Trip Report - Antarctic Explorer on Quark Sea Spirit

Just finished our 11 day Antarctic Explorer trip on Quark's Sea Spirit in January and wanted to post a review since I looked for reviews to read before we left and didn't find very many. First the ship - Capacity 114 passengers, 90 or so staff, 2 dining areas, 1 conference room and probably 15 hand sanitizer dispensers. By far the most popular room was the bar/lounge featuring an impressive wall of liquor, a library, stereo, share computer and plenty of comfortable chairs arrayed around tiny tables.

The food on the Sea Spirit was never in short supply. We were dutifully fed three times a day, come hell or high water (luckily only one of those were an issue), plus there were snacks in the bar, candies left on our pillow and appetizers at all of the daily recaps and occasionally at the educational seminars. And considering that all the food needed to be stocked, stored and planned out before we ever left Ushuaia it was incredibly varied and just plain outstanding. Actually, not "considering" anything. The food was just really good, period. Every meal offered choices between two soups, two salads, four mains, and multiple, multiple desserts. They clearly had thought this all through well beforehand when they suggested we opt for jackets one size larger than we would normally wear.

The jackets were yet another of the pleasant and uncommon perks provided by Quark Expeditions. The jackets were of the large, bright yellow, bulky, multi-pocketed, bright yellow, extremely warm, wind-proof, water-proof, sexual attraction-proof, bright yellow parka variety that were highly functional and perfect for our needs (many pockets to hold gloves, binoculars, toques, cameras, penguin-attack whistles) and the conditions we would face (extreme cold, gale force winds, pelting rain, splashing waves). And the best part is they were ours to keep! So long as you had enough room in your bag to take them home.

They also provided pairs of sturdy insulated rubber boots. Basically every landing was a "wet landing", meaning that you stepped in the water when getting out of the zodiac. But this was only one of many reasons these boots were so important. The second was that we often found ourselves walking through snow while on land, often melting snow since the temperatures were usually hovering just above 0 C during the day. And the other was penguin crap. It was everywhere, and at times the smell was almost enough to trigger a little baby gag reflex or two. Luckily, we had read a good tip before going on the trip that suggested taking Vick's Vaporub to spread under our noses to mask the smell when visiting the penguin rookeries. This did a great job of overpowering the smell, although I suspect that occasionally the people around us found the uncontrollable rivers of snot pouring out of our noses a tad off-putting.

Our room was almost embarrassingly comfortable - big bed, small couch, large walk-in closet (which we rarely took the time to enjoy as we kept all our expedition gear in there and after a couple days it started to smell, well, a lot like penguin excrement), tiny desk, huge window, miniscule bathroom, well, you get the picture. Some stuff was big, other stuff was small. Like at the circus. And, of course, there was the intercom, with its direct feed to what seemed to be someplace very close to my pillow. Which Big Brother, also usually known as Cheli - Expedition Leader/Late Night Top 40 Lounge DJ, used to inform us of all current educational activities, meal offerings, and wildlife sightings. Finally, to top it all off we also had a TV with two, count 'em, two, channels. One ran a continuous movie loop. One movie per 24 hours, over and over, starting, naturally, with Frozen Planet I, then Frozen Planet II, then March of the Penguins, then slowly transitioning away from the Antarctic theme with Life of Pi (still on the ocean, but alas no penguins), and then a bunch of completely unrelated stuff involving elderly British people, Indian scam artists and Will Ferrell wearing glasses, in no particular order. The other channel simply showed our scheduled itinerary for the day, all the time. Pretty handy. There was also a DVD library if you wanted to watch something else - useful on the Drake Passage but not a lot of free time for that otherwise. And when the seas got rough the DVD often started skipping, so in the end we didn't use it much. The only other "complaints", so to speak, were that some of the things in the room, the drawers in particular, weren't properly secured and flew all over the place when the seas got a bit rough, and that while there appeared to be a controllable thermostat in the room, it didn't seem to do anything and there was a powerful flow of either hot or cold air blowing on us at all times, never anything in between. But those were minor issues in the scheme of things.

