Antarctic cruise and excursions with a child

[crabby apple]

I am trying to find out, without going through every single thread and every website for every cruise company..........if there are any that are more highly recommended for travel with a child. He will be 14 by then.

 

I thought if anyone saw this post and knew they SAW or took a child on one of the cruise lines that at least clarifies that cruise line allows kids.

 

Thank you in advance for any feedback !! It is highly appreciated! thank you!

 

I did see that there is a thread that recommends one specific trip here the National Geographic Endeavor-but researching to see if there are others

[SarniaLo]

For instance, you would have no trouble with Hurtigruten:

"Hurtigruten does not accept children under the age of five to the Antarctic. On all other routes with the MS Fram, there are no age restrictions. For safety, the captain decides at each landing, whether children under 12 can go ashore."

At 14, your kid is not a child any more! ;)

I'd be surprised if there are companies that would forbid a 14 yo to travel to Antarctica (unless maybe he travels without his parents?).

[crabby apple]

I actually found a few right off the bat that said no passengers on board under 18 some under 21? Those were expedition type but :( we do want to go ashore

 

I agree, he is not a child anymore. I just figured it was for insurance reasons. Some said 1 child per adult which makes sense.

 

We have been on excursions where he was more well behaved than adults and listened to instructions harder/better. I imagine this is very important in areas that can be potentially dangerous

[PerfectlyPerth]

I actually found a few right off the bat that said no passengers on board under 18 some under 21? Those were expedition type but :( we do want to go ashore

 

I agree, he is not a child anymore. I just figured it was for insurance reasons. Some said 1 child per adult which makes sense.

 

We have been on excursions where he was more well behaved than adults and listened to instructions harder/better. I imagine this is very important in areas that can be potentially dangerous

 

We had a 15 year old on board my last trip - daughter of one of the expedition team. That was with Quark/Peregrine so have a look at their terms and conditions for ages.

 

And yes listening to the safety talks and instructions is vital and I am sure you have raised him to do so (unlike the 26 passengers on my last trip who deliberately ignored every instruction and came close to being decapitated when the disembarked from the chopper in the wrong direction and constantly broke the 5 metre rule with the wildlife - they were eventually banned from landings!).

[parischris]

I am trying to find out, without going through every single thread and every website for every cruise company..........if there are any that are more highly recommended for travel with a child. He will be 14 by then.

 

I thought if anyone saw this post and knew they SAW or took a child on one of the cruise lines that at least clarifies that cruise line allows kids.

 

Thank you in advance for any feedback !! It is highly appreciated! thank you!

 

I did see that there is a thread that recommends one specific trip here the National Geographic Endeavor-but researching to see if there are others

 

A&K and Lindblad/Nat Geo have certain departures that are marketed as 'family' oriented - their respective websites will have details. On the Minerva a few years ago there were quite a few pre-teens and teens that were kept occupied by a specialist staff member.

[SarniaLo]

I actually found a few right off the bat that said no passengers on board under 18 some under 21? Those were expedition type but :( we do want to go ashore

Well, I stand corrected then (and surprised). Have a look at Hurtigruten then, I have done two "expedition type" cruise with them (Antarctica and Svalbard), I think the trips they offer would be nice for an interested teenager.

And I also agree that adult passengers can sometimes behave very badly during landings (not listening to instructions, walking to places they've been told not to, getting closer to the animals than recommended, etc...).

[crabby apple]

thank you everyone! I think we have decided to stay away from the ones that only allow 18 or older because what they require is 'too much' for even dad and mom to handle or desire to handle :)

 

plus, myself, I am a bit afraid of a super small ship and they were both small ships

 

so, that being said.........the ones you all experienced--I do see that they can cancel a landing/port/land stop at any time but were you all able to get off at least and be near some wildlife on Antarctica?

 

this is going to be one of the most exciting trips we plan(next to the Tanzania safari we did) and I intend to research it a a lot!

[SarniaLo]

so, that being said.........the ones you all experienced--I do see that they can cancel a landing/port/land stop at any time but were you all able to get off at least and be near some wildlife on Antarctica?

I can only answer for Hurtigruten since it's my only experience, but I'm pretty sure all the other companies operate more or less the same.

Yes, the landings can be cancelled at any time and this will be due to weather and/or ice conditions issues (which are impossible to plan in advance, sometimes impossible to tell from one hour to the other). This being said, if a landing is cancelled they always have a plan B (and C, and D...) in store so that we could enjoy every minute of our trip. I really felt that everything was planned so that we could get the most out of our experience (with first concern for our security, of course). And you would have to be very, very, very unlucky with the weather not to be able to land at least a few times and be close to wildlife.

