Has anyone done the Antarctica cruise?

[Flafun888]

Thanks for the clarification, Mike. I can only imagine how amazing an expedition like this is, but 28-35k+ is sadly beyond what I'm comfortable spending for a single vacation, vs enjoying multiple trips and still having plenty left over to responsibly fund the nest egg. :D

 

We'll have to be satisfied with admiring everyone else's pics! Hopefully we'll have the health & mobility to try it years from now, once we're retired.

[ECCruise]

Is that 14k for 2 or per person? Are the excursions you did mostly long drives away or closer to where you sail?

 

For someone with no mobility issues (at the moment anyway!) who doesn't mind climbing, hiking, other active stuff etc, but goes stir crazy on really long drives (like the 6 hour RT mentioned earlier), would the expedition trip be a better choice?

 

There are no long drives in Antarctica. There are no roads. You would be taken from the ship to land (or an iceberg) on a Zodiac craft. There you can explore on foot. Most Zodiac rides are less than 20 minutes in our experience.

 

I hate to be touting other cruises on the =X= board (we leave tomorrow for 30 days on Constellation so know that I am loyal, largely, to =X=), but think everyone should make comparisons when they are available.

[GottaKnowWhen]

That drive sounds grueling - 3 hours with 2/3 over rough terrain. But these pics are definitely my version of a bucket list vacation experience - I'd rather see this than all the monuments and museums of the world. Thanks for sharing...breathtaking. What an amazing sight it must have been.

 

Thanks for the comments. As someone else has pointed out, I overestimated the length of the drive in my earlier comments. I just went back into my photo database, checked the exif data on shots that day at Volunteer Point. We were on the pier just after 8:00am. Quickly linked up with our tour, loaded up, headed out. By 8:48am we were onto gravel roads, by 9:29am we were off road into the bog land, and by 10:40am we had arrived at the Volunteer Point parking area. We were there until about 1:00pm and by 3:25pm were back in Stanley driving around seeing the town. So, approximately 2.5 hours outbound, about half of that off-road, 2.5 hours coming back.

 

For your planning, note that 2017-18 looks to be the last season that Infinity will do this itinerary; Eclipse will be sailing out of Buenos Aires in 2018-19. Unless they add Eclipse to that region rather than replacing Infinity... A few hundred more passengers vying for the limited seating on the tours. (E.g., in the Falklands there were 50 Land Rover and similar SUV's at the Point that day. According to our driver, those 50 vehicles about maxed out the available vehicles on the island, and the 200 visitors about maxed out the capacity of the preserve we visited.)

 

While checking the time factors, I pulled a few more shots from that day to whet your appetite:

 

 

 

 

 

[Flafun888]

I, on the other hand, can assure you that is NOT per person, but is total. From Hurtigruten's site:

ADVENTURE TO ANTARCTICA - HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FROZEN CONTINENT

Duration: 12 Days

• 2 Adults
  

Departure

January 3, 2019 18:00

Arrival

January 14, 2019 07:00

CABINS $14,336

 

1 Polar Outside$14,336

Middle deck - Select total, for 2? Under $9000.

 

 

THIS, while still pricey for us, would definitely be within realm of possibility - thanks for adding the additional info, ECCruise

[ECCruise]

THIS, while still pricey for us, would definitely be within realm of possibility - thanks for adding the additional info, ECCruise

 

Be careful.

When you quoted my post that "under $9000" snuck in there which is NOT Hurtigruten.

The $14,336 is correct. That is for a full window cabin. Insides and portholes are less.

[MVPinBoynton]

I, on the other hand, can assure you that is NOT per person, but is total.

From Hurtigruten's site:

ADVENTURE TO ANTARCTICA - HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FROZEN CONTINENT

 

Duration: 12 Days

• 2 Adults
  

Departure

 

January 3, 2019 18:00

 

Arrival

 

January 14, 2019 07:00

 

CABINS $14,336

 

1 Polar Outside$14,336

Middle deck - Select

Like every cruise, you need to shop around.

If you think that is something, when we sailed Antarctica (albeit 4 years ago) we were on the

brand new (4 month old) Ponant L'Austral.

Booked balcony cabin. Upgraded to suite. Extraordinary food, cabaret entertainment nightly,

drinks included. 200 pax. Truly a luxury ship as opposed to a premium line.

It is much more expensive now, (Antarctica has become trendy) but total, for 2? Under $9000.

 

Thank you for correcting my bad assumption. That is an outstanding deal and one I would do, if my wife could do it.

[Northern Aurora]

We were on the February 15, 2015 Antarctic cruise, so we're on the same cruise with "GottaKnowWhen." It was the first leg of a B2B2B, and that B2B2B set was probably my favorite set of cruises.

