My first zodiac ride and my first time on land in Antarctica

Life changing

Yes

These were great. I always felt safe. We saw several whales up close and learned lots of cool facts from our Expedition Team guide that was driving our zodiac.

Everyone was amazing! Ken and Ema were fascinating to talk to, extremely knowledgeable, and had infectious enthusiasm. I would love to work with them. They are also great at giving presentations. Jill and Jess (from Canada/Australia) were super friendly, and I loved talking with them. Juan was great -- I loved hearing about his adventures at the South Pole, mountaineering, and astronomy. My favourite lecture was Ken's talk about locating an airplane engine in a Greenland ice sheet.

My cabin was more spacious than I was expecting, with ample storage space between the closet, night stand drawers, and under the bed. The food was great, especially the fresh fruit and yogurt at breakfast. I would definitely choose this ship again.

Great experience! It was amazing to be on the water and paddle around, enjoying the scenery in a quiet environment without the sound/smell of the zodiac engine. There was also a group of penguins that swam around us a for a bit, as if they were playing -- that was really neat. We also paddled near lots of icebergs and a few seals. I would definitely recommend it to others -- well worth the expense for the excursion.

I wrote a little poem at the end our trip to highlight all the cool things I saw and learned: Twas the first night of our journey and all through the ship Everyone was gearing up for the start of the Drake trip Would the waters be calm or would the waves roll about? In a few hours' time, they soon would find out With fascinating talks of Antarctic education The Passage was smooth due to expert navigation The captain and crew and every staff member Ensured all the guests would have a trip to remember Of albatross and petrels flying through clear skies so blue And a skua lying in wait, hoping to feast on Gentoo And our other penguin friends, Chinstrap and Adelie And Leopard seals with flippers long enough to scratch their belly We saw Weddell seals on ice thanks to our Zodiac drivers' skill And learned Crabeaters don't eat crab, instead they eat krill! Aqua blue icebergs have colors of perfection We even heard the story of locating a missing airplane engine We saw calving up close during our SUP-ing recreation And lichen that can survive outside the International Space Station We had infinite panoramic beauty before us Including an opportunistic spotting of Orcas And just when you thought things couldn't get more exciting We had yet another epic whale sighting Then it was time for our second passage of the Drake Which is only 2/3 the number of journeys Toby the pig did make Sadly we bid farewell when it was time to disembark But happy memories will live on, thanks to our good friends at Quark

I highly recommend Quark. Little things I would recommend that made my experience better: - Remember that you can get room service if you're feeling sick during the Drake Passage - A lanyard for your phone (assuming this is your camera) is a great idea - Definitely have a waterproof case for your phone. Practice using it before you go - Definitely have good liner gloves, and make sure you can take pictures with them on. I always have cold hands, but I only wore liner gloves during the trip and did not wear my big mittens at all because I was so warm due to proper layering and the parka Quark provided for us. Plus the parka had great pockets, so I put my hands in there if I got cold. Only wearing liner gloves made taking pictures much easier - Turning off your camera lock (so you don't have to type a pin or do a finger print with gloves on, or do face recognition with hat/sunglasses/goggles) makes taking photos with your phone much much easier/quicker - Take a picture of the planned agenda each day, and force yourself to write a few notes each night about what you did that day. This will help you remember what landing sites you were at and cool things that happened when you're going through photos later

I have a greater appreciation for Antarctica and all the wildlife and other living creatures (like lichen) in that area. Protecting the environment is more important than a lot of people realize.

Everything was great

Extremely excited! And I felt very prepared thanks to all the information/webpages Swoop shared about what to expect, what gear to bring, and rules/guidelines for visitors to Antarctica.

Yes

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No

I don`t know