Quark is the name in polar expedition cruising for good reason — they took the first consumer travellers to the North Pole in 1991 and have been pushing boundaries ever since. The Ultramarine is the best purpose-built polar expedition ship I have seen: twin helicopters for heli-landing excursions, 20 Zodiacs launched from an internal hangar, and cabins with heated bathroom floors that you will genuinely appreciate after a morning on Antarctic ice. If your clients want the most active, adventure-forward polar experience available, Quark is the answer.
Quark Expeditions holds a singular place in polar travel history. In 1991, the company chartered the first consumer voyage to the geographic North Pole aboard a Russian nuclear icebreaker, and over the ensuing three decades has built the most recognised brand in expedition cruising to Antarctica, the Arctic, Greenland, and Svalbard. Today, Quark operates a fleet of three ice-class vessels — the purpose-built Ultramarine, the versatile Ocean Adventurer, and the World Explorer — each designed specifically for polar operations rather than adapted from other roles.
The Ultramarine, launched in 2021, is the flagship and a genuine leap forward in expedition ship design. Purpose-built with a PC6 ice-class hull and equipped with twin Airbus H145 helicopters, she offers adventure options that no other polar vessel can match: heli-landing excursions onto remote ice fields, heli-skiing, and aerial flightseeing over glacial landscapes alongside more traditional Zodiac cruising, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, mountaineering, and cross-country skiing. An internal Zodiac hangar launches 20 inflatables simultaneously, cutting embarkation times in half and maximising time on the ice. Cabins are surprisingly spacious for an expedition ship, with heated bathroom floors and balcony suites as the most common category.
The expedition team is Quark’s greatest asset. Many guides have spent over a decade with the company, and the team includes glaciologists, marine biologists, ornithologists, and polar historians who bring genuine depth to every landing and lecture. The company’s commitment to polar stewardship is embedded in operations — from waste-to-energy conversion systems on Ultramarine to strict adherence to IAATO protocols and active support for polar research programmes. Quark frames every voyage around the idea that understanding the polar regions is inseparable from protecting them.
Itineraries range from classic 10-day Antarctic Peninsula voyages to ambitious crossings of the Antarctic Circle, Falklands and South Georgia expeditions, Svalbard circumnavigations, and Northwest Passage transits. The adventure-forward ethos attracts a younger, more active demographic than many expedition lines — guests who want to be out in Zodiacs and on ice rather than watching from a heated lounge. For anyone whose polar ambitions extend beyond simply getting there, Quark Expeditions sets the pace.
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