Hantavirus outbreak on MV Hondius and a new world full of long-distance travel risks

Long-distance expedition cruises to places like Antarctica and the Arctic are booming as wealthy travelers increasingly seek remote, experience-oriented destinations far from traditional tourism infrastructure.

According to the Cruise Lines International Association, the global cruise industry served a record 37.2 million passengers in 2025, a 7.5% increase from 2024. Passenger volume is expected to reach nearly 42 million by 2028. As part of this growth, expedition cruising has become one of the hottest segments in the industry.

Ritu Panesar, founder and president of luxury travel company Travelopod, said her clients routinely spend between $30,000 and $50,000 per person on remote expedition itineraries that are often booked months or even years in advance. “People are looking for experiences that feel transformative and rare,” Panesar said. “They want access to destinations that still seem untouched.”

According to Jacqueline Mondelli, chief marketing officer of travel insurance marketplace Squaremouth, interest in traveling to Antarctica is up 34% year-over-year in the first four months of 2026.

Travel risk experts and insurers told CNBC that the deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the expedition ship MV Hondius is unlikely to affect the appeal of remote expeditions, and global health experts and prediction markets see the risks of widespread contagion as low. Even if there were an impact on travelers’ psyche, travel experts say it would be difficult to assess at the moment, as many high-end expedition routes are fully booked well in advance. But experts say as more travelers book trips in this niche of the cruise market, they are becoming aware of the challenges that can arise when emergencies occur far away from advanced medical care.

“People take these trips because the remoteness is part of the appeal,” said Sahara Rose DeVore, founder of the Travel Coach Network, who has traveled to more than 80 countries, many of them in remote locations. “Travellers know that expedition travel involves uncertainty, but desirable destinations like Antarctica are attracting strong demand despite these risks.”

Evacuation logistics, onboard medical capabilities and emergency planning are topics travelers should inform themselves about before heading to remote regions. Expedition travel protection policies often include emergency medical care, medical evacuation, trip interruption protection, and coordination services aimed at transporting travelers from remote regions to modern medical facilities if a serious emergency occurs.

Rick Bagnall, vice president of travel insurance brokerage Brown & Brown, said it hasn’t seen a significant uptick tied specifically to MV Hondius’ situation. “Interest in evacuation tends to increase due to general travel uncertainty rather than a single incident,” he said.

Travelers are “more risk-aware than ever”

Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue, a travel risk management company that provides medical evacuation, field rescue, security rescue and crisis response services to travelers in remote or high-risk locations around the world, said travelers generally pay more attention to risk prevention on these types of trips.

“People are now more risk aware than ever. I wouldn’t necessarily call it risk aversion, but they are looking for a plan B,” he said.

Global Rescue reported a 30% increase in security membership purchases so far this year compared to the same period in 2025, as travelers increasingly seek evacuation and crisis response support before long-distance travel.

Sea evacuations remain among the most difficult rescue missions because the range of helicopters offshore is limited and many expedition ships have no helipads at all. “If something happens in the open sea and you’re more than 250 kilometers from land, there’s not much anyone can do about it,” Richards said.

Global Rescue handles approximately 100,000 calls for help annually, of which approximately 3,000 result in active rescue or evacuation operations. “We have conducted missions at sea where we orchestrated handoffs between ships,” Richards said. “These are difficult logistical challenges.”

Richards said in a recent case, the company coordinated a medical evacuation from a remote island near Tahiti after a traveler aboard a ship developed a life-threatening illness that required emergency treatment.

Cruise industry groups say the sector remains resilient and medically prepared. “The global cruise industry maintains comprehensive health, hygiene and medical protocols designed to protect the health and well-being of passengers and crew,” Sally Andrews, vice president of communications for the Cruise Lines International Association, said in a statement to CNBC.

Insurance policies and remote environments

Travel insurance and evacuation specialists told CNBC that many travelers underestimate how limited medical infrastructure can be when ships travel far from major ports and hospitals.

Bagnall says many travelers focus on whether they have insurance coverage without fully understanding how difficult evacuation logistics can be in remote areas and incorrectly assume that standard travel policies automatically provide robust evacuation support.

“Travel insurance is not a commodity,” Bagnall said. “The difference between ‘insurance is in place’ and ‘help is coming quickly’ is often evident in expedition itineraries. In serious remote situations, medical care and evacuation costs can easily reach six figures and exceed $250,000, depending on the distance, aircraft required and medical complexity,” he said.

“In our experience, most travelers significantly underestimate both the likelihood and cost of a serious medical event while traveling,” Mondelli said. “Traditional cruises typically have constant access to ports, medical facilities and Coast Guard support. In contrast, expedition cruises operate in a remote, unpredictable environment where the nearest facility may be just days away,” she added.

Mondelli said Antarctic trips insured through Squaremouth cost about $28,750 total on average, and travelers heading to Antarctica are placing greater emphasis on medical evacuation coverage, with evacuation limits of $500,000 among the most commonly purchased coverage levels for these trips.

She added that purchases of the “cancel for any reason” and “interrupt for any reason” travel protection upgrades nearly doubled from 10% in the first four months of 2025 to 19% during the same period in 2026.

According to recent reports, MV Hondius has a strong reputation among travelers for its attention to detail and risk management. But travelers embarking on an expedition cruise shouldn’t assume that the high price tag associated with expedition cruises also guarantees world-class emergency infrastructure, said Jason Margulies, a shipping attorney with Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman. “What they are actually getting is a cruise with lots of risky activities in remote areas without easy access to medical care,” he said.