Other perks were the option to eat outside on deck 5 for a 'light' lunch of hamburgers, hotdogs and about half the offerings of the downstairs lunch buffet, the open bar (the alcohol on the left was free including reasonably good hard liquor and wine and about 5 choices of beer and to drink the premium stuff on the right you only had to "pay the difference" (for example, $1.50 for Baileys), turndown service (a first for us), a DVD of photos from the trip shared by the staff and passengers complete with a ready-made slide show (really nice for us as we didn't have a large camera so this gave us access to those really clear close-ups of the wildlife we were missing), 2 Captain's Cocktail parties, a coffee/tea/hot chocolate machine that was available 24 hours a day that you could even steam milk with, stabilizers on the boat that they used during the Drake Passage so it didn't roll as much as other boats would, a hot tub (that came in particularly handy after the polar plunge), the opportunity to do a "polar plunge" (which the staff took great action photos of you and then provided access to), a robe and slippers (also handy for the polar plunge), water bottle to fill up from the fountain so less plastic bottle waste and handily the right size to fit in a pocket or hang from the parka, hot towels after the landings/zodiac cruises (we scoffed at them at first and then got really addicted to them by the end), they circulated an list you could choose to put your email on to make it easier to stay in contact with people after the trip, extra safety measures like a card that was swiped whenever you got on or off the boat to make sure no one wandered off and got left behind, being able to step off the back of the boat into the zodiac rather than going down an outside ladder, free 10mb of internet and, finally, due to calm seas and the Sea Spirit being faster than the average expedition boat we had an extra landing on the afternoon of the second day at sea.

The staff, both expedition and hotel, were truly amazing. I really can't imagine how anyone could be a better expedition leader then Cheli. She combined extreme competence with impressive comedic timing. Some of her updates were like listening to a comedian's monologue, really entertaining. She definitely ran a tight ship (as one of the staff said, "Cheli finds out about everything"), was involved in all aspects of the trip, and got us to more landings/cruises/impressive areas then we were expecting to. We ended up doing 12 landings/cruises rather than the more normal 10 for a trip of our length. The other expedition staff were very friendly and enthusiastic, especially about their areas of expertise (geology, ornithology, etc.) and even though most had spent the last couple months almost exclusively on the ship, they still seemed very excited about everything we saw and did.

The high ratio of staff to passengers meant that we had incredible service, from the 4 course dinners with one waitress solely in charge of providing beverages, to the bartenders who learned our names and favorite drinks the first night, our cabin steward (essentially our room was seen to twice a day) and the ladies at the front desk. Have never had people try so hard to make sure that our every whim was catered to and that we enjoyed every part of our trip.

All in all, it was an absolutely amazing experience. We can't recommend it enough, whether we're talking about Antarctica in general, or Quark and the Sea Spirit in particular. A feeling that seemed pretty much unanimous among everyone we talked to. One of the best trips we've ever done.

If you would like to read more about this trip (yes, hard as it is to believe, there is more yet), especially all the great things we saw and did rather than just the specific journey details, check out our 2 part Antarctica blog entry at http://deanjohnston.net/2014/01/25/the-big-ice-part-1/.

Have a great trip!

Just finished our 11 day Antarctic Explorer trip on Quark's Sea Spirit in January and wanted to post a review since I looked for reviews to read before we left and didn't find very many. First the ship - Capacity 114 passengers, 90 or so staff, 2 dining areas, 1 conference room and probably 15 hand sanitizer dispensers. By far the most popular room was the bar/lounge featuring an impressive wall of liquor, a library, stereo, share computer and plenty of comfortable chairs arrayed around tiny tables.

The food on the Sea Spirit was never in short supply. We were dutifully fed three times a day, come hell or high water (luckily only one of those were an issue), plus there were snacks in the bar, candies left on our pillow and appetizers at all of the daily recaps and occasionally at the educational seminars. And considering that all the food needed to be stocked, stored and planned out before we ever left Ushuaia it was incredibly varied and just plain outstanding. Actually, not "considering" anything. The food was just really good, period. Every meal offered choices between two soups, two salads, four mains, and multiple, multiple desserts. They clearly had thought this all through well beforehand when they suggested we opt for jackets one size larger than we would normally wear.

 

 

The jackets were yet another of the pleasant and uncommon perks provided by Quark Expeditions. The jackets were of the large, bright yellow, bulky, multi-pocketed, bright yellow, extremely warm, wind-proof, water-proof, sexual attraction-proof, bright yellow parka variety that were highly functional and perfect for our needs (many pockets to hold gloves, binoculars, toques, cameras, penguin-attack whistles) and the conditions we would face (extreme cold, gale force winds, pelting rain, splashing waves). And the best part is they were ours to keep! So long as you had enough room in your bag to take them home.

