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Personally, I haven't seen a deposit promotion (we have booked with them on and off between 2006-2022 both Antarctic and Arctic). That's not to say it hasn't or won't happen ... especially if they are having to compete with other companies that have begun reducing their deposit requirement.

If it were me, I would definitely book an aft cabin with a balcony. We've done this in both Antarctica and Greenland (on month-long expedition-style trips). Bundled up and used the balcony quite a bit, alternating with the outdoor decks at times.

When I checked with O about an upcoming cruise booked before the changes were made to the gratuity policy, I was told that yes, they would honor the old policy for that booking.

Drake Passage ... true that route tends to cross the Drake one way. However, our first trip, the crossing from Ushuaia to the Falklands was worse than the Drake crossing on the way back. And this year the crossing from Ushuaia to South Georgia was similarly shaky. There is no rhyme or reason to what Mother Nature will throw at you, so it's luck of the draw. And whether the ship you are on has stabilizers that it can deploy in open water. We've had both the Drake Shake and the Drake Lake on our various expeditions ... always go prepared with sea sickness meds (most expedition companies will have remedies onboard; I prefer to take my own). Actually stepping on the Antarctic continent on most itineraries happens once (maybe twice). Once you pass the convergence area (I think 60th parallel ... not sure off hand), you are in Antarctica ... even if landing on the islands and not the continent itself. Whether the company you choose would cut out days in South Georgia just to make a continental landing ... I'm not sure. Perhaps someone has experienced that. I would doubt it, however ... keep in mind that they have to get back to Ushuaia by a set date anyway, so major changes like that would be difficult to make. South Georgia is a sub-Antarctic Island ... the experience there is very different from Antarctica, and IMHO, is not to be missed. Crossing the circle, will take you deeper into Antarctic waters ... we've done this twice on our Oceanwide itineraries, but in neither case was it the goal. We just had to cross the circle to get where we were going. Whether you are able to cross the circle is entirely dependent on ice conditions and weather. Only you can determine if the actual circle crossing is important to you. The scenery may not differ much, though you could potentially see a stray emperor penguin or two, and maybe an ice shelf. I would suggest reading reviews of the various itineraries to get a feel for them. I'm not sure if other lines have blogs, but the Oceanwide website does (here's a link, for example, to the Circle Crossing reviews and photos ... https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/antarctica/polar-circle, scroll to the bottom). I'm not saying go with OE, but these will give you a general idea of what to expect as the peninsula itineraries are fairly similar. Under the Antarctica drop down, you can select other itineraries to read reviews. Here are my photos from the first expedition we did with Quark that included the Falklands, South Georgia, and Peninsula (from 2007) ... https://eenusa.smugmug.com/Antarctica/Falklands-South-Georgia-Penins. We went on this expedition thinking it would be the only time we would go there, got bit by the "ice virus" and have gone several times afterwards to experience different parts of the continent. This link has South Georgia photos from this year ... I am including it because we did manage to get to some of the major king penguin colonies, such as St Andrews ... https://eenusa.smugmug.com/Antarctica/RWSE/FP-JOU2 This link is to a post from my 2015 Ross Sea blog ... https://2totravel.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-drake-treats-us-to-lake.html. On our way south from Ushuaia to the peninsula. The subsequent posts until you get to the write up for the Bellingshausen Sea are for the areas we visited around the west side of the peninsula and our circle crossing. You are welcome to read any and all of the posts, but these are the ones that would be most pertinent to what you are considering. Enjoy the research and planning.

