Viking Octantis is a new ship with a purpose: interactive fun for the guests. It's built to cruise in Arctic/Antarctic waters, but it size allows it to go to other waters, such as the US Great Lakes and cruise where much larger ships do not.

For starters, as an 'expedition' ship, the Octantis has significant gear aboard that enables its guests to experience their ports up close and personally. A guest can kayak, land on a glacier or even go down to a reef and experience the wonders of the deep in one of its two submarines. No other expedition ships I know of have such a varied fleet of small boats.

Science is taken seriously. The expedition staff includes many researchers and they are eager to help you understand the environment, the equipment and the sights to see while you're on board. But true to their profession, there's a world class laboratory aboard where they work on their experiments. The ship also is a weather station for NOAA and launches weather balloons daily. Read more