Traveller , with all your favorites served fresh by your butler. In room or on your balcony, this is going to be a date you’ll remember forever.

World Traveller Onboard Activities & Public Spaces

SeaSpa by L’OCCITANE on World Traveller

Optional, but absolutely necessary for a relaxing experience, choose any signature treatment at the spa to treat yourself or simply relax in the heat of the sauna after an adventurous day in port.

Destination Enrichment & Après Sea

Enrichment is key on any Atlas Ocean Voyage onboard World Traveller , aided by onboard destination experts, hosting seminars and intimate talks on the uniqueness of each port. After spending the day exploring, enjoy an Après Sea conversation with your fellow travelers, with a nightcap, of course.

Atlas Lounge

For a relaxing evening, step into the Atlas Lounge as the pianist draws your attention, tickling the ivories until the early hours of the morning while the bartenders serves up all your favorites.

As for accommodations onboard World Traveller , seasoned Atlas guests know to expect nothing but the best, but new guests can expect luxury that rivals the top cruise lines in the world. For more information on World Traveller and her luxurious onboard cuisine, experiences and accommodations, call our Atlas Ocean Voyages experts at 1-800-377-9383!

World Traveller Cruise Destinations

Atlas (noun) – a book of maps. Pick up a book of maps and point anywhere, and the chances are you can cruise there with Atlas Ocean Voyages. A luxury-expedition cruise line with small, adventure-focused ships, Atlas Ocean Voyages is dips their toes in destinations all over the world, with many itineraries featuring intimate ports, inaccessible to larger ships. From Mediterranean cruises that can actually anchor in Venice to exclusive yacht harbors in the Caribbean, almost every destination you can think of is accessible with Atlas Ocean Voyages. All ships in the Atlas fleet are equipped with ice-breaking hulls, meaning these luxury ships can even get guests up close and personal with the Arctic and Antarctic regions. For more information on all the destinations on the globe you can discover with Atlas Ocean Voyages, call us at 1-800-377-9383 to speak with one of our luxury cruising experts.

Explore Antarctica with no inhibitions with Atlas Ocean Voyages! Whale watching, penguin colonies and more are waiting in Antarctica.

Venture into some of the northernmost points in the world to discover traditional villages, the elusive polar bears and more in the Arctic with Atlas Ocean Voyages.

Mediterranean

Dive into the ancient history and modern wonders of the Mediterranean on an Atlas Ocean Voyages cruise to Greece, Italy and more.

Northern Europe

Cruise through the canals of Copenhagen or hike through the Scottish highlands on a Northern Europe cruise with Atlas Ocean Voyages.

World Traveller Departure Ports

Atlas’ fleet features intimate ships that can access ports that are not accessible by larger cruise ships. For this, Atlas guests are treated to a once in a lifetime experience in some of the most unique departure ports in all of cruising. While you may still depart from the classics like Miami for a Caribbean cruise or Athens in the Mediterranean, Atlas affords guests the opportunity to depart from remote ports like Longyearbyen, the gateway to the North Pole, and the embarkation point of your next cruise.

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

Explore the Canary Islands with a cruise to their most populous city, Las Palmas, on Gran Canaria Island. These Spanish islands have one of the best climates in the world, perfect for your next cruise vacation.

Casablanca, Morocco

Casablanca is more than just an old movie; this city offers travelers a look into modern day Morocco with mosques, shopping malls and skyscrapers.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen is a delightful city with some of the world’s most interesting places, like the longest pedestrian street and one of the oldest amusement parks in the world.

Whether looking out into the city’s waterways, ancient castles or modern buildings, you’ll always have a great view when cruising to Stockholm, Sweden.

Learn about the Greek gods and the early philosophy of Socrates when you visit the incredible ruins left in Athens, Greece. At night, go out and take in the culture with the modern Athenians.

Longyearbyen, Svalbard (Norway)

This northern town situated in the Arctic Circle offers a glimpse into a colder but beautiful way of life where polar bears roam and the average summer temperature doesn’t even get into the 50s.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires is a charming European style city with the perfect combination of new world characteristics mixed with old world history and culture.

Ushuaia, Argentina

The unique location and beauty of Ushuaia is unmatched by many other destinations as the Andes Mountains meet the Southern Ocean. Cruise to Ushuaia for many incredible outdoor adventures.

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon has deep cultural roots that are exposed through ruins and museum artifacts. Cruise to Lisbon and discover the culture and history of Portugal in its capital city.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Enjoy a trip to Dubrovnik, a cultural gem that was once a great and powerful European city and has been spectacularly preserved for your visit.

Nice, France

Exquisite weather, breathtaking views and great, fresh food make Nice second only to Paris in terms of France’s top hotspots.

A cruise to Civitavecchia is a chance for you to hop a quick train to Rome and explore the enormous history through ruins, galleries and The Vatican museums.

Experience the serene, romantic splendor of Venice, but don’t forget to check out its wonderful museums and neighborhoods located off the Grand Canal.

Valletta, Malta

This entire city is known as a UNESCO World Heritage Site leaving many historic areas and landmarks to explore during your visit to this impressive capital city.  

Palma De Mallorca, Spain

The island of Mallorca can boast of an impressive port city where the old and new worlds dwell in perfect harmony.

Malaga, Spain

Cruise to Malaga, the celebrated home of Picasso, one of the modern era’s most influential artists. Other attractions include the beautiful Moorish castles and mesmerizing coastal cliffs.

Tromso, Norway

Bundle up to experience the culture and beauty of Tromso, one of the largest cities within the Arctic Circle.

Tower Bridge (London), England

Enjoy sailing through the Tower Bridge in London and alongside HMS Belfast as you cross the River Thames. It is truly a spectacular sight!

Drake Passage, Antarctica

South Shetland Islands

World traveller deck plans, world traveller staterooms.

Balcony (E1)

Balcony (e2).

Balcony (A1)

Balcony (a2).

Balcony (B1)

Balcony (b2).

Oceanview (C1)

Photo Gallery for World Traveller Cruise Ship

Take a look at our stunning gallery of cruising photos for Atlas Ocean Voyages, from onboard to ashore with breathtaking destinations around the globe.

Lisboa Dinner Room on World Traveller

Apres Sea on World Traveller

Atlas Lounge on World Traveller

Guest Dining at Lisboa Dinner on World Traveller

Loccitane Sea Spa on World Traveller

Paula Pantry on World Traveller

Top 10 World Traveller Cruises

• World Traveller 9-Night Venice to Athens Departing From Venice, Italy (Jun 2024)
• World Traveller 10-Night Athens to Valletta Departing From Piraeus (Athens), Greece (Jun 2024)
• World Traveller 7-Night Valletta to Dubrovnik Departing From Valletta, Malta (Jun 2024)
• World Traveller 7-Night Dubrovnik to Athens Departing From Dubrovnik, Croatia (Jul 2024)
• World Traveller 9-Night Athens to Rome Departing From Piraeus (Athens), Greece (Jul 2024)
• World Traveller 12-Night Rome to Athens Departing From Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy (Jul 2024)
• World Traveller 9-Night Athens to Venice Departing From Piraeus (Athens), Greece (Aug 2024)
• World Traveller 9-Night Valletta Roundtrip Departing From Valletta, Malta (Aug 2024)
• World Traveller 5 NIGHT Mediterranean CRUISE Departing From Valletta, Malta (Aug 2024)
• World Traveller 4 NIGHT Mediterranean CRUISE Departing From Nice, France (Aug 2024)

Learn More About Atlas Ocean Voyages

Accessibility

Learn about Atlas Ocean Voyages' handicap accessible ocean voyages and accommodations for guests with special needs or disabilities.

Enjoy a sneak peak at the best cuisine offered by Atlas Ocean Voyages onboard their all-inclusive luxury cruise ships.

Entertainment

Learn about the entertainment that will fill your evenings onboard the luxury cruise ships from Atlas Ocean Voyages.

Onboard Activities

On a luxe-adventure cruise with Atlas Ocean Voyages, there is never a shortage of shoreside excursions, but even onboard, the activities are second to none.

Service & Awards

Learn more about how the staff onboard Atlas Ocean Voyages meets your every need. Plus, view a list of Atlas Ocean Voyages' cruising awards.

Spa & Fitness

Learn more about how you can stay fit and truly pamper yourself at the Sea Spa by L’Occitane onboard every Atlas Ocean Voyages ship.

Special Events

Make the most of your Atlas Ocean Voyage with golf cruises, exclusive guest speakers and more. Every cruise with Atlas is a special event.

Preview Atlas Ocean Voyages’ wonderfully appointed accommodations, each with a view of the ocean and the luxurious amenities for which Atlas is known.

Youth Programs

Learn about cruising with children on Atlas Ocean Voyages and about onboard programs designed with the whole family in mind.

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This New Cruise Line Just Launched a Ship in Antarctica — Here's What It's Like on Board

Atlas Ocean Voyages, which launched in 2021, now has a second ship: World Traveller.

Courtesy of Atlas Ocean Voyages

"It's my third trip to Antarctica," I heard one passenger say to another as we touched down in Ushuaia, Argentina, where we'd board Atlas Ocean Voyages' brand-new ship World Traveller.  

"Really?" the second passenger asked.

"Of course not," laughed the first.

I chuckled to myself. It was, in fact, my third trip to Antarctica. Like the vast majority of my fellow guests, it was our vessel's very first voyage to the White Continent. It was also the first trip to Antarctica for Atlas Ocean Voyages president and CEO James Rodriguez, who joined the cruise line in August after two decades with Oceania Cruises.

As a repeat Antarctic visitor — and as a travel writer developing a focus on polar expeditions — my mission on board was not to check off my seventh continent, but to see what both our ship, World Traveller , and our cruise line, the year-old Atlas Ocean Voyages, were all about.

World Traveller is the second ship in the Atlas Ocean Voyage fleet, following World Navigator, which launched in 2021. The ships are, in a way, fraternal twins — they are both custom-built, Ice Class 1B-certified ships with identical layouts but entirely different design schemes. While World Navigator takes on an art deco-meets-midcentury glam, World Traveller is all about la dolce vita yachting, per the cruise line, and, in my opinion, classic New England nautical sophistication. The entire ship is clad in wood paneling and bedecked with blue-and-white textiles and black-and-white photographs of vintage ships. It's all comfortable, understated luxury, and a divine place to spend two days at sea when crossing the Drake Passage.

As for amenities, there are all your standard players: a lecture hall, a main-deck bar and lounge, an all-window observation lounge on the top deck called The Dome that doubles as an entertainment venue, a running track, and a L'Occitane spa with treatment rooms, a sauna, and a relaxation room (OK, that might not be so standard). There's also an outdoor pool and hot tub. While I wasn't brave enough to go for a swim, I did take a dip in the hot tub during a light snowfall, with icebergs to both port and starboard.

For dining, there's one main restaurant, which serves a buffet breakfast with an à la carte option, a buffet lunch, and a blend of buffet and seated dinners, with the latter being more popular. There is an outdoor grill, but it's understandably closed on polar itineraries. ( World Traveller , as the name suggests, will sail all around the world, including to destinations with much milder climates.) We should note that this is an all-inclusive cruise, so there is no additional charge for meals and house drinks, including wine and cocktails.

My absolute favorite feature on board, however, was the grab-and-go café Paula's Pantry, where you could order both hot and cold beverages and pick up light bites (yogurts, paninis, salads). My favorite snack was the house-made granola bars. Most expedition ships adhere to a standard three meals per day, plus occasional snacks at tea time or happy hour, so grab-and-go is a true luxury. "[Paula's Pantry] is the best thing about this ship," remarked naturalist Jean-Roch de Susanne, an Antarctic veteran.

All in, the ship is an extraordinary environment to come back to after scrambling up a snowy ridge next to waddling (or tobogganing) chinstrap penguins, kayaking next to a curious young humpback whale, or getting splashed in the face with icy salt water as a gale picks up during your scenic Zodiac cruise — all things that happened during our voyage. (At least there's always a hot drink waiting for you in the mudroom upon your return.)

The Excursions

There are very strict rules about excursions in Antarctica, issued by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), which are designed to protect the natural environment. Only 100 passengers from a ship can be on land at any given time, and ships that carry more than 200 passengers are limited to specific landing sites that can handle larger capacities. And ships that carry more than 500 passengers can't do landings at all. Fortunately, World Traveller carries a maximum of 184 passengers in Antarctica — and on our sailing, we had exactly 100, which meant that we could all get off the ship at once.