We have sailed both Quark (Antarctica, Greenland, Arctic) and Silver Sea (Svalbard) only. I did not initially respond for that reason, but here goes. From your concern about the Quark portion of your trip perhaps not being upscale, it might be that Silver Sea will fit your needs better. That said, for my money, I would select Quark for the basic reason that we have found that Quark's focus is more on the expedition than on the luxury ... even though their Ultramarine is now more luxurious (heated floors in the shower, for example) than the other Quark vessels we have sailed. Ultramarine also has the ability to carry helicopters (whether they do so on every itinerary, I do not know.) On our sailing, we found Silver Sea to be more focused on luxury ... one example (out of many) that I can give: the expedition leader did not alert passengers to a blue whale sleeping on the surface because it was early morning (well before 8:00a) and yet the Quark ship that was nearby had its passengers crowding the decks (obvious from all the yellow parkas lining the railing) to watch that same blue whale. We are early risers and were already on deck (with the EL and maybe 2-3 other pax) so we did not miss the opportunity to see it and watch it eventually dive deep about 15-20 minutes later. We go on expeditions to experience the environment and the wildlife, not for the shipboard experience. While our experience may have been a one off, and things may have changed since our Svalbard trip, it has soured us on Silver Sea Expeditions and we no longer consider them an option for this type of trip. We are all different and what suits one may not suit another. Only you can decide which one if a fit for you. Enjoy the planning phase of your trip.

Landings for those not participating in the kayaking are by zodiac (some companies, like Viking) I believe also have other small boats [not sure what they call them] they use at times ... at least that's the impression I got from a friend who went on one of the Viking expedition ships earlier this year). If the kayakers have an opportunity to land when they are out kayaking, then they would have to do so out of their kayaks. My experience has been that you sign up for the kayaking at the time of your booking or coordinate it after you book but before you get on board the ship. The kayak group size is limited by the number of kayaks on board, so those who are avid kayakers tend to sign up early to ensure their place. Once onboard they go through a session with the kayak guides to understand the requirements/procedures for kayaking in Antarctic waters. On all of our expeditions where kayaking was an option, I've talked to people who signed up initially but then decided cold-water kayaking was not for them. Others have stayed with the kayak group, but at times joined the non-kayakers for shore landings instead. As someone who has kayaked very little, I personally, would not kayak in Antarctica. To answer your initial question. We've done three expeditions and one cruise-by (Oceania) in Antarctica. Our expeditions have been with Quark (first time ... Falklands, South Georgia, and Peninsula); Oceanwide ... Ross Sea (from Ushuaia to Bluff, New Zealand); Oceanwide ... Remote Weddell Sea (Ushuaia Round Trip ... South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands, East Weddell Sea). We have enjoyed them all. I can't say that we had anything that I would consider "worst" ... just nit picks that did not really impact our experience. We like both companies "best" for their 'focus' on the expedition ... one example, not being averse to waking us up for interesting sightings. Most recently (2015 and 2025) we have sailed Oceanwide's Ortelius for its unique itineraries, helicopters that enabled us to get to places we would otherwise have been unable to reach. Ship is comfortable but basic ... which we don't mind in the least.No mud room ... but in our twin window cabin, we had no problems storing our muck boots, vests, etc. If you want a bit more than basic, Quark's Ultramarine might suit better (heated floors in showers, mud room, etc.). Bridge Team and Expedition staff have been amazing on both. For a first-timer to Antarctica, I am not sure I would recommend a "unique" itinerary on Oceanwide's Ortelius unless you are a 'go with the flow type traveler who can accept that, by its very nature, expeditions mean itineraries that change as conditions warrant. (They do have other itineraries that focus on the peninsula ... Ortelius and other ships.) Unique often means hard to reach and will likely have fewer alternative landing options in the vicinity. A Peninsula trip with stops in Falklands and South Georgia (the latter is a must in my opinion) is ideal for first timers IMHO. Enjoy the research and planning.

https://www.bordeaux-port.fr/en This link has the cruise ship schedule and the opening times for Pont-Chaban, the bridge that ships heading up to Bordeaux have to navigate. If you find Vista on the bridge schedule then it’s more than likely you will dock in the city.

