Customer Reviews

This adventure has exceeded my expectations on many levels. The event that will be forever engraved on my heart will be when I completed the 2nd Polar Plunge at Deception Island. It was a culminating celebration of mountaineering, kayaking, camping, and new discoveries with the wildlife. It was also an opportunity to celebrate like children at a birthday party. I loved the bonds I established with the other participants over cold and hot waters. It really felt like a celebration.

The landscapes and wildlife were spectacular. After awhile you almost stop taking pictures of whales because you have so many. The other passengers were diverse, adventurous and many will hopefully be friends for life. It was a bummer the weather made us head north a day early, but no worries.

Seeing the humpback whale from our zodiac, camping overnight, kayaking and mountaineering.

There were so many! Seeing the outline of the peninsula for the first through the fog. Going out in the zodiac and feeling true cold! And of course, meeting so many of my penguins 🐧 friends! I couldn’t take enough pictures and videos of them! Even the couple days of rough seas couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm Thank you for making this amazing trip possible 🥰

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.

Seeing over 50 Weddell, Crabeater and Leopard seals all sleeping together on an iceberg. Getting up at 5a.m. to watch from the bridge as we passed through Neumayer Channel.

There was one excursion, Jenny Island, where we were excited to get off the ship and stretch our legs for a proper hike, but we came across many dead shags and a few dead elephant seals -- casualties of the avian flu. The excursion was cancelled, and in the subsequent briefing about the seriousness of avian flu, it felt like the trip took a somber turn and wouldn't have the same thrilling joy of discovery again. But the expedition team went ABOVE AND BEYOND and found us a post-dinner landing spot on Bongrain point that turned out to be my absolute favorite spot on the trip. Maybe it was just feeling like we had been gifted something that no one was expecting, or the glacier we were able to hike to, or the Adelie chicks. It definitely had something to do with that late evening light turning the icy peaks soft and luminous too. It was pure magic.

I am from New Orleans, LA. and have not seen so much snow and ice. I have never been skiing so the highlight of my trip was after I fell going down a slippery slope, I decided to ski down the slope on my butt while pushing down on my trekking poles. I may have started a new tradition in Antarctica. The landscapes and wildlife were unbelievable: from the penguins, birds, seals and whales to the gorgeous icebergs of all different sizes and colors and, most importantly, visualizing all of the stories of the early explorers to Antarctica. What courageous men they were! I am telling my grandchildren to go Antarctica while they are still young not like their 80 year old granny.

I can't say which was my most memorable because every minute of the tour was memorable! 1.) Landing on the continent with the flag 2.) Polar circle crossing baptismal ceremony 3.) Polar plunge 4.) Spending time with fellow guests, staffs, and crew of Ocean Nova

Two: the inmense pinguin colony(s) in St. Andrews Bay on South Georgia and the very inpressive landscape of the Artic Penisula on January 13th, when the weather was very bright!

It seems impossible to name just one highlight, but if I must, it would be the hour or so we spent cruising amongst a group of 200 or so Humpback whales. They were so close you didn't know where to look first. We got closer to the wildlife than I expected, particularly the nesting albatross and penguins sitting on eggs. I can now tell 6 species of penguins apart! The only real surprise was when a wave hit the ship straight on the side and broke a window while we were all sitting in the lounge.

Kayaking adventures throughout the trip - great way to see the scenery and wildlife

The first morning, waking up and seeing the awesome landscape of blue icebergs, black terrain covered with pure white snow while on zodiak cruise, seeing a group of humpback whales engage in bubble net feeding

An incredibly hard question - so hard to pick between that first thrill of wildlife at West Point with the albatross and rockhopper colony, the full day sitting amongst and soaking in all the wildlife at sunny Saunders Bay, or the Adelie penguin overload at Paulet island. Or maybe the excitement at seeing an orca pop up out of nowhere on New Years Eve. It really is a trip of endless memorable moments that would each be the highlight of any other holiday.

The ice. Going on to land/ice twice a day though I would have liked loner and more time off he boat. Landscape stunning and the wildlife unusual. Most of the time pleasant but rather pushy and over excited when they were so, so desperate to take photos. That I do not know why Antarctic does not have a flag. They are not old enough to under stand the concept of a shared geographical area. I did not expect to find 30 young Chinese children on the boat, pushing and shoving on the stairs, along the corridors, jumping the queue in the restaurant and generally making a lot of noise. They were also noisy on land and I had hoped to find wonderful peace in Antarctica. I realise children are playful and lively but I did not expect to be on holiday with them and would not have booked this holiday had I known. So it did affect my enjoyment.

Floating in the zodiacs between icebergs on which penguins and seals were resting.

Polar Plunge experience, Seeing Iceberg, Penguin colonies, Blue whales, Seals and other Antarctic wildlife,

Seeing 60,000-100,000 penguins on Souh Georgia Island

We paddled in Paradise Cove near whales which was peaceful and glorious. It was also the same day back home that my beloved aunt passed away. The experience of kayaking near whales brought peace to my teary heart. That was definitely one of the most dear memory moments. There were so many memorable moments in Antarctica from the otherworldly sea- glacier- iceberg- landscapes, to the birds mammals, and invertebrates—like jellyfish!, to the people—like the expedition team who shared warmth and fascinating information and the other guests who became our friends. Antarctica was definitely an adventure of a lifetime.

The scenery and sense of 'place' in Antarctica was truly wonderful.