 

We were actually very lucky with the weather so we were able to land many times and see a lot of animals. You can see my pictures on my blog from this page http://voyageterremer.blogspot.com/2011/02/au-sud-du-sud-jour-1.html (I apologise, the text is in French only, but hopefully the pictures speak from themselves. Click on "message plus recent" for the rest of the journey).

 

Hurtigruten's Fram has a live blog : http://mvfram.blogspot.com , you can check the previous years between November and February to see what kind of experience they offer. But again, I'm pretty sure all the "serious" companies have the same philosophy.

 

The advantage of a "small" ship (less than 100 passengers, Fram has about 200) is that you actually have more time ashore, since it is only allowed to have 100 people ashore at the same time in Antarctica. When there are more than 100 passengers on board, you have to take turn and then each person's time is reduced. Honestly it wasn't a problem for me since everything went very smoothly, and since the scenery was always breathtaking even from the ship so the time spent on board was absolutely not wasted!

[crabby apple]

Thank you SO so much for the details you gave me and I am absolutely going to be looking at the blog.

 

I will be honest the biggest reasons that we were shying away from a smaller ship are weather......and safety..........

 

I know, I know, and we have traveled to many remote places completely unaccompanied with no one around that spoke any English. I have traveled alone with our son to places that would be considered dangerous to do so even. So one would ask why I would be afraid of being on a small ship? I read so many comments about the rocking and horrific weather. We took a cruise many years ago on a line that had a 900 pax ship and the weather was awful and EVERYONE was vomiting everywhere. I was wearing my life jacket to bed--it was terrifying. Thankfully my motion sickness was not so bad back then but I do have some sinus issues now in my 'older age(46 haha)' that make me a bit concerned.

 

I will be honest that both hubby and I were terrified when the ship was rocking and swaying and dipping and taking on water........

 

*sigh*

 

BUT the idea of less people, a more intimately small group, going on land more often and more chances of even GOING on land makes me think that maybe I would just need to beg for some Xanax for the trip ;)

[SarniaLo]

I can't promise you you won't have bad weather (you probably will! ;) ) but I think that most of the ships that do expedition-type cruises in Antarctica are well built to handle rough weather (probably more so than bigger ships that can hold one thousand or more people). This doesn't mean that there will be no rocking or swaying, but it means that you will be safe nevertheless. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there have been major weather-related incident with cruise ships in Antarctica (there have been incidents, but they were linked to ships hitting unchartered rocks or unidentified floating objects. I'm pretty sure you are feeling so much better now! ;) ).

 

It's also possible that you have good weather (during my trip we actually had very little wind crossing the Drake to Antarctica, and only a "small" storm on the way back and it was never unconfortable. MV Fram was designed to handle this kind of weather and she does it very well.).

 

I think you should pick your cruise according to what you want to see, what you want to do, how long you want to go (and how much you can pay... :( ); if you have a company in mind you can enquire on this board about other people's experience but don't be afraid of the weather. It's part of the experience :p , and I believe passengers' safety is the top concern for cruise companies in Antarctica (and hopefully elsewhere) today.

[crabby apple]

true........and we want to see some wildlife up close and personal.......I am researching Fram now and it appears you can go on land for no extra fees

 

we also want to be able to start and end at ports that are of interest for pre and post cruise......so that is something I am checking on also

 

I suppose if you want to do some sort of hiking/trekking expedition or excursion that would cost more

 

you have no idea how much I appreciate the input

 

thank you

[digitl]

If you are going to Antarctica you shouldn't expect to see any particular thing or place. Everything is 'we will try to ...'. A little like safaris: no particular animal is guaranteed but you will probably see animals!

 

The weather can decide if/where you will sail/land, as will the ice. Passengers will also have an influence. If someone falls ill and cannot be treated on board you will have to sail to the nearest airstrip (probably Frei Station) and wait with them until an aircraft can take them off to Chile. Ships have waited for up to three days before the weather has been good enough for a flight to be guaranteed good weather for the whole of the round trip. If the ship does have to wait then excursions to local 'places of interest' are usually arranged. It follows from this that anyone who imagines they will be in a fully equipped hospital within a few hours of needing urgent treatment is sadly mistaken.

 

That said, we are going back.

[SarniaLo]

I am researching Fram now and it appears you can go on land for no extra fees

This is the case for all "expedition type" cruises, the landings are part of the cruise and included in the price. On this type of cruises there is 99,99% chance that you will land (several times, even). On the other hand, these cruises are usually worth a lot more than "cruise-by" trips, so "no extra fee" is not exactly right! ;) But it's definitely worth it, in my mind.