 

 

They also provided pairs of sturdy insulated rubber boots. Basically every landing was a "wet landing", meaning that you stepped in the water when getting out of the zodiac. But this was only one of many reasons these boots were so important. The second was that we often found ourselves walking through snow while on land, often melting snow since the temperatures were usually hovering just above 0 C during the day. And the other was penguin crap. It was everywhere, and at times the smell was almost enough to trigger a little baby gag reflex or two. Luckily, we had read a good tip before going on the trip that suggested taking Vick's Vaporub to spread under our noses to mask the smell when visiting the penguin rookeries. This did a great job of overpowering the smell, although I suspect that occasionally the people around us found the uncontrollable rivers of snot pouring out of our noses a tad off-putting.

 

 

Our room was almost embarrassingly comfortable - big bed, small couch, large walk-in closet (which we rarely took the time to enjoy as we kept all our expedition gear in there and after a couple days it started to smell, well, a lot like penguin excrement), tiny desk, huge window, miniscule bathroom, well, you get the picture. Some stuff was big, other stuff was small. Like at the circus. And, of course, there was the intercom, with its direct feed to what seemed to be someplace very close to my pillow. Which Big Brother, also usually known as Cheli - Expedition Leader/Late Night Top 40 Lounge DJ, used to inform us of all current educational activities, meal offerings, and wildlife sightings. Finally, to top it all off we also had a TV with two, count 'em, two, channels. One ran a continuous movie loop. One movie per 24 hours, over and over, starting, naturally, with Frozen Planet I, then Frozen Planet II, then March of the Penguins, then slowly transitioning away from the Antarctic theme with Life of Pi (still on the ocean, but alas no penguins), and then a bunch of completely unrelated stuff involving elderly British people, Indian scam artists and Will Ferrell wearing glasses, in no particular order. The other channel simply showed our scheduled itinerary for the day, all the time. Pretty handy. There was also a DVD library if you wanted to watch something else - useful on the Drake Passage but not a lot of free time for that otherwise. And when the seas got rough the DVD often started skipping, so in the end we didn't use it much. The only other "complaints", so to speak, were that some of the things in the room, the drawers in particular, weren't properly secured and flew all over the place when the seas got a bit rough, and that while there appeared to be a controllable thermostat in the room, it didn't seem to do anything and there was a powerful flow of either hot or cold air blowing on us at all times, never anything in between. But those were minor issues in the scheme of things.

 

 

Other perks were the option to eat outside on deck 5 for a 'light' lunch of hamburgers, hotdogs and about half the offerings of the downstairs lunch buffet, the open bar (the alcohol on the left was free including reasonably good hard liquor and wine and about 5 choices of beer and to drink the premium stuff on the right you only had to "pay the difference" (for example, $1.50 for Baileys), turndown service (a first for us), a DVD of photos from the trip shared by the staff and passengers complete with a ready-made slide show (really nice for us as we didn't have a large camera so this gave us access to those really clear close-ups of the wildlife we were missing), 2 Captain's Cocktail parties, a coffee/tea/hot chocolate machine that was available 24 hours a day that you could even steam milk with, stabilizers on the boat that they used during the Drake Passage so it didn't roll as much as other boats would, a hot tub (that came in particularly handy after the polar plunge), the opportunity to do a "polar plunge" (which the staff took great action photos of you and then provided access to), a robe and slippers (also handy for the polar plunge), water bottle to fill up from the fountain so less plastic bottle waste and handily the right size to fit in a pocket or hang from the parka, hot towels after the landings/zodiac cruises (we scoffed at them at first and then got really addicted to them by the end), they circulated an list you could choose to put your email on to make it easier to stay in contact with people after the trip, extra safety measures like a card that was swiped whenever you got on or off the boat to make sure no one wandered off and got left behind, being able to step off the back of the boat into the zodiac rather than going down an outside ladder, free 10mb of internet and, finally, due to calm seas and the Sea Spirit being faster than the average expedition boat we had an extra landing on the afternoon of the second day at sea.

