i have about 9837483 questions about antarctica

ill try to limit it to a couple. :)

i started researching antarctica this weekend. i am aware that you can only actually land there if you are on a ship that has less than 100 people. i am seriously looking into this and if anyone has ANY tips or advice, i would greatly appreciate it.

but in the meantime, the larger ships that go there (such as holland america), what do they do? just a quick drive-by "hey theres antarctica!" and thats it? whats the appeal in that? im seriously asking because obviously a trip like that is thousands of dollars less than the smaller ones. im probably only going to get there once in my life, i should splurge right?

Hi,

I just returned from a trip to Antarctica (the Weddell Sea). We researched the kind of trip we wanted to make and ended up being one of 66 on a ship (Peregrine Tours) that could hold 109. We went ashore as much as 3 times a day (weather permitting). I've read accounts of the bigger ships making folks wait a day and a half for their "group" to go ashore. Absolutely splurge - it's a trip of a lifetime!

I have 400 photos if you want to browse: http://picasaweb.google.com/nola92124

Email me directly if you have more questions: jeepgal2005@gmail.com

I'll be glad to help!

ill try to limit it to a couple. :)

 

i started researching antarctica this weekend. i am aware that you can only actually land there if you are on a ship that has less than 100 people. i am seriously looking into this and if anyone has ANY tips or advice, i would greatly appreciate it.

 

but in the meantime, the larger ships that go there (such as holland america), what do they do? just a quick drive-by "hey theres antarctica!" and thats it? whats the appeal in that? im seriously asking because obviously a trip like that is thousands of dollars less than the smaller ones. im probably only going to get there once in my life, i should splurge right?

I'm among the CC'ers going with HAL to South America & Antarctica in Jan '08. I too have been researching this destination. Here is a link to an excellent posting where the poster took a 'landing' cruise.

The idea of climbing into a Zodiac for transfer to/from the ship while there does NOT appeal to me at all. We're taking a 'viewing' cruise.

On our cruise we'll be spending 3 days 'cruising' Antarctica. From reviews I've read (one from this year), one of those days while there we'll have some of the scientists from Palmer Station come on board to talk about their experiences there. (It was mentioned they liked going back to the Station with fresh fruit and veggies from the ship.) One of those going with us has done this cruise before and said it was the best itineary she has ever done (with over 300 days on HAL) - so much so, that she is doing this 'trip of a lifetime' cruise again.

We have already been to the Antarctica Visitors Centre (located in Christchurch, NZ - where most of the staging for Antarctic supplies/expeditions takes place) and are now really looking forward to actually seeing Antarctica!

Good luck with your decision as to what is right for you.

how many days? We have the same issue. There are three of us, we want to land (did zodiacs in Galapagos) but all we see is trips for $25-30K for 3 persons.

I have a friend who went through Overseas Adventure Travel. I saw a pict of her single cabin and it looked looked like a dump. I know its adventure travel but still too much money for that type of cabin.

Jeepgal2005 - Your pictures are simply breathtaking...

What a wonderful trip. Thanks for sharing with us!

MC

thanks for your replies! Jeepgal2005 - your pictures are incredible. as i was going through them i realized that this is what i want to do more than anything.

mary ellen - thanks for the links! its really helpful to see what others have done when making my decision.

jade13 - most of the cruises ive looked at average about 12 days. the big kicker for me is that id be doing it solo. so that makes it even more expensive. ive been looking at polarcruises and they have triple cabins. not luxurious cabins of course, but it would help greatly with your budget.

We visited Antarctica on HAL's MS Amsterdam in December 2003. We spent 3 days cruising in Antarctic waters and while we had no "landings" we were in awe of just how spectacular and unique Antarctica is. It was THE cruise of our lifetime. We saw Palmer Station, cruised in Lemaire Channel and Gerlache Channel and cruised by the Chilean station in Paradise bay. The weather and sea conditions were so good that our Captain elected to make a dash down to the Antarctic Circle to see the sunrise. We cruised by Deception and Elephant Islands.

Yes, the down side of being on such a large ship is that we could not do any "landings" nor get into Deception Island, but we were still amazed by the wildlife and striking landscapes and icebergs. IMO, regardless which way you choose to visit, you won't be disappointed.

I am sure a small ship experience is not for everyone, so researching what the various options are is essential. There was no doubt in our mind that we wanted a small ship experience, but not a participatory one (i.e. we did not want a sailing vessel where we would have to help sail along the way).

We went with Quark on their 48 pax ship, Prof Molchanov (last season with Quark, but they have other small ships), and despite the "cost," I would not change the size of the ship or the itinerary (20 days), which included the Falklands and South Georgia as well as the peninsula. (We planned and saved for 5 years to swing this trip.)

The cabins were small, but clean and comfortable. We had a cabin with private facilities, but the ship also had twin and triples with shared facilities that really brought the price down; curtains around the bunks provided additional privacy if sharing with a stranger. In all honesty, we were hardly in the cabin as there was so much going on even on sea days, but there was an advantage to the smaller cabins in rough seas --- enough handholds to make it from one side of the cabin to the other without being thrown about. (A few passengers in the larger suite-type cabins did not have as many handholds, and did have a few accidents when the movement was particularly bad.)

We were relatively lucky with sea conditions, the worst was the Drake Passage coming back (to be expected-but even that was rated only a 7.5 on a scale of 10 by the expedition staff and others who had previously sailed in the area) and the crossing from Ushuaia to the Falklands (hit a storm). I doubt we would have felt the motion as badly on a larger ship, but we didn't really mind. Just took our seasickness precautions and enjoyed it all as part of the experience. Watching the seas swell around you from the warmth and safety of the bridge of a small ship is quite an experience. There were only two times the bridge was off limits to passengers, and that was when the pilot was aboard leaving from and returning to Ushuaia.

When we think back on the experience, the expedition staff was a big part of why we enjoyed our trip so much. Despite their many, many trips to the area, their continued enthusiasm was incredibly infectious. The kectures on sea days were informative and fun and added to the whole experience.

Weather was very cooperative. We made about 25 landings and zodiac cruises and each landing was no less than 2 hours, each cruise at least an hour - the longest zodiac cruise was in Pleneau Bay (about three hours or so, including the time we spent zipping around to see all the whales that were around us). The ship provided ample shelter for very easy zodiac operations, and after the first time or two, getting on and off became second nature with a seaman on the gangway and the zodiac driver assisting. The few times we had swells, we just had to time our steps and listen to instructions for the moment to step in and out of the boats.

I am working on a summary, but things are busy at the work. I will post, when I am done. Photos will probably take even longer. However, I will check back for questions.

dgp666-- I know you have viewed my photos from the link I put on eco cruising section. Many thanks for the kind comment. You can land from ships with more than 100 people. Yes as others say you do go in groups, we were on Hutigruten's (formerly Norwegian coastal voyages) MV Nordkapp. We had 300 passengers & got in 9 landings 7 of 1 hour & 2 of half an hour. Mostly that is plenty of time to see what you want to see, Port Lockroy could have done with a bit more time for most people. We had 10 groups approx 30, & rotated in turn for landings, worked very well. Their polarCirkel boats are far superior IMHO to the zodiacs others use. Safety handrails & proper steps in/out, & faster as well. They only take 8 passengers so loading is quick. Other larger ships that do landings are Marco Polo & Discovery but they will probably both do less landings & are more expensive as well. OOPS SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY K B CANNOT STOP CAPS< WILL COME BACK LATER WITH REST OF INFO

h2so4 - i would love to see your pictures when you get them up. quark is one of the websites i visited when i was pricing things out. they also match solo travelers with room mates, which is something i dont think i want to do, but if doing it could get me there a year earlier, i just might. although then i think if i am on such a small trip with the same people for that length of time, i might really want my own cabin for some alone time. i imagine you all get to know each other pretty well while being on that ship. did that ever get to you? seeing the same people all day every day? i can see that it might, but on the other hand i can see the experience overwhelming that.

minke, thank YOU for posting the pictures! they were so great. im looking forward to reading more about your experience! i am now going to google your ship and see what i come up with.

thanks!

