Adventurous Antarctica Cruiseline Choice question

[Sailkeywest]

Hi there,  a few years ago I had researched Antarctica Cruises extensively but cannot seem to remember the cruise we had chosen.  (Mostly because we thought we would have to wait until retirement to be able to take such a cruise). -- This being said, can anyone help to point us in the direction of a cruise that visits not only South Georgia and the Falklands, but goes as deep into Antarctica as possible?  Luxury is not a necessity, we are an adventurous couple.  We don't need "frills," we are more into experiences.  I plan all of our trips independently and normally takes about a year to finalize the itineraries :)    Thank you for any and all input!   Be safe and Happy Travels 

[Smokeyham]

It sounds like you are not looking at the higher end of the scale, but I am hearing very good things about NatGeo/Lindblad and Quark. 

[kaisatsu]

Depends on what you mean by “deep into Antarctica.” On an expedition cruise, you’re never going to get too far beyond the coast into the interior. You can get a little a bit farther with helicopters. If you’re thinking “south,” don’t. There is amazing wildlife to be seen all along the peninsula, and trying to get farther south than ice conditions favor is not always the best use of time. (It wasn’t until my third trip that I ever crossed the Antarctic Circle, and while it was geographically amusing, it was definitely not a highlight.)
 

The best option to get “deep into Antarctica” is to maximize your time there. Spend as many days as you can, and travel on the smallest ship possible to maximize your time.

 

All of the companies employ fantastic expedition staff (several take contracts with multiple companies), so I wouldn’t warn you off any on those grounds. It is, however, sadly worth knowing how the companies have dealt with COVID cancellations if your looking to travel in the 2021/22 season, just in case. Also, with the looming end of the 2020/21 season, I’m worried that One Ocean won’t be the industry’s only collapse.

[kaisatsu]

One more point, since you mentioned “adventurous”: I don’t think any of them visit South Georgia, but it’s worth noting that Oceanwide’s “basecamp” trips are a bit unique in that they do focus a bit more on active pursuits than wildlife watching. This is great for the people who are looking for that, but I’ve heard of people who were disappointed that they didn’t get the same typical experience on top of all the activities. That’s certainly not to say that there’s no wildlife, but just that you can’t have it all, and there may be some concessions.
 

Having traveled with both Oceanwide (not on a basecamp trip) and GExpeditions, which tend to be lower frills than many others, I loved being on a smaller ship and found both to be extremely comfortable and well beyond basic. My other trip was on a bigger, nicer ship, and I will happily forego the fancy lounge and amenities to travel on a ship with <150 pax.

[2552phxcrzr]

Quark for peninsula and South Georgia ... also Oceanwide Expeditions (which does Ross Sea Ushuaia-NZ for 30 days and carries helicopters for some landings, including the Dry Valleys ... all weather dependent, of course).

[kaisatsu]

On 8/4/2020 at 1:31 AM, 2552phxcrzr said:

Quark for peninsula and South Georgia ... also Oceanwide Expeditions (which does Ross Sea Ushuaia-NZ for 30 days and carries helicopters for some landings, including the Dry Valleys ... all weather dependent, of course).

I personally wouldn’t recommend the Ushuaia-Bluff trips for someone who’s never been. Not only is there the long Amundsen Sea crossing with not a lot to see, it’s even more weather dependent given the distance to cover. In that entire 30 days, we only managed two Antarctic landings that were less than 30 minutes each!

 

Oceanwide also does the Snow Hill trips with helicopters, which might be a better option for a first timer looking for something different. At least getting stuck in the Weddell Sea ice is a bit more scenic than days and days of open sea!

[Sailkeywest]

Thank you, Smokeyham, Kaisatsu, and 2552phxcrzr for your thoughtful replies!  We would definitely forego a "fancy" ship in order to keep the passenger number to <150  (less than 100 would be great!)  You've given me a great jumping off point and will definitely be looking into those cruises.  

 

P.S.  Kaisatsu:  Norway is beautiful!  Hope to go back one day!  We did a 3 week driving tour (no cruise), unless you count the Hurtigruten ships that can carry your car port to port 🙂  Loved every moment, especially the (few cherished moments) for breaks in the clouds to see the Northern Lights. 

