Early planning questions for those who have been.

I am just starting to plan this cruise and have done enough research to at least know what questions to ask;)

I'm hoping some of you who have been can help us determine our best options.

1- I want to start ordering brochures, but I know we want to do an expedition ship specifically designed for polar waters and it has to include landings (weather permitting), not a "drive by". We are a younger (40s) couple who like active excursions ( hiking, kayaking etc) It's tough to tell which ships offer a more expeditionary experience vs a cruising experience without ordering all the brochures and I'd like to save some paper. ;)

Which cruise lines offer landings and on shore activities? Are some lines more luxurious and formal? Others more casual and about the expedition?

2- What realistically, should we budget for this trip? Im seeing loss leader prices around usd 7k pp, but thinking once you pick a peak season and cabin with a port hole, maybe 10-15 pp ( + air) is more realistic? Are there different price points with different lines the way say Carnival is different from Crystal? What differences do the different lines offer for the differences in prices. I see there is a pretty big difference in cabin prices on any given ship, but given the type of cruise, we are likely to go for the least expensive cabin located midship and on a low deck, so this is more about the value differences of the lines themselves.

3- When do the new itineraries come out? For instance, is it 2 years, 18 months ahead?

4- I'd love to hear opinions about S Georgia. I have been reading the wildlife there are amazing, but the length and roughness of the cruise and additional cruising days have to be considered. Also, about antarctic circle -DH feels this would be cool to do this, but others with experience may have different ideas.

5- does anyone have experience with "fly" in either direction? This seems new. DH is adamant that making the crossing is part of the adventure, while I agree, I wonder if time can be saved by a one way flight? I'm not seeing much about this on CC and wondering if you could be " out of luck" weather wise by booking flights a cruising?.

I'm reading reviews now and hoping to be ready to book the line and cabin we want the day they come out for a 2015/2016 trip.

Much thanks for anyone who would like to respond!

I am just starting to plan this cruise and have done enough research to at least know what questions to ask;)

I'm hoping some of you who have been can help us determine our best options.

 

1- I want to start ordering brochures, but I know we want to do an expedition ship specifically designed for polar waters and it has to include landings (weather permitting), not a "drive by". We are a younger (40s) couple who like active excursions ( hiking, kayaking etc) It's tough to tell which ships offer a more expeditionary experience vs a cruising experience without ordering all the brochures and I'd like to save some paper. ;)

Which cruise lines offer landings and on shore activities? Are some lines more luxurious and formal? Others more casual and about the expedition?

 

2- What realistically, should we budget for this trip? Im seeing loss leader prices around usd 7k pp, but thinking once you pick a peak season and cabin with a port hole, maybe 10-15 pp ( + air) is more realistic? Are there different price points with different lines the way say Carnival is different from Crystal? What differences do the different lines offer for the differences in prices. I see there is a pretty big difference in cabin prices on any given ship, but given the type of cruise, we are likely to go for the least expensive cabin located midship and on a low deck, so this is more about the value differences of the lines themselves.

 

3- When do the new itineraries come out? For instance, is it 2 years, 18 months ahead?

 

4- I'd love to hear opinions about S Georgia. I have been reading the wildlife there are amazing, but the length and roughness of the cruise and additional cruising days have to be considered. Also, about antarctic circle -DH feels this would be cool to do this, but others with experience may have different ideas.

 

5- does anyone have experience with "fly" in either direction? This seems new. DH is adamant that making the crossing is part of the adventure, while I agree, I wonder if time can be saved by a one way flight? I'm not seeing much about this on CC and wondering if you could be " out of luck" weather wise by booking flights a cruising?.

 

I'm reading reviews now and hoping to be ready to book the line and cabin we want the day they come out for a 2015/2016 trip.

 

Much thanks for anyone who would like to respond!

Save the trees - you can find everything you need to know online. http://www.expeditiontrips.com is a good resource. You'll learn about the expedition ships and levels of comfort. The 'expedition' style cruise rules out all of the major cruise lines operating ships carrying 600 pax or more - to do landings you need to be on a ship that usually carries 200 people or less (the Fram goes to 350).