To lead excursions, Atlas Ocean Voyages has recruited a blended team of both Antarctic veterans and Antarctic first-timers who have honed their skills guiding in other regions of the world, such as the coasts of the Pacific Northwest or the mountains and salt flats of Bolivia. Our expedition staff was led by Jonathan Zaccaria, who not only has experience on Antarctic ships, but also at land-based research stations. He has worked at both the Dumont d'Urville Station near the emperor penguin colony made famous by the documentary The March of the Penguins , as well as the Concordia Research Station in one of the most remote locations on the planet: Antarctica's Dome C.

In Antarctica, there are three main types of excursions: landings, Zodiac cruises, and water sports. And on World Traveller, we experienced them all. Landings often require a bit of athleticism, whether that's hiking through deep snow or across uneven rocks, or hoisting yourself into the Zodiac as the frigid sea rushes up to your knees. But they also afford you up-close and personal moments with wildlife, particularly penguins, sea birds, and seals. When conditions aren't ideal for a landing, there's often the option of a Zodiac cruise, in which you dart around icebergs and along shorelines to explore without putting your feet on terra firma. And finally, there are water sports, like kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding, when conditions allow.

As is standard with expedition travel, a schedule is never set in stone. Everything depends on the conditions of the sea, the air, and the land — and many times, the expedition leader and captain won't know those conditions until they arrive at a given destination. So flexibility is the name of the game. Every evening at a nightly recap in the lecture hall, Zaccaria would lay out for us potential plans for the following day. I'd say about half of them went off without a hitch, while the other half were Plan Bs or Cs or Ds. Because the expedition staff and the crew are so nimble, it's pretty easy for guests to roll with the changes, though it does sometimes mean early-morning PA announcements advising guests of the schedule shifts.

Expedition travel can be very overwhelming, and no matter how much research you do, it's not easy to prepare yourself for the experience. "I've been selling this voyage as an expedition, but to actually experience it really puts it into perspective," Rodriguez told Travel + Leisure . "You're waking up, going to these briefings that are explaining to you the weather conditions or what you may see out there, and taking safety into consideration, then putting on all the gear and getting ready to actually go out. There's an element of uncertainty — you don't know what you're going to see. And that's exciting, but a little bit surprising."

The Onboard Activities

As is standard on every expedition, lectures by the naturalists help immerse guests in the unique environment around them. On our voyage, they ranged from talks about the seabirds we saw around the ship on the Drake Passage to the geopolitical complexities of the Antarctic Treaty. The majority of the lectures take place during sea days, but I appreciated that Atlas Ocean Voyages fit a few in during our time in Antarctica, too. Plus, in the evenings, Zaccaria organized screenings of documentaries every other night — including one that he filmed during his time at Dumont D'Urville.

Those educational components, however, were balanced with classic luxury cruise activities, such as afternoon tea in The Dome, piano music at cocktail hour, and evening musical performances by cruise director Michael Shapiro. And as we were on the inaugural Antarctic voyage, we had a special guest on board, singer Asijah Pickett, to provide additional entertainment. Between the two, plus our pianist Chase Chandler, we were regaled with soul, Broadway, pop, and even opera on select evenings throughout our voyage.

I'll admit that I'm not always a fan of traditional cruise activities in Antarctica, because for me, the breathtaking landscapes, inquisitive wildlife, and overwhelming sense of nature's grandeur are the primary reason I keep returning. That said, when there's downtime on the ship — in the event of bad weather that cancels or shortens excursions, for instance, which happened several times during our voyage — I appreciated having more to do than read a book in the lounge or take a nap in my cabin. Plus, I recognize not everyone has my precise taste when it comes to polar expeditions, and some passengers might pass on an excursion in favor of relaxing at the spa. (I, too, love a good spa treatment, but I scheduled mine during our sea days on the Drake so that I wouldn't miss an excursion.)

The balance of expedition and traditional cruising is where Atlas Ocean Voyages absolutely hits the mark, and it's the main reason the cruise line stands out to me. My deep desire for education was perfectly sated — as was my desire to dance (or, rather, bop about in my chair, cocktail in hand) to Shapiro's rousing rendition of Copacabana. 

The Cruise Line

The cruise industry is an intriguing ecosystem, where there's a healthy blend of first-time cruisers, casual cruisers, and die-hard cruisers who sail multiple times per year. In that latter group, loyalty is everything. I've been on river cruises with guests who have sailed with their line of choice more than 50 times. So when it comes to launching a new cruise line, finding an audience is a tough task. Lucky for Atlas Ocean Voyages, which just launched in 2021, Rodriguez is no stranger to that challenge. He was with Oceania from the start, so he knows all about the importance of developing a brand identity.

"This was a brand that was conceived and created in a pre-pandemic world," said Rodriguez. "So what I did when I came in, having the benefit of hindsight, is said, 'Let's look at this in a post-pandemic world, where people are really wanting to reconnect with the world that they left.'"

Originally, Atlas Ocean Voyages was branded as an ultra-luxury cruise line with adventurous, off-the-beaten-path itineraries. But Rodriguez notes that in the current travel climate, people aren't necessarily looking for those kinds of trips. So, he's rejiggered the itineraries to focus more on the familiar with a few surprises thrown in. "I tried to mix in some of the marquee ports, like the Romes and the Barcelonas and Ibizas that Americans know about and have been to, with yacht-style ports in places they've never been to before," says Rodriguez.

That said, World Traveller and World Navigator were designed with polar destinations in mind, so Antarctica will still be on the docket. Traveller will cruise Antarctica until March 2023 when it heads to the Mediterranean. So where does Atlas Ocean Voyages sit within the rapidly expanding field of Antarctic cruising? In my own limited experience in Antarctica, plus what I've heard from expedition staff across the industry, polar expedition ships often skew more toward hardcore expedition or more toward traditional luxury cruising. Atlas Ocean Voyages has a surprising balance of both, where I felt completely satisfied in terms of education and expedition, but also in terms of a luxury shipboard experience, from amenities to entertainment.

"There were a lot of guests where either the husband wanted to come and do this, but the wife was reluctant, or the wife really wanted to do it, but the husband was reluctant," said Rodriguez of our voyage. "I think we're that perfect product to offer experiences for both."

Rates for a nine-night voyage on World Traveller start from $7,999 per person, and you can book your cruise here .

Related Articles

World Traveller

Launched in 2022 in the Mediterranean,  World Traveller  is the second polar-class ship in the Atlas Ocean Voyages fleet and a twin to 2021’s  World Navigator . Carrying 196 guests, she has expanded the horizons for what Atlas is calling “luxe-adventure” cruising to “destinations less traveled.” The Fort Lauderdale-based company is a subsidiary of Portugal’s Mystic Invest Holding, which operates river cruise line DouroAzul and other brands, and is staffed by executives with decades of experience at cruise lines. 

The Balconies and Picture Windows:   The ship offers exclusively balcony and suite accommodations in seven categories, ranging from 183-square-foot Solo Suites with a large picture window and a mosaic-tiled spa shower to 465-square-foot one-bedroom Navigator Suites with a spa shower and bathtub plus a 106-square-foot veranda. Noteworthy are the 269-square-foot Horizon Staterooms, which feature a floor-to-ceiling glass wall with an upper panel that slides open to make the entire cabin a veranda. Atlas’s Porto-based parent company originally developed the concept for its DouroAzul river ships. 

The World-Spanning Itineraries:  Whether they're seeking expedition cruises to tick destinations off their bucket list or more relaxing respites focused on cultural or epicurean pursuits — market visits, wine tastings, or cooking demonstrations — World Traveller can take guests from Antarctica and the Arctic to the Mediterranean, the British Isles and Northern Europe and Iceland & Greenland.

Design That’s Not Fussy:  Laid-back elegance is the brand’s design mantra, and using a blend of classic and contemporary styles — a touch of Art Deco in muted greens, blues, and neutrals in the staterooms and panoramic lounge — combined with a heated pool and whirlpools and restaurants featuring regionally-inspired gourmet cuisine, Atlas has created a soothing environment for its luxe-adventure brand.

A Focus on Sustainability:  Like a growing number of cruise lines, Atlas has banned single-use plastics aboard its ships. also benefits from the latest hybrid power management and propulsion system that consumes as little as one-fifth of the fuel of conventional cruise ship systems. And with its alternate hydro-jet propulsion, it can quietly cruise up to five knots without disturbing sensitive marine wildlife. 

Authenticity Seekers: Atlas describes its intended cruise clientele as “low-key connoisseurs in search of authentic cultural experiences and once-in-a-lifetime journeys.” And 423-foot-long  World Traveller  is built to deliver that with a 1B-Ice Class-certified hull and custom-designed Zodiac MilPro Mark V inflatable boats to ferry passengers ashore in even the remotest locales.

All-Inclusive Luxe-Adventure Has a High Price Tag: Yes, it’s all included — accommodations, food and premium beverages, gratuities, complimentary excursions in select ports, and more — but Atlas cruise fares might be above some budgets. They start at $6,000 per person for a seven-night voyage in the Mediterranean and can start as high as $12,000 per person for a 14-night Antarctic itinerary.

ShermansTravel Editorial Staff Deal Expert / Travel Blogger

• CruiseMapper

World Traveller deck plans

Deck layouts, review of facilities, activities, amenities.

World Traveller deck plan review at CruiseMapper provides newest cruise deck plans (2024-2025-2026 valid floor layouts of the vessel) extracted from the officially issued by Atlas Ocean Voyages deckplan pdf (printable version).

Each of the World Traveller cruise ship deck plans are conveniently combined with a legend (showing cabin codes) and detailed review of all the deck's venues and passenger-accessible indoor and outdoor areas. A separate link provides an extensive information on World Traveller staterooms (cabins and suites), including photos, cabin plans and amenities by room type and category.

MS World Traveller cruise ship deck plans show a total of 98 staterooms, 8 decks (6 passenger-accessible, 3 with cabins), Observation Lounge (with surrounding outdoor terrace), Navigator Lounge (multi-purpose, full-bar venue), Library, Lecture Theater (Auditorium), aft Dining Room Restaurant (with outdoor terrace seating), Boutique Shop, Lobby area (Reception Desk, Cashier's Office, two ship entrance points), Wellness facilities (outdoor Jogging Track, Gym, Sauna, Spa, Hairdresser), Sun Deck with outdoor heated swimming pool (saltwater, with a separate shallow pool area for kids), Helideck (aft top-deck helipad).

Deck layouts

Deck 03 - tendering-cabins, deck 04 - lobby-dining-lounge, deck 05 - cabins, deck 06 - bridge-cabins, deck 07 - spa-pools-sundeck, deck 08 - helideck, deck 09 - topdeck-aerial view.

World Traveller deck plans are property of Atlas Ocean Voyages . All deck layouts are for informational purposes only and CruiseMapper is not responsible for their accuracy.

• Testimonials

World Traveller

Staff and Crew: 130

Guests: 198

Length: 129 meters / 423 feet

Breadth: 18.9 meters / 62 feet

Draft: 4.7 meters / 15 feet

Ice Class: 1B (Polar Category C)

Cruising Speed: 16 knots

Registration: Portugal

Launched in 2022, World Traveller realizes the possibilities of environmental stewardship with the latest hybrid power management and propulsion system, maximizing fuel efficiency and consuming as low as one-fifth the fuel compared to conventional cruise-ship systems. Its alternate hydro-jet propulsion system helps the ship quietly cruise up to five knots without disturbing marine wildlife for incomparable up-close encounters.

Including three decks of spacious and elevated accommodations, various onboard dining options, spa and sauna amenities, social spaces for gathering with your fellow travelers and more, World Traveller has been designed to always deliver relaxed luxury and highly personalized service.

World Traveller has 1 hot tub.

♦ Cabins & Amenities

• All cabins have exterior views
• L’OCCITANE bath amenities
• Terrycloth robe and slippers
• Egyptian cotton bed linens, duvet and pillow menu
• Nightstands equipped with the necessary tech (110/220 voltage + USB ports)
• Private climate control
• In-room dining*
• Butler service in suites
• FREE Stocked in-room minibar
• 24-hour room service including spirits, wine and beer
• Nespresso Coffee and Kusmi Teas
• Still and sparkling water in reusable glass bottles
• Walk-in mosaic glass shower with rain head and body jets
• Complimentary use of binoculars

*  In-room dining available for all guests. However, these services may be limited during peak dining times for stateroom accommodations.

