Length overall
104.40 m
What is the Ocean Albatros?
The Ocean Albatros is a Sunstone Infinity-class polar expedition vessel built in 2023, the 6th of 7 hulls in the series. She measures 104.40 metres LOA × 18.40 metres beam × 5.30 metres draft, 8,181 gross tonnage, with a patented X-Bow, Polar Class 6 and Ice Class 1A ratings, 11-knot service speed (16.5 knots maximum), 94 staterooms with 182 lower berths, 101 crew, 300 SOLAS capacity, 18 Zodiacs, and approximately 50% lower carbon footprint than previous-generation expedition ships. Voyages are operated by Polar Latitudes Expeditions. Latin Trails is the General Sales Agent for the vessel and maintains oceanalbatros.com.
I have been on a number of expedition ships. Most are fine vessels doing a fine job. The Ocean Albatros is different — and I can tell you exactly why, because I have sailed her, and I have watched her handle the Drake Passage in conditions that would leave an older hull rolling hard.
Quick Specifications
The X-Bow — Why It Matters in the Drake
The Drake Passage sits between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands. Two days each way, and to be honest, it can be rough. What the Ocean Albatros does differently comes down to the hull: the patented X-Bow is an inverted bow that does not ride over a swell — it slices into the face and lets the wave geometry dissolve around the hull, cutting the pitching motion that makes traditional vessels miserable in a head-on sea.
On my last trip, we had a shake on the way in and a lake on the way out. I counted 25 wandering albatrosses on the return crossing — you count birds when the deck is steady enough to hold binoculars still. The Rolls-Royce Aquarius 100 Stabilisation At Rest (SAR) system keeps her level even at anchor. Kongsberg K-POS dynamic positioning holds her in current and wind without dropping anchor near sensitive seabed. As Polar Latitudes puts it: "highest level of stability and comfort" — and in the Drake, that is not a marketing phrase.
Sustainability Credentials
The Ocean Albatros generates approximately 50% lower carbon emissions than previous-generation expedition ships. Four Wärtsilä diesel generators feed two Ingeteam main propulsion motors, controlled electronically to match speed and fuel draw. At economical service speed — 11 knots — she burns 11.9 MT per day. On transit passages, the ship defaults to cruise speed.
Her ice rating is PC6 — Polar Class 6 under the IMO Polar Code, and Ice Class 1A under the Finnish-Swedish system. These are the highest polar ratings marketed for this vessel. Take into account that PC6 carries defined operational limits; she is not an Arctic icebreaker. She is purpose-built for the Antarctic Peninsula, and that distinction matters.
Polar Latitudes runs a "Green Initiative Program" covering ship operations, MSC-certified sustainable seafood, and the Citizen Science program that turns every voyage into a research contribution.
Public Spaces — Walking the Ship
When you come back aboard from a Zodiac landing — cold hands, wet boots, still scanning the horizon for the leopard seal that surfaced beside your Zodiac — the first room you walk through is the Otto Nordenskjold Mudroom. It is spacious, heated, with four exterior doors, named for the Swedish geologist of the 1901–03 Antarctic Expedition. This is where IAATO's biosecurity protocols happen: outer layers stripped, boots rinsed, kit hung to dry. On expedition ships where the mudroom is an afterthought, this process is a bottleneck. On the Ocean Albatros, it is not.
The two restaurants anchor the daily rhythm. The Jens Munk Restaurant runs three meals a day as the main dining room — wine and beer included with dinner, which matters by day four when the Southern Ocean has tested everyone's patience a little. The Fridtjof Nansen Restaurant operates as the bistro complement.
After landings, the Roald Amundsen Lounge Bar is where the day processes itself. Photographs get compared. Arguments start about whether that was a Weddell seal or a crabeater. The Albatros Nordic Bars offer casual drinking spaces elsewhere on the ship. Up on the open deck, the Leif Den Lykkelige Pool Deck and Bar connects to the Infinity Pool and Two Jacuzzis — all with panoramic views, which on a clear evening as the ship enters a bay are something you do not forget.
Higher up the ship, the knowledge and observation spaces follow the character of the explorers they are named for. The Knud Rasmussen Observation Lounge runs floor-to-ceiling glass — this is where morning briefings happen and where passengers station themselves on transit days to watch for wildlife. It is named for Knud Rasmussen, the Greenlandic-Danish polar explorer. The Peter Freuchen Library holds polar reference and runs on quiet hours — named for the Danish Arctic explorer and writer, who would have approved. The Vitus Bering Lecture Hall is the formal lecture space: science presentations, species ID sessions, photography coaching — two to three per at-sea day on a standard Peninsula voyage. And the Arnarulunnguaq Observation Deck gives you open outdoor forward views, best at dawn when the ship enters a bay and the light is flat and strange. It is named for the Greenlandic woman who accompanied Rasmussen on the Fifth Thule Expedition, one of the great overlooked figures in polar history.
