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A great bonus is their patented reclining X-Bow seats, which provides comfort and stability in rough seas – ideal for those prone to sea-sickness. With Antarctica and penguins checked off our list, the only natural progression is an Arctic expedition and polar bears. The cruise line also features Epicurean Expeditions with a culinary and wine focus and new Cultural Expeditions with a focus on authentic and local experiences. For these outings, guests are divided into groups which rotate timeslots during the cruise. Each group is called at a designated time to enjoy a morning outing and an afternoon outing dependent on weather conditions. Sightseeing zodiac safaris are approximately 60 minutes long and shore landings are approximately 90 minutes long.
Ship Size Matters on Antarctica Cruises
An in-room stocked mini bar and 24-hour room service are also part of the fare, as are gratuities, trip delay, and emergency medical evacuation insurance. Le Dame, Silversea’s gourmet French dinner venue, has a different menu than on their classic ships, but was the best meal I had onboard, starting with the included glass of Champagne and continuing with wine pairings. For what it’s worth, the crew assured us that we were experiencing extremely good weather, with waves at around 20 feet high. While I don’t get seasick, nearly everyone else on board did, and the ship doctor spent a great deal of time passing out anti-nausea medication. Although I partook just once, on sea days there was an afternoon tea offering between lunch and dinner. It had all the goodies you’d expect, including scones and finger sandwiches.
Which cruises go to Antarctica?
On the other hand, you will still get up close and personal with the continent via zodiac safaris and shore landings with Atlas. This is not typically the case when visiting the region on a larger cruise ship; your time in Antarctica will likely be all scenic cruising. On an Antarctica cruise, you spend a perhaps surprising amount of time on your cruise ship. It takes nearly two days each way to wend your way through the Beagle Channel and sail through the rocking and rolling Drake Passage between Ushuaia, Argentina, and the Antarctic peninsula with no stops. Once alongside the White Continent, the captain prefers to sail the ship during daylight hours, so mornings are often spent making your way to the landing site and waiting for the expedition crew to set up. The 378-passenger expedition-style cruise ship — from every "Downton Abbey"-loving baby boomer's favorite ocean/river/expedition cruise line Viking — is like the Goldilocks of the South Pole.
Landings
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For instance, say you book your cabin for $8000 USD and the single occupancy cost is 75% of the cabin rate, you would end of paying an additional $6000 or $14000 total to have the room to yourself. The Europa only sails to Antarctica once or twice during the summer season, so snagging a place on one of these voyages isn’t always easy. But if you do manage to secure a berth, you can expect a small group expedition with plenty of Zodiac cruises, landings, and opportunities for spotting wildlife. Unlike more traditional cruises, the focus of an expedition cruise is the onboard enrichment programming. Led by Jean-Roch, the 13-member expedition team on World Voyager consisted of biologists, naturalists, and other experts in outdoor adventures.
Silver Endeavour Antarctica
One thing we’ve discovered over the years is that no two Antarctic expeditions are the same – both in experience, and in service. Some of the fanciest of the newcomers also have such over-the-top amenities as helicopters for sightseeing from above and submarines for seeing what lurks just under the water. At the very high end, some ships feature all-suite accommodations with butler service. Upon check-in all passengers are assigned to a group, which are named after Antarctic wildlife. To minimize waste, the daily schedule is updated on the Hurtigruten app which is accessible to all passengers and on monitors on board.
Similar to Hurtigruten, they focus on sustainability as well as diversity. They currently have just one ship sailing to Antarctica with another joining their fleet in 2023. Within that already expensive range, an Antarctica expedition on the MS Fridtjof Nansen is in the middle to high end of cost depending on how far you book in advance and what cabin you choose to stay in. However, for all the reasons I listed above, I feel that there’s strong value for the cost if you can afford it.
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While gratuities weren’t mandatory, we did have the opportunity to add them to our onboard accounts. We were provided with a sheet recommending tip quantities for the staff. I opted to pay $10.50 per day plus an additional cash tip for housekeeping. Wi-Fi onboard was charged by the minute rather than the amount of data you consumed.
If you want the ultimate bragging rights after your trip to Antarctica make sure you don’t miss the polar plunge. They fill the sea days and evenings, and you shouldn’t miss any. Any decent company, like the ones we recommend above, will also have daily onboard seminars from guides, scientists, biologists and historians to share information about the continent. Some are included in the price for everybody, and others have limited availability for an additional cost. You’ll then have a massive three sea days to get to the Peninsula for your 4 days hanging around here.
