Customer Reviews

It is impossible to pick one moment. Seeing the first iceberg, watching penguins make their way up steep slopes to their rookeries, Getting roped up to go snowshoeing, easing over the side of the Zodiac to go snorkeling, tasting the salt water as we kayaked, all are embedded in my memory.

Stepping off our zodiac boat onto Antarctic land for the first time and seeing two chinstrap penguins waddling towards us... We later explored Half Moon Island and saw three types of seals in addition to hundreds of penguins. Talk about a first impression!

The penguins were so fun to just watch as they carried on their regular activities- building nests or heading down to the water. The landscapes and wildlife were magnificent. We saw 3 species of penguins and several types of seals and also whales. The people on our ship came from various countries and we enjoyed getting to know them. We had an opportunity to stop and get off on a piece of floating ice - that was fun!

Hard to pick one. The terrain in Antartica is hard to describe and the wild life in South Georgia was almost beyond belief. We had an awesome snowshoe at Fort Point and the hike and pilgrimage to Shackleton's grave was remarkable. We had wonderful meals with expedition staff and fellow travelers. The hotel staff even entertained us at a few meals.

The trip was amazing. I took 3 girlfriends with me and we had a blast. Spring Break 2017! (J/K it was not a Spring Break holiday) We met so many amazing people who had fabulous stories to tell, and the crew was just as fun too. My highlight was landing on the continent in Paradise Bay and going to Deception Island. That water is freeeezzzinnngggg. We repeatedly said we felt like we were on an ocean safari we saw so much wildlife everyday. We also had the most amazing weather. LOVED IT!

Oh so many! Kayaking up to an ice floe to stand on it, our Polar Plunge (!), watching humpback whales play near our zodiac, seeing the sea ice fracture beneath our ship's bow as we pushed farther South, and the cuteness and absolutely endearing quality of all of the penguins!

Which magical moment to describe? I was so elated once we embarked on our epic journey to South Georgia and feel ever so lucky to hit the big 3 colonies - St Andrews, Gold Harbour and Salisbury Plain, as well as King Haakon Bay and Drygalski Fjord. Yes my anxiety levels peaked at the start of our expedition with a flight cancellation and an aborted landing in the Falklands but yes, I am now proud to be part of a statistic shared - only 0.04% of the population has ever visited South Georgia. After dealing with the initial feeling of being overwhelmed when greeted by 150,000 pairs of kings plus their furry offspring, I discovered so much more to penguins - I love how they use their becks not just to feed but also to push themselves up or to climb hills. Their cuteness, curiosity and cheekiness is so mesmerising, and their inflappable nature - I could watch them for hours. Whilst I joined the expedition as an independent traveller, I disembarked from the Vavilov with some new found friends, some moving stories, magical moments and many cherished memories. If it wasn't for the photographic evidence, I think it was a distant dream!

We were on our way to Cuverville and ran into a large pod of Orcas and they got us all off the ship and we spent 3 hours in zodiacs surrounded by about 25 orcas and a humpback whale.

Outdoor Camping! And just how much wildlife is down there. Absolutely stunning

Our excursion in Fournier Bay to see the humpback whales. The abundance of whale activity was an amazing experience.

The quiet---the beauty of the ice and land and glaciers. Luckily, we were around to see the new penguin chicks. We also camped on the ice/snow while there. Memorable.

This is difficult as my adventure was filled with many memorable moments...but the first day after flying in will remain indelibly in my memories. We had cruised for 21 hours south in rough seas (at least for sea sick me it was rough!) That day I set foot on the continent of Antarctica, it was windy, snowy and blustery, everything I anticipated Antarctica should be! The gusting wind forced us to take a knee to avoid being blown over as we climbed up a small hill to our first penguin colony. That experience was quickly followed by our first whale citing during our zodiac back to the ship. But it was not one whale, oh no, it was 5 whales with a tremendous flock of birds hovering above tracking the leftover krill. You would think it would be difficult to beat this day but each day was as special in its own way as Antarctica shared its wonders with us!

The scenery and wildlife were terrific and it was a pleasure to meet with many of the passengers on the boat. The two big negative surprises were the Chinese school children party on the ship that seemed to constitute nearly 20% of the total passenger group. Not sure of we would have taken this particular voyage if we had known about this. Nothing is mentioned in any of the literature about school parties being on the voyages. The other negative was that we paid for the most expensive standard of cabin but the heating was not working in the cabin. It took a great deal of work to repair the heating unit and on the first evening the men called a halt to the work at 10:30pm as my wife was falling asleep while they worked in the cabin. The repairs were completed the next day. Major pipe and electrical work was needed. I would have thought checking that heating units worked before heading to Antarctica would have been standard practice.

Camping in the snow, going to sleep with clear skies and being woken up by snowflakes

We had 9 excursions in 5 days, 7 landings and 2 zodiacs. One of those zodiacs was supposed to be a landing but the tide wouldn’t allow us go ashore, so we did zodiacs instead at Heroina Island. I had lowered my expectations a bit since it was a plan B, but it was probably my favorite excursion of the trip! There were thousands of penguins all over the rocky island, some chilling, and many diving into the water in what seemed like swarms. We kept circling all of the action with dramatic waves crashing against the rocks as the penguins jumped with us safely and calmly very close by in the zodiac boat. Then a leopard seal came up right next to the boat and stuck his head up just to see what was going on, a little before we saw two whales surfacing side by side slightly in the distance. It was everything I could have hoped for and more.

Just the first sight of the the icebergs and the entire topography of Antarctica - its surreal.. its etched on my mind and heart forever.. There is some much that I saw and learnt in this trip about Antarctica that no literature can match that.. I will forever cherish these moments .. the penguins, humpback whales, sea lions and the silence too!!

Standing on the Antarctic Peninsula.

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!

"Camping!" We were expecting tents, but they had you dig a hole in the snow and that's where we slept! We were very toasty in the sleeping bags. Also, the Polar blunge, below the Antarctica circle! Beautiful sunny warm day.

Highlights: 7 species of penguins, wale watching, information given in the lectures, food on board. The people were nice and many charing also pictures and videos. The weather surprised us with lots of sunshine and one hurricane - the Drake was calm and smooth. A magical moment was a wale appearing right next to the zodiac and staying a while to be filmed.