Anyone with Antarctic experience?

[Turtles06]

Do you actually do "landings" or whatever the proper term for being on the ice and stalking penguins is? I've read that only the very small ships do landings, but all this talk of zodiacs and such has me wondering if that is wrong.

 

Thanks!

 

You're not wrong. Regular, large cruise ships cannot do "landings" in Antarctica. For that, you need to take a small ship "expedition." Those small ships will have the zodiacs. We were fortunate to be able to do this three years ago on the National Geographic Explorer. I know this is a cliche, but it truly was the trip of a lifetime.

 

My detailed photo-journal is here, for anyone interested:

 

https://antarcticjourney.wordpress.com/

 

 

(photos by turtles06)

[GottaKnowWhen]

Do you actually do "landings" or whatever the proper term for being on the ice and stalking penguins is? I've read that only the very small ships do landings, but all this talk of zodiacs and such has me wondering if that is wrong.

 

Thanks!

 

Typical ( normal large) cruise ships do drive-bys of Antarticate but will stop in Usuahia Terra del Fuego, Falklands, and maybe Puerto Madryn. Each of these offers opportunities to get out and walk amongst various penguins. No need for stalking - the biggest problem can be trying to get out of their way because they don't see well on land and may bump into you...

[Jade13]

Do you actually do "landings" or whatever the proper term for being on the ice and stalking penguins is? I've read that only the very small ships do landings, but all this talk of zodiacs and such has me wondering if that is wrong.

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

It will be a drive by. Try a small expedition ship if you want to do zodiacs and landings.

[Doctor G]

I took the South America/Antarctica trip on Infinity this year in February. As all have said, it is a great cruise. I found that I took too many clothes for really cold weather. The extreme cold was only the few days sailing to and around Antarctica. The remainder of the trip (from the Falklands South) was cold, but did not call for extreme cold weather clothing. I found the viewing from inside in the lounge to be too crowded with too little visibility. We had a lot of fog most of the time, so views were often limited. I had an aft cabin so I spent more time viewing from my own veranda close to the warm cabin. To me the highlight of the trip was the penguins at Volunteer Point in the Falkland Islands. Have a wonderful trip.

 

Carolyn

[Northern Aurora]

Typical ( normal large) cruise ships do drive-bys of Antarticate but will stop in Usuahia Terra del Fuego, Falklands, and maybe Puerto Madryn. Each of these offers opportunities to get out and walk amongst various penguins. No need for stalking - the biggest problem can be trying to get out of their way because they don't see well on land and may bump into you...

 

I also hope no one tries to "stalk" penguins as they are indeed very near-sighted. We've visited Ushuaia twice, and both times used Pira Tours to visit Harberton Ranch. We've also visited Volunteer Point out of Port Stanley (Falkland Islands), and found the Harberton Ranch penguin experience to be superior.