January Reviews

Spending 3 1/2 hrs in Grytviken was the highlight of my trip Staff and other travelers were wonderful to spend time with Less wildlife seen than during November trip

As a bird watcher and photographer, the penguins were the stand out act followed by the landscapes and ice. I had wondered about the point of visiting the Falklands but after visiting the Black browed Albatross colony I quickly became enchanted. South Georgia is amazing for both its wildlife and the sheer wonderment of its land mass and form. You get a much better sense of and focus on the beginnings and break up of the continents similar to the relationship between the Galapagos Island and Charles Darwin's theory of evolution where you can see it happening. Having visited most prime bird watching areas around the world, its takes something very special to get me going and penguins aside, I would rate Galapagos as a better experience from a bird watching perspective. I hope that somehow in this seemingly out of control period of time across the globe, that Antarctica can continue to be preserved for generations to come and that my children and grandchildren and so on can experience it. I would be very disappointed but not at all surprised to see this happen from from hotel bases on Antarctica in the future. Mankind in general and business in particular cannot help itself in this regard. I was surprised at the mix of people on board the ship and quickly concluded that generally, it is the only generation that can afford the trip. I was surprised at the kindness of the weather which may have been a double edged sword from a bird watching perspective with relatively calm seas reducing numbers of seabirds sighted. I do suspect there were other areas that could have been visited that would have produced different numbers and species but I guess time, accessbility and other ships all play a part in that situation. I understand there were 14 ships in the area at the time. My grown up children have already experienced much overseas travel to remote and interesting places and no doubt my young grandchildren will follow on some day with Antarctica being on their lists. My photographic records are in part, kept for them and in time, my Antarctica bird photos will be uploaded to grahamefinniganbirdphotogrpahy.com where my birding highlights are stored.

Too many highlights too pick out one in particular, but South Georgia is a must do. Landscapes were simply awesome. The wildlife was much more plentiful than I imagined, also unafraid and curious. We were literally amongst them and not simply viewing from a distance. The passengers on board our expedition (don't like the word 'cruise'!) were about 70% English which did surprise us. Maybe 20% American and the remainder were European/Chinese/Brazilian. Average age was early sixties but all pretty fit, game, and in it for the adventure, so pretty like minded. My grandchildren will hear of the apparent isolation (other cruise ships were out of sight!) teeming wildlife and magnificent scenery. Our biggest surprise was the amazing weather, we did not use our thermals at all. The only big blow we had was behind us and helped us on the way to the Falklands. We had rain on our last day in the Antarctic peninsula which was also the day of the polar plunge! I was also pleasantly surprised by the standard of the catering, I was not expecting it to be so good. Only complaint is that there was too much of it.

Great experience with eighteen landings. Highly professional crew and expedition staff.

Was great. Amazing sights and scenery. The huge penguin numbers at Salisbury Plain and St Andrews Bay were mind blowing. Albatross at Prion Island and the scenery was stunning.

The trip was well organised and went as well as the weather allowed. The highlight was undoubtedly the day we walked on the main continent twice, saw whales, did a Polar plunge and went sliding down a hill near Neko harbour. The group was great, a lot of groups formed but everyone was friendly to each other. Every one of the crew was also helpful, cheerful and friendly. The penguins were cute, the icebergs immense, the seals all over the place and the whales frustrating

The whole experience was fantastic, from beginning to end (apart from BA flight home which you did not book!). Mixture of elements to meet both our interests: wildlife (Jane), photography (Mike), landscape (both) and history (both). Highlights included walking amongst the animals (particularly on South Georgia), doing the Shackleton Walk (SG), kayaking amongst icebergs and the privilege of being there - all this was helped by weather which Hayley had never experienced in 15 years of working in the area. Expedition staff were outstanding in enthusiasm/ knowledge/ mixing with clients and we will nominate leader Hayley for the Wanderlust Guide Award 2017. Good mix of people with similar interests meant conversations over many meals were always interesting. The ship was very well run with great crew and high quality catering (too good for our waistlines).

Great staff who are very knowledgeable , patient and who make every effort to make the client feel cared for and welcome.

The ice. Going on to land/ice twice a day though I would have liked loner and more time off he boat. Landscape stunning and the wildlife unusual. Most of the time pleasant but rather pushy and over excited when they were so, so desperate to take photos. That I do not know why Antarctic does not have a flag. They are not old enough to under stand the concept of a shared geographical area. I did not expect to find 30 young Chinese children on the boat, pushing and shoving on the stairs, along the corridors, jumping the queue in the restaurant and generally making a lot of noise. They were also noisy on land and I had hoped to find wonderful peace in Antarctica. I realise children are playful and lively but I did not expect to be on holiday with them and would not have booked this holiday had I known. So it did affect my enjoyment.

Excursions were terrific being so close to the birds, seals and penguins. The landscape was breath taking and so different from the other sixth continents that I have seen. There were numerous people from all over the world and very friendly. As George Carlin says: Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away and Antarctic certainly took my breath away.

The highlight was stepping onto Antarctica. Landscapes were awesome. The whales and penguins were fascinating. The elephant seal was a real treat to see and hear him snoring. The ship operator's staff and ship crew members were outstanding. They accommodated each passenger individually. The people we met were lovely.

The highlights were all the penguin chicks at Petermann island and going through the Lamaire channel. The wildlife was amazing, especially the penguins and crab eater seals. I had a wonderful roommate and met several nice people, with whom I will keep in touch with. I was shocked how the ship operator's staff allowed the other passengers to be agressive and bully others when trying to take photos.

Crossing the Antarctic Circle, seeing Penguin rookeries, Elephant Seals, pack ice and Ross Sea ice shelf. Storm Force 10 in the roaring forties was dramatic, unfortunately a couple passengers suffered bruised/cracked ribs and a fair number shaken up. The cruise ship "World" was one day behind us during our tour of the Ross Sea. It was a surprise we were not alone but that such a large vessel had sailed so far South. Seem regulations will stiffen in 2018 requiring vessels to be polar strengthened and banning heavy diesel and so this was 'The World' last chance to make such a trip.

The highlight was kayaking amongst whales and through brash ice. Landscapes and wildlife were spectacular. The ship operator's team were passionate and well informed. They were keen to give us the best experience possible. Most of the passengers were equally enthusiastic. Grandchildren - appreciate how important it is to protect our beautiful world. Kayaking was more challenging than we expected and gave us some thrilling experiences.

We saw a lot of ices, which is all whites, the scene is fantastic. I believe that there will be no where else like here in Antarctica. The penguins and seals are so cute, and we saw many of them. It was my first time seeing a whale this closely. the weather there when we went ashore are amazingly sunny; people on ship are all nice and kind, we really enjoyed talking to them when we had a coffee or tea on deck 5. I will definitely recommended this trip to my friends.

So many wonderful moments on the trip! Each landing, I would spend some time just quiet and alone, feeling the vastness of the area, just watching the penguins and disappearing into the scenery. That was my favorite part.