Here's a list of some of the ships that work the Antarctic and sub-antarctic regions (not exhaustive), all of which include landings: National Geographic Explorer, Le Boreal, L'Austral, Plancius, Ocean Nova, Fram, Silver Explorer, Antarctic Dream, MV Ushuaia, Polar Pioneer, Orion I, plus a range of Russian ice-breakers. They range from high-end to low end in terms of pricing.

Google is a great resource - you'll find info on all of these ships online.

In terms of pricing, you can start at 7k pp, and work your way up past 30k pp if you want a suite on some of these ships. 10-15pp is a good range on the Nat Geo Explorer for example.

Release of itineraries and pricing tends to depend on the line - Orion for example is out to 2014, whereas others as still in 2013 mode.

I've been to S.Georgia three times now, and if you're a wildlife buff, there is far more wildlife to be seen there than Antarctica. Many of the ships above offer a combined Antarctica/S. Georgia itinerary.

Yes, you can fly to meet the Ocean Nova - weather permitting. You might be lucky or you might be disappointed. I suffer from chronic seasickness and have managed to medicate to remain upright on the Drake crossing and rough seas on 4 trips now.

Good luck with the planning

Thanks parischris,

I have used a lot of internet searching, but CC is much better because it's unvarnished and one place to find comparisons of multiple ships/options with pros and cons. The Nat Geo isn't really going to get into how they stack up against the Boreal on their website;) Though they do have a nice chart about questions to ask!

Thanks for the list- there are some I have not come across yet, so I'll add them to my list. I much prefer a smaller ship experience for these sorts of trips.

I'm wondering how Fram manages the excursions with 350- you must go out for shorter trips, then the next group.

I will check out the site you recommend, Thank you!

parischris has covered a lot of your questions, I can add my own experience.

I have traveled on the MS Fram for a "Polar Circle" cruise in Feb. 2009. 350 is the total number on board including staff; there are actually around 200 passengers. Indeed the landings are in groups (since you can only have 100 people ashore at the same time), the passengers are organised in groups of 20/30 people which rotate for landings. I was a bit worried about this but it is actually a very smooth process and I never really felt pressured or frustrated. Even when you are on board waiting you are not wasting your time since the scenery is so incredible. But of course a ship with less than 100 passengers would offer you more time ashore.

Regarding the Polar Circle, during our trip it's below the Circle that we had our most amazing scenery ice wise (combined to the feeling of seeing things that very few people will see). But this has to be balanced with the time of year : to hope to reach the circle, you have to take a trip late in the season (for less ice), which means there might be less ice/snow in the north. So a trip in the northern part of the Peninsula at an earlier time would probably also give spectacular snow/ice landscape. We chose this particular trip for the symbol of course, but also because it was longer than the other trips. We didn't regret for one second (but I don't think you can be disappointed by a trip to Antarctica).

You can see my pictures on my blog starting here. I apologize the text is in French, but I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Of course since we came back we are longing to go again and it will happen in Dec. 2013 (with MS Fram again, we felt it was perfect for us). This time we chose a trip that goes to Falklands and South Georgia, I have heard and read that it was really worth it. The bookings are usually opened about 18 month in advance (for instance for Hurtigruten the bookings for the 2013/2014 season started in the spring - you can get early bookings discount). We booked in May of this year for next December. Price wise it amounts to around 9000€ /pp (around $11.000) including flights and pre/post cruise expenses.

Thank you Sarnia! I will check out your blog- I read and understand a little French, can't speak any though, and cannot write nearly so well as you do in English!

Fram seems appealing for price and positive reviews, I am glad to hear that you had a good experience with them. It seems all the ships have between 90- 200 passengers.

Looking at the itineraries, I am certain we could not fit in the South Georgia Falklands in while we are still working full time. This appears to need 20 days at a minimum and with travel days, I would imagine we would be away close to month, which is not possible in the next few years. Therefore, I think we would be more likely to do the circle crossing and spend more time on the continent and less time at sea.

