Last updated: 25 September 2026
Douglas Mawson is the newest ship in the AE Expeditions fleet, part of Aurora Expeditions, and I recently spent a week onboard sailing the Greek Islands. This AE Expeditions review comes from a full week living with the ship rather than a couple of hours walking around it. I had already spent a night on their Greg Mortimer in Aberdeen, so I arrived with a rough idea of what to expect. Quite a lot about Douglas Mawson still surprised me.
First impressions of Douglas Mawson
My first thought when I saw her was how small she looked. Then I stepped onboard and that impression completely reversed. The public areas are generous, and she feels closer to twice the size you would guess from the quayside. She was spotless too, and properly so rather than freshly tidied for the new arrivals.
Embarkation was really smooth. The reception team welcomed us and helped with our luggage. Then came a tour of the ship and the safety briefing, which covered how to put a lifejacket on properly and where to find our muster station. The crew were friendly from the gangway onwards, and that never tailed off across the week.
What are the cabins like on Douglas Mawson?
One of my biggest surprises was my cabin. I stayed in a balcony stateroom and couldn’t believe how spacious it felt. Plenty of storage, a desk, a sofa, a large and extremely comfortable bed, and the balcony itself.
The storage genuinely caught me out. There was room for far more than a week needed, which matters more on a longer expedition where you are carrying layers and kit.
So much of this style of cruising is about getting you off the ship and out exploring. I hadn’t expected the cabin to feel this comfortable. There is a good spread of grades, including cabins designed specifically for solo travellers.
What is there to do onboard Douglas Mawson?
For a relatively small expedition ship, there was more onboard than I expected.
The Citizen Science Center became my favourite spot
The Citizen Science Center & Lounge was my favourite place on the whole ship. You look out towards the bow and Douglas Mawson’s distinctive X-BOW®, the inverted hull design built to cut through swell rather than slam into it. There is a sofa where you can sit and watch the scenery coming towards you. A genuinely peaceful place to spend some time.
The rest of the ship
There are two bars, the SY Aurora Bar on deck five and the Nimrod Bar up on deck eight. Beyond those, you have an Observation Lounge with big windows, a library, and the lecture theatre where the briefings and talks happen. There is also a gym, sauna, swimming pool and hot tubs. I never made it to the gym, though I did make it to the sauna.
Every venue is named after Mawson’s own expeditions
This is worth knowing if you like that sort of thing. Cape Denison was Douglas Mawson’s base in Antarctica, and The Hut takes its name from the building his team wintered in there. The bars are named after his ships. Nimrod carried Shackleton’s 1907 expedition with Mawson aboard, and SY Aurora was the ship of Mawson’s own Australasian Antarctic Expedition. It is a small touch, but it tells you something about a line that takes its history seriously.
The pool and the hot tubs
The pool and hot tubs came into their own when we had downtime between exploring. One of my favourite memories of the whole trip came after we returned from Santorini. Sitting in a hot tub, watching the last colours of the sunset as we prepared to sail away.
What is the food like on Douglas Mawson?
The food was another area that surprised me, and there were two main dining options during our voyage.
Cape Denison on deck five is the main restaurant. It ran a buffet at breakfast and lunch before switching to a menu in the evening. The Hut, up on deck eight, served à la carte breakfast and lunch during the day before becoming a steakhouse at night. One evening we ate there while still alongside in Rhodes, watching the sun set over the Old Town. Eating dinner onboard while looking out over the place you have spent all day exploring isn’t something you often get to do.
There was plenty to choose from across both venues, and the food was consistently delicious. My personal favourite was the truffle gnocchi at The Hut, easily one of the best things I ate all week. Overall it was better than I had expected, and easily as good as I have had on much larger mainstream ships.
Open seating changes the whole atmosphere
Dinner usually began from around 7 pm, but there were no traditional assigned sittings. You could sit wherever you liked and end up with different people each night. That suited the atmosphere perfectly. Everyone ate in the same room, which turned meals into another chance to meet people and hear what they had been up to.
Drinks and what’s included
Dinner included house wines, beers and soft drinks on our sailing, while drinks at other times cost extra. I tried a good mix of cocktails through the week and found them really nice and reasonably priced, and there was a happy hour too.
What are evenings like onboard AE Expeditions?
This was probably my biggest misconception before travelling, because I expected evenings on an expedition ship to be very quiet. They really weren’t.
If your idea of a perfect cruise involves a different show every night, a casino and endless organised activities, this style probably isn’t the best match. Douglas Mawson isn’t trying to offer that. Our evenings were about dinner, a drink, live music and talking to the people we had spent the day exploring with.
There are two bars, and both got used. J & Lady J played in the SY Aurora Bar on deck five in the afternoons before the evening briefing, then up in the Nimrod Bar on deck eight every other night. What surprised me most was how social everyone was. Guests genuinely wanted to know about each other’s backgrounds, where people had travelled before and what they had done that day.
