Customer Reviews

Being able to sail into the Weddel Sea and seeing Elephant Island - in the tracks of Shackleton. Or perhaps at Gold Harbour, South Georgia with our close encounters with the elephant seal weaners.

Melchior Islands zodiac cruise

Walking through the penguin colonies in South Georgia...

The ship was the perfect size and the number of people, just right. We were impressed with how knowledgeable the guides were. Most magical moment: Antartica silence on top of the snowy hill, and the hike to the top of the hill in cierva cove, where it was windy and typical Antartica weather.

It was interesting

I marked maybe because we like to experience new ventures so as the saying goes "been there, done that:. The highlight was the zodiac cruises to see the icebergs and sea life. The people were a mix of 16 nationalities, all very friendly and interesting. The biggest and most appreciated surprise was the cabin upgrade. The most magical moment was seeing the full moon rise over the mountain top.

The excursions were better than expected Getting to speak with all the scientist onboard was great The landscape and experiencing the wildlife upclose was incredible The crew was friendly and helpful

The trip was fantastic.

Everything was great

Every day brought a new highlight, the ice, the mountains, the quiet, the isolation, the penguins, seals, whales and birds were all extraordinary. We were so fortunate to be able to go on this trip, I can't say enough good things about it. The ship was perfect, crew were great, our room cozy and calm, the ship operator's staff were professional, knowledgeable and fun. Every moment was special.

A great place to visit. Brown station glacier was the best place I visited in Antarctica.

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 highlights were the abundant wildlife and spectacular landscape of icebergs, glaciers and snow covered mountains and ice shelves. I was surprised by the abundance of wildlife including Humpback whales and the many close encounters we had with whales, seals and penguins who were often curious about the humans visiting their world. The ship operator's team and the Russia. Crew of the Vavilov were fantastic. The Expefition leader and guides were knowledgeable, skilled, friendly, helpful and passionate about Antarctica and its environment and wildlife. It was also great to have scientists on board who were conducting research on whales and provided lectures on board the ship. We met many like minded passengers - who we will stay in contact with. I think the most magical moment was in Charlotte Bay on the Zodiacs seeing and experiencing so many Humpback whales, a few Minke whales and having a few close encounters with some curious Humpbacks.

The trip was great. The Plancius was a clean and well run ship. Accommodations and dining on the hotel staff side were well run and comfortable. The Expedition Staff were helpful, informative and showed their passion for Antarctica. Events were flexible but well planned. Landscapes were stunning, the weather was warmer than expected, hovering around freezing and the wildlife was great to see up close. The small ship size with 105 guests was nice. You may not have had the chance to speak to everyone, but that was your own or their choice. 28 different nationalities amongst the guests and crew, so a nice mix. One surprising aspect was the age of the guests. My initial thoughts due to the "bucket list" type vacation and expense of a trip to South America and Antarctica was of an early retired mid-60's well off couple with appropriate means as the standard guest. However there were many younger guests, although the youngest few (mid 20's) were there with their parents for special birthdays etc. But also many in late 30's to 40's which may have been a product of this being a diving adventure. There definitely were the 60's-ish couples but much more age diversity. It is hard to pick one most special moment, however crossing the Antarctic Circle and cruising in Crystal Bay is something to remember for a lifetime. The same goes for the close interaction with Fur Seals on land and near the shore.

Four-star experience! Could not have been better. Highlight was the ship's crew, our guides, and our fellow explorers... all nice folks. Landscapes stark and challenging, photogenic and forboding. Wildlife incredibly resilient and not camera shy, especially the young penguins! Surprised how wonderful the experience was. Being on the bridge, with the Captain, navigating the Lemaire Channel, which had a HUGE iceberg towering over us!

Highlight: Crossing the polar circle.

Everything was a highlight. All landscape and wildlife was beyond beautiful. I met the most wonderful people. Just about everything was a surprise, sunsets and sunrises, food, passengers, waitstaff, room, Expeditions leaders and the Captain. Magical moment was when I was able to scatter a small amount of my husband's ashes in a beautiful bay. He passed away last year and this was a trip he wanted to go on.

I don't know how to summarize what was the most magical adventure that I have ever experienced. The Hebridean Sky was a gem of a ship, and I felt like royalty. The service on the ship, the extensive knowledge of the crew, expedition leaders and scientists were were superb. We were incredibly blessed with 2 full days of glorious sunshine and unprecedented weather conditions which allowed us more landings than most of the cruises usually get to do. The landscapes and wildlife were spectacular. I met new lifelong friends that I will travel with again in the future. Favorite moment- Finding a chunk of 30,000 year old "Black Ice" and getting to taste it, and later on, it was the ice used in our cocktails!

One day one of the receptionists at the front desk was hurried and terse. Other than that one incidence the trip was a 10 out of 10. I enjoyed like-minded travelers, learned from the experts, loved the food and service and had fun, rest and a million smiles everyday!

The trip was fantastic. I highly recommend that anyone travel to Antarctica. I am so glad that we chose to fly the Drake Passage, instead of sailing it, which gave us more time in Antarctica. I also think crossing the polar circle was a huge highlight. I would also insist that anyone booking a trip participate in the kayak program... knowing what I know now and having experienced the kayak program was the best thing about the trip. Kayaking gave us a pristine and uncluttered experience of Antarctica and allowed us to visit more than other tourists on our boat. I also really enjoyed stepping on the Antarctic continent. Most of the stops were on islands along the peninsula, but one stop was on the continent itself, which is a must do. The people we met on the trip were great. I did notice that the average age range of the guests on board was 60-80 years old, but in the kayak program it was younger (30-40 years old) and more at my pace. It was great to meet all the guests on the ship, but I did notice that the tour groups tended to stay separate and did not mingle, and that was disappointing. The food was great, but there were not many chicken options and limited salad bar items. I would have liked to see more white-meat options at dinner.