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The atmosphere was festive as Meghan, the chief scientist, explained how weather balloons worked, and we all excitedly counted down to the release as if it were New Year's Eve. Afterward, the nerdiest of us crowded around a projection screen in Expedition Central to watch as the balloon's recording device reported back on air temperature, pressure and humidity at different elevations. The crew also demonstrated how to stomp through a boot-washing machine (imagine a car wash, with soap and spinning bristles, for your shoes), the latest in biosafety technology, before escorting me to a Zodiac. Here, two crew members helped me into the boat like I was royalty alighting from my carriage — one handing me down from the ship into the waiting grasp of another crew member standing in the Zodiac. These are all separate from the boarding zone, where groups are invited to go only when they're about to board their ride.
Videos captured are shared with passengers and transmitted to aid scientific research. Cruisers who want an active, adventuresome polar exploration, but on a relatively large ship, or those seeking a smaller environmental footprint will appreciate the line’s two newest ships. Book early enough with a sale in place and you might find the deal of the century. Most Antarctic cruises begin and end in South American ports like Ushuaia or Buenos Aires.
With this cabin type, guests do no have an exterior balcony space. Instead, that extra space is inside the cabin with a top-drop floor-to-ceiling window. While we are not typically fans of this type of balcony, they do have advantages when sailing in destinations like Antarctica. For example, we didn’t have to go outside to experience the conditions, and we could open the window while crossing the Drake Passage and not worry about the 25-foot swells. Located on Deck 4, the Atlas Lounge opens at 10 AM and is a daytime gathering place. Also, on select nights, the Atlas Lounge features live entertainment.
A couple of companies now also offer skiing and snowboarding trips to Antarctica. If you have a month up your sleeve you can either take the historic Ross Sea trips from New Zealand or Tasmania, or be a real adventurer and jump on tall ship to sail down to Antarctica. Then it’s two more days at sea to get to South Georgia, with 3 to 4 days spent visiting the most spectacular place on earth. For example an 11-day itinerary often means just 4-5 days in Antarctica, and the rest of the time is spent before the trip in Buenos Aires or Ushuaia and the two days each way on the Drake.
Their trips attract a younger demographic and a lower price point, but they’ve worked hard to secure some of the best expedition team members in the industry. However, their ships are very large, with between 250 and 500 passengers on each trip, meaning your actual time spent off the ship is limited. These itineraries are usually around 20 days long, with quite a few days spent at sea navigating between each destination, so if you can find a longer itinerary that includes more days at each place it’s worth exploring. When you choose to apply (and are approved) for a new credit card through our site, we may receive compensation from our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. Just unveiled in early 2022, Viking Octantis is fast-growing Viking's first-ever expedition cruise ship, and it boasts some unusual features that make it one of the best cruise ships for exploring Antarctica.
It’s really just a flip of the coin if you will experience the “Drake Shake” or the “Drake Lake” during your Antarctica expedition. If you want to improve your odds of having calmer seas, we suggest you travel during the middle of the season, when the weather tends to be a bit more predictable. There were never long lines to get a drink, even at the coffee shop after returning from a cold morning exploring the polar waters. Likewise, dinner service in the restaurant took about 75 to 90 minutes when dining just the two of us, which is typical. The waitstaff always made sure to check in on us and keep our drink glasses filled. Atlas Ocean Voyages and the World Voyager expedition team shined with the execution of ashore outings and onboard edutainment.
Both the landing and the cruise vary in duration but tend to be up to 2 hours each. Among the companies offering Antarctica expeditions, Hurtigruten is a standout due to their commitment to sustainability. Cruise Critic is not a booking agent and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. When you book with one of our partners, please be sure to check their site for a full disclosure of all applicable fees as required by the U.S.
Every time we got a drink in the Explorers' Lounge, Emily and I would find ourselves in conversation with whoever was seated next to us. The folks we shared a submersible ride with or the folks who always worked out in the fitness center at the same time as me would greet us when we met in the buffet or in line at The Hangar. Their partners include the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the University of Western Australia and the University of Cambridge's Scott Polar Research Institute. Once in the Zodiac, we'd race to shore for a landing, cruise the sea looking for whales or transfer into kayaks (my favorite) for a quiet paddle. The transfer from the Zodiac to the kayak and back again is not exactly a graceful endeavor, but anyone who wants to paddle must prove their agility in an on-ship trial before being allowed to take their skills to the water. I loved the L-shaped leather seating nook by the window, where I could curl up with a book or a room service meal.
