Viking recently announced new Viking Expedition Voyages for 2022, giving intrepid travelers the opportunity to travel to the “far reaches of the Earth.” The first expedition vessel, Viking Octantis, embarks on voyages to Antarctica and through the Great Lakes in January 2022; with Viking Polaris following in August 2022, sailing to Antarctica and the Arctic. With Viking Octantis traveling through the Great Lakes, it’s the newest and most modern vessel ever to visit the shores of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario.

The voyages are designed with the help of leading scientific institutions, including the University of Cambridge’s Scott Polar Research Institute. The institute’s scientists will undertake fieldwork while aboard expedition vessels and then share their expertise with guests. Other experts will be on board from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“We invented the concept of modern river cruising when we launched in 1997; then we reinvented ocean cruises and became the ‘World’s Best Ocean Cruise Line’ in our first year of operation, as well as every year since then. Now, in creating ‘the thinking person’s expedition, we are perfecting polar expedition cruising, and we will usher in a new era of comfortable exploration in the heart of North America,” said Torstein Hagen, chairman, Viking.

“Our guests are curious explorers. They want to continue traveling with us to familiar and iconic destinations, but they would also like to travel further. We began as Viking River Cruises; then we evolved into Viking Cruises with the addition of ocean cruises; today we stand singularly as Viking, offering destination-focused voyages on more than 20 rivers, five oceans and five Great Lakes, visiting 403 ports in 95 countries and on all seven continents.”