It sounds as if we have our budget in the right place! Of course it would be double that if my teen daughters insist they would like to go, but I don't see how they could get the time to do that while they are still in school- so this one will be just us!;)

Merci !

We went on a 48 pax Russian research vessel that was operated by Quark. Those ships have now been replaced by other, more luxurious ones. I have an extensive post on this board about our 2007 experience (also one on Fodor's that's essentially the same ... http://www.fodors.com/community/cruises/antarctica---small-ship-expedition.cfm;) and if you want to see photos, you can check them out here ...

When doing your research, keep in mind the 100 pax limit per landing. We were more than willing to forego luxury so that we could take as small a ship as we could to maximize our landings without having to wait to take turns going ashore; our experience was definitely all about the expedition and the trip remains at the top of any we've ever done before or since.

Go for the longest itinerary budget/time allows as well. We did a 21-day itinerary from Ushuaia to the Falklands and South Georgia before we headed down to the Continent. I hear the concern about doing this while working; we were in that boat (excuse the pun) at the time we went. Used every bit of our vacation time on this trip ... it was so absolutely worth it.

Your thoughts on $10-15K/person for the budget is on target ... you can spend a lot more if you want luxury accommodations and pampering.

Yes, crossing the Drake is part of the experience, and I wouldn't miss it. Besides, flights to/from Antarctica have been known to be canceled due to the variable nature of weather in the southern latitudes. Personally, I would not risk it. The sea days were great -- filled with lectures and time on deck enjoying the presence of the seabirds all around us. We had some rough seas, but managed fine with the help of seasickness patches.

Good luck with your planning ... it's half the fun!

Thank you Sarnia! I will check out your blog- I read and understand a little French, can't speak any though, and cannot write nearly so well as you do in English!

Fram seems appealing for price and positive reviews, I am glad to hear that you had a good experience with them. It seems all the ships have between 90- 200 passengers.

Looking at the itineraries, I am certain we could not fit in the South Georgia Falklands in while we are still working full time. This appears to need 20 days at a minimum and with travel days, I would imagine we would be away close to month, which is not possible in the next few years. Therefore, I think we would be more likely to do the circle crossing and spend more time on the continent and less time at sea.

It sounds as if we have our budget in the right place! Of course it would be double that if my teen daughters insist they would like to go, but I don't see how they could get the time to do that while they are still in school- so this one will be just us!;)

Merci !

It is unfortunate you don't have time for SG & the Falklands, as the wildlife there is outstanding. We were on the Fram in 2010, if you want a more detailed report and pictures, go here: http://opatravels.blogspot.com/2010/02/goin-south.html

We always had as much time ashore as we wanted and were never told once it was time to reboard the ship. There were always zodiacs coming and going so I would not worry about that with the Fram taking 200+ passengers or so.

We are going back in Feb. 2014. I would suggest booking as far out as possible, for Hurtigruten we got a much better deal booking early. As I recall, all inside cabins for our upcoming sailing were sold out in 3 or 4 days of the dates being available.

Planning is half the fun, enjoy and wishing you happy sailing.

RonC

Another recommendation for Fram. We were on her for the last trip of this year's Austral Summer so visited South Georgia and the Falklands on our way back from Antarctica to Buenos Aires. South Georgia is amazing, as are the Falklands in a different sort of way. We'll be on her again this Arctic Summer for Spitsbergen and then again in 2014 to go south of the Antarctic Circle.

If you can find the time to include South Georgia and the Falklands, see if you can add on Iguazu Falls post Antarctica. Another wonderful location and an easy trip to make out of Buenos Aires.

I don't think we would ever contemplate flying across the Drake as there is too much potential for cancellation due to the weather. Crossing the Drake by ship can mean rough seas, but we got Drake Lake: flat calm and hours on deck watching the wildlife. Even in rougher seas further south it was possible to spend a lot of time on deck watching scenery and wildlife.

Don' worry about the limit of 100 ashore at any time. We never noticed it and never felt we had had our time cut short. For various reasons, not everyone goes ashore every time and not everyone stays ashore for as long as they can. With ~200 passengers on board, the limit means that 50% can be ashore.

