Elizabeth

United States Of America

Customer
Rating

6

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?”

Elizabeth's Trip Date:

19th Dec - 8th Jan 2023

What was your most memorable moment?

There were no words the entire cruise was simply amazing the expedition team over the top the expertise of Howard Waylon got us everywhere we needed to be safely with just spectacular landings. Aurora expeditions their entire corporate culture is fabulous. The ship was beautiful new yet understated.

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

6 out of 10

On a scale of 0 to 10, how would you rate your trip: Discover South Georgia, Antarctica and Falklands?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10 out of 10

Were Swoop right to recommend Aurora Expeditions?

Yes

Tell us about the wildlife

Considering we had a huge storm following us we were able to see everything the wildlife was spectacular we had plenty of time on the landings to truly be still and experience the Antarctic continent and islands.

Tell us about Zodiac excursions

They were fantastic always felt safe. The expedition leader has decades of experience and knew exactly how to take care of us and assure safety even for those of us who are not as athletically inclined.

Tell us about the expedition team

They were attentive educated extremely competent. There’s nothing to say other than it blew my mind

Tell us about the Sylvia Earle

Cabin was awesome my cabin steward was perfect it was just amazing. Everyone worked constantly so hard with a smile on their face competently. I got to know a lot of the passengers quite well as I was traveling solo and I believe with the exception of possibly one or two that didn’t understand quite what the trip was everyone raved. The ship is absolutely wonderful beautiful functional. This was only the second sailing and they were able to work almost all of the kinks out. We did not experience any kinks so those that might’ve been there were not evident to the passengers

Something Else?

I came into this completely unaware other than I wanted to go to Antarctica. I had originally thought Swoop was the ship owner which needless to say I was not correct. I am now a well educated polar traveler and know that these are the places I want to be and I am so grateful. I also now know who all the other operators are the size of the ships. We saw the Polaris which was hit by the rogue wave it was docked next to us. People need to take this voyage seriously ours was fantastic. However there is inherent danger in the seas. I would never go on a ship with more than about 100 people. The lectures the guides everything was truly fantastic

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

Although I didn’t think I took too much I did I needed to scale back a bit. I love that it was casual. I think having shoes you can slip off easily in the mud rooms makes life easier those with laces struggled a bit more. I did not take the jacket home as I did not have room. My choice of winter clothing was good and I actually got overheated a couple of times. However our weather was amazingly warm which of course unfortunately is part of the climate change our planet is going through.

Has your experience changed your perspective in any way?

It has only reinforced all of the concerns I’ve had about our planet and saving it. Being an American I am very disappointed with our country and our seeming lack of investment in the future. It was delightful traveling with people who live in areas that have embraced and actually are acting upon climate change. I can only do my part here but I do want to try to do a presentation with the school systems on Antarctica.

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

I would say follow up more closely. Your adventure planner was difficult for me to use.

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

I know this was a difficult year as we came out of Covid. Hopefully things will be much smoother for other clients. Several people had booked through swoop but most booked through other agencies. I have a cruise travel agent who is also my friend. Had I known Swoop was a travel agency. I would have booked through and I am using her from here on. I do think it makes sense to use a polar expert however under the circumstances now she is more than confident. She did all of the work , transfers, planes. I tried to get the commission split because basically she did everything however it did not work out.

Would you be interested in travelling to Patagonia with Swoop?

No

Would you consider another trip to Antarctica with Swoop?

No

Would you be interested in travelling to The Arctic with Swoop?

No

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