 

Since we were B2B2B we went out to Harberton Estancia twice, and both times the penguin viewing was excellent. In the Falklands we used Patrick Watts to go out to Volunteer Point. My memory is that the drive both to Harberton and out to Volunteer Point was 90 minutes.

[Flafun888]

"My memory is that the drive both to Harberton and out to Volunteer Point was 90 minutes." Seems like the drive just keeps getting shorter the longer the thread gets. LOL I love it. :)

[Flafun888]

Be careful.

When you quoted my post that "under $9000" snuck in there which is NOT Hurtigruten.

The $14,336 is correct. That is for a full window cabin. Insides and portholes are less.

 

Yup...saw I cut that off accidentally when reposting, but thank you for reinforcing. 14k for two isn't totally out of range...back on the bucket list :D

[LuAnn]

"My memory is that the drive both to Harberton and out to Volunteer Point was 90 minutes." Seems like the drive just keeps getting shorter the longer the thread gets. LOL I love it. :)

 

The drive with Patrick Watts was not short...but it was a fun adventure over the bogs!!..and as you can see by the pics posted well worth it ...IMO!! If you decide to book with him do plan and booking it as early as you can...as he is very popular and as also mentioned there are only so many vehicles and drivers available. LuAnn

[ECCruise]

It's funny but this thread has us actually considering a January 2019 trip with Hurtigruten. Have wanted to go back and now it is on the radar again.

 

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[jelayne]

That drive sounds grueling - 3 hours with 2/3 over rough terrain. But these pics are definitely my version of a bucket list vacation experience - I'd rather see this than all the monuments and museums of the world. Thanks for sharing...breathtaking. What an amazing sight it must have been.

 

We did that same tour with a different company and the drive was around 90 minutes each way. Terrain a bit rough but so neat to see sheep and penguins hanging out in the same space:)

[lovecruzin]

My brother and his wife did Antarctica with G Adventures, they have their own ship and while not like an X ship, they were perfectly comfortable. The prices, I believe are significantly less than $14k pp. They had a wonderful time and thought so highly of the company they used them again for Egypt.

[beezer248]

Keep saving your money and wait until you can do a true landing on the continent. I went to Antarctica w National Geographic/ Lindblad last year and it was truly the most amazing, organized and informative trip I have ever taken. Yes- very expensive but worth every penny. The stops on the larger ships are wonderful, but experiencing landings on Antarctica is another story. Thousands of penguins, seals and birds are all around you. Lots of sights and smells ( penguin poo so not all good!). I too looked at the Celebrity sailings before booking w Nat Geo and am glad that I continued to save and waited.

 

 

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[chefcaw]

We were on the 2017 Celebrity cruise to Antarctica and the round the horn cruise prior. My first suggestion is to wait and book the cruise after final payments. The prices dropped tremendously. Many people sailed with us for less than 1/2 of what we paid. Some of the sting was lessened because we had booked under the 1,2,3, options. But trust me it would still have been cheaper to buy all the options and still have been money ahead.

 

That said it was a great tour. Plenty of wildlife everywhere. It took us a minute to understand that what we thought were loons swimming in the water, were penguins. On all the tours we took, wildlife was near and not interested with us. In one case, if I had not stopped abruptly, a penguin would have walked over my toes.

 

Drive by or not, it was a great trip

 

Chis

[veryseasonedtraveler]

My DH and I have cruised over 700 days. The Antarctic portion on our HAL cruise was by far the most memorable. The scenery was spectacular. Imagine looking out from your balcony seeing penguins swimming by. The commentary by experts brought on board added to our understanding of the magical surroundings.

 

 

We took the Bluff Cove Lagoon tour in Stanley to have an up close and personal time with the Penguins. Please have a look on Trip Advisor to see their reviews. Everyone that went were extremely pleased. Outstanding and fun excursion. The ride from town was around 30 minutes filled with commentary about the mine fields from the 82 war on the Falklands.

 

It definitely is a Trip of a Lifetime. GO.....

[neenee61]

We were on the 2017 Celebrity cruise to Antarctica and the round the horn cruise prior. My first suggestion is to wait and book the cruise after final payments. The prices dropped tremendously. Many people sailed with us for less than 1/2 of what we paid. Some of the sting was lessened because we had booked under the 1,2,3, options. But trust me it would still have been cheaper to buy all the options and still have been money ahead.

 

That said it was a great tour. Plenty of wildlife everywhere. It took us a minute to understand that what we thought were loons swimming in the water, were penguins. On all the tours we took, wildlife was near and not interested with us. In one case, if I had not stopped abruptly, a penguin would have walked over my toes.

 

Drive by or not, it was a great trip

 

Chis

Hi Chris wondering how the tendering process was handled in Falklands. I have a tour booked witht Patrick Watts and ideally need to be on 1st tender at worst case 2nd. 4 of us in party and 2 will be in a suite and 2 Elite.

 

 

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers