From the Galápagos to the Main Stage: Finding the Trip You Didn’t Know Was on Your Bucket List

A 4 a.m. train to Toronto took me to the ACTA Eastern Canada Travel Industry Summit, where I had the honour of speaking on the main stage about one of my favourite subjects:

Sheila Gallant-Halloran wearing her National Geographic Antarctica parka on the ACTA Eastern Canada Summit main stage. (photo @acta)

Expedition and experiential travel.

It was my third consecutive year speaking at the ACTA Summit.

The first year, I spoke in breakout sessions about luxury travel.

The following year, I was one of two travel advisors on a breakout panel about expedition cruising.

In September 2026, that conversation moved to the main stage.

I joined moderator Cara Matthew of Lindblad Expeditions and fellow travel advisors Mike Allard and Cynthia Davidson for a session called “Connecting Your Clients with Extraordinary Experiences.”

And yes, we dressed for the occasion.

The three travel advisors took the stage in expedition parkas, and I proudly wore my National Geographic Antarctica parka.

But while we talked about Antarctica, the Galápagos, expedition ships and extraordinary places around the world, my biggest message wasn’t really about any particular destination.

It was about curiosity.

A bucket-list trip I didn’t know was on my bucket list

Sheila Gallant-Halloran in Galapagos Islands on her first expedition cruise.

I told the audience about my first introduction to expedition travel.

It was November 2012, when I travelled to the Galápagos with Adventures by Disney.

At that point in my travel career, I sold a lot of Disney.

I wasn’t someone who had spent years dreaming about becoming an “expedition cruiser.”

In fact, before I left, I felt almost unprepared for where I was going.

I knew I would be walking in a place forever associated with Charles Darwin, so I read On the Origin of Species.

I researched the equator.

I learned about the wildlife and, of course, the blue-footed boobies.

Then I arrived.

I put on a wetsuit for the first time.

I snorkelled.

And I discovered an entirely different world beneath the water.

On land, there were flamingos, red-footed and blue-footed boobies, sea lions and iguanas.

We watched for sea turtle tracks in the sand and stayed out of their way.

Because we were the visitors. The wildlife ran the show.

Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I realized something:

I had discovered a bucket-list trip I hadn’t known was on my bucket list.

That experience changed the way I travelled.

It also changed the way I became a travel advisor.

Don’t look only for expedition cruisers. Look for curiosity.

Sheila Gallant-Halloran wearing her National Geographic Antarctica parka on the ACTA Eastern Canada Summit main stage, speaking about expedition cruising. (photo @acta)

Before becoming a travel advisor, I spent more than 20 years as an actuary.

My professional world involved risk, analysis, models, precision—and asking lots and lots of questions.

When I began introducing clients to expedition travel, I noticed something interesting.

Some of the people drawn to it were actuaries and other professionals I had known during my previous career.

Many weren’t cruisers.

Some were emphatically not cruisers.

But they were curious.

They were lifelong learners.

They were interested in science, wildlife, history, photography and the natural world.

That made me think back to my own Galápagos experience.

If I hadn’t known I wanted this kind of travel until I experienced it, how many of my clients might feel exactly the same way?

So instead of simply asking clients where they want to go next, I ask different questions.

What was your favourite trip—and why?

What do you read?

What do you watch?

What do you do in your spare time?

Are you a photographer?

A hiker?

A cyclist?

A wildlife lover?

What have you always been fascinated by?

What makes you curious?

Those answers can tell me far more than a list of countries.

Sheila Gallant-Halloran in Antarctica with Lindblad Expeditions NG Endurance.

An expedition traveller doesn’t necessarily look like an “expedition traveller”

That was another message I shared from the ACTA stage.

There is no single expedition-traveller profile.

I’ve worked with solo travellers who discovered that expedition ships can be remarkably social because guests begin sharing experiences from the moment they climb into a Zodiac.

I’ve worked with couples where one person craves adventure and the other values creature comforts—and found an expedition experience capable of satisfying both.

I’ve worked with photographers for whom the ship wasn’t really the point.

It was the access the ship provided to wildlife, landscapes and extraordinary photographic opportunities.

I’ve introduced people who insisted they weren’t cruisers to expedition cruising—and watched them fall in love with it.

And I’ve seen one extraordinary journey lead to another.

Antarctica leads to Greenland.

Greenland leads to the Galápagos.

A couple travels together, and the next time one person brings a daughter, sister or friend.

People get hooked—not necessarily on cruising, but on this way of experiencing the world.

Is expedition cruising right for you?

Sheila Gallant-Halloran on the stage at ACTA. (photo @acta)

You may be an expedition traveller if you’re drawn to:

wildlife and the natural world;
science, geology or history;
photography;
remote landscapes;
learning from specialists;
active experiences such as hiking, kayaking or snorkelling;
smaller ships;
flexible itineraries shaped by weather and wildlife; or
reaching places that are difficult to visit independently.

