Antarctica - Abercombie & Kent or Tauck ?

I'm trying to decide between Abercombie & Kent's and Tauck's Antarctica Cruises. It appears that both use the same ship the Le Boreal.

Any options on who would be a better company to go with or does it not really matter?

Hi, I can't personally speak about Tauck since I have never traveled with them (although I have heard good things) but I took an A&K Antarctica cruise from Jan 4-19, 2012 (included South Georgia). It was so fabulous that I still get chills thinking about it. The naturalists that are on board are hired directly by A&K as is the Cruise Director (all the other personnel are from Le Boreal). We saw so many incredible animals and the staff was so well-informed and willing to share that knowledge. There were always lots of unexpected extras and I felt well taken care of. Again, I cannot compare directly but if you choose A&K I would bet you would not regret it. I would sign up again for a 2013 trip if I could!

Just curious if there is a reason you've excluded Silversea from consideration? If not, I'd recommend comparing them to your other two options. We traveled to Antarctica with them and loved being on the smaller Silver Explorer (it carries fewer than half the number of passengers Le Boreal does). The staff, naturlists and service were all excellent. They're worth taking a look at as a 3rd option.

And we have just booked the BREMEN booked through Noble Caledonia using a Hapag Lloyd ship. I hope our research has led us up a good alley!! Anyone been on the Bremen ??

We had an amazing trip on Hurtigruten's Fram earlier this year. So good we've booked their Polar Circle Quest trip in February 2014.

Just booked thru A&K for Jan 3rd 2013.... Can't wait!

DadainTN, that's a great time to be there. Look forward to hearing your impressions of the ship and staff. I'm ready to go back to Antarctica and am interested in hearing about the experience on a larger ship (we were on the Silver Explorer).

We had an amazing trip on Hurtigruten's Fram earlier this year. So good we've booked their Polar Circle Quest trip in February 2014.

Are you part of that group for Hurtigruten? We tried to book the Feb 2014 date but were told it was a group sailing and no cabins available. We ended up with the Jan 22 sailing.

DadainTN, that's a great time to be there. Look forward to hearing your impressions of the ship and staff. I'm ready to go back to Antarctica and am interested in hearing about the experience on a larger ship (we were on the Silver Explorer).

We'll be on the 20 day voyage doing the Falklands and South Georgia also. If possible --- we'll post a few notes every day.

we went with A&K in Jan 2010 and loved it on the Swan Hellenic Minerva in its last season in Antarctica.