[Sailkeywest]

P.P.S  Basically I'd like to go to the Falklands, S. Georgia, and cross the Antarctic Circle in a ship with less or close to 100 Passengers.  Does this ship exist?  (Been searching and Searching)

[sippican]

22 hours ago, Sailkeywest said:

P.P.S  Basically I'd like to go to the Falklands, S. Georgia, and cross the Antarctic Circle in a ship with less or close to 100 Passengers.  Does this ship exist?  (Been searching and Searching)

 

Not sure when you plan to go, but it might be beneficial to read up on the Polar Code (there's a thread in this forum) so that you can choose a company who will be in compliance if you are looking to sail after 2021.

 

[kaisatsu]

23 hours ago, Sailkeywest said:

P.P.S  Basically I'd like to go to the Falklands, S. Georgia, and cross the Antarctic Circle in a ship with less or close to 100 Passengers.  Does this ship exist?  (Been searching and Searching)

Honestly, I'd de-prioritize the Antarctic Circle if you can bear it. I'm a cartophile, so I understand the allure, but it really is a bit of an arbitrary delineation considering the additional complications. Choose the season that appeals to you most, and prioritize that and the Falklands/S.Georgia way above the prospect of a Circle crossing. Crossings tend to be more popular later in the season, and if you're looking for larger fledgling penguin chicks, that might be a possibility, but having been down twice before I crossed the Circle, I really don't think it's a high priority.

 

It looks like there are a couple of Falklands/S.Georgia/Antarctica trips on Plancius next season:

https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/antarctica/south-georgia/cruises?ship=m-v-plancius&date=20211001-20211231.20220101-20220331

 

Poseiden's Sea Spirit is close to 100:

https://poseidonexpeditions.com/antarctica/falklands-south-georgia-antarctica-ultimate-wildlife-expedition/

 

Quark still has the Ocean Adventurer as a small ship (but their website is running very slowly for me today)

https://www.quarkexpeditions.com/expeditions/falklands-south-georgia-and-antarctica-explorers-and-kings

 

The MS Expedition is a bit above 100 but still has a very small-ship feel to its operations.

https://www.gadventures.com/trips/spirit-of-shackleton/XVSHSX/

Edited September 8, 2020 by kaisatsu

[donaldsc]

On 9/7/2020 at 12:21 PM, Sailkeywest said:

P.P.S  Basically I'd like to go to the Falklands, S. Georgia, and cross the Antarctic Circle in a ship with less or close to 100 Passengers.  Does this ship exist?  (Been searching and Searching)

 

Since I had already done Antarctica previously, I did a Falklands and South Georgia trip with Quark.  We spent 3 days in the Falklands and I believe 10 days in South Georgia on a Quark Ocean Adventurer cruise.  I have been to a lot of great places but the S. Georgia trip was the best trip I ever took.  Imagine a beach w 300,000 nesting pairs of penguins.

 

You don't have to do your own research to help plan this trip.  There are only a few companies that actually do the Antarctica trips and there are a fair number of companies that specialize in polar cruises.  A good travel agency that specializes in polar cruises will deal w any of the companies that do trips.  We are not allowed to mention any specific travel agencies on CC but you can find them by doing an internet search.  I found one that sounded good and then had several phone conversations with them to tell them what I wanted to do.  They came up with a great choice and at a pretty good price.

 

Hope that this helps.  BTW - I agree with the person who said that crossing the Antarctic circle just to cross it is a bit silly.  

 

DON

[PerfectlyPerth]

On 9/8/2020 at 5:21 AM, Sailkeywest said:

P.P.S  Basically I'd like to go to the Falklands, S. Georgia, and cross the Antarctic Circle in a ship with less or close to 100 Passengers.  Does this ship exist?  (Been searching and Searching)

if you head over to the Trip Advisor Antarctica forum you will find FAQs that list every single operator and vessel (including upcoming new builds etc) with links to all their websites etc, along with trip reports searchable by year, operator, vessel & region. 
https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowForum-g1-i12337-Antarctic_Adventures.html

 

Quark does The standard FI, SGI, Circle Cross a couple of times per season. It's usually called the Epic Antarctica in their itinerary list. 
I think Peregrine/Chimu are also doing one. It's targeted to Aussie/Kiwi pax - with well known Aussie guest singer on the currently advertised one. 
 

re under 100 pax. That's always been my personal recommendation but with all the new polar code compliant new builds it's going to be harder and harder to find that smaller niche vessel. 
also - very hard to know for now what kind of restrictions will be put on the operators re Covid. We could well find the larger vessels being told to sail with 50% or 70% usual pax load. Who knows. It's all very much a guessing game until post Covid travel restarts. 
 