Back again after switching off to sort that out. I was going on to say the TA in states with best prices for Hurtigruten has a name beginning with Vant... (believe not supposed to give name unless asked for). A lot (178) of passengers on our voyage were with them & they had their own tour leaders onboard. If anyone else would like to view my photos (they were a featured album on front page of webshots friday 26th Jan) the link again is http://travel.webshots.com/album/556799884Xpmhqz

Nola-- enjoyed viewing your photos, you saw some of the same icebergs as we did I think, especially shadow of ship one, but we did it at sunset! It is a fantasic place though where ever you go. You were getting on the ship at Ushuaia as we got off in Punta Arenas. I was surprised how the snow had dissapeared just 2/3 weeks after our visit at Deception Island. Your historic photos from there are vg. 50 years ago I was able to walk to the top before the eruption. Finally I bet your cruise cost a lot more than mine, so you pays your money & makes your choice as they say.

For those who only want to go on the big ships that do not land, I say consider NCV, you will see a lot more & have a genuine wilderness experience.

Good luck to all future Antarctic cruisers, you better get there before it dissapears!

Will definitely post the link, but be patient. (I know it's hard to be when you're planning an Antarctic trip.)

I hear you about sailing with a stranger - I'd certainly be cautious myself, especially since I need time to myself to recharge my batteries and I am essentially someone who likes to have "alone" time.

There were a lot of solo cruisers on our sailing, most sharing with complete strangers. Seems like a few of them were not as well matched, but for the most part everyone seemed to get along fine. (One lucky guy paid for a shared twin and ended up having the room to himself.) That said, we all spent so much time either on landings, cruises, on deck, on the bridge, at lecture, etc. that you could escape your assigned roommate should you wish to. On landings, we were given a brief by the expedition leader on do's and don'ts and then were left to our own devices so it wasn't tough to get away from the group at all although you might have to share your chosen space with 100,000 king penguis. Before we went, I was concerned we would be kept so tightly together that I would have little yellow dots (Quark's gift parkas) in all of my pictures - it was a needless worry. Even on the group activities, like the hike across Carcass Island, we were a pretty loose group with an expedition member at the head and another one at the back of the group, but they never hustled us unless there was a time crunch.

For a small ship, it was amazing how much space there was to find some privacy and be completely alone. We were lucky with the weather of course, and it helped that all the deck space from the bow to the stern to the flybridge were always open to us.

While a few groups did form, more often than not people opted to spend time with different people, choosing different tables (and in our case, even different dining rooms - there were two on the Molchanov, on either side of the ship). That certainly helped when "togetherness" started to get on one's nerves.

Got to get back to my project at work. Will check back later.

Just wanted to say thanks for posting your pictures - they certainly made my day during lunch and were such a vivid reminer of our own trip. I'm going to have to look at them again tonight when I get home.

minke- i am asking for the name! :)

h2so4 - i would love to end up like the guy on your cruise who ended up in a room all to himself! lets face it, if i am travelling to this remote location by myself, this means i want to be alone. i dont want to offend anyone on such a small cruise by being annoyed by their presence in a cabin they paid half for. but at the same time, this is thousands of dollars i can save. still undecided on that, but i have plenty of time.

i printed out 100+ pages of brochures from various websites this morning. i will be sorting through them tonight and wishing i were there.

has anyone done the camping option or the polar bear swim?

We spent 12 nights on the boat. The Academik Ioffe that Peregrine Tours uses is a beautiful boat, well kept. It's pristine, clean and we found our 2-rm suite really comfortable and roomy.

The bridge was open and available for passengers 24/7. It totally added to the experience to be able to head up to the bridge at any time - see the seas from there, check out the charts and radar, etc.

Jeepgal2005@gmail.com

how many days? We have the same issue. There are three of us, we want to land (did zodiacs in Galapagos) but all we see is trips for $25-30K for 3 persons.

