Cassia
Cassia has worked in the polar industry since 2008 – few Antarctic specialists on Earth are more experienced than her. As one of the lucky minority to have visited hard-to-reach places like the Ross Sea, what she doesn’t know about the White Continent isn’t worth knowing.
Hi, I'm Cassia
Swoop says
My top 5 Antarctic experiences
Cruising through the Ross Sea
- Watching hundreds of minke whales and orcas circling the ship while the Transantarctic Mountains glistened in the background
- Sitting quietly in the bright sun on the ship’s bow cruising through an iceberg graveyard as penguins bobbed on ice floes
- Witnessing the colour, noise and drama of a 500,000-strong colony of king penguins on South Georgia Island
- Being one of the very few people to stand in the early explorers’ Antarctic huts on Ross Island
- Cruising through iridescent icebergs at Spert Island, the intensity of the blues and greens so strong I couldn’t even imagine that the colours existed in nature
My photos of Antarctica
Checking out a huge tabular iceberg in Antarctica
Soaking up the history at Scott Base on Ross Island
Huge Adelie penguin colony, Cape Adare
With the elephant seals on Macquarie Island
Exploring Macquarie Island, one of the amazing Subantarctic Islands
Gentoo penguins in Antarctica
On a camping trip in Antarctica
The sheer grandeur of the ice is so mesmerising in Antarctica
More about me
Cassia poses in the snow in Antarctica
- I've explored the polar regions on everything from converted research vessels to 5* expedition ships
- As one of the few people in the world to visit this remote Antarctic region, I'm Swoop's Ross Sea expert
- I've also visited other incredibly off-the-beaten track polar areas such as Wrangel Island and the Russian Far East
- My favourite animal is the elephant seal – I was lucky enough to be surrounded by their inquisitive pups at Macquarie Island
- One of my most special trips was when I celebrated my mum's birthday with her in South Georgia
- Christchurch is my hometown and one of five gateways to Antarctica, so I've always had an interest in what lies south
- I was once an extra in a Bollywood movie!
What our customers think of Cassia
10/10 - We are grateful to Cassia and Alexandra for all the handholding and coaching until we got to the Casa Lucia hotel in Buenos Aires. It appeared that we were much better prepared than our fellow passengers. Your knowledge and passion certainly stood out!
Travelled: December 2025
Deepak Vashist - USA
10/10 - Our booking agent, Cassia, was very courteous and attentive to our needs. Very responsive and made sure all our questions were satisfactorily answered. Read the full review
Travelled: February 2025
Kalpana Batni - USA
10/10 - From the first interaction to the last, our experience with Swoop was great. The team was great at understanding what we were looking for and finding us a great deal on the perfect ship and at the perfect time. They were also great at all the follow ups, answering all our questions and ensuring that all documentation was complete. We interacted with Lu, Cassia and Sarah and they were all great and really made us feel special. Read the full review
Travelled: January 2025
Sharvari Sundeep Gulrajani - India
10/10 - Cassia was so knowledgeable and directed us to the perfect ship and experience! Read the full review
Travelled: January 2025
Margery Ordog - USA
10/10 - From the first interaction with Sales Executive Cassia Jackson, followed by Customer Service Exec Alicia Roitman, and the entire Antarctica crew from Punta Arenas were all extraordinarily focused on customer satisfaction, gave me the right guidance and unique experience! Read the full review
Travelled: January 2025
Veerabahu Pillai - USA
It was really helpful to have someone who had spent time on our ship as well as done our trip before booking! We also had lots of questions and felt well-prepared. Read the full review
Travelled: December 2024
Julie Lauffenburger - USA
10/10 - Cassia truly understood what I was looking for when we first spoke about trip options. Read the full review
Travelled: December 2024
Leslie Wolff - USA
10/10 - Sarah and Cassia were both fantastic. Cassia took a lot of time to learn about my family and what we wanted. Then she did a ton of research to find the best options for us. Read the full review
Travelled: December 2023
Patti Shelton - USA
10/10 - I am so glad I booked my trip through Swoop and not through the expedition operator. Cassia and Kate answered all of my hundreds of questions so that I was completely prepared for my trip. Read the full review
Travelled: November 2023
Preetee Singhal - USA
Cassia and Carola were so wonderful and made sure that the trip would live up to our expectations. Read the full review
Travelled: November 2023
Penelope Simcox - New Zealand
Thank you so much!! It all looks incredible and absolutely perfect. We went from being completely overwhelmed by our options to really feeling confident that this is the perfect itinerary for our Antarctic adventure.