♦ Onboard Facilities

• Dining venues with ever-changing menus (all meals and daily snack included)
• Lisboa Restaurant
• Vasco Da Gama Auditorium
• The Dome Observation Lounge
• Pool & 1 Hot Tub
• Small Sundeck
• Water’s edge observation deck
• Zephyr Lounge
• Fitness Studio
• Running track outdoor fitness
• Medical Center
• L’OCCITANE Sea Spa & Sauna
• Standard wireless internet service throughout the entire ship

♦ Always included

• Unlimited beverages, including fine wines, spirits and craft beers
• Open bars and lounges, including 24-hour bar service with specialty canapés
• Specialty coffees, teas and fresh-pressed juices
• Champagne and gourmet canapés during meet and greet
• 24-hour room service, including spirits, wine and beer
• Use of walking sticks and binoculars
• Reusable water bottle
• Butler service and expanded room service menu in suites
• Pre-paid gratuities
• Trip delay and medical evacuation coverage included at no additional cost
• Adventure Options: must be pre-booked and paid for prior to start of the trip. Ask for availability on each specific voyage (there are limited spaces). Camping US$500; Sea Kayaking US$350; Paddling and Stand-Up Paddling US$75 (prices subject to change)
• Mandatory Medical Evacuation & Repatriation Insurance: included.
• Inclusions & Exclusions: ask for details on each specific voyage.

Adventure Oceanview (AO)

• Located: Deck 3
• Occupancy: 2 Guests
• 183 sq. ft.
• Panoramic window
• Sitting area with chair, desk and TV
• Spacious wardrobe
• Queen-size bed (convertible to two single beds)

Navigator Suite (NS)

• Located: Deck 5 and 6
• Occupancy: Up to 3 guests
• 465 sq. ft.
• Oversized private balcony with teak furnishings
• Double sinks and tub
• Walk-in closet and wardrobe
• Living room with sofa and vanity
• Includes 2 wall-mounted TVs with “infotainment” system

Veranda (B2)

• 270 sq. ft.
• Private balcony with teak furnishings
• Sitting area with sofa and TV

Veranda (B1)

Horizon (A2)

• Occupancy: 2 Guests (select staterooms hold up to 3 guests)
• Floor-to-ceiling Juliette-style Balcony with top-drop electric window

Horizon (A1)

Veranda Deluxe (E2)

• Located: Deck 6
• 300 sq. ft.
• Wall-mounted television with infotainment system

Horizon Deluxe (E1)

• Occupancy: Up to 2 guests
• Floor-to-ceiling Juliette Balcony with top-drop electric window
• Interior seating area with sofa and TV

Journey Suite (JS)

• 382 sq. ft.

Discovery Suite (DS)

• Located: Deck 5
• 445 sq. ft.

Image gallery

Dates & rates, antarctica 2022-23, arctic 2023, antarctica 2023-24, antarctica 2024-25.

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Review: World Voyager

Reviewed by Celeste Moure

What is the line?  Atlas Ocean Voyages

Name of ship? World Voyager

Passenger occupancy?  198

Itinerary?  9-Night Ushuaia Roundtrip

Start out with the big picture—what is this cruise line known for?

Traditional expedition ship meets luxury yacht in Atlas Ocean Voyages’ small fleet of vessels. This relatively new line, which sails under the Portuguese flag and currently offers three ships, approaches expedition cruising with the ethos of a luxe but relaxed all-inclusive resort: the décor is contemporary modern, the staff is affable and proficient, the complimentary cocktails flow freely, and much of the cuisine is farm-to-table.

Tell us about the ship in general:

World Voyager , the third ship in Atlas’ fleet, accommodates 198 passengers and offers a one-to-one guest-to-staff ratio, which means you’ll likely be on a first-name basis with the expedition crew and front-of-house staff by the second day of a sailing. Much like sister ship World Traveller , the interior design of this vessel favors a subdued palette in shades of vanilla and taupe with pops of cerulean blue, buttery yellow, and ochre. There are plenty of spaces to spread out and take in the spellbinding views, including a relaxed lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows, by the outdoor pool and hot tub, and, my favorite, in the spa’s relaxation room and sauna.

Who is on board?

I was surprised at the diversity of the crowd, which included a handful of twenty-somethings and solo travelers, older Millennials from the US, India, Australia, Canada, and Europe traveling with friends or with parents, newly retired couples, and a few honeymooners. I traveled with my teenage daughter, and though there were no kids or other teens on the ship, she quickly became part of a clique of younger adults who dined together and played cards in the lounge.

Describe the cabins .

World Voyager has 100 cabins spread across decks 3, 5, and 6. My daughter and I stayed in a Horizon Stateroom, a cozy 270-square-foot room with two single beds (which can be converted to a queen) separated from a sitting area with a sofa and coffee table, swivel chair, and a desk fitted with a mini fridge and Nespresso machine. The marble bathroom featured not only L’Occitane products and a walk-in rain shower with body jets but also enough space to store our personal toiletries. A highlight of our cabin was the Juliette balcony, featuring floor-to-ceiling glass and a top-drop electric window we could open at the touch of a button from a panel by the bed. A step up in category, the Veranda Deluxe and Horizon Deluxe cabins are configured to fit a separate sitting area and walk-out balcony.

Tell us about the crew.

From the cabin and kitchen staff to the waiters, bartenders, and spa attendants—everyone I encountered on this voyage was gracious and eager to help. However, it was clear that this was an inaugural Antarctica voyage not just for the ship but also for many of the crew, some of whom seemed to struggle to find their sea legs as we crossed a tempestuous Drake Passage. Service at mealtimes was spotty during those first few days of our journey, but things got better as the days went on. The expedition staff, led by an entertaining Polar veteran from France, was an interesting mix of experienced and more novice guides, all of whom were not just thrilled to be working on the ship and headed to Antarctica but also to share their expertise in wildlife, the environment, and the geopolitical history of the continent.

What food and drink options are available on board?

Unlike a big ship with tons of restaurant options, this yacht-like vessel offers a main dining room, called Madeira, serving three meals a day. At breakfast there’s a combination of buffet and standard menu items (made-to-order pancakes, omelettes, and French toast) while lunch is a buffet-only affair. Dishes get an elevated treatment at dinnertime, with five-course menus offering a variety of rotating international cuisine options, including an always-present section of Portuguese dishes (a nod to Portugal-based parent company Mystic Cruises).

Sustainable dining is a focus on all Atlas ships, which is highlighted by slow food and zero-waste principles, as well as tasty vegetarian options, such as the always-present plant-based steak. Surprisingly, given that the ship departs from Ushuaia, there were no wines from Argentina or Chile on the menu; the wine list focused on European labels, with many hailing from Portugal.

Paula’s Pantry is a grab-and-go café that serves caffeine drinks as well as smoothies, juice shots, house made muesli and yogurt, tasty granola bars, and heartier snacks like pizza and paninis. The 7Aft Grill by the pool is not open on Antarctica itineraries, but the menu focuses on barbecue fare and grilled meats. And, of course, there’s 24-hour complimentary room service. There are two bars on the ship: the spacious Atlas Lounge, outfitted with plush sofas and swivel chaises surrounding a variety of coffee tables, is perfect for an anytime drink and conversation; and on the top deck, the Dome Observation Lounge is the place to go for afternoon tea and evening cocktails.

Is there a spa on board and is it worth visiting?

What the spa lacks in space, it more than makes up for in the L’Occitane-branded treatments and the stellar service. I spent many hours just daydreaming and marveling at the sea from a heated lounger bed in the relaxation room, as well as unwinding in the sauna, which I particularly appreciated after doing the polar plunge.

What about activities and entertainment?

You won’t find any aqua fitness classes, aerobics, or conga lines on this ship. Instead, you can hit the small gym, which is fitted with a pair of treadmills and stationary bikes as well as free weights, yoga mats, and exercise balls. On the top deck you can do laps on the outdoor running track, featuring arguably the most mesmerizing views on the planet.

If the weather isn’t cooperating, which it probably won’t be on an Antarctica journey, the expedition staff offers daily lectures, as well as afternoon documentaries—pick up a bag of popcorn and a drink on the way into the auditorium. There are also evening performances, such as ballads sung in English, French, and Portuguese by a skilled guest singer who was accompanied on the keys by the ship’s pianist. On other occasions, there might be trivia nights based on Antarctica knowledge. One night, the staff and crew performed a variety show—some performed traditional dances from their respective countries; others played an instrument; some brave souls sang a capella.

How was the experience for families?

I can’t imagine many parents would want to bring kids younger than 12 to Antarctica, and indeed Atlas only welcomes children eight and older. When not out on an expedition or dining with other guests, my fifteen-year-old spent the time reading in the lounge, working out, or watching movies in our cabin.

Where did it sail and how were the excursions? Did anything stand out?

I sailed to Antarctica from Ushuaia on a nine-night itinerary, though taking into consideration that expeditions rely on perfect conditions, I would highly recommend Atlas’ 11-night journey. Every day, the captain decides where the ship will navigate according to local conditions, and the expedition staff briefs guests on the planned activities for the following day. There are typically two excursions per day, which might include Zodiac cruises, landings, and water sports. During my November sailing, I had signed up for optional activities (offered at an additional cost), such as kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, and camping, all of which were canceled due to rough weather. The ability to be flexible, to be patient, and go with the flow is paramount on an Antarctica expedition.

Are there any stand out sustainability or green initiatives about this cruise?

Atlas puts considerable effort on its zero-waste principles and plant-based dining options, which aligns with the philosophy of a growing number of travelers—and not only in the luxury segment. The long-term plan from Atlas’ Executive Chef, Rene Aflenzes, is to bring a bit of the slow-food philosophy to the high seas.

Finally, give a sentence or two on why the cruise is worth booking.

If you are keen on an all-inclusive polar adventure that is at once intimate yet casually elegant, World Voyager is a worthy choice. This young cruise line attracts an equally young (the average age on my sailing was around 40) audience of adventurers; their idea of dressing up for cocktails means pairing an Arc’teryx jacket with a telephoto lens camera or binoculars to not miss a wildlife encounter.

All listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you book something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

By CNT Editors

First look at World Voyager, the stylish new expedition cruise ship from Atlas Ocean Voyages

Editor's Note

You can tell a lot about an expedition ship from the way it handles rough seas and storms.

World Voyager, the third ship for fast-growing newcomer Atlas Ocean Voyages, was put through its paces during a tempest of wind and waves on its recent nine-day maiden voyage to Antarctica.

It handled it with ease.

That's thanks to the ship's new, state-of-the-art stabilizing dual Rolls-Royce retractable fins and advanced hydrodynamic design.

For cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter .

Crossing the fearsome Drake Passage — the violent confluence of three seas between the tip of South America and Antarctica — the ocean pitched, rolled and yawed. It was the dreaded Drake Shake. Waves leapt to 39 feet, but we were buffered against the worst of it as we zig-zagged to briefings, polar gear fittings, welcome drinks and dinners.

I got to see those stabilizers in action again in the white continent, flying on the coattails of 100-knot winds. Snow fell sideways. Spectral winds chased jitterbug seas. Onboard, there was nothing but smooth sailing, even on the treadmill in the gym.

Introducing World Voyager

World Voyager is an intimate ship designed for what Atlas Ocean Voyages likes to call "expedition yachting" in some of the most remote pockets of the globe. Right now, that's Antarctica. Like sister ice-class ships World Traveller and World Navigator , this ship has state-of-the-art sonar that allows it to travel deep into polar regions and Zodiac inflatable boats on board for exploring off the ship.

But the ship doesn't offer immersive travel only in far-flung locales. In the coming months, World Voyager will head north for warm-weather sailings in the Mediterranean, northern Europe and the British Isles; there, it will swap the Zodiacs for Jet Skis, kayaks and paddleboards.

The ship can maneuver into small harbors and narrow rivers that bigger ships can't. This is something Atlas is keen to capitalize on during the coming year with warm-water sailings that invite a deeper connection to food culture and history. New Epicurean Expeditions will be centered on food tours, cooking demonstrations, local chefs and vintners, and wine tastings. I got to sample some of these wines — including a Miraval rose from Provence, France — and can vouch for their excellence.

One of the biggest differences between an expedition ship and some of the bigger luxury cruise ships is the expert team of marine biologists, ornithologists, glaciologists and historians onboard; they enrich daily outings with talks and daily recaps. World Voyager travels with up to 14 expedition leaders. Still, its program is lighter than what you'll find on the expedition vessels of more established players in the space, such as Lindblad Expeditions, Silversea Cruises and Quark Expeditions.

Still, the enrichment offerings from World Voyager's expedition team are just part of a wider entertainment program. The program includes afternoon tea, trivia, evening movies, late-night cabaret shows and an always-open and lively Dome observatory bar — an array of diversions you don't always find on expedition ships.

In this way, the ship straddles big-ship entertainment and small-ship adventure. It's early days, and the team is still finding its sea legs — not unusual for a new ship. However, there is talk of getting the expedition team to dine with guests.

