Customer Reviews

The ice was the best part. The wildlife of course was super fun, like the baby penguins and hundreds of humpback whales feeding, but to see ice so blue, so vast, so grand - breathtaking.

It's hard to decide between the penguins and sleeping in a bivy bag on the Antarctic was the highlight, looking up at the Milky Way and unfamiliar stars! You cannot describe the immenseness of the place, it's mind blowing! Snow covered mountain ranges, glaciers galore, and penguins on every uncovered spot you encounter. The mix of people on the ship was refreshing! Different ages, nationalities (16 on our ship) and different walks of life. So many inspiring people! Fun! Most magical moment?! The little Gentoo penguin that bee lined for me and we looked each other up and down for several minutes - magic - wonderful!

I think seeing penguins for the first time. The colors of the ice, glaciers and water -- so intense.

Highlights: the ship; the colours of the ice; the tameness of the wildlife; the rust, romance and rottenness of the whaling stations; the clearness of the air; the icebergs.... Surprised by the diversity of people on the boat: age/nationality/backgrounds. Enjoyed the library and having time to do some background reading on the history/wildlife etc. Loved the food.

So many amazing moments that its tough to pick one. A few examples: - Being in a zodiac and suddenly finding ourselves being circled at close proximity by 2 pods of hunting humpback whales which were fluking, rolling and generally bubbling to confuse their prey. - Navigating the incredible Lemaire channel which was so blocked by a massive iceberg that getting through was a miracle performed by the ships bridge. - Looking down on and listening to the immense penguin colony at St Andrews bay in S.Georgia. - Seeing my first blue iceberg. - Seeing a glacier calve into the sea.

Too many to specify one single moment as all blended into a remarkable voyage. Highlights, however, were crossing again (as we did in 2012, the Drakes Passage and riding through Beauford 11 conditions (our first ever....pass the dramamine, first ever also)/ being close and personal to so many critters, esp. the Gentoo's/ unexpected food and beverage quality far and above/ same for cabins - our placement #428 happened to be perfect for avoiding worse ride by being lower, close to reception, lounge, dining and zodiac boarding...a great fluke/ the extremely friendly & helpful specialists and crew + fantastic passenger group with similar focus and interests which created stimulating conversations and sharing/ fun with Danny-an entertainment MC all by himself who created verve and fun-and was totally unexpected

The reason I have chosen NO in the previous question is because I feel very content on having seen Antarctica thoroughly and learning and seeing so much about the place. I do not think I missed anything in the trip, and so if I visit again I might just end up doing the same thing. This was one of my best trips ever in terms of being satisfied. Highlights were aplenty (in order): ~ Spending time in Ushuaia the southern most city in the world ~ Living a comfortable life in the ship with good passengers for company, and the best possible expedition team ~ Witnessing Orcas, Dolphins straight from the portside cabin window ~ Crossing the Polar Circle ~ Polar plunging (twice!) ~ Encounters with humpback whales swimming so close to the zodiac ~ Sitting ashore and absorbing the calm and vastness of the peninsula on a bright sunny day ~ Good variety of food and beverage

The wildlife we saw and history we learned was amazing, but it was the quiet moments when we could just sit and experience the otherworldly landscapes that truly stood out to us, and the Aurora Expeditions team seemed to innately understand the importance of that.

Seeing the grandeur of the landscape and the amazing wildlife observations.

The thrilling view of the expansive collection of King Penguins on South Georgia Island - St. Andrew's Bay and Gold Harbor

My trip on the G Expedition was exceptional. Life on the ship was much more luxurious than I expected or needed, but I enjoyed it very much. Great food, attentive and kind staff service staff, extraordinary subject experts. The other guests were interesting, friendly, and diverse, and I appreciated the mix (Brits>Australians>US, with many other countries represented) and the high number of solo travelers. I was paired with a delightful and age-appropriate roommate, and indeed all the solo travelers seemed to do fine with their assigned roommates. The trip itself was extraordinary, and the excitement built through the itinerary. Falklands was great for its history and our first encounter with penguins, followed by a wonderful tea at the farmhouse of a Falklands family. South Georgia took the scenery up a notch, and the penguin colonies are unforgettable, as were the visits to the Shackleton sites. Among many magical moments, I especially loved the Zodiac cruise around Cierva Cove in Antarctica, which had it all: seals, penguins, glaciers, ice, mountains. Other favorite times were sitting on the snow watching penguins.

Blue icebergs and penguins

Four-star experience! Could not have been better. Highlight was the ship's crew, our guides, and our fellow explorers... all nice folks. Landscapes stark and challenging, photogenic and forboding. Wildlife incredibly resilient and not camera shy, especially the young penguins! Surprised how wonderful the experience was. Being on the bridge, with the Captain, navigating the Lemaire Channel, which had a HUGE iceberg towering over us!

We had amazingly good luck with weather and were able to make about 10 excursions from the ship. The encounters with the whales were just incredibly wonderful. The icebergs and bergy bits were artistic, majestic, noisy, imaginative and splendid. I think we met people from nearly 20 different countries aboard ship. The crew were all friendly, competent, attentive and knowledgeable. I learned a great deal about history, geography, birds and penguins. Drake's passage is long even in good weather.

Listening to the sounds at 2.00am whilst camping

Probably seeing a pod of an estimated 45 humpback whales feeding right along the Hondius. Even veteran crew members said it was the biggest pod of whales they'd seen, perhaps ever, and they were amazed at how close the whales came to the ship -- they just passed by and came up for air one after another for a couple of hours in the Gerlache strait. Stunning.

We were kayaking on the second day through rivers of ice and spotted a really cool iceberg in the distance. We decided to make our way towards the iceberg and stopped in a cove-like area for rest and pics. Before we decided to leave, a Leopard Seal came right up to our kayaks and seemed to be toying with or playing with us. The seal spent a good 10 mins swimming around us all, creating waves, popping up out of the water in various places - a lot of people were laughing and enjoying this organic moment.

I have only answered No above because there are still several places on my bucket list that I need to get to while I am still able to travel long distances, including the Arctic! There was no one single highlight, there were many and the whole trip was a highlight in my advancing years. The landscapes and wildlife unique and I felt privileged to be able to see it all. The people on the trip from young to older were all very friendly, and good company, with several nationalities, but we all got on and quickly gelled, all having one common purpose. What have I told my grandchildren? A lot for kids to take in but they will always have my photos! Hopefully one day they will have the ability and the desire to go too. Surprises? The colour of the snow and the icebergs and the overall impression of all shades of blue. And the delicious chocolate cake I was presented with on my birthday!

Antarctica and the experience with Plancius far exceeded my best expectations. Hard to identify a specific highlight since everything was so outstanding-scenery, kayaking amid Humpbacks, daily snow shoeing hikes and climbs, incredible fellow passengers, etc. The only surprises were positive ones-much bigger and more comfortable room and much, much better food than we expected. Can't say enough about how great this trip was! Swoop did a super job of finding a trip and a ship that fit our interests and preferences. Overall, Swoop performed as advertised. As suggested in my sister Kate's feedback, my only recommendation for improvement would be to book individuals who are not married but share a last name and a cabin ( such as my sister and I) under separate names so that we each separately get the critical information required for the trip.

The trip was overall a matter of extremes—some things were outstanding and some things really fell short of expectations. Contracting Covid on the ship after avoiding it for over 2.5 years and having 5 vaccinations was a real surprise.