Customer Reviews

Experiencing the wonders of nature “up close” . . . the animals, icebergs, glaciers and the vastness of the white continent.

Highlight - being so close to humpbacks in a kayak (maybe 2 meters). Having someone catch that experience on a brief video was priceless as a souvenir. Similar to the giraffes in east Africa, I was surprised how much I found the penguins to be an interesting animal. I had never seen how they swim. It was excellent to meet people that have traveled as much as we have; that was very unique and enjoyable.

Walking amid the largest penguin colony in the world.

Opening the drapes in my cabin the first morning and seeing Antarctica

Overall, and underall and in between, it was fabulous. Kayaking was the highlight, though it was pretty exciting to see baby penguins. Landscape, particularly the icebergs, was sublime, surreal, dramatic, transcendental, magical. Wildlife was a hoot, never got tired of penguins or seals. The people we met were fine. When you said we'd see "a lot" of penguins, I didn't quite grasp just how many that would be or how close we'd get to them ... a pleasant surprise. Biggest surprise was just luck -- the phenomenal weather.

When Mom and Dad enjoy their trip. (Normally they don't like to travel for a long time, especially on cruise trip)

The last night where we dropped anchor in a sun lit bay and had the BBQ outdoors on deck, we were able to reflect on an amazing expedition, with the friends we'd made and then some humpbacks turned up and showed us their tails reflecting the setting sun - magic

The pair of humpback whales adjacent to the ship in amongst the zodiacs!

Great. If you are going late in February or March I would highly recommend a circle crossing. The feel and look of Antarctica certainly changes down there.

Waking up the first morning on the ship to see icebergs out to w window and the sound of whales over the ship’s loudspeaker. It was clear that we had arrived in another world.

Absolutely no glitches and lots of pleasant surprises including aircraft carrier sized icebergs, Zodiac trips through ice fields, climbing the volcano on Deception Island, and up-close-and-personal with penguins, seals, and humpback whales. The fellow-travelers were very pleasant, mostly highly accomplished, and very interesting--a far cry from what one encounters on cruise ships and escorted tours. As for the grandchildren, I'll show some pictures and when they get a little older make sure they get to Antarctica. The continent is ineffable: words fail.

Seeing the penguins, whales, seals, dolphins, sea birds in their environment. Natural beauty of Antarctica - the ice, snow, mountains. Learning more from the lectures from the marine biologist, then also the presentation on the sad whaling history (told by a Norwegian expedition member whose uncle was a whaler) - the room was silent. The trip gives you lots to learn and think about in a bigger context.

My most memorable moment was finishing the hike from Godthul to Sandebrugten and being greeted by a curious baby fur seal who cutely charged at me.

Near the end of the cruise we sailed into a little bay in the Antarctic Sound...there were mountains, ice bergs in the bay, penguins, whales in the distance, rolling hills, sun and clouds and so very many shades of blue and white on the ice. In short it was the single perfect moment with all the elements that we were enjoying coming together in one spot. And we were able to sit in the snow for the first time and we took some awesome pics there. It was what I call a perfect moment.

Standing on South Georgia with 100,000+ breeding pairs of King penguins.

This is so hard to answer because there were so many memorable moments. I think our most memorable moments was during our first kayak trip. We landed our kayaks on a rocky beach to go see a penguin rookery. After getting out of the kayaks, we turned around to see dozens of Gentoo penguins walking by and going about their penguins business a handful of meters away. Nothing prepares you for how many penguins you'll see, how unfazed they are by you, and how adorable they are.

It is hard to pick out a highlight, the penguins especially seeing a Macaroni penguin on the first landing (I could watch penguins for hours), making a dash against the conditions to reach the Antarctic Circle and some of the scenery around Neko Harbour. Unfortunately we didn't camp due to the wind conditions, but this didn't have much of an impact on the enjoyment of the trip. Such a wide range of people from all over the world.

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!

Every destination had a memorable moment. On the Falkland Islands, I enjoyed the lecture by Mensun Bound about finding the Endurance wreck in the Antarctica sea. Getting a signed copy of his book, The Ship Beneath the Ice was epic. On South Georgia, the King Penguin colony of Saint Andrews Bay was stunning! Stepping onto the Antarctica Peninsula at Portal Point was a moment I’ll never forget! Overall, wildlife spotting from multitudes of penguins to breaching whales was a true highlight of the trip.

Brilliant! Thousands of penguins, delightful weather, stunning scenery. We feel very lucky to have been able to experience such an amazing place.