Related: The ultimate guide to Atlas Ocean Voyages

It's good value

Traveling to far-flung places with an intimate coterie of like-minded travelers is one of the luxuries of expedition cruising. Atlas Ocean Voyages' World Voyager is one of the smallest ships of its kind. The 9,935-ton ship has the capacity for 198 passengers, but that number drops to a mere 178 people in Antarctica, with cabins given to guest lecturers and entertainers. Our maiden voyage had only 138.

For such a big-ticket cruise, the crowd was relatively young. I put this down to Atlas' current offer that allows the second guest to sail free; the deal includes overnight accommodation and return private charter flights from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, Argentina. It's a striking value for a nine-night Antarctica trip that, after adjusting for the second guest traveling free, starts at just $6,299 per person.

Like most ships at the high end, Atlas includes a lot in its base price. Onboard accommodations, all meals, most drinks, gratuities and shore excursions are part of the ticket price, plus round-trip airfares from select U.S. and Canadian gateways. Emergency medical evacuation insurance is also included — something few other expedition companies offer.

What's not included in Atlas fares are shelf liquors (a shot of Belvedere vodka will set you back $7), premium wines or Champagne. Shipboard Wi-Fi also comes at a steep price after an initial 1GB of data that is included in the fare (500MB for an additional $45, 1GB for $80 or 5GB for $350) and can only be used on one device. It's an irritation when you consider most ships let you switch between devices — and that many luxury expedition ships in the same space offer shipboard Wi-Fi for free.

Related: I jumped off a cruise ship in Antarctica and lived to tell the tale

World Voyager is made for design lovers

Cruise ship decor switches from cookie-cutter elegance to such dizzying colors and patterns you'd be forgiven for thinking a toddler was let loose in the craft cupboard.

Not World Voyager. The ship exudes sophistication.

Built in 2020, the ship initially sailed for Germany-based Nicko Cruises, owned by the same Portuguese company that owns Atlas Ocean Voyages. When the ship switched allegiances, it also received a design refresh.

The result is a meet-cute of Scandinavian minimalism and art deco gorgeousness that wouldn't look out of place in a boutique hotel.

It marks a departure for Atlas, which partnered on its first two ships with Portuguese design firm Oitoemponto. The glossy mahogany wood paneling and decorative European fabrics are gone, traded for a lighter, more pared-back look; it favors Scandi-inspired blonde wood, black and white marble floors, geometric carpets, rich rust velvet feature lounges, gilt highlights and glorious pops of gemstone color.

The ship is easy to navigate, with a floor plan that flows seamlessly between venues. Deck 4 is home to the main public spaces, including the lecture auditorium, lounge bar, lobby, cafe (a quick stop for juice shots, smoothies, espresso coffee, pastries and hearty snacks), a small shop and the main dining room.

A small, well-equipped gym is tucked away on the port side. Meanwhile, the aft is home to a tiny L'Occitane spa with two treatment rooms, the gifted hands of masseur Akom, a chill lounge and a sauna with a glass wall.

The ship offers views for days

Nature is the star attraction on any expedition cruise, something Atlas knows well. The entire ship is dripping with indoor and outdoor spaces that deliver dress-circle views of icebergs, whales, birdlife and dazzling sunsets.

The Dome observatory lounge offers views in spades. Situated at the front of the ship, on the highest deck, the lounge boasts curved floor-to-ceiling glass and a glorious wraparound viewing platform, both of which serve up spectacular 270-degree views.

Two decks below is Water's Edge: another stunning spot at the ship's bow, with magical views on three sides and a heated wraparound bench (a welcome seat on cold polar days). Three other viewing platforms — at the rear of Madeira restaurant on Deck 4 and on passenger decks 5 and 6 — make for an easy exit whenever nature beckons.

Related: Antarctica gear guide: What you need to pack for a trip to the White Continent

Cabins offer front row seats to the action outside

In polar climates where the temperature regularly dips below 32 degrees, a private balcony would seem unnecessary. No surprise then that the ship's Horizon Staterooms — the type of cabin that I experienced while on board — earn points for their generous 270 square meters of temperature-controlled bliss. A step up from the Veranda Staterooms with their standard cruise ship balconies, these rooms claw back 55 square meters of icy outdoor space for just a little more money.

The Horizon Staterooms feature what Atlas calls a Juliette balcony — a wall of floor-to-ceiling glass with an electric top-drop window, easily controlled by the touch of a button. (Some river cruise ships have these, and they're akin to the "infinite verandas" on Celebrity Cruises' Edge Class ships.)

The experience was like being in an IMAX Theatre. From my room, I had a front-row seat to Antarctica's larger-than-life natural drama. Window down, I watched petrels coast the Drake Passage, the roar and tang of the sea outside delivered to me in 3D to counteract the pitching swell. I saw whales, cartwheeling penguins and an iceberg bigger than an apartment block.

Cabins come with a queen-size bed and Portuguese linens, a stocked minibar (beer and soft drinks only), Ksumi teas, still and sparkling water in reusable glass bottles, and a Nespresso machine. In-room binoculars are a nice touch.

Bathrooms feature L'Occitane toiletries and a walk-in mosaic glass shower with a rain head, handheld wand and body jets. Storage overall seemed on the small side for two people, but the main drawback was noise. My room was portside in the back, and it was so noisy that the clanking of the engine regularly woke me up.

World Voyager offers two- and three-person Horizon and Veranda staterooms, along with three categories of one-bedroom suites. These upgraded rooms feature extra floor space, a large balcony, a luxuriously deep bath, additional wardrobe space and the greatest luxury of all: a personal butler.

Related: Everything you want to know about cabins and suites on Atlas Ocean Voyages ships

The food onboard is sustainable — and delicious

I found a lot to love about the food on board World Voyager, including the plant-based and zero-waste menus rolled out across the fleet.

It's the kind of sustainable dining that is on trend with luxury travelers wanting to tread more lightly.

Austrian-born executive chef Rene Aflenzes is behind the holistic menus found throughout the ship that champion slow food, molecular gastronomy and zero-waste principles. It's truly a root-to-stem and peel-to-core mindset about food prep. Vegetable skins are dehydrated and turned into soup seasonings and garnishes. Whole fruit is magicked into delectably sweet concoctions.

It's part of an ambitious long-term plan to bring a true nose-to-tail food philosophy to the high seas.

Juice shots, smoothies, house-made Bircher muesli, vegan oat slices, nutritious muffins and hearty snacks are the mainstay at the grab-and-go cafe, Paula's Pantry; it also offers espresso coffee, donuts and pizza slices.

The buffet lunch in the Madeira dining room features a dedicated vegan salad station. Madeira becomes an a la carte restaurant in the evening. Along with a modern menu, it offers a selection of plant-based starters, mains and desserts, an "always available" plant-based steak and a good sprinkling of zero-waste dishes. Most were good. The salads were a bit hit-or-miss.

In a nod to Atlas' Portugal-based parent company, Mystic Cruises, the menu also features a handful of typical Portuguese dishes.

Meat lovers will enjoy meals in the main dining room and at Deck 7's poolside 7Aft Grill, where meat is seared over Josper coals until smoky. In a coup for Atlas, the beef is from the same butcher as Argentina's famed Don Julio restaurant, ranked number 19 on the 2023 list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants.

Bottom line

Atlas Ocean Voyages' new World Voyager is built for adventure, without the stuffiness that can come from more serious expedition ships. It strikes the right balance between an expedition cruise vessel and a more traditional luxury ship, with late-night entertainment and daily Zodiac outings. Give it a go while fares remain one of the better values in expedition cruising.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

• The 5 most desirable cabin locations on any cruise ship
• A beginners guide to picking a cruise line
• The 8 worst cabin locations on any cruise ship
• The ultimate guide to what to pack for a cruise
• A quick guide to the most popular cruise lines
• 21 tips and tricks that will make your cruise go smoothly
• Top ways cruisers waste money
• The ultimate guide to choosing a cruise ship cabin

Crying Myself to Sleep on the Biggest Cruise Ship Ever

Seven agonizing nights aboard the Icon of the Seas

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Updated at 2:44 p.m. ET on April 6, 2024.

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MY FIRST GLIMPSE of Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, from the window of an approaching Miami cab, brings on a feeling of vertigo, nausea, amazement, and distress. I shut my eyes in defense, as my brain tells my optic nerve to try again.

The ship makes no sense, vertically or horizontally. It makes no sense on sea, or on land, or in outer space. It looks like a hodgepodge of domes and minarets, tubes and canopies, like Istanbul had it been designed by idiots. Vibrant, oversignifying colors are stacked upon other such colors, decks perched over still more decks; the only comfort is a row of lifeboats ringing its perimeter. There is no imposed order, no cogent thought, and, for those who do not harbor a totalitarian sense of gigantomania, no visual mercy. This is the biggest cruise ship ever built, and I have been tasked with witnessing its inaugural voyage.

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“Author embarks on their first cruise-ship voyage” has been a staple of American essay writing for almost three decades, beginning with David Foster Wallace’s “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” which was first published in 1996 under the title “Shipping Out.” Since then, many admirable writers have widened and diversified the genre. Usually the essayist commissioned to take to the sea is in their first or second flush of youth and is ready to sharpen their wit against the hull of the offending vessel. I am 51, old and tired, having seen much of the world as a former travel journalist, and mostly what I do in both life and prose is shrug while muttering to my imaginary dachshund, “This too shall pass.” But the Icon of the Seas will not countenance a shrug. The Icon of the Seas is the Linda Loman of cruise ships, exclaiming that attention must be paid. And here I am in late January with my one piece of luggage and useless gray winter jacket and passport, zipping through the Port of Miami en route to the gangway that will separate me from the bulk of North America for more than seven days, ready to pay it in full.

The aforementioned gangway opens up directly onto a thriving mall (I will soon learn it is imperiously called the “Royal Promenade”), presently filled with yapping passengers beneath a ceiling studded with balloons ready to drop. Crew members from every part of the global South, as well as a few Balkans, are shepherding us along while pressing flutes of champagne into our hands. By a humming Starbucks, I drink as many of these as I can and prepare to find my cabin. I show my blue Suite Sky SeaPass Card (more on this later, much more) to a smiling woman from the Philippines, and she tells me to go “aft.” Which is where, now? As someone who has rarely sailed on a vessel grander than the Staten Island Ferry, I am confused. It turns out that the aft is the stern of the ship, or, for those of us who don’t know what a stern or an aft are, its ass. The nose of the ship, responsible for separating the waves before it, is also called a bow, and is marked for passengers as the FWD , or forward. The part of the contemporary sailing vessel where the malls are clustered is called the midship. I trust that you have enjoyed this nautical lesson.

I ascend via elevator to my suite on Deck 11. This is where I encounter my first terrible surprise. My suite windows and balcony do not face the ocean. Instead, they look out onto another shopping mall. This mall is the one that’s called Central Park, perhaps in homage to the Olmsted-designed bit of greenery in the middle of my hometown. Although on land I would be delighted to own a suite with Central Park views, here I am deeply depressed. To sail on a ship and not wake up to a vast blue carpet of ocean? Unthinkable.

Allow me a brief preamble here. The story you are reading was commissioned at a moment when most staterooms on the Icon were sold out. In fact, so enthralled by the prospect of this voyage were hard-core mariners that the ship’s entire inventory of guest rooms (the Icon can accommodate up to 7,600 passengers, but its inaugural journey was reduced to 5,000 or so for a less crowded experience) was almost immediately sold out. Hence, this publication was faced with the shocking prospect of paying nearly $19,000 to procure for this solitary passenger an entire suite—not including drinking expenses—all for the privilege of bringing you this article. But the suite in question doesn’t even have a view of the ocean! I sit down hard on my soft bed. Nineteen thousand dollars for this .

The viewless suite does have its pluses. In addition to all the Malin+Goetz products in my dual bathrooms, I am granted use of a dedicated Suite Deck lounge; access to Coastal Kitchen, a superior restaurant for Suites passengers; complimentary VOOM SM Surf & Stream (“the fastest Internet at Sea”) “for one device per person for the whole cruise duration”; a pair of bathrobes (one of which comes prestained with what looks like a large expectoration by the greenest lizard on Earth); and use of the Grove Suite Sun, an area on Decks 18 and 19 with food and deck chairs reserved exclusively for Suite passengers. I also get reserved seating for a performance of The Wizard of Oz , an ice-skating tribute to the periodic table, and similar provocations. The very color of my Suite Sky SeaPass Card, an oceanic blue as opposed to the cloying royal purple of the standard non-Suite passenger, will soon provoke envy and admiration. But as high as my status may be, there are those on board who have much higher status still, and I will soon learn to bow before them.

