Customer Reviews

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.

Overall, the trip was great - the staff, the other passengers, the activities I participated in, the food, the overall quality of every detail. I loved kayaking, but the camping was cancelled due to bad weather. Also this voyage we visited Port Lockroy and could see the history of humans on Antarctica. The surprise was passing through the Drake in a hurricane.

Fantastic experience, would recommend to anyone interested in wildlife and the history of the area. Great informal atmosphere with no cocktail parties

We had a really rough voyage—including sailing through a hurricane plus two or three whiteout days. We arrived late and left very early. So, we got only 4 days down there. Highlights were kayaking onto an iceberg, seeing an iceberg roll, ice climbing. People were fascinating, especially over meals. One of my roommates was hilarious—both intentionally and unintentionally. I was surprised by how short the excursions were. I would have gladly given up a meal or two to experience in-depth excursions.

Everything about the trip was first-rate! Of course the geography and wildlife were spectacular, even more than we expected. But we were blown away by the expedition staff - by their amazing knowledge and ability to share it, their friendliness and the ability to adjust to situations at a moment's notice - like the time the captain slowed and turned and they launched zodiacs so we could see unexpected whales more closely. Our fellow travelers were all interesting and fun and the quality of the staterooms and ship generally were fantastic - as was the food!

The highlight was the wildlife. We saw penguins, seals and three types of Whales. The landscape is absolutely stunning. The talks on board were very high quality and the food and wine was first class. I got a free upgrade to a double room with window. People choosing this trip were all very bright and interesting and a good mix of young and old

Probable the highlight (there were many) was landing on the continent. There were thousands of penguins, many whales, hundreds of birds. Mountains covered with snow. Icebergs everywhere some that rolled looking very wet, some with a dusting of snow that looked like powder sugar and some with seals laying in the sun. Strangers I never met acted like neighbors I knew for 10 years.

The trip met all of our expectations. The weather was beautiful, and we saw everything we came to see, including an Emperor penguin! The trip was bi-lingual, with about 80% of the people German speakers from Switzerland. As such, we weren't able to engage the other people as much as we would have wanted.

The highlight was the grandeur of the landscape. The people were mixed - a lot of lovely ones and quite a few rowdy types. The organisation of the crew every day to get everyone on shore was exceptional - Kayaking and snow shoeing were brilliant.

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.

Penguins were definitely the highlight. I could have watched them for hours. Lemaire Channel was spectacular though we had to turn around at the end due to iceberg blocking the way. Saw many whales - fin, humpback and orca.

Everything was amazing. Antarctica is the most unfathomable, incredible place that I can ever imagine visiting. And then there was the crew, the boat, the food, the education.

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!

Everyday was a highlight, every landscape wae a new vision of a pristine, untouched planet. Seals, penguins, birds, whams and dolphins... it was like being in a National Geographic documentary but with all the sensations of doing something unique. Not just seeing, but doing, living, and feeling exceptionally humble. Surrounded by nature but also by an amazing staff and respectful travelers, all with a deep sense of respect, kindness. sharing the moment all together. The hardest part of the trip after disembarking was to share with family and friends. An impossible challenge, which can only be understood by going there!

Everything was excellent... !!! what a lot to remind ...luckely we took a lot of photos !! we were just a little disappointed as we didn't rich the Polar Circle !(weather problem in King George Island, we were delayed for a little more than 1 day) May be they could have organise the program on a different way as it was the aim of our choice...Never mind we were lucky as the weather was beautiful all the way..blue sky nearly all the time!! Wonderful sight seeing, we saw a lot of wales very closed to the ship and of course all sorts of animals ..Very sheerful staff, very friendly and competent.We were welcomed at any time to the Bridge as the captain was always ready to talk to us. Very nice meals, very equilibrated..As we were the only french people we had to practice our english !!

Enjoyed the Zodiacs and storm, force 11! Saunders Island was very relaxing.

It was amazing. The wildlife was endless and the highlight was probably seeing 30 whales bubble feeding right in front of our zodiacs. The staff were brilliant - so helpful, informative and nice. Met some wonderful people who we will keep in touch with! Loved the whole thing. The only shame was the cyclone which stopped us going down the Weddell sea which I had been so excited about - a real disappointment but staff did all they could to make the time on the ship great.

The highlight of the trip was seeing all the penguins, seals, birds, whales, glaciers, and beautiful landscape. I never dreamed there would be so many penguins and seals and they would be so close to you. My favorite experience was seeing all the seal cubs and loved how they would run up to you about three feet and then run back. I also loved getting close to the seals that were on floating ice. The Hebridean crew were amazing and everything was so organized with lectures and landings. There was little down time. Safety came first when determining if a landing was possible. Having Sunny and Seb on board to share their experiences was another highlight. I liked how the crew ate with us and shared stories. The ship provided a e drive of pictures taken while on the ship so I will show these pictures to my grandchildren. They will not have to wait for me to go through my thousand pictures .

The trip was even better than expected... The highlight was crossing the polar circle and seeing ice bergs the size of skyscrapers--who knew ice could be so incredible!? The landscape was amazing--like walking around in a painting. And the wildlife was unreal! It was everywhere and so untouched. The people were fascinating--loved the diversity in age, country and interest. I learned a lot from them! Someday, I'll tell my grandchildren that I went to a place that was so untouched by man--that it was nature at its best. Biggest surprise was that our ship didn't have a stabilizer! Haha.

Highlights were the Zodiac rides and landings. Lots of seals, whales and of course penguins. The multiple glaciers were majestic. Were had a very friendly and mixed group of people who just all appeared to enjoy everything. Not any real surprises but excellent quality of expedition staff and just a happy ship full of people. Totally different than the Arctic.