A cabin low down and midships is a good idea (we never pay to sway!) and an outside cabin is worth the extra for the view and for those times when sight of the horizon might help in rough waters. Don't go too near the bow on Fram as the anchor chain will provide a sometimes unwelcome early morning wake-up call!

My Antarctic trip was on the Professor Multanovskiy arranged through Victory Adventures (Capt. Ben Garrett) who went through Antarctica XXI out of Punta Arenas. The ship was not a luxury liner, but was comfortable. I labeled it more of an adventure than a cruise. Though the little lounge had free booze and snacks I rarely had time to take advantage since we were doing two landings a day. The ship carries 50 passengers, but we only had 25 on our cruise so we could really do some nice stuff, like just going on a zodiac sightseeing trips.

The ship had an ice re-enforced hull, but was not an icebreaker and had only passive stabilizers.

We flew out of Punta Arenas on a BAE 146 to King George Island. We saved 4 days since it took 2 days to cross the drake and 2 days back if we did not fly.

My trip was November 25, 2009 so spent Thanksgiving aboard with two other US passengers.

You can look up the stats on the Multanovskiy.

We visited King George Island, Ardley Island, Neko Island, Mikkelson Harbor, Herrera Channel to Port Lockroy, Lemaire channel to Peterman Island the southernmost extension of our trip. We visited Paradise Bay, Danko Island, Brown Landing (Antarctica Peninsula proper), Deception Bay and back to King George Island where we could not get out because of 15 cm ice on the runway. We stayed an extra night aboard and visited King Sejong Korean scientific station. Good to have insurance to rebook cancelled flights out of PA.

Some notes: A pair of gel inserts for the boots (furnished by company). Bring them to the boot fitting meeting. We got the boots delivered to our hotel rooms the night before and we carried the boots to the plane and put them on while on board. Dress for the Antarctic because when we stepped off the plane we were there at the Chilean base and would board a Zodiac to the ship.

We had good weather except for a full gale in the Brainfield Strait on the way to Deception Island where there was fog.

It was really neat with the three Zodiacs cruising around looking for things and one spotted a leopard seal and radioed the others to come over and take a look.

My automatic dimming glasses got too dark with the bright white and the cold. I would recommend using regular sunglasses or snow goggles hat don’t keep getting darker. Face and nose protection a must. One guy got a blistered nose in two hours.

Price I recall was 9K.

When crossing the Drake, remember if the weather is bad you could have to turn around and loose another day. Flying can catch up lost days faster, but both depend on good weather for a good trip.

Look for Dleep's report when he gets back from next months trip on the Ocean Nova which is an air combination.

Scapel

digitl

dpro

h2so4

Thank you one and all for your replies!! We have a lot to consider! Many of you made comments or trip reports that I have already read using the search function, so I know that there are diverse ways to approach this trip- and it's sounding like no one has a "bad" trip;) This was much like Africa; before we traveled there no one we talked to said "it was just ok". So I think this will require some thought into our budgets (more the time budget really than the money one) and the experience we want.

DH never gets seasick, but I always feel a bit queasy the first night out on our "rougher" trips (in the Pacific near the Galapagos for example). It's usually manageable and it seems that for the crossing, there is not much going on to miss anyway, so riding it out would be doable, but maybe a more stabilized trip would be better for us.

I will look for dleeps upcoming report, I'll start haunting these boards now that I am researching!

I have a question for the Quark/Russian ship folks, are these booked directly with Quark? Did you have any trouble with language either when making arrangements or once on board?

Thank you all for your good advice! One reason I am researching early is that with these expedition ships the low cheap cabins go fast and I'd like to know just which I want the day they are available to book!

Scapel

digitl

dpro

h2so4

Thank you one and all for your replies!! We have a lot to consider! Many of you made comments or trip reports that I have already read using the search function, so I know that there are diverse ways to approach this trip- and it's sounding like no one has a "bad" trip;) This was much like Africa; before we traveled there no one we talked to said "it was just ok". So I think this will require some thought into our budgets (more the time budget really than the money one) and the experience we want.