The staff, both expedition and hotel, were truly amazing. I really can't imagine how anyone could be a better expedition leader then Cheli. She combined extreme competence with impressive comedic timing. Some of her updates were like listening to a comedian's monologue, really entertaining. She definitely ran a tight ship (as one of the staff said, "Cheli finds out about everything"), was involved in all aspects of the trip, and got us to more landings/cruises/impressive areas then we were expecting to. We ended up doing 12 landings/cruises rather than the more normal 10 for a trip of our length. The other expedition staff were very friendly and enthusiastic, especially about their areas of expertise (geology, ornithology, etc.) and even though most had spent the last couple months almost exclusively on the ship, they still seemed very excited about everything we saw and did.

 

 

The high ratio of staff to passengers meant that we had incredible service, from the 4 course dinners with one waitress solely in charge of providing beverages, to the bartenders who learned our names and favorite drinks the first night, our cabin steward (essentially our room was seen to twice a day) and the ladies at the front desk. Have never had people try so hard to make sure that our every whim was catered to and that we enjoyed every part of our trip.

 

 

All in all, it was an absolutely amazing experience. We can't recommend it enough, whether we're talking about Antarctica in general, or Quark and the Sea Spirit in particular. A feeling that seemed pretty much unanimous among everyone we talked to. One of the best trips we've ever done.

If you would like to read more about this trip (yes, hard as it is to believe, there is more yet), especially all the great things we saw and did rather than just the specific journey details, check out our 2 part Antarctica blog entry at http://deanjohnston.net/2014/01/25/the-big-ice-part-1/.

 

 

Have a great trip!

We loved Antarctica (did not go with Quark - but have been considering them for a Western Greenland/Canadian High Arctic cruise). Good information.

If you have not done so, may I suggest placing your review in the Member Review section? As you noted, there are not too many and it might help other folks with their expedition choice.

Thanks for the suggestion. I just checked it out but Quark is not one of the choices to review. I don't know too much about their northern trips (although they did give us a little presentation on one of the last days) but I can certainly recommend them as a company.

Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestion. I just checked it out but Quark is not one of the choices to review. I don't know too much about their northern trips (although they did give us a little presentation on one of the last days) but I can certainly recommend them as a company.

 

Good luck!

I am not surprised Quark does not have a review section since they are an expedition company vs. a cruise line. You might find the Sea Spirit though. I'll take a look and post back if I find it.

I am not surprised Quark does not have a review section since they are an expedition company vs. a cruise line. You might find the Sea Spirit though. I'll take a look and post back if I find it.

...but no luck. I did not find the ship or Quark in the review section as an option - neither Members or Cruise Critic in-house.

We loved Antarctica (did not go with Quark - but have been considering them for a Western Greenland/Canadian High Arctic cruise). Good information.

 

If you have not done so, may I suggest placing your review in the Member Review section? As you noted, there are not too many and it might help other folks with their expedition choice.

We did back-to-back Greenland this past September with Quark ... spectacular. Quark did a fantastic job. West Greenland affords a combination of ice, wilderness, and cultural focus with settlement visits. I've been posting about the trip in my blog if you care to check it out ... west/south Greenland posts are in the September 2013 archive ... east Greenland posts are in the current archive. If you have signatures turned on, the link to my blog will be visible in my signature below.

We did back-to-back Greenland this past September with Quark ... spectacular. Quark did a fantastic job. West Greenland affords a combination of ice, wilderness, and cultural focus with settlement visits. I've been posting about the trip in my blog if you care to check it out ... west/south Greenland posts are in the September 2013 archive ... east Greenland posts are in the current archive. If you have signatures turned on, the link to my blog will be visible in my signature below.

I will definitely check it out.

Hi, just saw your review. My wife daughter and myself are going on the Sea Adventurer with Quark. One question and I know it varies but how rough was Drake's passage?

Thanks again for the review.

Hi, just saw your review. My wife daughter and myself are going on the Sea Adventurer with Quark. One question and I know it varies but how rough was Drake's passage?

 

Thanks again for the review.

It wasn't too bad for us, apparently, although 2 of the nights got a bit wild in my opinion. Most people on the ship were taking some sort of anti-seasickness medication, including us (dramamine), and those who were most prone had the patch behind the ear. Still, probably a third didn't make it down for breakfast. The crew told us we were probably only a 3 on the roughness scale, although I got the impression this was a bit tongue in cheek, kind of a "this isn't bad, you haven't seen bad" sort of thing. But there is no question it could get a lot worse so I would prepare for that, bring pills or a patch and if you are at all concerned take them long before you start to feel anything. Some people experienced side effects, but most of us just had a really hard time staying awake through the lectures. Worst part was this was the only time we actually would have had time to watch a DVD in our room but when the waves got up the DVD wouldn't work. The irony...

