Island Sky Ship Reviews

Antarctica is the most pristine place that I have ever visited. My wife and I were amazed at the amount of wildlife we got to experience (Adelie, Gentoo, and Chinstrap penguins; Leopard, Crabeater, Weddell and Elephant seals; Humpback whales and a pod of over 20 Orcas that swam right by the ship). The ship and expedition staff were the most professional and informative group. They all worked well together and went out of their way to interact with the passengers. The best part about the team was how quickly they adjusted to weather conditions. This allowed us to not miss out on our landings and expeditions.

Awesome, Incredible, Amazing, Wonderful, Perfect, Great Response, I would do it all again! Tough to give only one example, camping, polar plunge, cruising on Zodiac's, landings, lectures, food, cabins, talent show Wildlife, great. Everyone was amazing passengers, great expedition team leader and members, and crew It was all a surprise. Whatever I thought I knew, what I thought I expected everything surprised me. Especially the icebergs, colors, wildlife, history Can't limit to one answer hitting the water in the polar plunge, watching the leopard seal catch penguins and being only feet from all of it, the whales, the penguins were so amazing.

The vastness of the continent; seeing the wildlife up close; the incredible expedition team and the operator’s staff and crew; the learning opportunities from the lectures; the opportunity to make new friends from around the world....spending Christmas and my Birthday in an utterly indescribable place on our planet!

Hard to pick one moment but the scale and beauty of South Georgia and Antarctica was beyond my expectations. One moment that comes to mind is when a humpback whale near the ship to check us out while we were at anchor in Fournier Bay. The whale surfaced, blew, rolled and hung around the ship for quite a while before moving on. The clear water made it easy to see the whale just under the surface. Many good photos adn videos were captured!

The highlight of the trip is being remote and off the grid for a week. It gave us the chance to soak in an untouched part of the world. The landscapes were dramatic and opened our eyes to other part of the world. The people, crew member, and ship operator's staff all made the trip extra memorable. We got to met with everyone and they were some of the nicest people. The staff were professional and made sure everyone on board was safe, happy, and had fun. This is a special story for us and it will be told to our grandchildren as the trip that we got engaged on the summit of Paradise Bay, Antarctica.

To many highlights to mention. The weather could change almost in an instant, changing the light and the landscape before your eyes, completely captivating. Lots of wildlife despite being late in the season, and being later we saw lots of whales. The ships crew and the expedition crew were exceptional. There were 98 passengers on board the Island Sky and we were surprised by the age range, 22 to 78 with an average of 62 (this must be accident rather than design) but it made for a wonderful atmosphere with people prepared to mix in chat, and eat together. We hope to meet up with a few in the future. Most magical moment, that's difficult, probably being in a Zodiac among sleeping Humpbacks.

We had a one day delay due to weather but once we got to Antarctica we couldn't have asked for more. Gorgeous weather for most of the trip and the views were sublime! Paddle boarding was our most favorite activity, but every single landing and zodiac ride had something amazing to offer. The crew is phenomenal - so smart, so fun, and so very friendly you can't help but have fun with them!

Highlight: Cuverville Island We liked the landscape and the wildlife a lot. Due to strong winds, quite some landings had to be cancelled (including the camping), but this was well explained and managed by the crew. The staff was very good.

Surrounded by grandeur AND wildlife while in an ice-encircled zodiac and feeling overwhelmed with the awe of it all. I’ll always carry that feeling with gratitude.

Kayaking as a Humpback whale surfaced in front of the Kayak and brushed the end of the Kayak before gently gliding back under the surface

Having the penguins so close to me.

9.5 put of 10 Great excursions with a blue sky day on a zodiac near ice bergs and whales the highlight. People on the boat a good mix and we found a like minded 8 which we largely shared the adventure with. Surprise was the intensity of the trip... 3/4 full days.

The highlight was seeing hundreds of thousands of king penguins in South Georgia. The glaciers and icebergs were breathtaking. Was wonderful to see whales, but I most enjoyed the many and playful fur seals. Great group of fellow travelers. Very enjoyable to get to know people from other countries. No surprises.

Polar plunge and SUP were the highlights. I wish there was more wildlife activities. It felt limited sometimes since we can only walk on small paths and there were 100 people together all the time. We had an unfortunate mix of people on board where 1 huge group of tourists (almost half the boat) besmirched the experience for all other guests because of their rudeness but that's not Swoop or the ship operator's fault. The only criticism of the operator's trip is that the dining room was too small to accommodate all guests eating at the same time which is a big fail.

Kayaking with humpback whales virtually touching the boats

Trip was great; for subject matter, see paragraph above. Crossing the "Drake" was more arduous than I expected, and quite uncomfortable in both directions. My wife and I did not get sick, but we had the patch first, and then another med suggested by ship doctor, which seemed to work better. Highlight of the trip: interacting with other passengers on the ship, sharing stories of past adventures, and plans for the next. Most magical moments(2): going ashore at Cuverville Island, and walking among the penguins, which showed no signs of fear of humans, and climbing the hill above Neko Harbor, and seeing ice-covered mountains all around, and reflections on the water, which was perfectly calm.

The general itinerary was great, but we found the extra activities such as kayaking and camping to be the most memorable. I liked the idea of the closed group for kayaking since it did seem to take a while for people to get comfortable, and I could not imagine having to repeat that process every outing. The scenery kayaking through some of the harbors seemed out of this world. We also saw orcas on multiple occasions with the pod coming right up to the ship. One pod was even hunting a seal. It was all very exciting!

I loved having so many opportunities to spend time on the ice with the wildlife. The views, quiet, calm, and amazing wildlife was incredible.

So many, but the most memorable was the humpback whale that came to our boat as we were getting ready to leave the Antarctic peninsula. The whale spent nearly 20 minutes entertaining the boat, and checking us out, not an inhibition in the world. We waved excitedly as it turned and fluked a final goodbye.

Realising and accepting that the elements of nature dictate how we are going to spend our holidays.