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Aurora Expeditions · The Ships
The newest of Aurora’s three X-BOW ships, launched in 2025 and named after the great Australian Antarctic explorer. She carries 130 expeditioners in Antarctica, with ten types of stateroom and a heated outdoor pool.
About the Ship
The Douglas Mawson set sail in 2025, the last in the line of three purpose built ships that began with the Greg Mortimer in 2019 and continued with the Sylvia Earle in 2022. She has the newest version of the Ulstein X-BOW, along with Ice Class 1A and Polar Class 6 ratings, an activities platform and Zodiac access points for getting off the ship quickly. You can compare her with her sisters on our fleet page.
At 104.4 metres she is a touch longer than her sisters, with eight decks and a cruising speed of 10 to 12 knots. Her 86 cabins can take 154 guests on Aurora’s small ship cruises in Europe and elsewhere, but on Antarctic expeditions she carries a maximum of 130. That leaves her with Aurora’s widest choice of accommodation, ten stateroom and suite types finished in a calm Nordic style, including a range of single staterooms. On the back deck you will find a heated outdoor pool with a pool bar, alongside two Jacuzzis, a sauna and a gym.
Douglas Mawson was born in Yorkshire in 1882 and grew up in Australia, where he became a geologist. He first went south with Ernest Shackleton on the Nimrod expedition of 1907 to 1909, and was one of the party of three, with Edgeworth David and Alistair Mackay, who reached the area of the South Magnetic Pole in January 1909.
He then led the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911 to 1914, based at Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay, one of the windiest places on Earth. On a sledging journey in 1912 his companion Belgrave Ninnis fell into a crevasse with most of the food, and Xavier Mertz died on the return. Mawson struggled back alone, only to see the expedition ship, the Aurora, sailing away, and spent a second winter in the hut before he could come home. It remains one of the great survival stories of the Heroic Age.
On Board
The Douglas Mawson has a heated outdoor pool, set on the back deck with a pool bar beside it. Add two Jacuzzis and you have a rather surreal way to warm up while icebergs drift past the stern.
Indoor lounges with floor to ceiling windows sit alongside several open decks with wide views. The observation lounge on deck 8 keeps binoculars and wildlife guides to hand, and is a favourite spot for watching the coastline of the Peninsula unfold.
The naturalists and expedition team run Aurora’s Citizen Science programme from here, and guests are welcome to drop in, ask questions and take part. Aurora says it has one of the best views on the ship, which makes it easy to linger.
Naturalists, historians and local specialists give talks here on everything from penguin biology and glaciology to the Heroic Age explorers. On a ship named after Mawson, expect his expedition to come up more than once during the voyage.
Open seating encourages you to mix with fellow travellers, and the chefs offer a choice of dishes at every meal, along with morning and afternoon teas. Tea, coffee and snacks are available at all hours for anyone coming in from the cold.
The library has floor to ceiling windows, non fiction on the places you visit, novels and board games, and a public laptop for sorting your photographs. The atrium, with its globe, links the decks and is a natural meeting point before an excursion.
Watch
Aurora’s introduction to the Douglas Mawson, the newest ship in the fleet.
Video: Discover with the Douglas Mawson, from Aurora Expeditions on YouTube.
Where You Sleep
With ten stateroom and suite types, the Douglas Mawson offers the widest choice in the Aurora fleet, all with a Nordic look. She is the only ship with single staterooms in the Aurora Stateroom grades as well as a solo balcony option, so travellers on their own have plenty of choice.
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Aurora Stateroom Triple | Room for three sharing and the lowest fare per person on board. No balcony. |
| Aurora Stateroom Twin and Superior | Staterooms for two without a balcony. The Twin is the entry grade and the Superior sits a step above it. |
| Aurora Stateroom Single and Superior Single | Single berth staterooms without a balcony, designed for one and priced with no single supplement. Part of Aurora’s up to 10 dedicated solo cabins per sailing. |
| Balcony Stateroom Category C, B and A | Staterooms with a private balcony, rising from Category C through B to A. |
| Balcony Stateroom Category A Single | A solo stateroom with its own balcony, priced with no single supplement. There are only a few, so book early. |
| Balcony Stateroom Superior | The top balcony stateroom grade, above Category A. |
| Junior Suite | A suite with extra space. Suite guests also receive a pair of binoculars, a stocked mini bar, a bottle of champagne and the crew gratuity included in the fare. |
| Captain Suite | The finest accommodation on board, with a twin basin bathroom, the full suite benefits and a mini bar replenished as needed. |
Not every grade is offered on every departure. The fare tables on each voyage page show what is available on each date.
Ship Facts
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Entered service | 2025 |
| Guests | 154 (130 on expeditions) |
| Cabins | 86 |
| Length | 104.4 m |
| Decks | 8 |
| Speed | 10 to 12 knots |
| Ice class | Ice Class 1A, Polar Class 6 |
| Bow | Ulstein X-BOW |
| Expedition craft | Zodiacs, with sea kayaks and other equipment for the add-on activities |
Where She Sails
The Douglas Mawson sails more of Aurora’s Antarctic voyages than either of her sisters. They range from the short Antarctic Explorer Express and Antarctic Peninsula: Fly the Drake to Across the Antarctic Circle: Fly the Drake, Antarctic Circle in Depth, Southern Antarctic Realms, In Shackleton’s Footsteps and Antarctica Complete, as well as Spirit of Antarctica and its New Scientist edition, Antarctic Explorer, Antarctica Active, Wild Antarctica and the South Georgia, Falklands and Antarctic Odyssey.
Questions
She set sail in 2025 and is the newest of Aurora’s three purpose built expedition ships, following the Greg Mortimer (2019) and the Sylvia Earle (2022). She has the latest version of the Ulstein X-BOW and is built to Ice Class 1A and Polar Class 6.
A maximum of 130 on Antarctic expeditions, the same as her sisters. She has 86 cabins and can take up to 154 guests on Aurora’s small ship cruises elsewhere, but in Antarctica numbers are kept to 130 so that landings stay small and quick.
Sir Douglas Mawson was a Yorkshire born Australian geologist and one of the great figures of Antarctic exploration. He sailed with Shackleton on the Nimrod expedition, then led the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911 to 1914, surviving a famous solo trek back to his base at Cape Denison after both his companions died.
Yes, more than any other Aurora ship. There are Aurora Stateroom Single and Superior Single cabins without a balcony, and a Balcony Stateroom Category A Single, all priced with no single supplement. Aurora holds up to 10 dedicated solo cabins on every sailing, and any other cabin can be booked solo with a 50% supplement.
Yes. She has a heated outdoor pool on the back deck with a pool bar alongside. There are also two Jacuzzis, a sauna and a gym, all free to use. Swimming in a heated pool while surrounded by Antarctic ice is something few ships can offer.
She sails twelve of Aurora’s sixteen Antarctic voyages, including Spirit of Antarctica, Antarctic Explorer, Antarctic Explorer Express, both fly the Drake voyages, Antarctic Circle in Depth, Antarctica Active, Wild Antarctica, Southern Antarctic Realms, In Shackleton’s Footsteps, the South Georgia, Falklands and Antarctic Odyssey and Antarctica Complete.
She is newer and has more stateroom choice and a pool, but the expedition experience is essentially the same on all three. The same Zodiacs, landings, lectures and activities programme apply, and all carry 130 guests in Antarctica. Choose your voyage and dates first, then the ship that sails them.