Thanks for the quick reply. I've never been sea sick before, however my wife and daughter do suffer. I'll be sure to get something to take. Thanks again.

Thanks for the quick reply. I've never been sea sick before, however my wife and daughter do suffer. I'll be sure to get something to take. Thanks again.

We were on the Nat Geo Explorer, a little over a year ago. I'd say about 2/3 of the folks on board, including my spouse, were wearing a patch. It definitely seemed to work (our crossings of the Drake were pretty rough); the biggest side effect (based on reports) was extreme dry mouth. The patch requires a prescription, and it's certainly something to discuss with one's doctor in any event. (Some folks here on CC have reported bad reactions to it, but I did not hear of anyone on our trip having one.)

Have a great trip!

We had 35'-36' seas headed south in the Drake, but had about 40' seas at night headed up the Antarctic peninsula. The trip back north in the Drake was pretty calm by comparison.

I have never been sea sick and was not on that trip. My girlfriend is prone to seasickness and was armed with the patch. She had no issues on the trip. A lot of our fellow passengers unfortunately did not fare as well.

Call it a rite of passage. We have one word to describe those types of experiences - "Stories" (because you will have them to share!).

We were on Sea Adventurer for about 22 days in February. Had a wonderful time. Quark does a great job. The ship, while old, actually looks and acts like a real ship. Weather is always an unknown. We were both lucky and unlucky. Many days were what us landed people would consider on the rough side. I couldn't walk without touch the railings, walls, or backs of chairs. But we both wore the patch throughout the cruise, as directions for the patch call for, and never felt ill. We were lucky in the Drake Passage--a little rough but not very bad. A ship before us was battered and had to turn back with damage. John.

Can you tell me what room category you had? Thanks for the review - it is hard to find any details!!

Can you tell me what room category you had? Thanks for the review - it is hard to find any details!!

Not sure who you're asking the question of, but we booked a classic suite on Sea Spirit. We were offered an upsell by Quark before we left and moved up to a deluxe suite. Since we were on the ship for nearly a month, I'm glad we took the upsell. Especially enjoyed the balcony ... which, we used quite a bit.

Pictures, etc. on my blog ... see Travel Blog link below and then go to the August-September 2013 archives.

Not sure who you're asking the question of, but we booked a classic suite on Sea Spirit. We were offered an upsell by Quark before we left and moved up to a deluxe suite. Since we were on the ship for nearly a month, I'm glad we took the upsell. Especially enjoyed the balcony ... which, we used quite a bit.

 

Pictures, etc. on my blog ... see Travel Blog link below and then go to the August-September 2013 archives.

Having followed your enjoyable travels, I'd appreciate your comments on whether you think Sea Spirit is suitable for Antarctica travel.

I seem to recall that it was damaged last season and someone commented that it was better suited to Arctic cruises.

Having followed your enjoyable travels, I'd appreciate your comments on whether you think Sea Spirit is suitable for Antarctica travel.

 

I seem to recall that it was damaged last season and someone commented that it was better suited to Arctic cruises.

Don't recall reading anything about the Sea Spirit being damaged last season, but then my focus has been elsewhere. I do know that Silver Explorer received some damage in 2013, but it was from a wave not from ice.

We were on the Sea Spirit in Greenland, going through ice belts and whatnot. But the ice was already broken up and it was a matter of picking our way through it. We did break through some newly formed ice that wasn't very thick.

According to Lloyd's, a 1D can operate in light ice, but not in one-year ice (generally ranging from 0.3 metres to 2 metres). Will a 1D be sufficient in Antarctica. No easy way to answer that since ice conditions are variable from year to year. We would have been totally OK on a 1D when we were in Antarctica in January 2007 (we just pushed ice around with the 1A vessel we were on; didn't have to break any ice).

Would I go to Antarctica on Sea Spirit ... absolutely. Having been on several Quark voyages, I would trust the experience of the expedition team and the captain to keep me safe.