In preparation for sailing, I have “priced in,” as they say on Wall Street, the possibility that I may come from a somewhat different monde than many of the other cruisers. Without falling into stereotypes or preconceptions, I prepare myself for a friendly outspokenness on the part of my fellow seafarers that may not comply with modern DEI standards. I believe in meeting people halfway, and so the day before flying down to Miami, I visited what remains of Little Italy to purchase a popular T-shirt that reads DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL across the breast in the colors of the Italian flag. My wife recommended that I bring one of my many T-shirts featuring Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, as all Americans love the beagle and his friends. But I naively thought that my meatball T-shirt would be more suitable for conversation-starting. “Oh, and who is your ‘daddy’?” some might ask upon seeing it. “And how long have you been his ‘little meatball’?” And so on.

I put on my meatball T-shirt and head for one of the dining rooms to get a late lunch. In the elevator, I stick out my chest for all to read the funny legend upon it, but soon I realize that despite its burnished tricolor letters, no one takes note. More to the point, no one takes note of me. Despite my attempts at bridge building, the very sight of me (small, ethnic, without a cap bearing the name of a football team) elicits no reaction from other passengers. Most often, they will small-talk over me as if I don’t exist. This brings to mind the travails of David Foster Wallace , who felt so ostracized by his fellow passengers that he retreated to his cabin for much of his voyage. And Wallace was raised primarily in the Midwest and was a much larger, more American-looking meatball than I am. If he couldn’t talk to these people, how will I? What if I leave this ship without making any friends at all, despite my T-shirt? I am a social creature, and the prospect of seven days alone and apart is saddening. Wallace’s stateroom, at least, had a view of the ocean, a kind of cheap eternity.

Worse awaits me in the dining room. This is a large, multichandeliered room where I attended my safety training (I was shown how to put on a flotation vest; it is a very simple procedure). But the maître d’ politely refuses me entry in an English that seems to verge on another language. “I’m sorry, this is only for pendejos ,” he seems to be saying. I push back politely and he repeats himself. Pendejos ? Piranhas? There’s some kind of P-word to which I am not attuned. Meanwhile elderly passengers stream right past, powered by their limbs, walkers, and electric wheelchairs. “It is only pendejo dining today, sir.” “But I have a suite!” I say, already starting to catch on to the ship’s class system. He examines my card again. “But you are not a pendejo ,” he confirms. I am wearing a DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL T-shirt, I want to say to him. I am the essence of pendejo .

Eventually, I give up and head to the plebeian buffet on Deck 15, which has an aquatic-styled name I have now forgotten. Before gaining entry to this endless cornucopia of reheated food, one passes a washing station of many sinks and soap dispensers, and perhaps the most intriguing character on the entire ship. He is Mr. Washy Washy—or, according to his name tag, Nielbert of the Philippines—and he is dressed as a taco (on other occasions, I’ll see him dressed as a burger). Mr. Washy Washy performs an eponymous song in spirited, indeed flamboyant English: “Washy, washy, wash your hands, WASHY WASHY!” The dangers of norovirus and COVID on a cruise ship this size (a giant fellow ship was stricken with the former right after my voyage) makes Mr. Washy Washy an essential member of the crew. The problem lies with the food at the end of Washy’s rainbow. The buffet is groaning with what sounds like sophisticated dishes—marinated octopus, boiled egg with anchovy, chorizo, lobster claws—but every animal tastes tragically the same, as if there was only one creature available at the market, a “cruisipus” bred specifically for Royal Caribbean dining. The “vegetables” are no better. I pick up a tomato slice and look right through it. It tastes like cellophane. I sit alone, apart from the couples and parents with gaggles of children, as “We Are Family” echoes across the buffet space.

I may have failed to mention that all this time, the Icon of the Seas has not left port. As the fiery mango of the subtropical setting sun makes Miami’s condo skyline even more apocalyptic, the ship shoves off beneath a perfunctory display of fireworks. After the sun sets, in the far, dark distance, another circus-lit cruise ship ruptures the waves before us. We glance at it with pity, because it is by definition a smaller ship than our own. I am on Deck 15, outside the buffet and overlooking a bunch of pools (the Icon has seven of them), drinking a frilly drink that I got from one of the bars (the Icon has 15 of them), still too shy to speak to anyone, despite Sister Sledge’s assertion that all on the ship are somehow related.

Kim Brooks: On failing the family vacation

The ship’s passage away from Ron DeSantis’s Florida provides no frisson, no sense of developing “sea legs,” as the ship is too large to register the presence of waves unless a mighty wind adds significant chop. It is time for me to register the presence of the 5,000 passengers around me, even if they refuse to register mine. My fellow travelers have prepared for this trip with personally decorated T-shirts celebrating the importance of this voyage. The simplest ones say ICON INAUGURAL ’24 on the back and the family name on the front. Others attest to an over-the-top love of cruise ships: WARNING! MAY START TALKING ABOUT CRUISING . Still others are artisanally designed and celebrate lifetimes spent married while cruising (on ships, of course). A couple possibly in their 90s are wearing shirts whose backs feature a drawing of a cruise liner, two flamingos with ostensibly male and female characteristics, and the legend “ HUSBAND AND WIFE Cruising Partners FOR LIFE WE MAY NOT HAVE IT All Together BUT TOGETHER WE HAVE IT ALL .” (The words not in all caps have been written in cursive.) A real journalist or a more intrepid conversationalist would have gone up to the couple and asked them to explain the longevity of their marriage vis-à-vis their love of cruising. But instead I head to my mall suite, take off my meatball T-shirt, and allow the first tears of the cruise to roll down my cheeks slowly enough that I briefly fall asleep amid the moisture and salt.

I WAKE UP with a hangover. Oh God. Right. I cannot believe all of that happened last night. A name floats into my cobwebbed, nauseated brain: “Ayn Rand.” Jesus Christ.

I breakfast alone at the Coastal Kitchen. The coffee tastes fine and the eggs came out of a bird. The ship rolls slightly this morning; I can feel it in my thighs and my schlong, the parts of me that are most receptive to danger.

I had a dangerous conversation last night. After the sun set and we were at least 50 miles from shore (most modern cruise ships sail at about 23 miles an hour), I lay in bed softly hiccupping, my arms stretched out exactly like Jesus on the cross, the sound of the distant waves missing from my mall-facing suite, replaced by the hum of air-conditioning and children shouting in Spanish through the vents of my two bathrooms. I decided this passivity was unacceptable. As an immigrant, I feel duty-bound to complete the tasks I am paid for, which means reaching out and trying to understand my fellow cruisers. So I put on a normal James Perse T-shirt and headed for one of the bars on the Royal Promenade—the Schooner Bar, it was called, if memory serves correctly.

I sat at the bar for a martini and two Negronis. An old man with thick, hairy forearms drank next to me, very silent and Hemingwaylike, while a dreadlocked piano player tinkled out a series of excellent Elton John covers. To my right, a young white couple—he in floral shorts, she in a light, summery miniskirt with a fearsome diamond ring, neither of them in football regalia—chatted with an elderly couple. Do it , I commanded myself. Open your mouth. Speak! Speak without being spoken to. Initiate. A sentence fragment caught my ear from the young woman, “Cherry Hill.” This is a suburb of Philadelphia in New Jersey, and I had once been there for a reading at a synagogue. “Excuse me,” I said gently to her. “Did you just mention Cherry Hill? It’s a lovely place.”

As it turned out, the couple now lived in Fort Lauderdale (the number of Floridians on the cruise surprised me, given that Southern Florida is itself a kind of cruise ship, albeit one slowly sinking), but soon they were talking with me exclusively—the man potbellied, with a chin like a hard-boiled egg; the woman as svelte as if she were one of the many Ukrainian members of the crew—the elderly couple next to them forgotten. This felt as groundbreaking as the first time I dared to address an American in his native tongue, as a child on a bus in Queens (“On my foot you are standing, Mister”).

“I don’t want to talk politics,” the man said. “But they’re going to eighty-six Biden and put Michelle in.”

I considered the contradictions of his opening conversational gambit, but decided to play along. “People like Michelle,” I said, testing the waters. The husband sneered, but the wife charitably put forward that the former first lady was “more personable” than Joe Biden. “They’re gonna eighty-six Biden,” the husband repeated. “He can’t put a sentence together.”

After I mentioned that I was a writer—though I presented myself as a writer of teleplays instead of novels and articles such as this one—the husband told me his favorite writer was Ayn Rand. “Ayn Rand, she came here with nothing,” the husband said. “I work with a lot of Cubans, so …” I wondered if I should mention what I usually do to ingratiate myself with Republicans or libertarians: the fact that my finances improved after pass-through corporations were taxed differently under Donald Trump. Instead, I ordered another drink and the couple did the same, and I told him that Rand and I were born in the same city, St. Petersburg/Leningrad, and that my family also came here with nothing. Now the bonding and drinking began in earnest, and several more rounds appeared. Until it all fell apart.

Read: Gary Shteyngart on watching Russian television for five days straight

My new friend, whom I will refer to as Ayn, called out to a buddy of his across the bar, and suddenly a young couple, both covered in tattoos, appeared next to us. “He fucking punked me,” Ayn’s frat-boy-like friend called out as he put his arm around Ayn, while his sizable partner sizzled up to Mrs. Rand. Both of them had a look I have never seen on land—their eyes projecting absence and enmity in equal measure. In the ’90s, I drank with Russian soldiers fresh from Chechnya and wandered the streets of wartime Zagreb, but I have never seen such undisguised hostility toward both me and perhaps the universe at large. I was briefly introduced to this psychopathic pair, but neither of them wanted to have anything to do with me, and the tattooed woman would not even reveal her Christian name to me (she pretended to have the same first name as Mrs. Rand). To impress his tattooed friends, Ayn made fun of the fact that as a television writer, I’d worked on the series Succession (which, it would turn out, practically nobody on the ship had watched), instead of the far more palatable, in his eyes, zombie drama of last year. And then my new friends drifted away from me into an angry private conversation—“He punked me!”—as I ordered another drink for myself, scared of the dead-eyed arrivals whose gaze never registered in the dim wattage of the Schooner Bar, whose terrifying voices and hollow laughs grated like unoiled gears against the crooning of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”

But today is a new day for me and my hangover. After breakfast, I explore the ship’s so-called neighborhoods . There’s the AquaDome, where one can find a food hall and an acrobatic sound-and-light aquatic show. Central Park has a premium steak house, a sushi joint, and a used Rolex that can be bought for $8,000 on land here proudly offered at $17,000. There’s the aforementioned Royal Promenade, where I had drunk with the Rands, and where a pair of dueling pianos duel well into the night. There’s Surfside, a kids’ neighborhood full of sugary garbage, which looks out onto the frothy trail that the behemoth leaves behind itself. Thrill Island refers to the collection of tubes that clutter the ass of the ship and offer passengers six waterslides and a surfing simulation. There’s the Hideaway, an adult zone that plays music from a vomit-slathered, Brit-filled Alicante nightclub circa 1996 and proves a big favorite with groups of young Latin American customers. And, most hurtfully, there’s the Suite Neighborhood.

I say hurtfully because as a Suite passenger I should be here, though my particular suite is far from the others. Whereas I am stuck amid the riffraff of Deck 11, this section is on the highborn Decks 16 and 17, and in passing, I peek into the spacious, tall-ceilinged staterooms from the hallway, dazzled by the glint of the waves and sun. For $75,000, one multifloor suite even comes with its own slide between floors, so that a family may enjoy this particular terror in private. There is a quiet splendor to the Suite Neighborhood. I see fewer stickers and signs and drawings than in my own neighborhood—for example, MIKE AND DIANA PROUDLY SERVED U.S. MARINE CORPS RETIRED . No one here needs to announce their branch of service or rank; they are simply Suites, and this is where they belong. Once again, despite my hard work and perseverance, I have been disallowed from the true American elite. Once again, I am “Not our class, dear.” I am reminded of watching The Love Boat on my grandmother’s Zenith, which either was given to her or we found in the trash (I get our many malfunctioning Zeniths confused) and whose tube got so hot, I would put little chunks of government cheese on a thin tissue atop it to give our welfare treat a pleasant, Reagan-era gooeyness. I could not understand English well enough then to catch the nuances of that seafaring program, but I knew that there were differences in the status of the passengers, and that sometimes those differences made them sad. Still, this ship, this plenty—every few steps, there are complimentary nachos or milkshakes or gyros on offer—was the fatty fuel of my childhood dreams. If only I had remained a child.