 

[lissie]

If you actually want to go to Antarctica - rather than the peninsular - look at departures from NZ and Australia. Heritage does a 30 day to  the Ross Sea https://www.heritage-expeditions.com/destinations/antarctica-travel/ross-sea-cruise/ - and yes they are  sailing this season - but you will unlikely to be allowed into NZ unless you are a citizen and its a 14 day $3k hotel quarantine to  factor in even if you do get permission. 

[Sailkeywest]

Wow, thank you Kaisatsu, Sippican, DonaldSC, PerfectlyPerth, and Lissie for the thoughtful and detailed responses!  I have so much to research now,  (half the fun for me)  🙂 Hope everyone is safe at this time, and thank you again for taking time to help!

[Pengawin3]

Check out Polar Latitudes for small ship Ice Breakers that are pretty luxurious! They are sailing the Seaventure for 2021-2023, replacing the Hebridean Sky.

We are looking to book the March 2022 Adventures in Antarctica. Have it on hold right now. 

Want to see a great trip? , then head over to YouTube and look at Kara And Nate's trip from February 2020 with Polar Latitudes. 

A trip of a lifetime IMHO. :)

Edited February 1, 2021 by Pengawin3
spelling error of Ship

[kaisatsu]

On 2/2/2021 at 12:41 AM, Pengawin3 said:

Check out Polar Latitudes for small ship Ice Breakers that are pretty luxurious! They are sailing the Seaventure for 2021-2023, replacing the Hebridean Sky.

We are looking to book the March 2022 Adventures in Antarctica. Have it on hold right now. 

Want to see a great trip? , then head over to YouTube and look at Kara And Nate's trip from February 2020 with Polar Latitudes. 

A trip of a lifetime IMHO. 🙂

Just to clarify, Polar Latitudes ships are ice strengthened, not icebreakers. Seaventure will be ice class 1A Super, which does allow her to navigate some of the most extreme ice conditions of any ice-strengthened passenger ship, but she is not an actual icebreaker (which requires a special hull design).

 

Even a lower ice class can break through first-year ice. The higher classes can simply break thicker ice. I’ve been on a few 1B ships that have sailed through fairly high ice cover. But it’s a pretty slow and challenging thing to do, regardless of ice strength. Early in the season, if a port is extremely iced in, the captain and expedition leader will often choose to switch to plan B, rather than spending the time and energy trying to get through the ice.

 

Later in the season, the bigger problem is brash ice being blown against shore. Even though a ship can get right up to a landing site, brash ice, swell, surf, and wind can all still make zodiac operations impossible. Companies with like to sell their ice class as something that sets them apart, but in reality, the most important factor for Antarctic conditions by far is just luck.

[donaldsc]

On 3/14/2021 at 4:04 AM, kaisatsu said:

Just to clarify, Polar Latitudes ships are ice strengthened, not icebreakers. Seaventure will be ice class 1A Super, which does allow her to navigate some of the most extreme ice conditions of any ice-strengthened passenger ship, but she is not an actual icebreaker (which requires a special hull design).

 

Even a lower ice class can break through first-year ice. The higher classes can simply break thicker ice. I’ve been on a few 1B ships that have sailed through fairly high ice cover. But it’s a pretty slow and challenging thing to do, regardless of ice strength. Early in the season, if a port is extremely iced in, the captain and expedition leader will often choose to switch to plan B, rather than spending the time and energy trying to get through the ice.

 

Later in the season, the bigger problem is brash ice being blown against shore. Even though a ship can get right up to a landing site, brash ice, swell, surf, and wind can all still make zodiac operations impossible. Companies with like to sell their ice class as something that sets them apart, but in reality, the most important factor for Antarctic conditions by far is just luck.

 

Do they still do the trips on on the Russian icebreakers?  I would guess that those ships could get almost anywhere. The negative if that would be important is that their amenities would probably be very basic.  That would not be important to me as long as the ship could get me to places that other ships could not visit.  Just my opinion but a clean bed, a cabin that is big enough to fit me and my stuff and decent food is all that I would need to an Antarctica cruise.

 

DON

[kaisatsu]

12 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

Do they still do the trips on on the Russian icebreakers?  I would guess that those ships could get almost anywhere. The negative if that would be important is that their amenities would probably be very basic.  That would not be important to me as long as the ship could get me to places that other ships could not visit.  Just my opinion but a clean bed, a cabin that is big enough to fit me and my stuff and decent food is all that I would need to an Antarctica cruise.

 

DON

They haven’t sent one south for many years (Apparently crossing the tropics on one is hell), so they’ve only been doing North Pole and Northwest Passage or Arctic Russia trips.