the penguins

our solution which may not help you but works for us is to do 2 TA's a year thus we buy a return air fare which works out cheaper. Also worth exploring on the BA site is to book a return ticket where you choose say Premium economy out which includes baggage etc but the cheapest return i.e. no bags etc as you wont be using it it doesn't what the dates are. The cruise line may also have special one way deals.

Authentic in as much as, at least for a brief moment, you get to experience what life is like without the assumed benefits of any human "civilization" and where the animals/birds have no fear of man. We know from experience that it leaves a deep and lasting impression that affects our actions when we travel to other areas that do not have this protection.

from our experience the lengths the expedition cruise ships go to to protect the environment is extraordinary: 1) during the voyage down all outer clothing that will be worn ashore has to be vacuumed to remove all possible contamination. 2) boots provided to use during the landings are disinfected as you return to the ship and are then dried before the next. 3) All outer clothes are checked before you can reboard and are hosed down as needed. 4) Once on land you are forbidden to put anything on the ground, to pick up or move anything, or to use anything like tissues. 5) you can't approach any animal or interfere/cross any penguin pathway. If animals approach you must stand still and wait for them to pass. 6) Any breaking of the rules will result in an immediate warning and a subsequent breach will result followed in you being banned from future landings. We agree with your mum and always try to " leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but memories. Landings give you the unique opportunity to see animals and birds living in an environment where they have no fear of man and indeed where animals give us the briefest of looks before returning to their normal way of life. The ships contribute to the Antarctic Organisation that works to preserve the area. The "Cruise by" option basically gives you the opportunity to see ice bergs but nothing of the wild life that makes the area unique. We have done it both ways and provided that the ships continue to operate within the rules laid down by the Antarctic Convention I see no issues with them offering this type of cruise. Indeed you could argue that the traditional cruise ships that are not ice strengthend and carry over 2000 passengers are potentially a bigger threat than ships that are designed to operate in these waters and are limited to around 200 passengers. It's a choice we all must make individually.

Expedition prices: some very expensive 5 and 6 star lines now offer this type of cruise with all the facilities you would expect on a traditional cruise. Others, for example Hurtigruten, provide a more basic and to us more authentic type of experience but still with a highly professional Expedition team. As you will spend most of you time on deck, attending briefings, talks, enjoying the observation lounges and of course the landings you will spend so little time in your cabin an inside cabin is really all you need.

The months matters on an expedition cruise . Basically you have 2 choices: Early - from the start of the season until mid November: early in the breeding season so best chance to see baby penguins/seals etc. More snow which can make landings more difficult. Best time for whales. Late: End Jan - March: penguins/seals etc all now juveniles (any babies will have been born too late and will be "Skewer Meat". i.e. won't survive). Less snow landing mainly on rocks. Less chance to see whales. Note: King Penguins breed all year so any time you can see everything from eggs to fully grown adults. If price is not an issue the Christmas/New Year cruise with Hurtigruten with a special Christmas Day service in the church on South Georgia followed by a walk to Shackleton's Grave would be our number one choice (we actually went end Feb/early March

There are no passenger number limits on the type of cruise offered by Celebrity as it doesn't land anywhere covered by the Antarctic Convention. The most important decision you need to make is what sort of experience do you want? 1) that offered by Celebrity, Princess, HAL or any of the other traditional cruise lines which is basically a few days of "scenic Cruising" among ice bergs. The pictures of penguins they include is, I consider misleading as most are either taken in South America or in the Falklands (less than 50% of ships get in to Stanley due to the weather and the long tender ride. 2) A cruise with a specialist company which includes numerous landings enabling you to really experience this unique environment. We have done it both ways once on Celebrity Infinity and once on Hurtigruten's Fram and the Fram wins by a mile. For ship's like the Fram passenger numbers are restricted to around 200 (Fram takes 208 but outside Antarctica it carries over 500). Landings are restricted to 100 at a time with no one person being allowed on shore for more than 1 hour at a time - groups are rotated to to meet these requirements. Prices vary widely - the best usually available as soon as each seasons itineraries are announced and on ship you choose. A few pics to whet your appetite:

as long as you don't remove auto grats tips paid through that system are not shared. Any extra tips you pay direct are also not shared.