 

 

I have a friend who went through Overseas Adventure Travel. I saw a pict of her single cabin and it looked looked like a dump. I know its adventure travel but still too much money for that type of cabin.

The name is Vantage travel, they also had a big group on our Far East cruise last fall. I was in email contact with someone on the sister ship Nordnorge one week earlier to us & he said they had best prices in USA. Several Americans had been before but said when they had a flyer from Vantage the price was such that they had to go again! Next year a new ship the Fram replaces Nodkapp in Antarctica & is purpose built for the job but Nordnorge will also go down & presumably be a few $ cheaper. Oh one other thing, they loan boots. they are kept in tempory racks in what is car deck in Norway, you assemble there & put boots on before boarding polarCirkel boat.

DH and I returned on Jan. 12, 07 from our "once in a lifetime" cruise to SA/Antarctica aboard the Rotterdam, we were gone 20 days, over both Christmas and NY's. We absolutely loved it, it was the best cruise ever! SA is nice, Chile was our favorite but nothing can compare to seeing Antarctica. It was breathtaking to say the least. No, we did not land or set foot on the ground but we did not care, the scenery was spectacular. We spent NY's Day 2007 cruising iceberg alley and we saw 1000s of bergs, some small....some HUGE, and some the most awesome shades of blue. The lectures were great and our ice pilot was wonderful! By all means GO, either small ship or large but the Rotterdam holds 1316 passengers and I don't think any bigger ships could get in as close as she did. I stood on the bow of the ship the first morning while in Antarctica and tears came to my eyes....God's beauty was everywhere. (IMO) I hope this has helped you decide to just DO IT! Marian

thanks minke! i looked at their website and all current cruises to antarctica are sold out, so i couldnt get a price. i emailed them asking for when they will release the next dates.

BldLvr - oh believe me, i am going to do this! im so excited.

We went on the Nordnorge a couple of years ago. They specifically had rooms for singles who did not want to share at a special rate - a little more than a person in a double would pay but no where near twice the price. The rooms were really for two so you had the extra space. In some cases, like mine, they used rooms where the view was "semi obstructed" but other wise in a good location (mine was on the deck where you walked around and I could see fine). I think the Marco Polo does something similar.

My parents just returned from a trip on the Nordnorge. They agree that it is the trip of a lifetime. Here's my dad's website detailing the itinerary. There are lots of great pictures as well. I'm sure he won't mind me sharing :)

Tricia

http://www.finkle.org/antcruise.htm

My parents just returned from a trip on the Nordnorge. They agree that it is the trip of a lifetime. Here's my dad's website detailing the itinerary. There are lots of great pictures as well. I'm sure he won't mind me sharing :)

Tricia

http://www.finkle.org/antcruise.htm

thanks for the pictures! i cant get enough looking at them. now im off to google nordnorge... thanks so much!

Hubby and I were aboard Orient Lines' Marco Polo with about 340 passengers. We made 4 Zodiac trips, 2 of which were one-hour landings, one of which was on the mainland of Antarctica at Paradise Harbor. I wanted to do a smaller, expedition-type ship but those involved longer trips and my hubby's work schedule made that difficult. The Marco Polo gaves us all we wanted in 8 days; a landing to the Antarctic mainland, bigger ship stability for The Drake Passage (believe me, it was ROUGH on the way down), on board lecturers, etc. We even had days in Buenos Aires and Ushaia as part of the trip. The Marco Polo package was everything we wanted and then some.

I would STRONGLY suggest that if you are going to go all the way to Antarctica, set foot at least once on the continent; a drive-by does not give you that opportunity. I really loved Antarctica; so much so that I will most definitely take a smaller ship to go farther south on the continent.

email me at back2chicago@comcast.net if you would like further info and/or the name or my absolutely wonderful travel agent who help us book the trip a year in advance.

Enjoyed your father's website. Do you know if he used a special software to create his map? I am planning on charting our trip, but so far have not found the right software/website.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070131/ap_on_re_eu/norway_cruise_trouble

This link was sent to me yesterday by a fellow-passenger on our Antarctic cruise. Thought you might all find it interesting.