Editorial Policy

1. Our Mission

AntarcticaCompared exists to give travellers honest, data-backed comparisons of Antarctica expedition operators. An Antarctic expedition is one of the largest travel investments most people will ever make. We believe every traveller deserves access to rigorous, independent analysis — not just operator marketing dressed up as editorial content.

We do not favour any operator. We do not accept payment for editorial coverage. Our rankings are determined entirely by our published methodology, and any change to that methodology is documented and applied consistently across all operators.

2. How We Select Operators for Review

We review all significant Antarctica expedition operators who meet the following baseline criteria:

• IAATO membership required. The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators sets the baseline environmental and safety standards for Antarctic expedition tourism. We do not review operators outside IAATO.
• Minimum two seasons of Antarctic operations. New operators are monitored but not rated until they have completed at least two full Southern Ocean seasons and have a body of independently verifiable passenger reviews.
• Verifiable data. We require publicly available or operator-confirmed ship specifications, passenger capacities, and IAATO filing records. Operators who decline to confirm basic data are noted accordingly.

We do not charge operators to be reviewed. Inclusion is automatic for all qualifying operators. We currently review eight operators and will add others as they meet the criteria above.

3. How We Rate Operators

All operators are scored on five equally weighted criteria, each worth 20% of their total score:

1. Shore Time Quality
2. Expedition Team Expertise
3. IAATO Compliance & Responsible Operations
4. Passenger Capacity vs Shore Access
5. Activities & Inclusions Value

Full definitions, data sources, and scoring rationale for each criterion are published in our Methodology page. Data is drawn from IAATO public filings, operator-published specifications, and aggregated verified traveller reviews. No operator has any input into their own scores.

4. Commercial Relationships

AntarcticaCompared earns referral commissions from some operators when users follow our links and subsequently make a booking. This is how the site sustains independent operation.

The following principles govern all commercial relationships:

• No paid placements. No operator has paid to appear higher in our rankings, to receive a more favourable review, or to suppress a lower score.
• No sponsored content. Every page on this site is editorial content written to our own standards. We do not publish sponsored posts, paid advertorials, or operator-supplied "guest content."
• Full disclosure. Wherever a referral link appears, a disclosure note is present in the same section. The disclosure identifies the nature of the commercial relationship plainly.
• Coverage regardless of relationship. We review all qualifying operators whether or not a referral relationship exists. Operators without referral agreements receive the same depth of coverage as those with one.
• Relationship does not affect score. Our scoring methodology is applied identically to all operators. A referral relationship with an operator does not influence their criteria scores in either direction.

5. Corrections Policy

We correct factual errors promptly:

• Response time: We acknowledge correction requests within 24 hours and publish confirmed corrections within 48 hours of verification.
• Correction notes: Significant corrections are noted at the top of the affected page, including the date of the correction and a brief description of what was changed.
• Reporting corrections: Report factual errors to contact@aurora-expeditions-vs-quark-expeditions.com with the subject line "Correction Request." Include the specific claim, the correct information, and a verifiable source where possible.

We distinguish factual errors (wrong passenger capacity, incorrect founding year, inaccurate IAATO membership status) from editorial disagreements (we rated an operator lower than they believe they deserve). We correct the former promptly and openly; we do not revise editorial judgements based on operator pressure.

6. Content Review Process

All operator profiles and comparison pages are reviewed on the following schedule:

• Annual seasonal review: Every September–October before the Southern Ocean season opens. All pricing, fleet information, team credentials, and IAATO data are re-verified against current sources.
• Triggered review within 30 days: Significant changes — new vessels entering service, fleet retirements, major pricing restructures, IAATO membership changes — trigger an immediate review and update of affected pages.
• Review date: The "Last updated" date on each operator profile reflects the most recent content verification, not the original publication date.

7. Contact for Corrections and Enquiries

For corrections, data submissions, or general editorial enquiries:

contact@aurora-expeditions-vs-quark-expeditions.com

For operators wishing to submit or update their data, see the operator submission page.