DH never gets seasick, but I always feel a bit queasy the first night out on our "rougher" trips (in the Pacific near the Galapagos for example). It's usually manageable and it seems that for the crossing, there is not much going on to miss anyway, so riding it out would be doable, but maybe a more stabilized trip would be better for us.

I will look for dleeps upcoming report, I'll start haunting these boards now that I am researching!

I have a question for the Quark/Russian ship folks, are these booked directly with Quark? Did you have any trouble with language either when making arrangements or once on board?

Thank you all for your good advice! One reason I am researching early is that with these expedition ships the low cheap cabins go fast and I'd like to know just which I want the day they are available to book!

Yes, you book these ships directly with Quark; no language problem there. The expedition staff is all English speaking, so no problem there. The Russian crew were ship's personnel that passengers didn't interact with much. Bridge officers all spoke English as well.

You're right in saying that this trip is like going to Africa. We did that in 2004 and found the same thing ... everyone we spoke to loved their experience. Back in 2005-2006, when we were researching our 2007 plans, Antarctic trip reports were more difficult to find ... that has changed considerably, so you're quite lucky in that respect.

Quark is a Canadian company and its expedition teams are staffed by canadians, australians, new zealanders, americans, brits and germans. Utterly no language barrier !

I have travelled with them twice in the past two years on their now dearly departed icebreaker (there are now no icebreakers down there - only "ice conditioned"). Am travelling with them again in 15 months time.

Most companies are releasing their 2014 itineraries now so the opportunity for early bird discounts is now. In addition - if you have the ready moneys - they are also all emailing out "last minute discounts" for the few unsold berths in this current season. My inbox is filled with them daily.

I agree with your husband - crossing the Drake is all part of the experience and I think you would cheat yourself out of it if you flew. Take whatever pills make you feel better and enjoy it !!

Sth Georgia - if the "tens of thousands of wildlife" is what you are seeking - this is where you will find it, along with the undescribable scenery and the history. In my opinion its an essential part of the experience and well worth the extra days and expense.

Brochures - yes order them ! I love and am addicted to internet research but there is something special about turning the pages of a glossy brochure salivating over maps and photos and itineraries ! And when you finally choose "the one" - you have the brochure for your scrapbook/souvineer box.

Well I will add a new ship to the list.

http://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/tour/tour.asp?tourname=antarctica%2C+the+falkland+islands+and+south+georgia&sec=2&tour=1791

This is the link to the trip we have booked through Noble Caledonia on a Hapag Lloyd ship. The Bremen is small, luxurious, loads of zodiac landings etc and we are so looking forward to this trip.

And the cost, while obviously not cheap, includes air travel, all soft drinks on board and things like boots and big anoraks which other lines make you pay for. As it happens we booked this at the cruise show in Olympia and got a 10% off special offer which was a grand each ! Anyway check out their antarctica trips - they have 2 ships to look at - the Bremen and teh Hanseatic - also worth checking on the Hapag Lloyd site. Small ship luxury to Antarctica. Whats not to like.

Further to the previous message. The Bremen and Hanseatic are German registered which may be important as Argentina and the UK are making noises again over the Falkland Islands and it is rumoured that some UK ships may be stopped from visiting Ushaiha so just be aware.

Wonderful advice! We have a hard choice to make about the idea of conquering the " circle" vs the wildlife in SG- in general we are real animal people so,that may win out!

Quark is a Canadian company and its expedition teams are staffed by canadians, australians, new zealanders, americans, brits and germans. Utterly no language barrier !

 

I have travelled with them twice in the past two years on their now dearly departed icebreaker (there are now no icebreakers down there - only "ice conditioned"). Am travelling with them again in 15 months time.

 

Most companies are releasing their 2014 itineraries now so the opportunity for early bird discounts is now. In addition - if you have the ready moneys - they are also all emailing out "last minute discounts" for the few unsold berths in this current season. My inbox is filled with

I love the idea of this, but in practice can never be patient enough to wait! I love to plan and knowing where and when 18 months prior is all part of the fun. I wish I had that spontaneous gene...I'm sure i could save lots!

