Medical Screening Form 

At HX - we explore some of the world's most remote locations and as such, in many of these locations, sophisticated medical services are few and far between. Medical care at sea is limited, and often emergency sea and air services may also be inaccessible, particularly in the polar regions. It is therefore vital that you make us aware of any current or past health issues.

The Health, Safety and well-being of you our guests and on-board crew are our top priority, and we want to ensure that all our guests are fit for travel. On board all our ships, we will have a qualified physician, which have a small, limited medical facility with basic medical supplies and equipment. Still, that makes it more difficult to diagnose and treat even the simplest conditions. This often leads to missed diagnosis, worsening conditions, a greater burden of chronic disease, and in some cases, unnecessary costly medical disembarkations.

Our expeditions often explore remote regions, where sophisticated medical services are not readily available. To minimize the risks to your health, it’s vital that guests on Antarctic sailings make our medical partner, Vikand, aware of any current or past health issues via a Medical Screening Form. The form is assessed by Vikand, a maritime medical specialist.

As such we require all guests (including children) to submit and complete the Medical Screening Form before departure to Antarctica.

How to complete the Medical Screening Form?

All forms consist of two sections - The guest section and the Doctor's section. Both sections need to be filled in and signed. If your own doctor refuses to sign the form, please contact an alternative doctor, or use online doctor services to fill in the form. Vikand Medicals is also offering a digital appointment service to support the Medical Screening Form process. This appointment can be booked through the Vikand portal.

The Medical Screening Form can be filled out by a doctor and by a DO (Doctor of Osteopathy) or Physician’s Assistant (PA).

People who can NOT fill out a Medical Screening Form:

Upon submitting your Medical Screening Form, you will receive an e-mail confirmation to the e-mail included within your submission form - please also check Spam / Junk Folders as they could appear here. If you still haven't received any confirmation within an hour of submitting your form, please contact HX Customer Service, and we can get a confirmation e-mail sent to you.

If you have submitted your Medical Screening Form within 4-8 weeks from departure, you should expect to receive the results within 3 working days (if submitted more than 8 weeks out, it might take longer for results to come through). If the screening team has a doubt about the passenger's safety to join the Expedition sailing to a remote destination, an additional week might be needed to get a second opinion.

As part of our Medical Screening Form Promise, if your Medical Screening Form is declined for medical reasons by Vikand Solutions, HX will provide a full refund for all bookings made through them, including flights, hotels, and ground transportation.

Please note: We are only accepting the Medical Screening Form available through the Vikand portal which has been specially designed for HX sailings to remote destinations.

Appointments with Vikand

Vikand Medicals is also offering a digital appointment service to support the Medical Screening Form process.

The cost for an appointment with Vikand's online doctor is 165 EUR, which is to be made payable at the time of booking - Vikand accepts both Visa and Mastercard. (In case of cancellation within 24 hours from the booked time or missed appointment, there is a service fee of 50 EUR which is non-refundable.)

Once you have made your appointment booking, you will receive a confirmation e-mail, that will include all the details of the online meeting room. Here, you will meet with one of Vikand's doctors for your digital appointment.

Please Note: When you submit the Medical Screening Form, you will receive a Submission ID - which is your form's tracking ID. When uploading the Doctor's section of your medical form, or when using Vikand's digital appointment service, it is important that you use this ID to ensure both sections of the Medical Screening Form are linked together. If you don't use the Submission ID, this can delay the process and approval of your medical screening.

Ship Manifest Information Form

All guests joining an expedition cruise must submit the Ship Manifest Information Form no later than eight weeks before embarkation.

GDPR & Data Protection

In completing this form, you are providing us with personal information which we process in accordance with the GDPR and our Privacy Policy. The information contained in sections 1-5 is essential information that is processed either on the basis of contractual necessity or in order to comply with legal obligations placed on us. The information in section 6 is not essential but may help us to make your trip more comfortable. By providing us with this information, you are giving us your explicit consent to process that data for this purpose. You can see more information about how we handle your data by following the link here.

Vaccinations and viruses

The safety of our guests, our employees, and the communities we visit is our priority. We’ve partnered with experts in health and safety to design and implement protocols and procedures across our expedition fleet. You may require vaccinations for your expedition. Please consult your doctor for information on the vaccines you need for your expedition.  

For requirements related to COVID-19, please see here.

Yellow fever

Certain parts of South and Central America, along with our West African destinations, are located in what is classified as the “Yellow Fever endemic zones”. This means all travellers above the age of 9 months must receive the yellow fever vaccination before travelling to these regions. Please note this does not include travellers only visiting Antarctica.

The certificate for the yellow fever vaccination is only valid from 10 days after you receive the vaccination. If you have not had the vaccine in time, you may be denied entry to these areas or instructed to quarantine for up to 6 days. If such a situation occurs, HX Hurtigruten Expeditions cannot accept any liability.

If you need a vaccination certificate for the country you are visiting, but you are not able to have the vaccine due to medical reasons, contact a yellow fever vaccination centre or your doctor. They may provide you with an exemption certificate, which may be accepted by officials in countries that usually require a vaccination certificate.

Zika virus

Zika virus is also detected in Central and South America and Africa so we advise you to talk to your doctor to understand the risks, especially if you are trying to get or are pregnant.

Additional Information

When travelling to countries known to have a risk of yellow fever or Zika virus transmission, we also advise guests to ensure they bring suitable long-sleeved shirts and pants to wear when out on an expedition along with their own supply of insect repellent.

We also recommend seeking medical advice about yellow fever and Zika virus as it is a mandatory requirement for some areas in South and Central America as well as West Africa. You can find out more information about your destination via these links here: