1. The Last Great Wilderness
2. Discovery with Scenic Eclipse
3. The Sentinel Expedition
4. Join the Adventure
5. Featured Itineraries

Vast, wild and untouched, East Antarctica is one of the last great frontiers on Earth. Covering two-thirds of the continent, it’s a place few have seen, and even fewer have explored. 

Defined by contrasts, East Antarctica features towering glaciers that stretch endlessly towards the horizon, the breathtaking Mount Erebus, and ancient ice shelves, some over a million years old. Beneath the surface lies a landscape that scientists are only just beginning to uncover, mountain ranges buried beneath ice, freshwater lakes sealed for millennia, and climate secrets frozen in time. 

It’s a place where scale humbles, peaceful silence reigns and the winds whisper stories of Scott’s and Mawson’s epic exploration. Home to vast emperor penguin colonies, elusive Weddell seals, intelligent orcas and the legendary blue whale, East Antarctica offers encounters few places on Earth can match. 

With minimal human encounters and only a few seasonal research stations, East Antarctica is a pristine scientific frontier, rich in discovery, and a major key to understanding our planet’s past and future. 

Scenic Eclipse is designed to take you further, and East Antarctica is a true testament to this commitment. As one of the only ultra-luxury Discovery Yachts equipped to reach this remote frontier, Scenic Eclipse offers an extraordinary blend of luxury, technology and access. 

With a Polar Class 6 rating, GPS dynamic positioning, strengthened hull, and custom-built stabilisers, Scenic Eclipse sails with confidence and ease through the world’s oceans. On board, up to just 200 guests enjoy spacious all-verandah suites, world-class dining and a 550m² wellness sanctuary, redefining what it means to explore in style. 

For unrivalled destination immersion, Scenic Eclipse is equipped with two state-of-the-art helicopters, our custom-built submersible Neptune, Zodiacs, plus kayaks and stand-up paddleboards unlocking a rare perspective of East Antarctica few have ever witnessed. A team of up to ten expert Discovery Guides including scientists, naturalists and historians will bring each moment to life in this white wilderness through enriching excursions and lectures. 

At Scenic we are fortunate to travel to the most spectacular corners of the planet. But with this opportunity comes a responsibility to ensure that we protect these fragile environments and bring attention to their vital importance. This is why we are thrilled to announce our new partnership with Dr. Scott Pallett FRGS and Bill Kwok FRGS and their ‘Sentinel Expedition’.  

Led by explorers and environmental advocates, Scott Pallett and Bill Kwok will be conducting a groundbreaking expedition in East Antarctica focusing on understanding antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a growing global health threat. Utilising the pristine East Antarctica environment, the team will conduct genomic sequencing and will study the effects of extreme cold on human immunity during arduous polar travel.  

Dr Scott Pallett and Bill Kwok will disembark Scenic Eclipse II on Ross Island equipped with skis, kites and sleds, before venturing across one of the most remote and extreme environments. They will summit Mt Erebus to collect cave samples for genetic analysis, traverse the vast Ross Ice Shelf and hope to plot an uncharted route through the Transantarctic Mountains.  

This partnership with Scenic and the Sentinel Expedition reinforces Scenic’s ongoing and future commitment to the environment and scientific endeavours. Backed with technical support from Zymo Research and senior researchers of the extreme microbiome project at NASA, the Expedition aims to shed light on how climate change may drive the evolution of AMR and its potential impact on global human health.  

Step into the extraordinary and join us on one of our 24-Day Ross Sea: Majestic Ice & Wildlife voyages in January 2026 and explore this awe-inspiring region in unrivalled ultra-luxury, sailing alongside the renowned Sentinel Expedition explorers Dr. Scott Pallett and Bill Kwok. Witnessing them either embark on, or return from their daring mission deep within East Antarctica. 

With the Scenic Discovery team providing vital communication support throughout their journey, you’ll also have a rare front-row seat witnessing history unfolding, all from the comfort of your 6-star Discovery Yacht. Alongside the chance to immerse yourself in lectures, Q&As and intimate conversations over a whiskey or cocktail of your choice in the main lounge with the explorers, allowing you access to unique insights into their groundbreaking research and the challenges of remote expeditions.  

This isn’t just a voyage, it’s an invitation to join a moment in time, exploring one of the planet’s last great frontiers with those shaping its future.