Scenic Eclipse Review: Is the Discovery Yacht Worth the Premium?

Scenic Eclipse is the ultra-luxury expedition ship that carries its own helicopters and a submarine. Scenic calls it the world's first Discovery Yacht, and for once the marketing is mostly fair. The two 228-guest sisters pair all-inclusive luxury with real expedition tools that few ships can match. The catch is the price, and the fact that the headline toys cost extra. This review covers what you are buying, what those tools unlock, and who it suits.

What You Are Actually Buying

The Discovery Yacht idea is luxury and expedition at full strength on the same ship. Each sister carries 228 guests, drops to fewer in the polar regions, and runs an all-inclusive fare that covers fine dining across many restaurants, drinks, and standard excursions.

What sets the ships apart is the hardware at the stern. The helicopters live in a purpose-built hangar, and the submarine is a custom craft, not a borrowed one. These are working tools, not show pieces, and they are the reason the ship costs what it does.

The Helicopters

Each ship carries two Airbus H130 helicopters. In the right destination they change the trip. A flight over the Lemaire Channel in Antarctica, watching your ship thread the ice from a thousand feet up, is a view no ship without helicopters can offer. In the Kimberley in Australia they reach the Horizontal Falls and remote gorges. In Greenland they land you on the inland ice. Weather and rules govern every flight, so nothing is guaranteed, but when they fly the perspective is genuinely rare.

The Submarine

The Scenic Neptune submarine carries six to eight guests with a pilot to depths of roughly 200 to 300 meters. It reaches a world no other expedition tool touches. Below the Antarctic ice you find an underwater silence, the blue-green light filtering down, krill, and icefish. On tropical reefs it drops to the walls and overhangs that scuba and snorkelling cannot reach. Like the helicopters, dives depend on weather, ice, and clearance.

The Catch: The Toys Cost Extra

The part the brochure plays down. The helicopters and the submarine are not in the all-inclusive fare. They are paid experiences on top.

A helicopter flight starts around $500 per person for a short trip. A submarine dive starts around $250. Both are also subject to weather, ice conditions, regulatory approval, weight limits, and medical clearance. So you should view them as wonderful possibilities rather than guaranteed inclusions, and you should budget for them separately if they are the reason you are drawn to the ship.

Who Scenic Eclipse Is For

The ship rewards a specific traveler.

• A strong fit: travelers who want top-tier all-inclusive luxury and the helicopter or submarine experience, sail to destinations where those tools matter, and accept a premium price.
• A weaker fit: travelers on a tighter budget, those who only want the standard expedition experience, and those heading to regions where the helicopters and submarine add little.

If the tools and the luxury both appeal, Scenic Eclipse is close to one of a kind. If you mainly want naturalist depth at a gentler price, a line like Lindblad or Swan Hellenic will serve you better, and we will say so.

Recommended Scenic Eclipse Voyages

Each fare is a starting per-person price, and live dates sit on the itinerary page.

• Antarctica, the headline use case: the Antarctica in Depth voyage on Scenic Eclipse, from around $22,675.
• Caribbean island odyssey: the Island Odyssey, Bahamas to the Grenadines on Scenic Eclipse, from around $21,690.
• Atlantic wellness crossing: the Wellness Retreat, Barbados to Portugal on Scenic Eclipse II, from around $15,990.

Why Book Scenic Eclipse with Us

We book Scenic Eclipse and its luxury-expedition rivals, so we will tell you whether the helicopters and submarine justify the premium for your trip.

Booking through us, you can also join the Small Ship Travel Loyalty Program, a four-tier program that pays members 2 to 5 percent back per booking, plus perks like cabin upgrades and concierge access. The credit builds across every cruise line we book.

Related Reading

• The Best Expedition Ships for Antarctica in 2026: how Scenic Eclipse compares to the field.
• The Best Small Ships for Wildlife: the fleet ranked on wildlife.
• Is a Luxury Small Ship Cruise Worth It?: when the premium pays off.
• Antarctica Expedition Cruise Guide: seasons, routes, and costs.

Sources

Ship specifications, the helicopter and submarine detail, and launch dates come from Scenic's official materials.

• Scenic Eclipse ships and the Discovery Yacht experience.