At Seatrade Europe 2025, Swan Hellenic’s (SH) CEO, Andrea Zito, received the Seatrade Cruise Personality of the Year award in recognition of his contributions to upscale cruise travel and the historic brand’s recent renaissance.
To get his take on receiving the award and what’s next for the line, we spoke with Zito about his overarching approach and vision for the future.
How does it feel to be awarded Seatrade Cruise Personality of the Year?
It was quite unexpected — I’m not a very “public” person; in fact, I’m rather reserved. But it’s a great honor to have my contribution to the cruise industry recognized by one of its most prestigious organizations.
For agents less familiar with the brand, what is Swan Hellenic’s history and how does it now fit into the expedition cruise segment?
SH is the oldest cultural expedition brand in the world, dating back to the early 1950s. The Swan family of tour operators created the concept in response to the British Hellenic Society. In the ‘50s, we offered cultural tours that took guests by train from the U.K. to Marseilles, then by ship to cruise the Mediterranean and visit its archeological sites, particularly in Turkey and Greece.
SH is the oldest cultural expedition brand in the world, dating back to the early 1950s.
The brand subsequently evolved to build its own vessels. Minerva was the first in 1995, when Swan Hellenic operated with Forte Hotels, followed by Minerva II in early 2000 as part of Carnival Corporation.
In 2019, when my partners and I decided to build three luxury polar expedition vessels at Helsinki Shipyard — the world leader in icebreakers and ice-class vessels — it was natural for us to secure the then-unused Swan Hellenic brand. It perfectly fit our vision for a culturally led product that brings guests deeper into destinations to “see what others don’t.”
Andrea Zito, CEO of Swan Hellenic, recently received the Seatrade Cruise Personality of the Year award.
Credit: 2025 Swan Hellenic
What specifically sets the product apart from competitors?
We have hardware that is first-in-class for sustainability, seakeeping, safety and marine performance — combined with elegant, modern design that enables our guests to be fully immersed in the destinations we explore together.
Equally important is how we select our lecturers to help guests understand more about our planet. We cover four fundamental pillars. Two natural science pillars include the living and non-living — flora and fauna on one hand, and geology, volcanology and oceanography on the other. The two human and cultural pillars are the past — history, archeology, art and more — and the present: anthropology, socioeconomics and so on.
We also work with scientific organizations like the Seti Institute of California, and with leading journalists and prominent personalities in the countries we explore — such as the former Prime Minister of Greenland.
Lastly, we create cruises to new destinations every year that are rarely visited by other ships — such as Socotra [an island in Yemen]; Gabon; Equatorial Guinea; Aldabra in the Seychelles; Trancoso, Itacare and Abrolhos in Brazil; and the Bijagos Archipelago in Guinea-Bissau.
What has contributed to the brand’s success so far?
Swan Hellenic’s success stems from 35 years’ experience in luxury cruising combined with global operations knowledge. There is no space for improvisation in our business; every innovation comes from adapting and evolving well-proven concepts. You can’t do this alone. Our strength comes from our operational teams onboard and on shore, who have all contributed to create the perfect product.
[In the last three years of operations] we have consistently scored at the top on Cruise Critic in the expedition sector, beating long-established competitors. That was not by chance.
Why should advisors be selling Swan Hellenic if they aren’t already?
We have the best hardware in the sector. We successfully charter our vessels as private yachts, and our clients keep coming back to explore new destinations. There are good reasons for that. It’s only possible because we also have the best software: a fantastic crew that always strives to deliver highly personalized service in the refined, intimate environment of these class-leading vessels.