 

It seems that since last year Hurtigruten has added to its usual program some excursions for which you have to pay extra (for instance a PolarCirkel boat ride, or a camping night) but still all the "regular" landings are included in the price. It's the point of "expedition type" cruises : make sure that you can land as often as possible (and when not possible, make sure you still have a good time, in terms of enjoying the nature around you. Being on a smaller boat brings you closer to landscape and fauna anyway).

On some landings they also now offer "hikes" (weather permitting of course) which I believe come at no extra fee as well.

 

The cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula will usually be from/to Ushuaia, and Buenos Aires is your city of arrival in the country. At the beginning or at the end of the season, some ships will leave from (or arrive in) a different port.

 

This being said, our trip to Antarctica was such a (good) shock on every level that we felt we would have been unable to enjoy any kind of post-cruise travel after this experience. So I would look more into pre-cruise plans (but I know not everybody feels the same way).

[digitl]

On some landings they also now offer "hikes" (weather permitting of course) which I believe come at no extra fee as well.

Following on from my previous post, think carefully about the additional 'activities'. Some took the 'Shackleton hike' on South Georgia on our trip and one or two slipped on the scree. Break a leg, or otherwise damage yourself, and your landings, or even your cruise may well be over.

 

...we felt we would have been unable to enjoy any kind of post-cruise travel after this experience. So I would look more into pre-cruise plans (but I know not everybody feels the same way).

We opted for a post-cruise trip to Iguazu Falls. We decided post-cruise rather than pre- to avoid missing Antarctica through any problems which might crop up on the side-trip. On most Antarctic trips there is no 'next port' to fly to if you miss the departure!

[SarniaLo]

Following on from my previous post, think carefully about the additional 'activities'. Some took the 'Shackleton hike' on South Georgia on our trip and one or two slipped on the scree. Break a leg, or otherwise damage yourself, and your landings, or even your cruise may well be over.

This is a good point. I'll definitely consider it (I'm reasonably fit, but these are conditions most of us are not accustomed to).

 

We opted for a post-cruise trip to Iguazu Falls. We decided post-cruise rather than pre- to avoid missing Antarctica through any problems which might crop up on the side-trip. On most Antarctic trips there is no 'next port' to fly to if you miss the departure!

Good point as well. To be honest we opted for nothing else except the Antarctica cruise, which seemed to us plenty excitment enough. If I were to do a pre-cruise program I would give myself a lot of leeway (more than I can actually afford on my vacation time, I think! :p).

[digitl]

Following on from my previous post, think carefully about the additional 'activities'. Some took the 'Shackleton hike' on South Georgia on our trip and one or two slipped on the scree. Break a leg, or otherwise damage yourself, and your landings, or even your cruise may well be over.

 

This is a good point. I'll definitely consider it (I'm reasonably fit, but these are conditions most of us are not accustomed to).

 

I was more than fit enough, and would have liked to have done it. However, thinking about how much I had paid for the trip, and the consequences of an innocent slip, I decided discretion was definitely was the better part of valour! I also remembered returning to the beach down an icy path on Cuverville Island after climbing up to a vantage point and reflecting at the time on my foolishness.

 

We opted for a post-cruise trip to Iguazu Falls. We decided post-cruise rather than pre- to avoid missing Antarctica through any problems which might crop up on the side-trip. On most Antarctic trips there is no 'next port' to fly to if you miss the departure!

 

Good point as well. To be honest we opted for nothing else except the Antarctica cruise, which seemed to us plenty excitment enough. If I were to do a pre-cruise program I would give myself a lot of leeway (more than I can actually afford on my vacation time, I think! :p).

 

After flying all the way from the UK it would have been a pity not to have got as much out of the trip as we could.

[crabby apple]

SarniaLo your blog brought tears to my eyes also

[digitl]

...the idea of less people, a more intimately small group, going on land more often and more chances of even GOING on land makes me think that maybe I would just need to beg for some Xanax for the trip ;)

If you do the Ushuaia - Antarctica - Ushuaia trip you will cross Drake Passage twice. Each crossing is around 36 hours long and you can get either Drake Lake (we did) or Drake Shake. If you get the shake, or experience some rough conditions elsewhere (we had some pitching and rolling in Antarctic Sound for a couple or three hours) then stay as low in the ship and as near midships with a view out to the ocean as you can. To help with this, we always book an outside cabin on a low deck: we only use the cabin for sleeping and we don't pay to sway!

 

You will have an amazing time and it really is worth some discomfort in getting there!

[crabby apple]

agreed and good point

 

we went with a group on that REALLY rough cruise years ago and we ended up in the front suite (2nd highest level suite) at the front of the ship because the guests in our group staying in it could not handle the swaying.........after they paid ALL that money they could not stay in their room and begged us for our cheap room for sleeping