You might know Greg Mortimer as the revolutionary expedition ship accommodating an average of 132 expeditioners per voyage within 76 cosy, comfortable cabins. Maybe you know it as the first passenger ship to feature the revolutionary Ulstein X-BOW.

We know Greg Mortimer as the founder of AE Expeditions and a legendary Australian adventurer. We want to tell the story of this remarkable man, outlining his motivations for creating one of our favourite expedition cruise lines, AE Expeditions.

On 3rd October 1984, Greg Mortimer and his expedition partner Tim Macartney-Snape became the first two Australians to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Impressively, they did so without the aid of supplementary oxygen. Speaking to the Australian Museum, Greg explained that while scaling Everest, he could only walk five steps at a time before needing to rest when at his limit of endurance. Perseverance prevailed. Greg and Tim made it to the top of Mount Everest via the North Face and Norton Couloir, one of the climbing routes that has not been repeated often. In doing so, they wrote their names in legend.

In an illustrious career, Greg went on to climb K2, Chongtar and Annapurna II – again, without supplementary oxygen. His sense of adventure has been awarded by some of the highest accolades in Australia: The Order of Australia (OAM) for his services to mountaineering, along with three Australian Geographic Society Medals. It’s official, but his passion for exploration doesn’t stop there.

After a trip to Antarctica, Greg fell in love with expedition cruising.

Wanting to share his incredible experiences with like-minded wanderers of the world, Greg and his wife, Margaret decided to set up their own expedition cruise company, Aurora Expeditions. And in 1992, the Mortimers set off on their first chartered voyage to Antarctica.

The Mortimers’ expeditions started from humble beginnings, chartering small Expedition Cruises for friends and family. Ideas grew organically as they sailed to different faraway, untouched lands. Cruising has traditionally been a burden on the environment; as the foundation from which Greg built his legend, the Mortimers felt strongly about this.

They built their fleet of their intimate ships to sit at the cutting-edge of expedition cruise technology, wanting to leave these destinations exactly how they should be - untouched. What’s more, you’d instantly recognise AE Expeditions’ fleet if ever you saw it sailing the seas of some far-flung destination.

The Ulstein X-BOW is a revolution in marine engineering.

Their vision is to create the future of sustainable expeditionary travel;  an inverted bow concept. Launched in 2005, the X-BOW splits wave energy, providing a number of benefits such as a steady ship and less fuel to get to where it's going. In icy regions, much like those AE Expeditions specialise in, the X-BOW helps cut through ice more efficiently too.

Over 30 years later, Aurora Expeditions became AE Expeditions, still leading smaller groups to remote and breathtaking destinations all over the world. From the ice-laden Antarctic Peninsula, awe-inspiring Arctic, and wildlife-paradise of Costa Rica to the rich coastlines of the British Isles, AE Expeditions craft extraordinary adventures out of nothing.

Take part in activities such as Shackleton’s Crossing across Antarctica, photography masterclasses and ice camping. Indulge your body with onboard luxuries such as beautiful spa facilities and delicious restaurants; indulge your mind with lectures from real-life expert expeditioners. Who knows, maybe even Mr Mortimer will be there himself.

With such an adventure-centred founder, we can guarantee that AE Expeditions is an adventure-focused cruise line. This cruise line isn’t afraid to go off-schedule on whim to sight polar bear reports; their crew and expedition team.

This isn’t just expedition cruising, this is experiential travel.

You can read all about this unique cruise line in our AE Expeditions guide.

If an AE Expeditions cruise sounds like the next big step for you, get in touch with the Panache Cruises team today on 0161 513 8200.