Travelled: May 2022
Dan & Erica McCoy - United States Of America
Thank you so much for all of your help, Cassia! We greatly appreciated all of the insight you were able to provide for the various expedition choices. We're so excited for this trip.
Travelled: April 2022
Waverly and Jeff - United States Of America
The care and detailed attention to booking and seeing the journey through from start to end was the best one could ever expect. Read the full review
Travelled: December 2021
Karen Getzel - USA
Swoop did the best job we could have possibly asked for. A seem less and worry free travel experience! Read the full review
Travelled: February 2020
Vincent Ochwat - United States Of America
Very organized and thorough with our travel planning. Read the full review
Travelled: February 2020
Patty Hunt - United States Of America
Very organized, and great follow through. Read the full review
Travelled: February 2020
Alice Chen - United States Of America
Swoop made the process really easy from start to finish with accurate and helpful info. on activities, costs, etc. It was nice to receive a full itinerary prior to leaving home, which included all of our flight info., hotels, tour details, recommendations on taxis in the various cities, etc. Well done! Read the full review
Travelled: February 2020
George Parson - Australia
Emma, Cassia and Charlotte have all helped make our adventure the holiday of a lifetime. Thank you so much. Read the full review
Travelled: February 2020
Janette Harrison - Australia
The close follow-ups and reminders before the voyage, they are detailed and personal and I felt attended to. Read the full review
Travelled: February 2020
Kwan Fitzgibbon - United States Of America
Beginning with communiques, Swoop made everything happen smoothly within a tight timeframe. Thank you, Cassie and Aimee. Read the full review
Travelled: February 2020
Kara Knox - United States Of America
Swoop were responsive and knowledgeable about what every ship offered and did a good job of steering us to the perfect ship. Read the full review
Travelled: February 2020
Marmie - United States Of America
Very well organised with excellent information for pre travel preparations. Read the full review
Travelled: February 2020
Agatha Reyes - Thailand
Swoop did a great job with personal contact and organizing the trip. Read the full review
Travelled: January 2020
Darlene Culver - United States Of America
Well organized and very professional. Very nice people to work with. Read the full review
Travelled: January 2020
John Cox - United States Of America
We appreciated the information and preparation--felt well-prepared for the trip and therefore able to enjoy. Read the full review
Travelled: January 2020
Glenda Durano - United States Of America
Aimee, Cassia and Saffron were fantastic! Read the full review
Travelled: January 2020
Susan Tinkler - Australia
I loved all the information you have provided to us upfront in order to make this journey an unforgettable experience :) Read the full review
Travelled: December 2019
Günter & Sabine - Austria
The team was super professional, friendly, responsive, awesome. Thumbs up for making our trip as enjoyable as it was. Read the full review
Travelled: December 2019
Günter & Sabine - Austria
I just want to thank you for helping us making this experience. Read the full review
Travelled: December 2019
Sabine - Austria
I'm extremely satisfied with the service. Swoop team provided me tons of information and followed up with me every step of the way. I had no questions left unanswered before I left for my trip. Cassia also called me before my trip to wish me 'Good Luck' which was very sweet. I've already started recommending Swoop to my friends for their Antarctic adventures. Read the full review
Travelled: March 2019
Abhi Pal - United States Of America
Thank you for your information and always being there to ensure my safety and to answer questions when I needed. Prompt return of calls and emails were second to none. Read the full review
Travelled: February 2019
Marie Pryce - Australia
Swoop's overall service, including the land portions, was excellent. No complaints, only kudos! Read the full review
Travelled: February 2019
Jim Tietjen - Malaysia
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