 

I have a question for anyone on these " releases ". Say I wanted to travel in Dec 2014 or Jan 2015, it seems those itineraries would be coming out now...would that include the early ones ( Jan and Feb 2014) as well as the ones much later (Nov and Dec 2014)? I guess my question is that even though Dec and Jan are only a few weeks apart, one is 2014 while the the other is 2015. Will I need to wait a whole year to compare two itineraries 6 weeks apart in actual time? It seems to me the "season" for these cruises is Nov to Feb so the whole block would come out together? Is Nov/Dec 2013 just coming out now? Hope that makes sense!:confused:

 

Brochures - yes order them ! I love and am addicted to internet research but there is something special about turning the pages of a glossy brochure salivating over maps and photos and itineraries ! And when you finally choose "the one" - you have the brochure for your scrapbook/souvineer box.

I'm glad someone understands the brochures! I do enjoy a good " real" book and the feel of the newspaper in my hands too!

Further to the previous message. The Bremen and Hanseatic are German registered which may be important as Argentina and the UK are making noises again over the Falkland Islands and it is rumoured that some UK ships may be stopped from visiting Ushaiha so just be aware.

Thanks Simon, I will look into that too...just wondering which lines are British? I think Fram is Norwegian, then there are the Russian ships Quark uses. Is Nat Geo based out of the US or Britain?

A many considerations!

 

Is Nat Geo based out of the US or Britain?

Nat Geo partners with Lindblad Expeditions, which is based in New York. My spouse and I are traveling to Antarctica on the National Geographic Explorer in a couple of months! We booked the trip over a year ago, and now, finally, it's almost here; I'm pretty much jumping out of my skin with excitement.

Have fun with your planning!

We really liked South Georgia on our 2010 cruise. That ship (Minerva) no longer goes to Antarctica. A&K ran that cruise with Swan Hellenic. Now they use a different ship (Boreal?). We had 200 people. So we hand to go on land in 2 groups of 100. I would have preferred to have been on a ship with less than 100. Often the conditions changed and half the people did not have as good an experience.

We opted for a low deck - less expensive and more stable. We hardly spent any time in our cabin anyway! I think I posted our experience on this board. The link is in my signature below.

We leave on Dec 6 for an air-cruise that starts in Punta Arenas with a flight to King George Island, 4 full days on the ship (Ocean Nova) before flying back. We found a good last minute deal and it worked with our schedule!

Only about 250,000 people have ever landed on this continent. It draws you to return! Enjoy your future trip!

BTW, I lived in the Boston area for 17 years!

Nat Geo partners with Lindblad Expeditions, which is based in New York. My spouse and I are traveling to Antarctica on the National Geographic Explorer in a couple of months! We booked the trip over a year ago, and now, finally, it's almost here; I'm pretty much jumping out of my skin with excitement.

Good choice. Enjoy!

Nat Geo partners with Lindblad Expeditions, which is based in New York. My spouse and I are traveling to Antarctica on the National Geographic Explorer in a couple of months! We booked the trip over a year ago, and now, finally, it's almost here; I'm pretty much jumping out of my skin with excitement.

 

Have fun with your planning!

Thanks! That's the down side to a long planning window- the wait! Have a great time, and I do hope you will post a trip report. My TA does recommend Linblad, - we considered it for the Galapagos, but ultimately did a trip that included some cultural exploration as well the cruise. Clearly that's not an issue with Antarctica - the natives are penguins! I'd love to hear your take!

We really liked South Georgia on our 2010 cruise. That ship (Minerva) no longer goes to Antarctica. A&K ran that cruise with Swan Hellenic. Now they use a different ship (Boreal?). We had 200 people. So we hand to go on land in 2 groups of 100. I would have preferred to have been on a ship with less than 100. Often the conditions changed and half the people did not have as good an experience.

 

We opted for a low deck - less expensive and more stable. We hardly spent any time in our cabin anyway! I think I posted our experience on this board. The link is in my signature below.

