November Reviews

The highlight was the wildlife. We saw penguins, seals and three types of Whales. The landscape is absolutely stunning. The talks on board were very high quality and the food and wine was first class. I got a free upgrade to a double room with window. People choosing this trip were all very bright and interesting and a good mix of young and old

Sitting in (attempted) silence on a zodiac boat and hearing glaciers collapse, whales exhaling, and penguins squawking.

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.

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

Extremely hard to choose one memorable moment when the entire trip was awesome. Moment to moment was an adventure. Huge thanks to each and every person involved in making our Antarctica voyage a true treasure.

Alex. I have given you detailed feedback over the phone. I assume that the emails asking for feedback are automatically generated so do not see the need to repeat all I said to you. In short, Swoop provided a very good service with plenty of discussion and information before departure. The ship's hotel staff and crew were excellent. The ship's layout was poor, with nowhere other than the cabin (or the deck when weather permitted) to escape from the lounge when the presentations did not appeal or when we wanted to escape from the endless musak. The fixed 'fore and aft' lounge seating did not afford sensible conditions for lectures. The quality of the lectures was generally very poor with most expedition staff lacking basic public speaking skills and putting far too much emphasis on endless statistics. The expedition staff generally were lacking in general knowledge and sometimes even in courtesy. Any request for information about the bird life was usually met with 'ask Bruce' and of course Bruce was not always around to be asked. They ensured a safe environment but we often felt that they were reluctant to engage in conversation. Andrew and Michelle, the leader and his deputy, were both off-hand and dismissive. another member of the team, Bill, behaved totally inappropriately on occasion - largely to play to the gallery - even turning up in drag in the middle of a beautiful cruise through the ice. Our fellow passengers were mostly Swiss and German and were generally a good crowd although it was often difficult to find enough places at a table at mealtimes for a group of English speakers to sit down together. Hope that helps Peter

Penguins - hands down. Walking among them on shore was the best. Zodiac trips a poor second but in the bird flu situation, understandable.

Overall there were lots of disappointing moments got to do only 1 of the things i wanted to do...(polar plunge) Saw tons of gentoo penguins very little if any of much else people were nice...much younger crowd than i expected boat was ok, food was good, staff good.

The silence while sailing on the most south part of our voyage

Great experience, not one particular highlight, just the whole experience! Landscape stunning, difficult to describe its uniqueness. Lots of penguins, seals. Limited whales which was a little disappointing but thats wildlife...... Crew and expedition staff were friendly and extremely knowledgeable. Unfortunately on board ship there was a rude and disrespectful Chinese party.

Spotting the humpbacks right in front of our zodiac.

Everything about the trip was first-rate! Of course the geography and wildlife were spectacular, even more than we expected. But we were blown away by the expedition staff - by their amazing knowledge and ability to share it, their friendliness and the ability to adjust to situations at a moment's notice - like the time the captain slowed and turned and they launched zodiacs so we could see unexpected whales more closely. Our fellow travelers were all interesting and fun and the quality of the staterooms and ship generally were fantastic - as was the food!

Every moment we spent there was magical. One of the biggest highlights was spending a night on the continent and being close to nature and wildlife, specially to the cutest ever penguins. Surprisingly, the penguins were not afraid at all but rather curios and interested in us, strange visitors. The whole ship's operator crew of m/v Ortelius was simply amazing and absolutely professional in every possible way. They made our trip unforgettable.

Seeing humpback whales while in the zodiac

I could write pages. The highlight was of course the wildlife. I have been to several places where I had seen pictures before I got to my destination and the reality greatly exceeded the pictures. There is no way you can imagine 200,000 nesting pairs of penguins or nesting albatrosses until youn have seen them in real life.

In a zodiac in the midst of giant icebergs. Climbing up Orne . I could go up, I couldn’t go down, petrified. Zach assisted me . Sooo patient Polar plunge Sighting of 1 st iceberg after 2 days Drake Passage. It means we finally made it to Antarctica, our 7th continent Orca whales frolicking around the ship in very close proximity. The kindness and diligent staff. Paid attention to details . Mindful to preserve Antarctica and everything in it.

There are so many, but to name a few, the first site of the Antartica islands was overwhelming and such a great feeling that we had actually made it! Then stepping foot on land! So epic! I very much enjoyed daily zodiacs to land and the hikes we were able to do. Our first Zodiac ride, we got to see a baby leopard seal, which I guess is very rare to see. Another rarity we saw were a few pods of orcas swimming alongside the boat. They stayed with us for about an hour! The kayaking was one of the best days, and the ice camping was the best night (and morning thereafter with a beautiful sunrise on the mountain tops). The most exhilarating moments was the polar plunge (while it was lightly snowing). OMG the water was so cold! But it brought up this feeling of great anticipation and excitedness that I haven't felt since I was a child. The whole trip was absolutely amazing, and I'm so happy I was able to do all of these expeditions alongside my husband, Drew!

My most memorable moment (a billion to choose from, this one stands out) was witnessing my Mom take her first steps on Antartica! together we have visited all 7 now.

I was in a vessel with 50 other young women, which is rare and it was incredible! Lots of new friendships. The whole staff and crew of Ortelius was phenomenal! The landscape is incredible, not possible to take a bad picture, and loads of pinguins!

Impossible to state a highlight as one event built on the previous events. Even daft activities like a bar-b-que on deck as it snows and icebergs for decor, what can you say - brilliant. We were lucky with the weather so saw most things and other not so normal like 2 emperor penguins and an Leopard seal. The other passengers created a happy experience and staff and experts knew their stuff making the learning side enjoyable.