Ponant Explorations, which has been cheerfully venturing into places most of us prefer to admire from documentaries for more than 25 years, has opened bookings for its 2027–2028 Antarctic season. The program includes 28 voyages to the bottom of the world, a region notable for its beauty, its wildlife, and its complete indifference to human comfort. These expeditions promise immersive encounters with some of the planet’s most remote and uncompromising latitudes, where maps thin out and ice takes over.

Holland America Line has decided that winter is far too dull a season to endure without thinking about glaciers, fjords, and the gentle clink of a cocktail glass, and so it is launching Wave Season with what it calls its biggest deal of the year. The cheerfully named “Start Your Journey” promotion applies to more than 500 cruises to Alaska, Europe, and a gratifying number of places where your inbox cannot follow you. The offer includes discounts of up to 30 percent on cruise fares, free balcony upgrades, onboard and shore excursion credits, complimentary fares for children, and assorted other financial mercies designed to make travel feel both attainable and sensible—two words not often associated with vacations.

Windstar Cruises has opened bookings for 2027 on the Star Explorer (pictured above), a sleek, all-suite yacht that looks less like a ship and more like a floating boutique hotel that got tired of staying put. The second of two new vessels joining the fleet, Star Explorer will host just 224 guests — fewer people than you’d find in the average British pub on a Friday night — and will spend her days gliding gracefully through Europe’s waterways year-round.

If there’s one thing the Vikings of old loved, it was setting off into the unknown and coming back with a good story to tell. Modern Viking Cruises, to their credit, seem to have kept this tradition alive—minus the raiding and pillaging.

If the thought of winter fills you with existential dread and the sound of wind rustling through palm trees feels more like your natural habitat, then Star Clippers has just the ticket—or rather, the sail—for you. The tall-ship cruise line, known for vessels that look as if they’ve sailed straight out of a swashbuckling novel but with considerably more indoor plumbing, is offering a rather lovely winter incentive: two free hotel nights on select Caribbean voyages between November 2025 and March 2026.