just to clear up an "urban myth" about new ships and post Covid Staff which were tackled head on during a wide ranging Q and A session on Silhouette organised by the wonderful Guest Relations Director Julie. with the Hotel Director, Executive Chef and Chief Engineer all taking part 1) It's simply impossible to move all the experienced staff to the new ships. The crew have "sea mans visas" that are valid for the duration of a contract and are ship specific - moving them is impossible. Nor can crew be held without pay waiting for a new ship. 2) experienced staff get more choice over which ships they sail on and many choose only to sail in M or S class. 3) Staff in the same Departments have different length contracts - for example a new Cabin Steward could start with 3 months whilst a more experience one be on 6 or more months - this is essential to avoid all the crew having to be replaced at the same time. Pre Covid this occurred naturally but Post Covid it had to be arranged "artificially" as when a ship sailed for the first time all the crew started on the same day. 4) After Covid over 80% of staff returned - at first this meant it was easy to fill the ships as they restarted but as more of the fleet resumed sailing it became harder. The strict Vaccination/Quarantine regulations also increased the delays - pre covid from offering a contract to boarding a ship could be days post covid it was weeks. 5) Covid and Russia's invasion of Ukraine also highlighted the risks of recruiting mainly from a fairly small number of countries and X has been stepping up recruitment in new areas including the Caribbean and South America. We have sailed numerous times since the restart and have found the level of service to be generally of the same high standards and delivered in the same friendly manner as it was pre covid.

We always pre book. Wait times will vary depending on how many passengers turn up at the same time - just like any other restaurant. If there is a long wait you may be offered a buzzer enabling you to wait in a bar. Wait times can be reduced if you tell the check in staff you are are happy to share - our choice is a table of 6. We don't cruise to eat alone we do that at home.

You can hardly use the term steerage on E class as only around 5% of passengers have the forward view you love. One reason we will never cruise E class.

we have had one bad steward - complained and had meeting with Senior Officer - understood the guy's contract would not be renewed. The biggest complaint (i.e. what makes their job difficult) is the number of passengers who stay in their cabins all day. This is a particular issue on cruises with lots of sea days.

All the Stewards we have spoken too prefer the new system as now they are soley responsible for their own batch of cabins - don't get the blame if others mess up. The number of cabins they do was reduced when the new system was introduced

have to disagree - the real "stock star" is Captain Kirk - see his amazing late night show in the theatre and you will know why.

I admire what appears to be your "apparent" honesty however, at least to my eyes, it has 2 glaring omissions that I assume you will be willing to clarify: 1) you object to auto grats and then go on to say " just because I spend x amount on a cruise doesn't mean I want to tip a certain percentage". What you don't clarify is that having removed Autograts if you then go on to tip staff individually or if you don't tip anyone. Which is it? 2) I assume that you never have a drink at the bar, wine with meals or a coffee in the Al Bacio as all of these have a 20$ gratuity added to the cost.

the comparison with X in all cabin grades is:

look at the original post and you will see they had other questions and later about ship time v land time. I should have added the smiley face to my original post 🤣

Are you sure you are not “over thinking” this. Put Phone on airplane mode, times will be confirmed every day and on boards as you leave the ship. Most times we cruise we are 4, 5, 6 or more hours time difference from our home and the world has never come to an end. You are on vacation relax and enjoy you can catch up with the digital world when you get home.

Just checked and it still shows as Premium on Celebrity’s own site.

check your Roll Call for private excursions

By checking once every day.

We do the same with $ but not everyone comes more than once and a lot don't realise that they can tip in any currency.

how much cash do you expect to need? Credit Cards are accepted just about everywhere so the amount of cash you will need is minimal. Just make sure you have a Credit Card that doesn't charge a currency fee and that all your transactions are in Euro - don't let any store do the conversion for you. If you do have Euro left don't change it back use it for any extra tips on the ship - the crew will happily take any currency and X handles any conversions for them at preferential rates.

Join the Roll Call for your specific sailing and you will probably find private excursions either at a fraction of X's prices or at similar prices for a much better experience (smaller groups, slower pace, less shopping, relaxing coffee breaks).

wow - for us one of the joys of cruising is to get away from the ever increasing intrusion of smart phones and other devices. We are on vacation - one lot of 240 minutes using one shared device (check emails twice a day - sign in and sign out) is more than enough.

the CC Host often checks Sea Passes especially on the first few days. Passes also likely to be checked if passengers "wander in and appear not to know what is happening".