As Atlas Ocean Voyages moves vessels out of its fleet, the new expedition line is exploring options for a new ship class that's bigger, "but not too big," said CEO James Rodriguez.
"We don't want to go crazy. We've hit a certain niche in this industry with smaller yacht-style cruising, so we don't want to move out of that niche for us," Rodriguez said.
The luxury expedition line currently sails three ships that each carry less than 200 passengers to the poles as well as what it calls "epicurean expeditions" in Europe and "cultural expeditions" in destinations like the Caribbean, South America and Northern Europe. It plans to reveal its future ship ambitions late in the second quarter, a spokesman said.
Atlas has made several ship decisions lately. It recently shed from the fleet its newest vessel, the World Seeker, while it was still under construction. With an abundance of capacity, the line sold the Seeker to Windstar Cruises, which will rename it the Star Seeker and launch it later this year.
In another move that reduced capacity, the line will charter its World Voyager to Quark Expeditions for three Antarctica seasons from late 2026 to March 2029. Quark currently charters the World Explorer from Atlas' parent company, Mystic, which will sell and transfer that ship to Windstar at the end of 2026.
The ship shuffle comes as a result of Mystic delivering new ships to the Atlas brand during the pandemic, before the new luxe line had built up demand, Rodriguez said. Atlas launched in 2021 and took possession of one new ship a year from 2020 to 2022. The sales and long-term charter will leave Atlas with two ships sailing expeditions during the Antarctica season come late 2026.
The Seeker's sale and the Voyager's long-term charter to Quark are part of a strategic growth strategy that includes leaning into its charter business. Atlas reached record-setting charter sales for 2025, the line said. The line's small ships are a "perfect" size for affinity groups and incentive programs, Rodriguez said.
Navigating rough waters
Although Atlas Ocean Voyages now has many fans in the trade, it had difficulty breaking into the expedition cruise market during the pandemic.
The luxe line struggled with demand and had to offer low prices to convince travelers and advisors to take a chance on a line they had never heard of, Rodriguez said.
Now, nearly four years later, Atlas' cruises sell at a higher price point. The young line also entered 2025 more than 70% sold, with its Mediterranean voyages 85% booked and charter business going strong, he said.
"We're right where we need to be," Rodriguez said. "New brands always have to prove themselves, and we've been doing a very good job of actually doing that."
Tribulations for the line are not over, though. The brand endured some negative reviews this season for missing landings in Antarctica due to weather while guests reportedly could see other ships making landings.
Rodriguez acknowledged that and said it stemmed from trouble with an ambitious itinerary that included visiting the Falkland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. He said Atlas made some adjustments, either reducing the scope of certain trips in the region or adding more days to similar itineraries. A spokesman said the line is negotiating with affected guests to make the situation right.
"We do contend with weather down there. There are times we miss landings, or sometimes they're just Zodiac cruises. But for the most part people understand that, because of this area of the world," Rodriguez said.
But agency owner Eric Bell of We Can Go in Corpus Christi, Texas, said that not all people understand. He had about 20 clients considering an Atlas cruise at the time, and about half changed their plans after hearing of the missed landings.
Beyond the poles
While Bell does up to $1 million a year in business with Atlas, and clients give him glowing reviews, less than 20% of them book a second Atlas cruise. The reason, he said, is simple.
"People associate [Atlas] with Antarctica and nothing more," Bell said, noting clients typically only visit that continent once.
Kurt Crowl, owner of Travel Leaders Palm Beach, Fla., sells a lot of Atlas, but he, too, struggles to sell their cruises outside of Antarctica.
Crowl said Atlas' lack of name recognition hurts the brand in places like Europe, where there are more and larger luxury lines for clients to choose from.
He said he suspects the smaller size of the Atlas ships may also be a factor. The vessels may be good in Antarctica where passengers are entertained by excursions and wildlife sightings, but guests traveling in Europe want more dining and entertainment options like they would find on bigger luxury line ships, he said.
"Our challenge is getting people to try it outside of Antarctica. And even with Antarctica, sometimes it's hard because people just don't know the brand," Crowl said. "I don't know what they can do to up their game across the world, but I do feel like I would sell them every day for Antarctica without any hesitation."
Rodriguez said Atlas' longer port stays in the Med enable guests to sample local cuisine and entertainment, emphasizing those "authentic cultural encounters."
He encourages advisors to continue to share clients' feedback with the line. "Together, we can highlight the benefits of cruising [in Europe] and position ourselves effectively" in the market, Rodriguez said.