@Ender_OKC What was said before… and also, they take sea state and wind into consideration, and if the conditions exceed their safety limits, they won’t put zodiacs into the water. That’s not to say that it might not be choppy, but never really bouncy, bouncy to the point of feeling like you will be thrown off or out of the zodiac. We’ve had people occasionally ask the driver permission to sit down on the floor of the zodiac if the waves bothered them, but that is less comfortable and getting back up is more difficult. You can coordinate with the Expedition Leader and ask that your husband be seated in the middle to rear of the zodiac … I find that section to be more stable than the front if there is chop. It might also ease your husband’s mind to know that he is close to the zodiac driver.

For a non-expedition Antarctica cruise, you don’t need heavy boots. But also consider what you might need on excursions in your other ports of call as the same footwear should suffice on deck. As for the Falklands, it will depend on what you are planning to do. If you are staying in town, no special footwear would be needed, if you are going to a penguin rookery, it can be wet and muddy. We usually take our Keen hiking boots to wear on port excursions where there is a lot of walking, and the one time we were in Antarctica (which included the Falklands) on a non-expedition, wore our Keens on deck and at Volunteer Point in the Falklands with two pairs of socks (one of them a liner) because we like to be outside for long periods of time and cold feet are no fun. Toe warmers, which you stick on the bottom of the sock, also work wonders if your footwear won’t allow two pairs of socks. Have a terrific time.

Enjoying your write up. Our friends Gordon and Lisa are on the ship with you, so it will be interesting to have two points of view.

Assuming you are arriving into EZE, just after you collect your bags in customs and go through the doors, you find yourself in a small area with a number of rental car company and other transportation kiosks. One or two of them are for Tienda Leon … a remis (private car/driver) company. They also operate a shuttle bus into the city (mostly I believe to the domestic airport, but not sure). I would highly recommend Tienda Leon. We did not book in advance, though you can do so. Our wait to arrange the remis at EZE was just five or six minutes. The price is a flat fee depending on your destination. And the nice thing is you pay for the service at the kiosk with a credit card and don’t have to deal with payment to the driver at the other end. Didn’t look into the shuttle bus as we were going to a hotel. There are taxis. But word to the wise … there are a lot of hawkers who act like drivers and approach you in and outside the terminal and they are not legit drivers. Even near the official taxi line this is an issue. So you need to make sure you are talking to the right person. After experiencing this the first couple of times, we now use Tienda Leon. Taxi Ezeiza is another company that has a kiosk at EZEIZA where you can hire and prepay for a taxi, but I have read mixed reviews about them. There is Uber in the city and it worked well for us for those short drives, but not sure I’d use it from the airport. The Buenos Aires forum on TripAdvisor has lengthy discussions on EZE TO BsAs transport. Have fun!

@dkfpacifica … back to again say thank you for your review. I just finished reading your blog posts for this trip. Enjoyed your story telling style and the beautiful photos. You had some great wildlife encounters … and of course A23a. It all brought back many memories of a similar itinerary we did in 2007 on a Quark ship, Professor Molchanov (you likened your ship to a Comfort Inn … ours would have been a Motel 6 … but with the entire focus on all things expedition, it really did not matter as it provided the essentials).

I would not rely on the ports in the cabin. On several ships, both Oceania and others, we have encountered USB ports next to either side of the bed that did not work or were simply too slow. I always bring a multi port unit that I plug into any of the outlets by the desk for a charging station … I always have a European adapter and an use that outlet for charging if I need the 120v outlet for something else.

We are at 40 cruises on O, and this is the first time I am seeing mention of a charge for lost ship card … definitely something new.

Thanks for your review. I’m sorry you missed some of the sites. The good news is that things seem to be improving with regards to the bird flu … even in Gold Harbour where there was some major issues last year. We were in South Georgia with Oceanwide’s Ortelius in February 2025, and I am happy to say that we were able to make landings at Right Whale Bay, Grytviken, St Andrews, and Gold Harbour. That said, at several of the landings, we were told to avoid certain areas on shore as the recon team had seen animals with possible signs of bird flu. One of those areas was on the path to Shackleton’s grave on Grytviken, but using the path and going to the cemetery was cleared by the SGI authorities. The ban on kneeling, sitting, and even crouching if your jacket had the possibility of touching the ground was very much in effect. No putting bags on the ground. Tripods were allowed, though I saw very few using them. Disinfecting boots and tripods before and after a landing were followed strictly.

