Rating Methodology

What this page is for

This page exists so any number on the site can be traced back to a source, a weight, and a date. If you dispute a score, this is the page that lets you show your work against ours.

Weighting

We could independently verify a current guest rating for only 3 of the 10 operators on this site as of this cycle. A 35%-weighted guest-rating factor over 70% missing data would not produce a meaningful composite, so this cycle's weighting scores only what we can verify for all ten operators:

• 40%: landing access (rotations required, hours ashore per day)
• 25%: value per day
• 20%: cost transparency
• 15%: fleet and ice capability

Guest ratings are still shown in the comparison table, with sample size, platform, and date next to each one, but they are not scored into tier placement this cycle. When we've independently verified a current rating for at least 8 of the 10 operators, we will reintroduce guest rating into the weighting at 35% and re-publish every score.

Tier membership is set by this weighting; within a tier, operators are sorted alphabetically, not ranked. Poseidon Expeditions sits in Tier 1 because its 114-passenger ship requires two landing rotations under the same formula as every other Tier 1 operator, not because it holds the highest composite score of the ten (several Tier 1 operators are within a narrow band of each other), and not because it is ranked "first" within the tier: it isn't, since the tier itself is alphabetical.

Why tiers, not a 1-10 rank

The composite-score gap between our 2nd and 5th-ranked operator is under 0.1 points on a 10-point scale. Presenting that as a clean 1-2-3-4-5 order would imply a precision the underlying review data doesn't support. Four tiers, each internally sorted by the stated primary criterion, is the more honest representation.

Data sources and snapshot dates

Guest ratings are pulled from Trustpilot, Tripadvisor, Cruise Critic, and Travelstride, snapshot dated August 2026. Where we have not independently re-verified a specific rating this cycle, we mark it "not disclosed" on the operator's row rather than publish a stale or unverified figure. Pricing is sourced from operator and travel-agent listings and is subject to change; we do not treat these as guaranteed current fares.

Derived values

"Rotation," wherever it appears on this site, means one thing only: the number of groups an operator's full passenger complement must be split into to stay within IAATO's 100-people-ashore-at-once limit. It is computed the same way for every operator, with no per-operator exceptions:

• rotations_required = ceil(pax ÷ 100)
• fare_per_day = entry_fare ÷ voyage_days
• gratuity_total = daily_rate × days (e.g. Aurora: $15 × 12 = $180 per person)

Conflict-of-interest policy

No operator pays for placement or for tier position. We accept paid display advertising and a flat submission-review fee, described on our submit-operator page, neither of which affects a score. An operator's own leadership does not see or approve a score before publication.

Update cadence and disputes

We re-check pricing and ratings quarterly and after any operator-reported fleet or policy change. To dispute a figure, use the contact page with the specific claim and a source; see our editorial policy for the full correction process.