I walk around the outdoor decks looking for company. There is a middle-aged African American couple who always seem to be asleep in each other’s arms, probably exhausted from the late capitalism they regularly encounter on land. There is far more diversity on this ship than I expected. Many couples are a testament to Loving v. Virginia , and there is a large group of folks whose T-shirts read MELANIN AT SEA / IT’S THE MELANIN FOR ME . I smile when I see them, but then some young kids from the group makes Mr. Washy Washy do a cruel, caricatured “Burger Dance” (today he is in his burger getup), and I think, Well, so much for intersectionality .

At the infinity pool on Deck 17, I spot some elderly women who could be ethnic and from my part of the world, and so I jump in. I am proved correct! Many of them seem to be originally from Queens (“Corona was still great when it was all Italian”), though they are now spread across the tristate area. We bond over the way “Ron-kon-koma” sounds when announced in Penn Station.

“Everyone is here for a different reason,” one of them tells me. She and her ex-husband last sailed together four years ago to prove to themselves that their marriage was truly over. Her 15-year-old son lost his virginity to “an Irish young lady” while their ship was moored in Ravenna, Italy. The gaggle of old-timers competes to tell me their favorite cruising stories and tips. “A guy proposed in Central Park a couple of years ago”—many Royal Caribbean ships apparently have this ridiculous communal area—“and she ran away screaming!” “If you’re diamond-class, you get four drinks for free.” “A different kind of passenger sails out of Bayonne.” (This, perhaps, is racially coded.) “Sometimes, if you tip the bartender $5, your next drink will be free.”

“Everyone’s here for a different reason,” the woman whose marriage ended on a cruise tells me again. “Some people are here for bad reasons—the drinkers and the gamblers. Some people are here for medical reasons.” I have seen more than a few oxygen tanks and at least one woman clearly undergoing very serious chemo. Some T-shirts celebrate good news about a cancer diagnosis. This might be someone’s last cruise or week on Earth. For these women, who have spent months, if not years, at sea, cruising is a ritual as well as a life cycle: first love, last love, marriage, divorce, death.

Read: The last place on Earth any tourist should go

I have talked with these women for so long, tonight I promise myself that after a sad solitary dinner I will not try to seek out company at the bars in the mall or the adult-themed Hideaway. I have enough material to fulfill my duties to this publication. As I approach my orphaned suite, I run into the aggro young people who stole Mr. and Mrs. Rand away from me the night before. The tattooed apparitions pass me without a glance. She is singing something violent about “Stuttering Stanley” (a character in a popular horror movie, as I discover with my complimentary VOOM SM Surf & Stream Internet at Sea) and he’s loudly shouting about “all the money I’ve lost,” presumably at the casino in the bowels of the ship.

So these bent psychos out of a Cormac McCarthy novel are angrily inhabiting my deck. As I mewl myself to sleep, I envision a limited series for HBO or some other streamer, a kind of low-rent White Lotus , where several aggressive couples conspire to throw a shy intellectual interloper overboard. I type the scenario into my phone. As I fall asleep, I think of what the woman who recently divorced her husband and whose son became a man through the good offices of the Irish Republic told me while I was hoisting myself out of the infinity pool. “I’m here because I’m an explorer. I’m here because I’m trying something new.” What if I allowed myself to believe in her fantasy?

“YOU REALLY STARTED AT THE TOP,” they tell me. I’m at the Coastal Kitchen for my eggs and corned-beef hash, and the maître d’ has slotted me in between two couples. Fueled by coffee or perhaps intrigued by my relative youth, they strike up a conversation with me. As always, people are shocked that this is my first cruise. They contrast the Icon favorably with all the preceding liners in the Royal Caribbean fleet, usually commenting on the efficiency of the elevators that hurl us from deck to deck (as in many large corporate buildings, the elevators ask you to choose a floor and then direct you to one of many lifts). The couple to my right, from Palo Alto—he refers to his “porn mustache” and calls his wife “my cougar” because she is two years older—tell me they are “Pandemic Pinnacles.”

This is the day that my eyes will be opened. Pinnacles , it is explained to me over translucent cantaloupe, have sailed with Royal Caribbean for 700 ungodly nights. Pandemic Pinnacles took advantage of the two-for-one accrual rate of Pinnacle points during the pandemic, when sailing on a cruise ship was even more ill-advised, to catapult themselves into Pinnacle status.

Because of the importance of the inaugural voyage of the world’s largest cruise liner, more than 200 Pinnacles are on this ship, a startling number, it seems. Mrs. Palo Alto takes out a golden badge that I have seen affixed over many a breast, which reads CROWN AND ANCHOR SOCIETY along with her name. This is the coveted badge of the Pinnacle. “You should hear all the whining in Guest Services,” her husband tells me. Apparently, the Pinnacles who are not also Suites like us are all trying to use their status to get into Coastal Kitchen, our elite restaurant. Even a Pinnacle needs to be a Suite to access this level of corned-beef hash.

“We’re just baby Pinnacles,” Mrs. Palo Alto tells me, describing a kind of internal class struggle among the Pinnacle elite for ever higher status.

And now I understand what the maître d’ was saying to me on the first day of my cruise. He wasn’t saying “ pendejo .” He was saying “Pinnacle.” The dining room was for Pinnacles only, all those older people rolling in like the tide on their motorized scooters.

And now I understand something else: This whole thing is a cult. And like most cults, it can’t help but mirror the endless American fight for status. Like Keith Raniere’s NXIVM, where different-colored sashes were given out to connote rank among Raniere’s branded acolytes, this is an endless competition among Pinnacles, Suites, Diamond-Plusers, and facing-the-mall, no-balcony purple SeaPass Card peasants, not to mention the many distinctions within each category. The more you cruise, the higher your status. No wonder a section of the Royal Promenade is devoted to getting passengers to book their next cruise during the one they should be enjoying now. No wonder desperate Royal Caribbean offers (“FINAL HOURS”) crowded my email account weeks before I set sail. No wonder the ship’s jewelry store, the Royal Bling, is selling a $100,000 golden chalice that will entitle its owner to drink free on Royal Caribbean cruises for life. (One passenger was already gaming out whether her 28-year-old son was young enough to “just about earn out” on the chalice or if that ship had sailed.) No wonder this ship was sold out months before departure , and we had to pay $19,000 for a horrid suite away from the Suite Neighborhood. No wonder the most mythical hero of Royal Caribbean lore is someone named Super Mario, who has cruised so often, he now has his own working desk on many ships. This whole experience is part cult, part nautical pyramid scheme.

From the June 2014 issue: Ship of wonks

“The toilets are amazing,” the Palo Altos are telling me. “One flush and you’re done.” “They don’t understand how energy-efficient these ships are,” the husband of the other couple is telling me. “They got the LNG”—liquefied natural gas, which is supposed to make the Icon a boon to the environment (a concept widely disputed and sometimes ridiculed by environmentalists).

But I’m thinking along a different line of attack as I spear my last pallid slice of melon. For my streaming limited series, a Pinnacle would have to get killed by either an outright peasant or a Suite without an ocean view. I tell my breakfast companions my idea.

“Oh, for sure a Pinnacle would have to be killed,” Mr. Palo Alto, the Pandemic Pinnacle, says, touching his porn mustache thoughtfully as his wife nods.

“THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S your time, buddy!” Hubert, my fun-loving Panamanian cabin attendant, shouts as I step out of my suite in a robe. “Take it easy, buddy!”

I have come up with a new dressing strategy. Instead of trying to impress with my choice of T-shirts, I have decided to start wearing a robe, as one does at a resort property on land, with a proper spa and hammam. The response among my fellow cruisers has been ecstatic. “Look at you in the robe!” Mr. Rand cries out as we pass each other by the Thrill Island aqua park. “You’re living the cruise life! You know, you really drank me under the table that night.” I laugh as we part ways, but my soul cries out, Please spend more time with me, Mr. and Mrs. Rand; I so need the company .

In my white robe, I am a stately presence, a refugee from a better limited series, a one-man crossover episode. (Only Suites are granted these robes to begin with.) Today, I will try many of the activities these ships have on offer to provide their clientele with a sense of never-ceasing motion. Because I am already at Thrill Island, I decide to climb the staircase to what looks like a mast on an old-fashioned ship (terrified, because I am afraid of heights) to try a ride called “Storm Chasers,” which is part of the “Category 6” water park, named in honor of one of the storms that may someday do away with the Port of Miami entirely. Storm Chasers consists of falling from the “mast” down a long, twisting neon tube filled with water, like being the camera inside your own colonoscopy, as you hold on to the handles of a mat, hoping not to die. The tube then flops you down headfirst into a trough of water, a Royal Caribbean baptism. It both knocks my breath out and makes me sad.

In keeping with the aquatic theme, I attend a show at the AquaDome. To the sound of “Live and Let Die,” a man in a harness gyrates to and fro in the sultry air. I saw something very similar in the back rooms of the famed Berghain club in early-aughts Berlin. Soon another harnessed man is gyrating next to the first. Ja , I think to myself, I know how this ends. Now will come the fisting , natürlich . But the show soon devolves into the usual Marvel-film-grade nonsense, with too much light and sound signifying nichts . If any fisting is happening, it is probably in the Suite Neighborhood, inside a cabin marked with an upside-down pineapple, which I understand means a couple are ready to swing, and I will see none of it.

I go to the ice show, which is a kind of homage—if that’s possible—to the periodic table, done with the style and pomp and masterful precision that would please the likes of Kim Jong Un, if only he could afford Royal Caribbean talent. At one point, the dancers skate to the theme song of Succession . “See that!” I want to say to my fellow Suites—at “cultural” events, we have a special section reserved for us away from the commoners—“ Succession ! It’s even better than the zombie show! Open your minds!”

Finally, I visit a comedy revue in an enormous and too brightly lit version of an “intimate,” per Royal Caribbean literature, “Manhattan comedy club.” Many of the jokes are about the cruising life. “I’ve lived on ships for 20 years,” one of the middle-aged comedians says. “I can only see so many Filipino homosexuals dressed as a taco.” He pauses while the audience laughs. “I am so fired tonight,” he says. He segues into a Trump impression and then Biden falling asleep at the microphone, which gets the most laughs. “Anyone here from Fort Leonard Wood?” another comedian asks. Half the crowd seems to cheer. As I fall asleep that night, I realize another connection I have failed to make, and one that may explain some of the diversity on this vessel—many of its passengers have served in the military.

As a coddled passenger with a suite, I feel like I am starting to understand what it means to have a rank and be constantly reminded of it. There are many espresso makers , I think as I look across the expanse of my officer-grade quarters before closing my eyes, but this one is mine .

A shocking sight greets me beyond the pools of Deck 17 as I saunter over to the Coastal Kitchen for my morning intake of slightly sour Americanos. A tiny city beneath a series of perfectly pressed green mountains. Land! We have docked for a brief respite in Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts and Nevis. I wolf down my egg scramble to be one of the first passengers off the ship. Once past the gangway, I barely refrain from kissing the ground. I rush into the sights and sounds of this scruffy island city, sampling incredible conch curry and buckets of non-Starbucks coffee. How wonderful it is to be where God intended humans to be: on land. After all, I am neither a fish nor a mall rat. This is my natural environment. Basseterre may not be Havana, but there are signs of human ingenuity and desire everywhere you look. The Black Table Grill Has been Relocated to Soho Village, Market Street, Directly Behind of, Gary’s Fruits and Flower Shop. Signed. THE PORK MAN reads a sign stuck to a wall. Now, that is how you write a sign. A real sign, not the come-ons for overpriced Rolexes that blink across the screens of the Royal Promenade.

“Hey, tie your shoestring!” a pair of laughing ladies shout to me across the street.

“Thank you!” I shout back. Shoestring! “Thank you very much.”

A man in Independence Square Park comes by and asks if I want to play with his monkey. I haven’t heard that pickup line since the Penn Station of the 1980s. But then he pulls a real monkey out of a bag. The monkey is wearing a diaper and looks insane. Wonderful , I think, just wonderful! There is so much life here. I email my editor asking if I can remain on St. Kitts and allow the Icon to sail off into the horizon without me. I have even priced a flight home at less than $300, and I have enough material from the first four days on the cruise to write the entire story. “It would be funny …” my editor replies. “Now get on the boat.”

As I slink back to the ship after my brief jailbreak, the locals stand under umbrellas to gaze at and photograph the boat that towers over their small capital city. The limousines of the prime minister and his lackeys are parked beside the gangway. St. Kitts, I’ve been told, is one of the few islands that would allow a ship of this size to dock.

“We hear about all the waterslides,” a sweet young server in one of the cafés told me. “We wish we could go on the ship, but we have to work.”