 

We leave on Dec 6 for an air-cruise that starts in Punta Arenas with a flight to King George Island, 4 full days on the ship (Ocean Nova) before flying back. We found a good last minute deal and it worked with our schedule!

 

Only about 250,000 people have ever landed on this continent. It draws you to return! Enjoy your future trip!

 

BTW, I lived in the Boston area for 17 years!

Thanks for the info- we experienced those changing conditions with our recent trip to Moorea- we had a whale and dolphin excursion planned with a local PhD expert, and weather prevented the early group from going out. The afternoon group was full and I was in anguish that they would get to go ( although happy for them) as it turned out the weather was not good enough for either group, but so I see how that could be an issue!

The Boreal is one of the ships on my list. It's tricky to figure this out because there are the ships; some are run directly by the ships owner or line; other trips seem to be offered through a tour group who either charter the whole ship, or just have their own group on board. I noticed one polar vessel's deck plan was identical to the deck plans of the Galapagos Explorer 2 we took this summer, clearly built by the same shipbuilder for a different purpose! I think it will take a while to get a handle on the landscape- glad I've given myself some time. I also have a wonderful TA, but Id like to be able to narrow it down for her a bit before calling!

Looking forward to checking out your report and looking forward to the next- have a great trip!

In general the 2014 itineraries that are out now are for the 2013/14 season. So nov dec 2014 would be the 2014/15 season.

I agree with the comments about SG, the Fram, and being like Africa....

I hear Veendam and now AIDAcara have cancelled calls to the Falklands. However, these are very large ships, with lower-budget passengers, so I don't think politics will affect Antarctic specialist cruises.

The Falklands also have great wildlife - last week, friends watched orcas and seal pups "interacting", and demonstrating the Darwinian principle of natural selection. Also watched King, magellanic and gentoo penguins on the same beach, plus breeding albatrosses. Not as unspoilt as SG, but worth seeing...

Be careful basing your trip on a specific goal such as "conquering the circle." If weather conditions don't allow getting that far south, you don't want to feel cheated.

As for Nat Geo/Lindblad ... something surprising we found out when we were looking into doing Gray Whales in the Sea of Cortez (about two years ago) with them ... there is different pricing depending on who you book with ... I think we called off of a Nat Geo brochure, and somehow during the conversation we found out that NatGeo and Lindblad pricing are not necessarily the same. I don't know if this applies to the Antarctic sailings as well, but just be aware.

Thanks! That's the down side to a long planning window- the wait! Have a great time, and I do hope you will post a trip report. My TA does recommend Linblad, - we considered it for the Galapagos, but ultimately did a trip that included some cultural exploration as well the cruise. Clearly that's not an issue with Antarctica - the natives are penguins! I'd love to hear your take!

 

Thanks, it is definitely my intent to post a full report here when we return. In fact, some months ago, I started blogging about the preparations for our trip -- things like gear and clothing selection, camera equipment, what I'm reading, things that are making me a little anxious [the carry on weight limit on the charter, for example] -- stuff that I want to remember as part of the whole experience of the trip. My blog is here:

http://antarcticjourney.wordpress.com/

[Lindblad] Good choice. Enjoy!

Thanks dileep! I think you may know from the Photo Discussion forum that part of this adventure for me will be photography, and that's one of the things that has me excited about Nat Geo. There will be Nat Geo photographers on the expedition with us, and one of their jobs is to help everyone take better pictures.

In fact, I had a couple of photography-related questions that I was talking to Lindblad about and they asked me to put them in an email so they could forward them to their photography folks. Almost immediately after sending it, I got a reply from Nat Geo's Director of Expedition Photography, with great information as well as links to a couple of webinars that were also very helpful.

I've burned into my brain now "adding light to light" for white ice and snowy scenes... :)

I hope YOU have a great trip too!

Thanks everyone for your advice...I will probably come back with more questions as I get further into the process! Turtles- I told DH about the photo questions being answered and that is making him lean towards the Nat Geo trip. We will def be following your blog!