Customer Reviews

The reason for NO in the question above is solely due to financial cost, not for any other reasons. The highlights may include, grand glacier and gigantic iceberg, and countless various lovely animals. It is a truly lifetime experience. I expected to see thousands of penguin and grand glacier, but the gigantic iceberg was a big surprise!

More varied than we expected in terms of landscapes and wildlife. We were pleased to have so much time ashore - more than expected. Crew and staff were great but an awkwardness in the composition of the passengers meant less companionship than we had experienced on previous similar holidays.

South Georgia was fantastic. Seeing the sheer volume of wildlife was incredible. It's frightening to think of the effects of global warming are having there. We had excellent weather. Only 2 landings were revised. Going early in the season gave us pristine snowy landscapes. We had the unique opportunity to see a lone emperor penguin. Getting out onto the ice flat and so close to massive ice bergs was fantastic. It was a friendly group of European travellers for the most part. I've discovery that I'm not so great on the open seas.

The highlight was being able to experience wildlife up close (i.e. a humpback whale under our zodiac), as well as the amazing staff on the ship. There was a fair mix of younger and older people on my expedition, from 18-90! I was surprised by the massive scale of the continent.

The highlight was kayaking amongst whales and through brash ice. Landscapes and wildlife were spectacular. The ship operator's team were passionate and well informed. They were keen to give us the best experience possible. Most of the passengers were equally enthusiastic. Grandchildren - appreciate how important it is to protect our beautiful world. Kayaking was more challenging than we expected and gave us some thrilling experiences.

Alex. I have given you detailed feedback over the phone. I assume that the emails asking for feedback are automatically generated so do not see the need to repeat all I said to you. In short, Swoop provided a very good service with plenty of discussion and information before departure. The ship's hotel staff and crew were excellent. The ship's layout was poor, with nowhere other than the cabin (or the deck when weather permitted) to escape from the lounge when the presentations did not appeal or when we wanted to escape from the endless musak. The fixed 'fore and aft' lounge seating did not afford sensible conditions for lectures. The quality of the lectures was generally very poor with most expedition staff lacking basic public speaking skills and putting far too much emphasis on endless statistics. The expedition staff generally were lacking in general knowledge and sometimes even in courtesy. Any request for information about the bird life was usually met with 'ask Bruce' and of course Bruce was not always around to be asked. They ensured a safe environment but we often felt that they were reluctant to engage in conversation. Andrew and Michelle, the leader and his deputy, were both off-hand and dismissive. another member of the team, Bill, behaved totally inappropriately on occasion - largely to play to the gallery - even turning up in drag in the middle of a beautiful cruise through the ice. Our fellow passengers were mostly Swiss and German and were generally a good crowd although it was often difficult to find enough places at a table at mealtimes for a group of English speakers to sit down together. Hope that helps Peter

Highlights: the ship; the colours of the ice; the tameness of the wildlife; the rust, romance and rottenness of the whaling stations; the clearness of the air; the icebergs.... Surprised by the diversity of people on the boat: age/nationality/backgrounds. Enjoyed the library and having time to do some background reading on the history/wildlife etc. Loved the food.

Having watched Blue Planet , experiencing the wild life in real and literally smelling the animals in their habitat was great. Seeing the Glaciers and ice floats rarely shown for the beautiful sculptures that they are was my highlight, not to mention to experience the rough seas that the early adventurers took in their boats

Being checked out by a humpback whale while in a zodiak in Antarctica. It swam around our boat for about 7 minutes, right below the surface, but did not bump us. The humpback showed us it's mouth, flippers, fin, and fluked at the end. It was absolutely magical. Everyone in our boat including our expedition member were mesmerised. Our engine was off and we were all silent and captivated throughout the experience.

Pods of Orcas and a breaching humpback near our balcony

Stepping foot on my 7th Continent The Icebergs, Whales & Penguins

Many thing To Discover!

Seal puppies playing all around my kayak. Climbing on to an iceberg from my kayak. Standin alone on an Antarctic hill in the snow & ice

Huge pengwin community at South Georgia.

Whale watching

This is the one of the most difficult questions to answer because there were so many unforgettable moments, but I will mention the first day we arrived in Antarctica after crossing the Antarctic circle. It was snowing heavily and we went out on the Zodiac among ice slabs sorrounded by icebergs, we saw our first seals, whales, and of course, penguins. A typical Antarctic day.

Being at the bottom of the world, and so far from civilization, was a concept that kept amazing me every time I thought about it.

It is hard to pick just one given how incredible the trip was, but one of my favorites was sea kayaking among fur seals.

The vastness of Antarctica and the way is kept so pristine!

Seeing these animals just metres away was amazing. I was shocked with how beautiful South Georgia was goth in animals and in landscapes. Stunning.