“I want to stay on your island,” I replied. “I love it here.”

But she didn’t understand how I could possibly mean that.

“WASHY, WASHY, so you don’t get stinky, stinky!” kids are singing outside the AquaDome, while their adult minders look on in disapproval, perhaps worried that Mr. Washy Washy is grooming them into a life of gayness. I heard a southern couple skip the buffet entirely out of fear of Mr. Washy Washy.

Meanwhile, I have found a new watering hole for myself, the Swim & Tonic, the biggest swim-up bar on any cruise ship in the world. Drinking next to full-size, nearly naked Americans takes away one’s own self-consciousness. The men have curvaceous mom bodies. The women are equally un-shy about their sprawling physiques.

Today I’ve befriended a bald man with many children who tells me that all of the little trinkets that Royal Caribbean has left us in our staterooms and suites are worth a fortune on eBay. “Eighty dollars for the water bottle, 60 for the lanyard,” the man says. “This is a cult.”

“Tell me about it,” I say. There is, however, a clientele for whom this cruise makes perfect sense. For a large middle-class family (he works in “supply chains”), seven days in a lower-tier cabin—which starts at $1,800 a person—allow the parents to drop off their children in Surfside, where I imagine many young Filipina crew members will take care of them, while the parents are free to get drunk at a swim-up bar and maybe even get intimate in their cabin. Cruise ships have become, for a certain kind of hardworking family, a form of subsidized child care.

There is another man I would like to befriend at the Swim & Tonic, a tall, bald fellow who is perpetually inebriated and who wears a necklace studded with little rubber duckies in sunglasses, which, I am told, is a sort of secret handshake for cruise aficionados. Tomorrow, I will spend more time with him, but first the ship docks at St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Charlotte Amalie, the capital, is more charming in name than in presence, but I still all but jump off the ship to score a juicy oxtail and plantains at the well-known Petite Pump Room, overlooking the harbor. From one of the highest points in the small city, the Icon of the Seas appears bigger than the surrounding hills.

I usually tan very evenly, but something about the discombobulation of life at sea makes me forget the regular application of sunscreen. As I walk down the streets of Charlotte Amalie in my fluorescent Icon of the Seas cap, an old Rastafarian stares me down. “Redneck,” he hisses.

“No,” I want to tell him, as I bring a hand up to my red neck, “that’s not who I am at all. On my island, Mannahatta, as Whitman would have it, I am an interesting person living within an engaging artistic milieu. I do not wish to use the Caribbean as a dumping ground for the cruise-ship industry. I love the work of Derek Walcott. You don’t understand. I am not a redneck. And if I am, they did this to me.” They meaning Royal Caribbean? Its passengers? The Rands?

“They did this to me!”

Back on the Icon, some older matrons are muttering about a run-in with passengers from the Celebrity cruise ship docked next to us, the Celebrity Apex. Although Celebrity Cruises is also owned by Royal Caribbean, I am made to understand that there is a deep fratricidal beef between passengers of the two lines. “We met a woman from the Apex,” one matron says, “and she says it was a small ship and there was nothing to do. Her face was as tight as a 19-year-old’s, she had so much surgery.” With those words, and beneath a cloudy sky, humidity shrouding our weathered faces and red necks, we set sail once again, hopefully in the direction of home.

THERE ARE BARELY 48 HOURS LEFT to the cruise, and the Icon of the Seas’ passengers are salty. They know how to work the elevators. They know the Washy Washy song by heart. They understand that the chicken gyro at “Feta Mediterranean,” in the AquaDome Market, is the least problematic form of chicken on the ship.

The passengers have shed their INAUGURAL CRUISE T-shirts and are now starting to evince political opinions. There are caps pledging to make America great again and T-shirts that celebrate words sometimes attributed to Patrick Henry: “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.” With their preponderance of FAMILY FLAG FAITH FRIENDS FIREARMS T-shirts, the tables by the crepe station sometimes resemble the Capitol Rotunda on January 6. The Real Anthony Fauci , by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appears to be a popular form of literature, especially among young men with very complicated versions of the American flag on their T-shirts. Other opinions blend the personal and the political. “Someone needs to kill Washy guy, right?” a well-dressed man in the elevator tells me, his gray eyes radiating nothing. “Just beat him to death. Am I right?” I overhear the male member of a young couple whisper, “There goes that freak” as I saunter by in my white spa robe, and I decide to retire it for the rest of the cruise.

I visit the Royal Bling to see up close the $100,000 golden chalice that entitles you to free drinks on Royal Caribbean forever. The pleasant Serbian saleslady explains that the chalice is actually gold-plated and covered in white zirconia instead of diamonds, as it would otherwise cost $1 million. “If you already have everything,” she explains, “this is one more thing you can get.”

I believe that anyone who works for Royal Caribbean should be entitled to immediate American citizenship. They already speak English better than most of the passengers and, per the Serbian lady’s sales pitch above, better understand what America is as well. Crew members like my Panamanian cabin attendant seem to work 24 hours a day. A waiter from New Delhi tells me that his contract is six months and three weeks long. After a cruise ends, he says, “in a few hours, we start again for the next cruise.” At the end of the half a year at sea, he is allowed a two-to-three-month stay at home with his family. As of 2019, the median income for crew members was somewhere in the vicinity of $20,000, according to a major business publication. Royal Caribbean would not share the current median salary for its crew members, but I am certain that it amounts to a fraction of the cost of a Royal Bling gold-plated, zirconia-studded chalice.

And because most of the Icon’s hyper-sanitized spaces are just a frittata away from being a Delta lounge, one forgets that there are actual sailors on this ship, charged with the herculean task of docking it in port. “Having driven 100,000-ton aircraft carriers throughout my career,” retired Admiral James G. Stavridis, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, writes to me, “I’m not sure I would even know where to begin with trying to control a sea monster like this one nearly three times the size.” (I first met Stavridis while touring Army bases in Germany more than a decade ago.)

Today, I decide to head to the hot tub near Swim & Tonic, where some of the ship’s drunkest reprobates seem to gather (the other tubs are filled with families and couples). The talk here, like everywhere else on the ship, concerns football, a sport about which I know nothing. It is apparent that four teams have recently competed in some kind of finals for the year, and that two of them will now face off in the championship. Often when people on the Icon speak, I will try to repeat the last thing they said with a laugh or a nod of disbelief. “Yes, 20-yard line! Ha!” “Oh my God, of course, scrimmage.”

Soon we are joined in the hot tub by the late-middle-age drunk guy with the duck necklace. He is wearing a bucket hat with the legend HAWKEYES , which, I soon gather, is yet another football team. “All right, who turned me in?” Duck Necklace says as he plops into the tub beside us. “I get a call in the morning,” he says. “It’s security. Can you come down to the dining room by 10 a.m.? You need to stay away from the members of this religious family.” Apparently, the gregarious Duck Necklace had photobombed the wrong people. There are several families who present as evangelical Christians or practicing Muslims on the ship. One man, evidently, was not happy that Duck Necklace had made contact with his relatives. “It’s because of religious stuff; he was offended. I put my arm around 20 people a day.”

Everyone laughs. “They asked me three times if I needed medication,” he says of the security people who apparently interrogated him in full view of others having breakfast.

Another hot-tub denizen suggests that he should have asked for fentanyl. After a few more drinks, Duck Necklace begins to muse about what it would be like to fall off the ship. “I’m 62 and I’m ready to go,” he says. “I just don’t want a shark to eat me. I’m a huge God guy. I’m a Bible guy. There’s some Mayan theory squaring science stuff with religion. There is so much more to life on Earth.” We all nod into our Red Stripes.

“I never get off the ship when we dock,” he says. He tells us he lost $6,000 in the casino the other day. Later, I look him up, and it appears that on land, he’s a financial adviser in a crisp gray suit, probably a pillar of his North Chicago community.

THE OCEAN IS TEEMING with fascinating life, but on the surface it has little to teach us. The waves come and go. The horizon remains ever far away.

I am constantly told by my fellow passengers that “everybody here has a story.” Yes, I want to reply, but everybody everywhere has a story. You, the reader of this essay, have a story, and yet you’re not inclined to jump on a cruise ship and, like Duck Necklace, tell your story to others at great pitch and volume. Maybe what they’re saying is that everybody on this ship wants to have a bigger, more coherent, more interesting story than the one they’ve been given. Maybe that’s why there’s so much signage on the doors around me attesting to marriages spent on the sea. Maybe that’s why the Royal Caribbean newsletter slipped under my door tells me that “this isn’t a vacation day spent—it’s bragging rights earned.” Maybe that’s why I’m so lonely.

Today is a big day for Icon passengers. Today the ship docks at Royal Caribbean’s own Bahamian island, the Perfect Day at CocoCay. (This appears to be the actual name of the island.) A comedian at the nightclub opined on what his perfect day at CocoCay would look like—receiving oral sex while learning that his ex-wife had been killed in a car crash (big laughter). But the reality of the island is far less humorous than that.

One of the ethnic tristate ladies in the infinity pool told me that she loved CocoCay because it had exactly the same things that could be found on the ship itself. This proves to be correct. It is like the Icon, but with sand. The same tired burgers, the same colorful tubes conveying children and water from Point A to B. The same swim-up bar at its Hideaway ($140 for admittance, no children allowed; Royal Caribbean must be printing money off its clientele). “There was almost a fight at The Wizard of Oz ,” I overhear an elderly woman tell her companion on a chaise lounge. Apparently one of the passengers began recording Royal Caribbean’s intellectual property and “three guys came after him.”

I walk down a pathway to the center of the island, where a sign reads DO NOT ENTER: YOU HAVE REACHED THE BOUNDARY OF ADVENTURE . I hear an animal scampering in the bushes. A Royal Caribbean worker in an enormous golf cart soon chases me down and takes me back to the Hideaway, where I run into Mrs. Rand in a bikini. She becomes livid telling me about an altercation she had the other day with a woman over a towel and a deck chair. We Suites have special towel privileges; we do not have to hand over our SeaPass Card to score a towel. But the Rands are not Suites. “People are so entitled here,” Mrs. Rand says. “It’s like the airport with all its classes.” “You see,” I want to say, “this is where your husband’s love of Ayn Rand runs into the cruelties and arbitrary indignities of unbridled capitalism.” Instead we make plans to meet for a final drink in the Schooner Bar tonight (the Rands will stand me up).

Back on the ship, I try to do laps, but the pool (the largest on any cruise ship, naturally) is fully trashed with the detritus of American life: candy wrappers, a slowly dissolving tortilla chip, napkins. I take an extra-long shower in my suite, then walk around the perimeter of the ship on a kind of exercise track, past all the alluring lifeboats in their yellow-and-white livery. Maybe there is a dystopian angle to the HBO series that I will surely end up pitching, one with shades of WALL-E or Snowpiercer . In a collapsed world, a Royal Caribbean–like cruise liner sails from port to port, collecting new shipmates and supplies in exchange for the precious energy it has on board. (The actual Icon features a new technology that converts passengers’ poop into enough energy to power the waterslides . In the series, this shitty technology would be greatly expanded.) A very young woman (18? 19?), smart and lonely, who has only known life on the ship, walks along the same track as I do now, contemplating jumping off into the surf left by its wake. I picture reusing Duck Necklace’s words in the opening shot of the pilot. The girl is walking around the track, her eyes on the horizon; maybe she’s highborn—a Suite—and we hear the voice-over: “I’m 19 and I’m ready to go. I just don’t want a shark to eat me.”

Before the cruise is finished, I talk to Mr. Washy Washy, or Nielbert of the Philippines. He is a sweet, gentle man, and I thank him for the earworm of a song he has given me and for keeping us safe from the dreaded norovirus. “This is very important to me, getting people to wash their hands,” he tells me in his burger getup. He has dreams, as an artist and a performer, but they are limited in scope. One day he wants to dress up as a piece of bacon for the morning shift.

THE MAIDEN VOYAGE OF THE TITANIC (the Icon of the Seas is five times as large as that doomed vessel) at least offered its passengers an exciting ending to their cruise, but when I wake up on the eighth day, all I see are the gray ghosts that populate Miami’s condo skyline. Throughout my voyage, my writer friends wrote in to commiserate with me. Sloane Crosley, who once covered a three-day spa mini-cruise for Vogue , tells me she felt “so very alone … I found it very untethering.” Gideon Lewis-Kraus writes in an Instagram comment: “When Gary is done I think it’s time this genre was taken out back and shot.” And he is right. To badly paraphrase Adorno: After this, no more cruise stories. It is unfair to put a thinking person on a cruise ship. Writers typically have difficult childhoods, and it is cruel to remind them of the inherent loneliness that drove them to writing in the first place. It is also unseemly to write about the kind of people who go on cruises. Our country does not provide the education and upbringing that allow its citizens an interior life. For the creative class to point fingers at the large, breasty gentlemen adrift in tortilla-chip-laden pools of water is to gather a sour harvest of low-hanging fruit.

