February Reviews

To many highlights to mention. The weather could change almost in an instant, changing the light and the landscape before your eyes, completely captivating. Lots of wildlife despite being late in the season, and being later we saw lots of whales. The ships crew and the expedition crew were exceptional. There were 98 passengers on board the Island Sky and we were surprised by the age range, 22 to 78 with an average of 62 (this must be accident rather than design) but it made for a wonderful atmosphere with people prepared to mix in chat, and eat together. We hope to meet up with a few in the future. Most magical moment, that's difficult, probably being in a Zodiac among sleeping Humpbacks.

Our trip was FANTASTIC! There were too many highlights to name only one... Seeing the Blue whale... 150,000 King Penguins... Glaciers... Glacier cave that was illuminated from withing with the most amazing blues and greens... Black ice... Humpback whales everywhere... Excellent level of customer service and attention to details. The expedition team members' passion, enthusiasm, knowledge and life stories were wonderful to watch and experience. The lectures were excellent and inspiring. The biggest surprise was the food. Food and service for foodies - did not expect that on an expedition ship.

The trip was even better than expected... The highlight was crossing the polar circle and seeing ice bergs the size of skyscrapers--who knew ice could be so incredible!? The landscape was amazing--like walking around in a painting. And the wildlife was unreal! It was everywhere and so untouched. The people were fascinating--loved the diversity in age, country and interest. I learned a lot from them! Someday, I'll tell my grandchildren that I went to a place that was so untouched by man--that it was nature at its best. Biggest surprise was that our ship didn't have a stabilizer! Haha.

The scenery and wildlife were terrific and it was a pleasure to meet with many of the passengers on the boat. The two big negative surprises were the Chinese school children party on the ship that seemed to constitute nearly 20% of the total passenger group. Not sure of we would have taken this particular voyage if we had known about this. Nothing is mentioned in any of the literature about school parties being on the voyages. The other negative was that we paid for the most expensive standard of cabin but the heating was not working in the cabin. It took a great deal of work to repair the heating unit and on the first evening the men called a halt to the work at 10:30pm as my wife was falling asleep while they worked in the cabin. The repairs were completed the next day. Major pipe and electrical work was needed. I would have thought checking that heating units worked before heading to Antarctica would have been standard practice.

Highlights: 7 species of penguins, wale watching, information given in the lectures, food on board. The people were nice and many charing also pictures and videos. The weather surprised us with lots of sunshine and one hurricane - the Drake was calm and smooth. A magical moment was a wale appearing right next to the zodiac and staying a while to be filmed.

Seeing tens of thousands of penguins going about their business, and realizing that I was irrelevant.

Kayaking south of the Antarctic Circle.

Too hard to choose a most memorable moment. So many once in a life-time moments. I loved the wildlife encounters. Tens of thousands of penguins on the beach. Interactions of penguins and fur seal pups. Amazing to watch a leopard seal hunt and catch a penguin. Who knew that icebergs could be so amazing and fascinating.

The highlight was probably seeing humpback whales breaching the water. The landscapes and wildlife were fantastic and we were able to get very close to whales, penguins, seals and sea birds. There were many interesting people on board and the academic staff from the ship's operator were really knowledgeable. The food on board was good and plentiful. I would probably have liked to do some more challenging hikes but I appreciate that is difficult with some of the passengers on board. I wouldn't go back because it's just so far to travel and always had it in my mind that it was a once in a lifetime trip. I would consider and Arctic trip.

The highlight was the sheer untouched beauty and proximity to nature. Landscapes and wildlife were awesome. The people we met were inspirational.... How deeply we were touched by the sheer beauty of the continent and how it felt to be pecked by a penguin chick and splashed by a whales tale... The excellence of the presentations onboard..... the close proximity of whales, seals and penguins... and the gigantic and beautiful array of icebergs

When we unexpectedly stumbled upon the rare and elusive Ross seal and a pod of orcas who came right up to the ship and were swimming alongside.

One day one of the receptionists at the front desk was hurried and terse. Other than that one incidence the trip was a 10 out of 10. I enjoyed like-minded travelers, learned from the experts, loved the food and service and had fun, rest and a million smiles everyday!

The highlight was Charlotte's Bay as described above. It was a totally perfect experience on a perfectly calm and sunny day. The landscapes were absolutely breathtaking with the Seven Sister who were complete visible due to the awesome weather. I traveled alone, so I didn't have a group as others did; however, I met very nice people from the US, Hong Kong, UK, Australia and New Zealand. I was surprised at how skilled the crew was to adapting to new contingency plans due to changing weather. Charlotte's Bay was a magical, mystical and spiritual experience that will be forever embedded in my mind.

My highlight was stepping on the Antarctica Continent, the Ross Sea, Ross Island, Ross Ice Shelf, and Port Ross and was my most magical moment. The historic huts were amazing; to think that the explorers endured and many lost their lives for exploration gives me so much respect for all they accomplished. The landscape: icebergs as well as the flora and fauna in such remote areas were breathtaking. The wildlife and how they survive in such extreme conditions was amazing. We had an awesome group of fifty people that socialized, laughed, and shared their stories of who they were and why this trip was meaningful for them.

There were very many. However the Humpback Whale playing among the Zodiacs on our last excursion was unbelievable. It literally came alongside and under our Zodiac several times.

Surrounded by grandeur AND wildlife while in an ice-encircled zodiac and feeling overwhelmed with the awe of it all. I’ll always carry that feeling with gratitude.

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

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 !!

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

All the landing activities and zodiac cruising are amazing and memorable. There were many moments I felt touched and moved by the great nature of Antarctica. Penguins, whales, seals are having good life there, I hope Antarctica can keep the way it is so that the wild life animals are protected. Also the expedition crew members are amazing, we won't have a great Antarctica adventure without their dedications.