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Diane

Customer
Rating

10

Customer Rating On return from their adventure we ask customers: “On a scale of 0-10, with 10 being the highest, how likely is it that you would recommend Swoop to a friend or colleague?”

Diane's Trip Date:

21st Dec - 4th Jan 2022

Diane's Ship:

Hondius

What was your most memorable moment?

45-50 Humpback whales surrounding us for about 2 hours! The Drake Shake with 84 knot wind gusts! Lemaire Channel with brash ice and growlers. Camping in Paradise. Sailing into Deception Island (Neptune's Bellows) at 5 am in broad daylight. Seeing 3 types of seals and 3 types of adorable penguins. Adventureous, friendly, inquisitive people-and staff.

Which of the following best describes your adventure?

Life changing

On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely is it that you would recommend Swoop to a friend or colleague?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10 out of 10

Tell us about the wildlife

I finally got penguins porpoising! The whales were incredible-and the seals were happy :-) The birds were beautiful.

Tell us about Zodiac excursions

The zodiac excursions were great-lots of ice bergs, seals, penguins, and whales. We even cut the engine to enjoy the "silence" of the ice-magnificent. We always felt safe-they explained what to do (and why), and reminded us how to enter and exit the craft.

Tell us about the expedition team

Wow-they were amazing! Sara was the leader, with her "good morning, good morning, good morning" waking us up, Laurence with his love of and knowledge of glaciers, Andrew & Hazel with the birds, Ben & Alex as camping guides (although Ben is a bit abrasive), Sebastian & Alexis for kayaking (our friends did this), Felicity, Guillerima (sp) added a lot to our knowledge-Bill with his drawings and wisdom, Mark with his humor, passion, and shorts! Christian our young (he turned 23) doctor, Eugene, the "old" doctor (in his 30's), Sasha with his tragic countenance from St. Petersburg, Juan with his photography skills...and Allan. All were approachable, knowledgeable and passionate. I enjoyed learning about the history of discovery, women in Antarctica, the birds, mammals and bathometry. The glacial lectures were very informative.

Tell us about the Hondius

Twin porthole cabin was comfortable and lots of storage for 2. We loved our cabin steward (Albert) and all the staff was friendly and professional. We were close to the zodiac shells, and liked our location. Deck 4 had reception, the "shopping" area and the dining room, while Deck 5 had the lounge and lecture room. Sigi was the hotel manager, and he was very personable. There were lots of extras, from the water bottle to the mulled wine while whale watching to hot chocolate during a zodiac cruise! We even had popcorn while watching a movie about Amundsen. The food was good-our companions were vegan and vegetarian, and they were happy with the food, too (sometimes prepared especially for them). We liked the ship, and the staff-and the stabilizers! Yes, I would choose it again.

Tell us about Ushuaia

Beautiful scenery (go to the national park), friendly people, good food. We stayed at Alto Andino, which was a great choice. City is very hilly, with lots of walking but easy to navigate. Saw whales and dolphins in the Beagle Channel. Loved this area.

Tell us about Buenos Aires

Just transited through...LONG lines (3 1/2 hours) at the airport to check in, friendly people.

Something Else?

We were pleasantly surprized when they gave us a slideshow for free to recap our journey, and the trip log will be amazing (with all the places, dates, wildlife, temperatures/wind) when we get it. I wish we had had a way to contact other Swoop guests prior to the journey, because it would have bonded us together. We loved the barbeque on deck, too!

Do you have any tips or advice for other people planning a trip to Antarctica?

Bring anti-fog wipes, moisturizer, and conditioner :-) GO FOR IT!

Has your experience changed your perspective in any way?

I met so many people who "booked" last minute-it gave me an appreciation for the "village" we live in (someone gave us seasick patches, we loaned clothing to another passenger, people took care of eachother). Antarctica is vast, beautiful, and unforgiving. So much beauty, and so much struggle.

Do you have any recommendations for Swoop, or feedback about the team?

Thank you~! It was amazing, incredible and inspiring.

Was there anything else Swoop could have done for you to help you prepare for your trip?

Helped with airlines-Aerolineas changed our flights at least 4 times...covid stinks!

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