A day or two before I got off the ship, I decided to make use of my balcony, which I had avoided because I thought the view would only depress me further. What I found shocked me. My suite did not look out on Central Park after all. This entire time, I had been living in the ship’s Disneyland, Surfside, the neighborhood full of screaming toddlers consuming milkshakes and candy. And as I leaned out over my balcony, I beheld a slight vista of the sea and surf that I thought I had been missing. It had been there all along. The sea was frothy and infinite and blue-green beneath the span of a seagull’s wing. And though it had been trod hard by the world’s largest cruise ship, it remained.

This article appears in the May 2024 print edition with the headline “A Meatball at Sea.” When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.

Icon of the Seas: Exploring private islands, swim up bars and Broadway shows on Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship

T wo years ago I sailed on my first cruise, Wonder of the Seas , and was somewhat stunned to have had one of the best travel experiences I'd ever had in my life. 

I had once wrongly assumed that cruising was a luxury strictly reserved for the senior generation and families with young children. As someone in my twenties without kids, what exactly was there for me to do? 

When an invitation to sail on Wonder's big sister, Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas , landed in my inbox at the start of this year, I've never been so quick to say "yes". 

Having now experienced the magic of Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class ships for a second time, let me unveil exactly why cruising should be on your travel bucket list, regardless of your age.

MORE CRUISE INSPIRATION

I spent a week cruising the caribbean with my sister – here's why i'm a convert, why this exclusive bahamas waterpark should be top of your bucket list – plus tips for first-time cruisers, royal caribbean's wonder of the seas is the ultimate way to visit a-list destinations with ease, first impressions of icon of the seas.

If a dose of grandeur is what you're after, you'd be hard pressed to find something more impressive than Icon of the Seas. 

The ship is a total spectacle from the moment you step on board and into Icon's Royal Promenade, where you're met by The Pearl - a staggering art installation that leads guests up an illuminated staircase and out onto a breathtaking sea view. At sunset, this spot becomes a candy-pink orb framing a backdrop of orange-hued skies, ticking all the boxes for an aesthetic Instagram snap. 

Each deck is separated into eight neighbourhoods; the Aqua Dome, Chill Island, Thrill Island, The Hideaway, Surfside, the Royal Promenade, Central Park, and the exclusive Suite Neighbourhood reserved strictly for suite guests.

With so many corners of the ship boasting wildly different vibes, from the buzzy Promenade to the luxe adults-only Hideaway and the oasis of calm in Central Park, the ship is a realm of infinite discovery. 

Considering Icon's capacity for 7,500 passengers I thought I would struggle to find peace on the ship, but there’s a palpable sense of calm about the space, with plenty of decks for families and adrenaline seekers to have fun while leaving chill holidaymakers undisturbed. 

Royal Caribbean's staff contribute massively to the sense of calm, aided by their approachable nature, openness to chat with each and every guest and unmatched efficiency. Fittingly, Royal Caribbean refer to their excellent service as 'the Royal way', and it's easy to see why experienced cruisers are always keen to return to Royal's Oasis Class ships.

No day is the same on board

Icon of the Seas was created with one goal in mind, to become the "world's best family vacation".

Royal Caribbean have seriously dialled up the thrills on Icon of the Seas, starting with the debut of Thrill Island, an adrenaline-amping six-slide waterpark located on Deck 16. Not only is the attraction the largest waterpark at sea, but it features some electrifying slides that could easily compete with some of the theme parks I've been to on land.

Despite picturing myself sticking to the adults-only areas, whizzing down the flumes and braving the epic pressure drop slide quickly became our favourite pre-lunch ritual on days at sea. Shortly after our daily dose of dopamine at the waterpark, we'd stroll over to Hideaway Bay for some much-needed chillout time. 

Floating in mid-air eight stories up, the Hideaway infinity pool at sea brought beach club vibes to the back of the ship in the form of an adults-only paradise. Sipping on a frozen pina colada while a DJ spun soulful tracks and the orange sun dunked into the sea was a next level of luxury I would have never expected from a 'family friendly' cruise.

Travel Tip:  On port days the ship is near empty, meaning you can enjoy attractions, pools, jaccuzzis and swim up bars and feel like you're the only one there. 

Icon has over 40 drinking and dining options

It's worth noting that Royal Caribbean ships are a total haven for culinary aficionados and cocktail enthusiasts. Each and every eatery offers a totally unique menu, with almost every cuisine imaginable on offer somewhere on the ship. 

There are over 40 different drinking and dining options available on board, spanning from a walk-up Champagne bar in Central Park to a post-swim hot dog stand in Surfside. 

While there are excellent options available in all of the ship's included restaurants, you'll need to book one of Icon's speciality dining options for anything particularly spectacular. 

A highlight of our trip was dining at Izumi, a Japanese restaurant serving up izakaya-style starters and fiery sushi bites. Considering you're cruising in the Caribbean, it would be criminal to miss the frozen Piña Coladas too.

The entertainment is unmatched

One thing I love about Royal Caribbean’s ships is how much performing arts has become the beating heart of the brand. Be it a jazz singer serenading your candlelit dinner, dancers taking over the Royal Promenade for a midnight flash mob, or a full Broadway-worthy production in the Royal Theatre, there is never a moment when the atmosphere on board isn’t electric. 

A curtain-raising production of The Wizard of Oz is currently dazzling audiences on Icon of the Seas, and Nick Weir's modernised adaptation would easily sell out audiences in London’s West End.

Aerials, acrobats and nail-biting 60ft dives into plunge pools left audiences in the Aqua Dome totally mesmerised - myself included. Aqua Action, Royal's aquatics show really was unlike anything I had seen before, with the talented ex-Olympian cast performing tricks worthy of Cirque du Soleil 's stage.

MSC Cruises will sail record number of ships from US in 2025

• MSC Cruises will sail a record seven ships from the U.S. during its winter 2025-2026 season.
• The vessels will operate from four homeports, including its newest in Galveston, Texas.
• The cruises, which are open for booking, will range from three to 11 nights.

MSC Cruises will expand its U.S. presence in a big way next year.

The cruise line will sail a record seven ships from the U.S. during its winter 2025-2026 season. The vessels will operate from four homeports, including its newest in Galveston, Texas .

“We are delighted to provide our guests more choices than ever before when it comes to embarkation ports, ships, itineraries and destinations, making it easy to find the perfect cruise,” MSC Cruises USA president Rubén A. Rodríguez said in a news release . 

The ships will include MSC Grandiosa, the line’s first Meraviglia-Plus Class ship to sail in the U.S. and the forthcoming MSC World America , tailored to the North American market.

The line has been rapidly growing its stateside presence in recent years.

“Combining world-class entertainment, dining and amenities onboard with the fantastic updates coming to Ocean Cay makes for an incredibly exciting future, which is perfect for everyone from first-time cruisers to our most devoted fans,” Rodríguez added.

Cruise booking tips: There's more to it than picking your travel dates

Where will MSC’s ships sail?

The cruises, which are open for booking, will range from three to 11 nights:

• MSC Seashore will sail three and four-night cruises to the Bahamas from Florida’s Port Canaveral.
• MSC Seaside will sail three and four-night sailings to the Bahamas, and seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Miami.
• MSC World America will offer seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises, also from Miami.
• MSC Grandiosa will sail seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Port Canaveral.
• MSC Meraviglia will operate seven-night cruises to Florida and the Bahamas from New York.
• MSC Seascape will offer seven-night Western Caribbean itineraries from Galveston.
• MSC Divina will sail seven, 10 and 11-night Caribbean cruises from Miami.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].

The Key Points at the top of this article were created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and reviewed by a journalist before publication. No other parts of the article were generated using AI. Learn more .

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Nvidia, Powered by A.I. Boom, Reports Soaring Revenue and Profits

The Silicon Valley company was again lifted by sales of its artificial intelligence chips, but it faces growing competition and heightened expectations.

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By Don Clark

Reporting from San Francisco

Nvidia, which makes microchips that power most artificial intelligence applications, began an extraordinary run a year ago.

Fueled by an explosion of interest in A.I., the Silicon Valley company said last May that it expected its chip sales to go through the roof. They did — and the fervor didn’t stop, with Nvidia raising its revenue projections every few months. Its stock soared, driving the company to a more than $2 trillion market capitalization that makes it more valuable than Alphabet, the parent of Google.

On Wednesday, Nvidia again reported soaring revenue and profits that underscored how it remains a dominant winner of the A.I. boom, even as it grapples with outsize expectations and rising competition.

Revenue was $26 billion for the three months that ended in April, surpassing its $24 billion estimate in February and tripling sales from a year earlier for the third consecutive quarter. Net income surged sevenfold to $5.98 billion.

Nvidia also projected revenue of $28 billion for the current quarter, which ends in July, more than double the amount from a year ago and higher than Wall Street estimates.

“We are fundamentally changing how computing works and what computers can do,” Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, said in a conference call with analysts. “The next industrial revolution has begun.”

Nvidia’s shares, which are up more than 90 percent this year, rose in after-hours trading after the results were released. The company also announced a 10-for-1 stock split.

Nvidia, which originally sold chips for rendering images in video games, has benefited after making an early, costly bet on adapting its graphics processing units, or GPUs, to take on other computing tasks. When A.I. researchers began using those chips more than a decade ago to accelerate tasks like recognizing objects in photos, Mr. Huang jumped on the opportunity. He augmented Nvidia’s chips for A.I. tasks and developed software to aid developments in the field.

The company’s flagship processor, the H100, has enjoyed feverish demand to power A.I. chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. While most high-end standard processors cost a few thousand dollars, H100s have sold for anywhere from $15,000 to $40,000 each, depending on volume and other factors, analysts said.

Colette Kress, Nvidia’s chief financial officer, said on Wednesday that it had worked in recent months with more than 100 customers that were building new data centers — which Mr. Huang calls A.I. factories — ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of GPUs, with some reaching 100,000. Tesla, for example, is using 35,000 H100 chips to help train models for autonomous driving, she said.

Nvidia will soon begin to ship a powerful successor to the H100, code-named Blackwell, which was announced in March. Demand for the new chips already appears to be strong, raising the possibility that some customers may wait for the speedier models rather than buy the H100. But there was little sign of such a pause in Nvidia’s latest results.

Ms. Kress said demand for Blackwell was well ahead of supply of the chip, and “we expect demand may exceed supply well into next year.” Mr. Huang added that the new chips should be operating in data centers late this year and that “we will see a lot of Blackwell revenue this year.”

The comments may ease fears of a slowdown in Nvidia’s momentum.

“Lingering concerns investors had in the short term regarding an ‘air bubble’ for GPU demand seem to have vanished,” Lucas Keh, an analyst at the research firm Third Bridge, said in an email.

Wall Street analysts are also looking for signs that some richly funded rivals could grab a noticeable share of Nvidia’s business. Microsoft, Meta, Google and Amazon have all developed their own chips that can be tailored for A.I. jobs, though they have also said they are boosting purchases of Nvidia chips.

Traditional rivals such as Advanced Micro Devices and Intel have also made optimistic predictions about their A.I. chips. AMD has said it expects to sell $4 billion worth of a new A.I. processor, the MI300, this year.

Mr. Huang frequently points to what he has said is a sustainable advantage: Only Nvidia’s GPUs are offered by all the major cloud services, such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, so customers don’t have to worry about getting locked into using one of the services because of its exclusive chip technology.

Nvidia also remains popular among computer makers that have long used its chips in their systems. One is Dell Technologies, which on Monday hosted a Las Vegas event that featured an appearance by Mr. Huang.

Michael Dell, Dell’s chief executive and founder, said his company would offer new data center systems that packed 72 of the new Blackwell chips in a computer rack, standard structures that stand a bit taller than a refrigerator.

“Don’t seduce me with talk like that,” Mr. Huang joked. “That gets me superexcited.”

Explore Our Coverage of Artificial Intelligence

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Elon Musk’s A.I. company, xAI, said that it had raised $6 billion , helping to close the funding gap with OpenAI, Anthropic and other rivals.

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D’Youville University in Buffalo had an A.I. robot speak at its commencement . Not everyone was happy about it.

A new program, backed by Cornell Tech, M.I.T. and U.C.L.A., helps prepare lower-income, Latina and Black female computing majors  for A.I. careers.