My experience with this is that if you book a cruise longer than two weeks, and pay the difference, the agent does get a prorated commission on the paid portion … but regardless of how you book that longer cruise, no club point(s) for you for the paid portion. This is based on our platinum perk cruise in 2022. Like so many other things, it may have changed.

We did our first world cruise while we were full-timing in our motorhome. Packing for 180 days was a hilarious affair (even with having more space than you probably have in the van). We got it done with a lot of laughter and look on that time with fondness. Our world cruise was on the smaller Insignia, and we were in what some refer to as a regular cabin here … it was bigger than our bedroom in the motorhome. Have a wonderful time!

This might be your 3rd port in Greece, but when you leave the ship permanently, you are more often than not have to go through immigration. It very much depends on the rules of the country where you want to disembark. Our most recent experience leaving the ship was in Australia. We were on a full circumnavigation and disembarked in Hobart before returning to Sydney. We had to meet with immigration officers, who in this case, came on the ship, checked our passports and asked for luggage to be opened for a check. There were three different couple disembarking in this instance, and we all had to go through the process. Before working with Oceania, I worked with the Port Agent for Oceania to confirm we’d be able to disembark. And even though the authorities said yes, by the way, I still had to have a letter from Oceania that showed where I was disembarking.

Personally, I'm not sure I would attempt this at Santorini (or any tender port). Aside from tenders, weather, recent volcanic activity, and related possibility of port cancelation, and multiple ships -- there is the issue of getting yourself from the tender drop-off pier up to the top in Fira (Thera). You're already aware that you would be required to take the cable car, which may or may not allow you to take luggage in the cable car. You might have better luck managing this if you make arrangements in advance with Oceania to take your luggage with you on a ship's tour. Those passengers get off first at a different tender pier that is accessible by tour buses. We've never booked a ship's tour in Santorini, so I'm not sure how the shoreside logistics works. I'm sure someone can expand on this. Whether you can even leave the ship is dependent on the rules of the country and usually you are not allowed to do so unless there are immigration officers available. When we needed to disembark early, I had to get it cleared through Oceania a couple of months in advance and received a letter stating that I would be disembarking at such and such port, and then I coordinated the actual arrangements with the officer on the ship who works with arrival/departure authorities.

These ferry ports are about 30 minutes from Ringaskiddy (which might work if we can find taxis at the port ... which I have read are limited. I did read that there might be a water taxi to Cobh, which we could use to get to the train station there, but it would be a roundabout way of getting to Cork. I'm waiting to hear back from TA and Oceania, but in the meantime, I appreciate your efforts on my behalf.

I searched the Oceania board and the shuttle list but came up empty for Ringaskiddy, which is where Vista will be docking on 29 August (verified with port authority website). The British Isles port forum does have some info about Rinkaskiddy, but I didn't see anyone from Oceania reporting their experience. I understand this is a commercial port with no facilities. And shuttles are sometimes provided by either the ship or the port authority. Any Oceania cruisers have first-hand experience of how things work at Ringaskiddy?

Actually, I just claimed my free cruise after 39 points, so my 40th is my free cruise. Just received the repriced invoice because the cruise I booked is 30 days, so the price was prorated.

Sorry ... misquoted ... the response was for @redraider1966.

On your free cruise, any amenities associated specifically with the Oceania Club, you will receive. Any perks you received as part of a promotion (I.e. Simply More, etc) at the time you booked the cruise, you will not retain. This is how the O Club rep explained it to me when I submitted my booking for pricing readjustment for our free cruise.

We’ve done that on occasion, but most of the time, the pace is just too slow for us.