Antarctica

Looking for advice/ comments about different cruise lines.

Thanks:)

Which ones?

Any that go to Antarctica:) I'm considering a cruise there next year and would like to hear the opinions of people who have been and what the ship was like

Any that go to Antarctica:) I'm considering a cruise there next year and would like to hear the opinions of people who have been and what the ship was like

 

Your question is very broad -- would you prefer a sail by or to do landings on a zodiac? Are you looking for an experience that focuses on Antarctica or encompasses ports in Chile/Argentina? How's your budget? Can you splurge on Seabourn or the Silversea expeditions or do you want something less expensive? Even Hurtigruten is not inexpensive, most people consider an Antarctic trip the voyage of a lifetime.

 

There is a destination board dedicated to Antarctica -- much of the information you seek is already there.

We sailed with Celebrity in 2011 from Buenos Aires to Falkland Island then to two different spots in Antartica, crossed the Drake Passage to Ushaiha and then onto Uruguay..

It was one of the best cruises I have ever been on. Scenery magnificent, I thought Alaska was great but this beat it. Saw lots of wildlife, seals floating past on ice floes, whales, penguins, leopard seals. We had beautiful weather especially in Paradise Bay, but had to leave a bit early when ice began forming in front of the ship.

However reading reviews from the cruise after ours, same itinerary, they couldn't go to Port Stanley at Falklands, too rough to tender abd also had to turn back and didn't get to Antarctica because of weather. Bear this in mind you are at the mercy of the weather.

This was big ship cruising, so sail by to look at sights and anchor to see some, no excursions. If you want to land on Antarctica you will have to take the expedition ships which take you to land in Zodiacs.

I am too old to manage that, but big ship cruising met all my expectations. I often think of the sights I saw especially hundreds of penguins skipping through the water.

I would suggest going to Antarctica on an expedition line. I went there in the early 90's with Abercrombie and Kent and it was awesome. We had landings by zodiacs, had naturalists onboard, even had a glaciologist and a historian traveling with us. Regular cruise lines might be a lot nicer and more amenities than an expedition ship, but they can't take you where the expedition ships can. We were able to sit among the penguins, swim in antarctic waters and even went to a the Palmer research station. Expedition cruises are also more expensive than a regular cruise line, but well worth the money IMHO.

Edited May 7, 2016 by NLH Arizona

Only expedition ships fulfill the environmental requirements for Antarctic waters. The Ponant line sends luxurious expeditions ships to Antarctica. A friend has been on a Quark expedition ship. I am sure there are many others.

 

Regular cruise ships may venture a bit into the waters but do not send landing parties. Their cruises go around the Horn.

I would defiantly go with an exploration cruise if Antarctica is your ONLY purpose for this cruise.

 

Now it wasn't me that sailed it, but my mother has done Celebrity and NCL with the Antarctica stops. Not once, not twice, but now 3 times as one of the main highlights of the Antarctica stops. :eek:

 

My mother has not made it one single time. From what she was told, it is about a 60% chance that because of weather conditions these stops will not be made. The last time they were getting ready to go out on the helicopter excursion, and it was canceled last minute. The weather was perfect at the time, but they believed it would worsen and make getting back impossible.

 

Unfortunately just like any other stop, if it is something you have to see, then book a land tour, or in this case an almost guaranteed expedition ship.

In 2015 we went on Celebrity Infinity b2b2b, the second of the three cruises was Antarctica. Clearly there was not a landing on Antarctica for our cruise, however we were able to cross Drake Passage and Falklands Islands. We came as close to the Antarctica ice shelf as the Captain could take the ship safely. Close enough that we have pictures, but they were taken from our snowy and icy deck.

 

If you want the whole experience you will need a ship with Zodiacs. One of them that were docked near us in one of our ports was a National Geographic ship.

 

http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/expeditions/antarctica-cruise/detail

Thank you all for your replies. They've helped me identify what type of ship as we would definitely want to actually land on Antarctica - weather permitting.

Another query - do you have to complete any sort of medical before going on one of the expedition type cruises? By the time we're thinking of going - late next year - I will be 73, DH 75. Both of us have new hips (3 in total although not that new now) and DH has atrial fibrillation and a new-ish (20140) aortic valve.

Although having just written that, it's possible all my queries will be academic if we can't get travel insurance!

Need more info.

Have look here, wonderful blog and photos plus expedition hip info

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2342959

 

Sandy in spain

Sailing canary,

Do you think can you get in and out of zodiacs?

If you can get in and out of zodiacs (and on our trip we had lots of strong arms helping with that) you will be fine.

 

If you want time in Antarctica and landings then you should go on a smaller expedition ship. The best place for information is the Trip Advisor Antarctic Adventures forum. Have a look there and check out the Frequently Asked Questions to the right of their main page:

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowForum-g1-i12337-Antarctic_Adventures.html

 

We had a medical form to fill out and signed by our doctor.

 

I can personally highly recommend G Adventures and its ship Expedition. We were there in February/March and had an amazing time. We got south of the Antarctic Circle for two days.

Thank you all for your replies. They've helped me identify what type of ship as we would definitely want to actually land on Antarctica - weather permitting.

Another query - do you have to complete any sort of medical before going on one of the expedition type cruises? By the time we're thinking of going - late next year - I will be 73, DH 75. Both of us have new hips (3 in total although not that new now) and DH has atrial fibrillation and a new-ish (20140) aortic valve.

Although having just written that, it's possible all my queries will be academic if we can't get travel insurance!

I didn't have to complete a medical before going on an expedition cruise, but things may have changed. When I went, I was much younger and we had a group of 8 of us that hung out together and one of the gentlemen was 78 years old. There was also a lady in her 80's, who even though she walked very slowly, she always made it everywhere and sometimes she did less huffing and puffing then the rest of us. I would say, as long as both of your doctors say you are up for the trip, go and have an incredible adventure. Edited May 7, 2016 by NLH Arizona

Thank you all again, you've given me lots to think about.