You don’t need to be a marathon runner.

You don’t need to enjoy roughing it.

And you don’t need to consider yourself a traditional cruiser.

But you do need a degree of flexibility.

On an expedition, weather, wildlife, ice and local conditions may influence what happens each day.

The itinerary is a plan—not a promise that nature will follow a schedule.

For the right traveller, that unpredictability isn’t a flaw.

It is part of the adventure.

Sheila Gallant-Halloran on the stage at ACTA, talking about expedition cruising. (photo @acta)

Expedition doesn’t have to mean Antarctica

Antarctica is extraordinary.

I’ve been fortunate to experience it aboard Lindblad Expeditions–National Geographic’s National Geographic Endurance, and I’ve helped clients find their own way there—including travellers who chose to fly over the Drake Passage.

But Antarctica doesn’t have to be your first—or only—expedition.

Maybe it’s the Galápagos.

Maybe it’s Baja California and its whales.

Maybe it’s Alaska, Iceland, Greenland or the Peruvian Amazon.

And maybe it’s right here in Canada.

In September 2016, I circumnavigated Newfoundland—my home province—aboard National Geographic Explorer with Lindblad Expeditions.

Experiencing Newfoundland and Labrador from an expedition ship added an entirely different dimension to a place I already knew and loved.

In February 2025, I travelled with my niece aboard Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot on a Canadian winter expedition through the St. Lawrence region and boreal environment.

Our days included dog sledding, snowshoeing and ice fishing.

Back onboard, the experience included French cuisine, fine wine, caviar and Champagne.

It was a wonderful reminder that:

Adventure and luxury aren’t opposites.

For the right traveller, they can coexist beautifully.

I’m also working on an Adventure Canada group to Sable Island, one of those remarkable places many Canadians have heard about but relatively few ever experience.

Canada offers extraordinary expedition possibilities—from Newfoundland and Labrador north into the Canadian Arctic and the Northwest Passage.

Adventure can be in our own backyard.

Sheila Gallant-Halloran with her niece dog-sledding off an expedition cruise with Ponant Expeditions. (photo @cindymillerhopkins)

Sometimes the ship is not the destination

On an expedition cruise, the ship matters.

Passenger capacity matters.

Zodiac operations matter.

The expedition team matters.

The mudroom, outdoor viewing areas and the way guests move on and off the ship matter.

But the most important question is often:

What does this ship allow you to experience?

For a wildlife photographer, that might mean access to remote coastlines and help from specialist photographers.

For a lifelong learner, it might mean travelling with marine biologists, geologists, historians and naturalists.

For an active traveller, it might mean hiking, kayaking, snorkelling or Zodiac exploration.

For someone who values comfort, it might mean returning from the day’s adventure to a beautiful suite, excellent cuisine and attentive service.

This is why there isn’t one universally “best” expedition cruise line.

The right choice depends on the destination, operator, ship, itinerary, activities, comfort level—and the traveller.

Have you ever thought about…?

Sheila Gallant-Halloran in the Peruvian Amazon on an expedition cruise.

Perhaps this is the most important part of what I shared at ACTA.

Sometimes my job isn’t simply to book the trip a client asks me for.

It’s to know that client well enough to say:

“Have you ever thought about…?”

Have you ever thought about seeing the whales in Baja?

Have you ever thought about the Galápagos?

Have you ever thought about flying over the Drake Passage instead of sailing it?

Have you ever thought about seeing Canada’s Arctic, Newfoundland or Sable Island from a small expedition ship?

Sometimes the answer will be no.

But every once in a while, I get to watch someone’s expression change as a possibility they had never considered suddenly becomes imaginable.

And that is one of my favourite parts of what I do.

From a 4 a.m. train to a very rewarding afternoon

After our ACTA session ended, longtime industry colleagues and people I had never met before came over to talk.

Several thanked me specifically for the energy and passion I brought to the stage.

That meant a great deal to me.

Because nearly fourteen years after I first pulled on that wetsuit in the Galápagos, the sense of discovery hasn’t gone away.

There is still an enormous world out there that I want to see.

And I still get just as excited about helping my clients discover the extraordinary journey they didn’t know was on their bucket list.

That is what I mean when I talk about Return on Life.

Travel isn’t simply about where you’ve been.

It is about what you experience.

What you learn.

Who you share it with.

And what comes home with you. ❤️

Explore my firsthand expedition experience

My expedition story began in the Galápagos, but it didn’t end there.

You can explore my firsthand expedition-cruise experience across Antarctica, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Peruvian Amazon, Iceland and Canada’s boreal winter.

Perhaps you’ll discover a journey you didn’t know was on your bucket list.

I’m Sheila Gallant-Halloran, founder of Lush Life Travel and a Canadian river and expedition-cruise specialist.

I help curious travellers compare destinations, expedition companies, ships, activities and comfort levels to find the experience that fits them.

Live Life. Love Travel. Return on Life.