I thought I might miss traditional cruise entertainment, and I didn’t. After a day exploring, dinner and a drink with some music was exactly what I wanted.
Is Douglas Mawson good for solo travellers?
From what I saw, absolutely. There seemed to be a good number of solo travellers on our voyage, and once I had experienced the atmosphere onboard I could see why.
AE Expeditions offers dedicated solo accommodation, and there were opportunities for solo travellers to meet up onboard. But the biggest advantage is simply how naturally social the whole thing is. Open seating means you are not tied to one table every night. And because you are travelling with a small number of people, you start recognising everyone within a couple of days. The expedition team mix with guests throughout the day as well.
If you want to travel independently but still enjoy meeting people, this could be a brilliant option.
Is AE Expeditions luxury? Where Douglas Mawson really sits
This is the question I get asked most, so it belongs in any honest AE Expeditions review. AE Expeditions sits at the premium end of the expedition market rather than the traditional luxury end. You shouldn’t board expecting butler service, caviar or the formal touches of an ultra-luxury cruise.
From my experience though, the ship felt luxurious in plenty of ways. It was modern, comfortable and beautifully designed without ever feeling formal, and that balance sums Douglas Mawson up quite well. The money goes on space, comfort and getting you ashore rather than on ceremony.
A very different Captain’s Farewell
Our final evening brought the whole experience together. During the Captain’s Farewell, the Captain reflected on our voyage and thanked everyone. He then introduced the senior onboard team, including the doctor, restaurant manager, bar manager and hotel manager, alongside the expedition team. The entire room was applauding them.
What stood out was how genuinely happy the crew seemed. You could see how much they enjoyed it, and that same friendliness had come through all week.
Then they played a video pulling together moments from across the voyage, which was surprisingly emotional. Seeing everything we had experienced from beginning to end, and how happy all the guests looked, summed up what had made the trip so special. Afterwards we had our final dinner in Cape Denison. Then we headed up to the Nimrod Bar one last time for J & Lady J, a few drinks and one last evening together.
Would I sail on Douglas Mawson again?
Without a doubt. If you take one thing from this AE Expeditions review, make it this: she is a small ship that feels considerably bigger than she looks. The cabins are more generous than the grade suggests and the food was better than I expected. What she doesn’t have is the entertainment programme of a large mainstream ship, and that is entirely deliberate.
If you want the ship to be the holiday, look elsewhere. Want a comfortable base that gets you off it and into the places you have come to see? She does that as well as anything I have sailed on.
Read more about the voyage
This AE Expeditions review covers the ship. Want the destination instead? The Greek Islands itinerary, the ports and the excursions are all in my expedition cruise in the Greek Islands review.
Thinking about sailing on Douglas Mawson?
If this AE Expeditions review has you tempted, our Paramount Cruises Cruise Experts can talk you through the itineraries Douglas Mawson sails. Those run from the Mediterranean and the British Isles through to Antarctica and the Arctic. We can also help you pick the right cabin grade, which matters more on an expedition ship than most people realise.
Call our Cruise Experts on 020 7947 0272 or complete our online enquiry form.
AE Expeditions review: Douglas Mawson FAQs
Is Douglas Mawson a new ship?
Yes. She entered service in 2025 and is the newest ship in the AE Expeditions fleet.
Are the cabins on Douglas Mawson small?
Not in my experience. I stayed in a balcony stateroom and it felt noticeably more spacious than I had expected. There was storage for far more than a week’s worth of luggage.
Does Douglas Mawson have a pool?
Yes, along with hot tubs, a sauna and a gym. There are two restaurants, Cape Denison on deck five and The Hut on deck eight, plus two bars, the SY Aurora Bar and the Nimrod Bar. You also have an Observation Lounge, a library, a lecture theatre and the Citizen Science Center & Lounge.
Are drinks included on Douglas Mawson?
House wines, beers and soft drinks came with dinner on our sailing. Drinks at other times cost extra at reasonable prices, and there was a happy hour. Inclusions vary between voyages, so check your specific itinerary.
Does Douglas Mawson have entertainment in the evenings?
Not in the mainstream sense, as there is no theatre and no casino. Evenings centre on dinner, live music and conversation in the SY Aurora Bar, the Nimrod Bar and the Observation Lounge. They were far livelier than I expected.
Is AE Expeditions the same as Aurora Expeditions?
Yes. AE Expeditions is part of Aurora Expeditions, the company Greg and Margaret Mortimer founded in 1991. Both names are still in use, so it is worth knowing they refer to the same operation. The company also holds Certified B Corporationâ„¢ status.
Is Douglas Mawson suitable for solo travellers?
Yes. There is dedicated solo accommodation, open seating dining, and a small enough guest number that you quickly get to know people.
