Customer Reviews

Lemaire Channel was outstanding unable to land but the resultant cruise around left me speechless (not a common problem). Again no camera can do justice to the omnipotence of Antartica it is humbling, penguins were cheeky, seals were unphased and the whales / Orcas gave hope that we haven't destroyed the planet YET. Most fellow travelers were warm, friendly and shared their photos / films. The 'ladies" I shared with were individuals who shared a joke, welcomed you and we have formed firm firm friendship despite our disparate ages interests and nationalities. Only Antartica.

We had a humpback whale come right up beside our zodiac where it stayed for about half an hour! It was so playful and curious, skyhopping to see what was going on and swimming around genuinely like it was playing with us. It was incredible!

The whole trip was a hugh memory. Being able to go to a untouched environment and leaving it as you found it was the memory also. Seeing the the many different species living and thriving together brings a smile to my face as I am writing this review.

The landings on Antarctica, coupled with the zodiac cruises in the area, were quite memorable. We had numerous whale sightings while cruising and the icebergs were incredible.

The whole trip! Learning about everything about Antarctica and Drake passage. I also enjoy the landscape once we’re on land

The trip was the best I’ve ever had. The landscapes were out of the world and we were lucky to come across a lot of wildlife including tons of orca whales over two days. The co-passengers were amazing and we all got along very well. The expedition crew were superb- experienced, friendly and very concerned about our safety. The hotel and housekeeping staff ensured we were comfortable and had ample food to eat. I never thought I would do the polar plunge but I did.

Opening the door to the outside deck and getting my first look at South Georgia Island - I literally gasped!

It was amazing - beyond expectations. At times, it was quite physically challenging but always entirely safe. It is virtually impossible to describe the sense of wonder of being in a pristine landscape, quite unlike anything one has seen before. I have walked in the Himalayas, been to the Sahara, visited the Grand Canyon - but the experience of Antarctica tops them all.

Penguin Colonies on South Georgia....... each time seeing the massive colonies on South Georgia I was blow away. It was beyond words.

Photographing humpback whales and penguins.

Camping on the continent

Kayaking around Danco Island through brash ice with the only sound being calving of glaciers all around. Magical

Highlight was Wilhelmina Bay where we saw whales up close and personal. Landscapes was surreal, and pretty amazing. Wildlife, only saw two types of penguins which was the gentoo and adelie, hoped to see more. People were great. Surprises - the ship decided to delay sail to the next day because we had to wait for 2 passengers who were late due to airport strike - honestly the two passengers should not fly in at the last minute to board such an important cruise and the ship of 100+ people should not have to wait for 2 people... - and also partially due to a 'storm' - but next day we sail we caught another storm anyway.

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 !!

If I had to pick a highlight, it would be kayaking on a heavily overcast day in an ice-filled bay enclosed on three sides by terminal glaciers and snow-filled mountains, watching a humpback whale roll nearby as I listened to the sizzling of the bergy bits around me. But, in truth, there were lots of magical moments. Every day was full of anticipation and delight. The only true surprise, however, was when a rogue wave in Drake's Passage took out a window in the lounge of Deck 3!

Coming across dozens and dozens of feeding humpback whales one morning. Some of them came right up to the ship!

Whale, pinguins, seals … their sounds, watching them. The views, every nice

The highlights were the abundant wildlife and spectacular landscape of icebergs, glaciers and snow covered mountains and ice shelves. I was surprised by the abundance of wildlife including Humpback whales and the many close encounters we had with whales, seals and penguins who were often curious about the humans visiting their world. The ship operator's team and the Russia. Crew of the Vavilov were fantastic. The Expefition leader and guides were knowledgeable, skilled, friendly, helpful and passionate about Antarctica and its environment and wildlife. It was also great to have scientists on board who were conducting research on whales and provided lectures on board the ship. We met many like minded passengers - who we will stay in contact with. I think the most magical moment was in Charlotte Bay on the Zodiacs seeing and experiencing so many Humpback whales, a few Minke whales and having a few close encounters with some curious Humpbacks.

Kayaking around the icebergs!

The hump back whales all around us in the Lemaire Channel.