Celebrity cruise to Antarctica

[sej67]

Pied Piper has a Celebrity cruise that goes to Antarctica, usually each February. I called Celebrity and they said they do not use Zodiac boats (or other small landing boats) and they only go close to shore. They don't actually go onshore. I imagine the boat has too many passengers for it to be allowed for ecological reasons. And it's probably to time-consuming to get that many people into the smaller boats.

 

So has anyone done a cruise to Antarctica with Celebrity? Do you feel like you missed out on a lot compared to, say, the National Geographic cruises that actually go on shore? Those are considerably more expensive.

[Turtles06]

Large cruise ships cannot land people on Antarctica for many reasons, not the least of which is that only 100 people are allowed on shore at any given time. So they do what some call "drive by" cruises. If you do some searches on the Celebrity board and in the Antarctica forum, you will see posts from people who have taken such cruises and enjoyed them very much. In trying to decide whether this would be right for you versus an expedition with landings, you should consider what you are looking for in such a trip and what you'd be content with (and of course what is within your resources).

 

My spouse and I were very fortunate to have been able to travel to Antarctica last year with National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions. It was THE trip of a lifetime. Getting to land on the continent and the surrounding islands numerous times and see penguins and other wildlife up close and personal (and I mean up close and personal) was beyond thrilling. Walking around the rookeries and watching chicks being fed, and adults going to and from the sea in search of krill, the hours spent on Zodiac cruising, seeing stunning icebergs at water level and penguins from the very different perspective of the shore, bumping up against ice floes with napping leopard seals -- astonishing. Being on a small ship with no fixed itinerary and the freedom to chase after killer whales as they chased after a minke whale... The list goes on and on.

 

I am sure it would be quite beautiful to see Antarctica from the deck of a big cruise ship, but there is so much that would be missed.

 

If you are interested in getting a sense of that, I have a detailed journal of our expedition, with numerous photographs, here:

 

http://antarcticjourney.wordpress.com/

 

A couple of images:

 

 

 

(photos by turtles06)

[my crow's nest]

Turtles06,

First, thank you for your well written in depth chronicle of your expedition. It was such a pleasure to read. Secondly, your advice was right on the mark. Like you, we were fortunate and did a 21 day itinerary on A&K's Little Red Boat that included The Peninsula, South Georgia and the Falklands.

 

sej67,

If your budget allows you to do an expedition cruise like the one that turtles06 did, don't hesitate. It truly is a trip of a lifetime. I know many people who have cruised on larger ships, like Crystal and they loved it, but they only saw, you'll pardon the pun, the tip of the iceberg!

[Clay Clayton]

Turtles

Thanks for your blog....I now have my next big trip to plan!

[canny_cruiser]

I can't think of anything more frustrating than visiting Antarctica and only getting to wave at the penguins!

 

I went on the MV Discovery and we had 3 Zodiac landings.

Edited January 5, 2014 by canny_cruiser

[sej67]

canny cruiser was that with some group? Or did you just book through the cruise company?

[pke-atlanta]

My partner and I were lucky enough to sail down to Antarctica with Silversea. The multiple daily landings and zodiac tours that get you up close and personal with the wildlife truly are amazing. If your budget can possibly swing it and you don't have mobility challenges that might prevent you from boarding the zodiacs or enjoying trekking through snow or over rocky ground, I highly recommend an expedition trip.

 

As an aside, there were 99 passengers on our ship. We traveled with 2 friends (one lesbian, one straight), and as chance would have it, there was one other gay couple on board. However, we had no issues with any of the passengers or crew on board. So don't rule out an expedition if that's a concern.