Don't recall reading anything about the Sea Spirit being damaged last season, but then my focus has been elsewhere. I do know that Silver Explorer received some damage in 2013, but it was from a wave not from ice.

 

We were on the Sea Spirit in Greenland, going through ice belts and whatnot. But the ice was already broken up and it was a matter of picking our way through it. We did break through some newly formed ice that wasn't very thick.

 

According to Lloyd's, a 1D can operate in light ice, but not in one-year ice (generally ranging from 0.3 metres to 2 metres). Will a 1D be sufficient in Antarctica. No easy way to answer that since ice conditions are variable from year to year. We would have been totally OK on a 1D when we were in Antarctica in January 2007 (we just pushed ice around with the 1A vessel we were on; didn't have to break any ice).

 

Would I go to Antarctica on Sea Spirit ... absolutely. Having been on several Quark voyages, I would trust the experience of the expedition team and the captain to keep me safe.

Thank you so much for your comments. I get Sea Explorer and Sea Spirit mixed up and the damage was from a wave and trips got cancelled.

The 1D rating did worry me, as we are looking at early in the season.

My daughter has cruised to Antarctica etc. with Quark and thinks highly of the company.

Thank you so much for your comments. I get Sea Explorer and Sea Spirit mixed up and the damage was from a wave and trips got cancelled.

 

The Sea Explorer was significently damaged in late Feb 2014 and several passengers and crew were hospitalised. It was worked on for several days in Ushuaia (I took photos each day of all the scaffolding laden with welders etc) before it limped away north and the remaining voyages for its season were cancelled. I think it only had 2 trips left to go.

Most people who had flown in to join it that day were put into a "barrel draw" and their names were drawn out randomly to be put on any ships with vacant cabins over the next 3 days and the rest (about 50%) flew back home and chatted with their insurance companies.

The Sea Explorer was significently damaged in late Feb 2014 and several passengers and crew were hospitalised. It was worked on for several days in Ushuaia (I took photos each day of all the scaffolding laden with welders etc) before it limped away north and the remaining voyages for its season were cancelled. I think it only had 2 trips left to go.

Most people who had flown in to join it that day were put into a "barrel draw" and their names were drawn out randomly to be put on any ships with vacant cabins over the next 3 days and the rest (about 50%) flew back home and chatted with their insurance companies.

Thanks for that background information, Perfectly Perth.

So was it the Sea Explorer rather than Sea Spirit, with a lesser ice rating, which was more suited to the Arctic than the Antarctic?

Thanks for that background information, Perfectly Perth.

 

So was it the Sea Explorer rather than Sea Spirit, with a lesser ice rating, which was more suited to the Arctic than the Antarctic?

Only in my personal opinion. There were 4 other expedition ships in same storm that day - within a few km of each other - only the Sea Explorer was damaged.

Sea Spirit has been operating in the south for quite a few years. I havent personally sailed on it but I have several friends on board as members of the expedition team and they love travelling on it.

Only in my personal opinion. There were 4 other expedition ships in same storm that day - within a few km of each other - only the Sea Explorer was damaged.

 

Sea Spirit has been operating in the south for quite a few years. I havent personally sailed on it but I have several friends on board as members of the expedition team and they love travelling on it.

Thanks, Perfectly Perth.

We are sailing on Sea Spirit in November of this year. I have medium length thick hair and would like to know what type of hairdryers they have in the cabins -- are they pretty powerful or like most mainstream cruise line dryers? I will not bring my own, but also have no problem at all in cutting my hair off to save precious time trying to dry the stuff! :D

We are sailing on Sea Spirit in November of this year. I have medium length thick hair and would like to know what type of hairdryers they have in the cabins -- are they pretty powerful or like most mainstream cruise line dryers? I will not bring my own, but also have no problem at all in cutting my hair off to save precious time trying to dry the stuff! :D

I wish I could help. I have short hair and never use a hairdryer. Have you posted on the Antarctica Adventures board on TripAdvisor as well? Someone there might be able to give you an answer if you don't get one here.

I wish I could help. I have short hair and never use a hairdryer. Have you posted on the Antarctica Adventures board on TripAdvisor as well? Someone there might be able to give you an answer if you don't get one here.

I have below shoulder length hair and on all 3 trips I have never touched a hairdryer. Why - because the air is so incredibly dry and that my hair dried ridiculously fast either in the cabin or when I went for a stroll along the decks.