For wellness: the Albatros Polar Spa, the Panorama Sauna — one of the features that distinguishes the Ocean Albatros from her Infinity-class sisters; oceanalbatros.com lists it as a specific differentiator from the Ocean Victory — plus the Infinity Pool and Two Jacuzzis. The Albatros Ocean Boutique covers gear top-ups and ship merchandise. The Kayak Platform launches the kayak program at water level.
Cabins
The Ocean Albatros carries 94 passenger cabins. Every stateroom has an exterior view, fridge, flat-screen TV, telephone, safe, independent temperature controls, toiletries, hairdryer, bathrobe, and USB sockets. Most cabins have private balconies.
Verified cabin categories for 2026/27: Category G Single Staterooms, Category F Triple Staterooms, Category E and D Staterooms, Category C*/C/C Superior/C XL Balcony Staterooms, Category B and A Suites (Balcony), Polar Premium Suite, and Family Suite. Earlier seasons also listed the Freydis Suite and Brynhilde Suite.
The single supplement for 2026/27 is 1.75× — an increase from 1.5× in 2025/26. That is an important fact for agents modeling solo-traveller proposals.
Expedition Equipment
18 Zodiacs. The operational backbone of every landing. On a ship with up to 182 guests, the fleet allows full rotation through shore time while meeting the IAATO 100-person-on-ground limit.
The Kayak Platform launches the kayak program at water level. Two participation levels: the Immersive Kayaking program (USD $1,195 — this is the official product name as published by the operator) or per-trip kayaking at USD $350/trip. Snowshoeing is available at USD $150/trip on terrain-appropriate itineraries. Two hydraulic platforms lower to near water level for close-up marine wildlife viewing.
The Otto Nordenskjold Mudroom doubles as the gear-and-drying center — heated, with four exterior doors. Wet gear on day three becomes a problem by day six if drying capacity is inadequate. On the Ocean Albatros, it is not.
The Expedition Team
The Ocean Albatros is operated by Polar Latitudes Expeditions, formed in 2025 from the merger of Polar Latitudes (US, founded 2012) and Albatros Expeditions (Danish, Albatros Group origins from 1986). The roster runs deep — not just in credentials, but in the kind of on-the-ground Antarctic experience that shows up when weather forces a plan-B landing at 6:00 a.m.
Verified Expedition Leaders include Claudia Roedel, Danny Edmunds, Diego Punta Fernandez, Gert van Dalen, Hannah Lawson, Maria Cashin, and Nate Small. Assistant Expedition Leaders include Anthonie Luteijn, Christiaan Luteijn, Eva Prendergast, and Lori Gross. Specialists cover ornithology, marine biology, glaciology, and photography. The Citizen Science program is coordinated by Annette Bombosch PhD. Hotel and catering operations are run by Signum Hotel Operations.
Life on Board The alarm goes before 7:00 a.m. Breakfast. Then a briefing — usually in the Vitus Bering Lecture Hall, sometimes the Knud Rasmussen Observation Lounge — where the expedition leader walks through the landing site, the species you will likely see, and the IAATO protocols for the day. Down to the Otto Nordenskjold Mudroom. Kit on. Zodiacs lowered.
Five to six hours off the boat. Run the math on a 500-passenger vessel rotating 500 people through a site that accepts 100 at a time, and you will see why ship size is not a detail. On the Ocean Albatros, you are on the ground.
Back aboard: the Roald Amundsen Lounge Bar, photographs compared, debriefs over a drink. Dinner with wine included. Then the evening lecture — Antarctic krill, how the Southern Ocean captures atmospheric carbon, or the history of the explorer whose name is on the door you just walked through. The rhythm repeats, and it works because the ship is small enough that the 18 Zodiacs, the drying operation, the catering, and the science program can all be coordinated by a team that knows every passenger's name.
Booking the Ocean Albatros
Travel agents, tour operators, and wholesalers: Latin Trails is the General Sales Agent and authorized DMC for Ocean Albatros voyages. Latin Trails handles group pricing, tour conductor policies, wholesale rates, and white-label microsites. Contact Latin Trails directly.
Direct travelers: Voyages are bookable on this site. All Antarctica voyages include a pre-voyage hotel night in Ushuaia, a complimentary expedition jacket (yours to keep), a professional photography coach, and wine and beer with dinner. Available itineraries run from 10 days (South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula) to 20 days (Falkland Islands, South Georgia & Antarctica), with confirmed Ocean Albatros departures through the 2027/28 season.