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Best Antarctica cruise?


JP-Cruise
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Hi all,

 

Lately I have been dreaming about cruising to Antarctica, it is definitely on the bucket list. But wondering which are the top cruise lines for this? Do they all cruise South America also? I think I would just prefer Antarctica. How much per person am I looking at?

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I don't know if it is the best, but we are sailing a 15-day cruise to Antarctica on the Silversea Cloud Expedition ship in December 2018. This luxury ship is being converted to an expedition ship this fall and will start Antarctica voyages. The Silversea Explorer already offers Antarctica voyages, but has smaller suites.

 

http://www.silversea.com/destinations/antarctica-cruise/ushuaia-to-ushuaia-1829/?fycref=row1

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"Best" is a very relative term when it comes to cruising and you would have to define what is "best" for you. For such a destination, I would strongly advise taking an "expedition-style" cruise, by which I mean a cruise that will offer you landings in Antarctica and not just a cruise-by.

 

There are several companies offering this type of cruise. They vary by boat size, luxury level, additional activities on board and so on. Then there is the matter of when, how long and where you want to go exactly. A general advice it to go for the longest time your schedule (and budget) allows, on the smallest ship you feel comfortable in, and on an itinerary that includes South Georgia as well as the Antarctic Peninsula.

 

I would recommend this website to help with your planning : http://www.traveltothepoles.com/

It is quite comprehensive, some ship information is a bit outdated but you will get the general picture of the various type of ship and cruise you can look at. Also, the Antarctic Adventure forum on TripAdvisor is quite rich ( https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i12337-Antarctic_Adventures.html ), I particularly recommend a read of the FAQs ( http://antarcticafaqs.boards.net/ ) which includes many trip reports that can also be of help.

 

Happy planning, it's a fun part!

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"Best" is a very relative term when it comes to cruising and you would have to define what is "best" for you. For such a destination, I would strongly advise taking an "expedition-style" cruise, by which I mean a cruise that will offer you landings in Antarctica and not just a cruise-by.

 

There are several companies offering this type of cruise. They vary by boat size, luxury level, additional activities on board and so on. Then there is the matter of when, how long and where you want to go exactly. A general advice it to go for the longest time your schedule (and budget) allows, on the smallest ship you feel comfortable in, and on an itinerary that includes South Georgia as well as the Antarctic Peninsula.

 

I would recommend this website to help with your planning : http://www.traveltothepoles.com/

It is quite comprehensive, some ship information is a bit outdated but you will get the general picture of the various type of ship and cruise you can look at. Also, the Antarctic Adventure forum on TripAdvisor is quite rich ( https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i12337-Antarctic_Adventures.html ), I particularly recommend a read of the FAQs ( http://antarcticafaqs.boards.net/ ) which includes many trip reports that can also be of help.

 

Happy planning, it's a fun part!

 

Thank you so much Sarnia for all your input ). I completely agree the the planning is the fun part indeed :). I did lots of research last night. It sure sounds like the South Georgia and and the peninsula are not to be misssed :). I found two expedition companies that seem fantastic to me. National Geographic Oasis, and Quark expeditions :)

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JP-Cruise, Yaaaay! I know you must be very excited. I remember when I first started planning and researching for our Antarctic Adventure, I got very absorbed in it.

The advice above is solid to find a ship style that fits you and your budget, and try to be away as long as possible and include S Georgia and the Falklands, if you can.

We booked in March, 2016 for our January, 2018 voyage on Ponant LeSoleal, we will be 17 days at sea visiting Antarctica, S Georgia, Falklands, crossing the polar circle - I think it will be amazing. Ponant is a French line, and not for everyone, but they fit us in their style. While definitely not inexpensive, we were able to obtain a significant discount by booking just when the sailings were released.

Happy to answer any questions!

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Thank you so much Sarnia for all your input ). I completely agree the the planning is the fun part indeed :). I did lots of research last night. It sure sounds like the South Georgia and and the peninsula are not to be misssed :). I found two expedition companies that seem fantastic to me. National Geographic Oasis, and Quark expeditions :)

Both National Geographic and Quark are trust-worthy companies with a solid experience in Antarctica. You can't go wrong with them (actually I don't think there is currently a bad company for this destination).

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Besides the general guideline to consider ship size*, my advice is to definitely consider the Luxury Level. The only people I've known who were at all disappointed were the ones who didn't have the right expectations for the standard of the ship they were on. The Travel to the Poles ship list is a good starting point for these considerations.

 

Keep in mind that this goes both ways. Naturally the people who've traveled on the lower level of ship were some of the most vocal complainers, because they were expecting more comfort (often because of the higher cost of expedition trips). However, this goes both ways. Someone who's expecting more of a backpacker-style adventure travel may be uncomfortable with some of the fancier aspects of the higher-luxury ships.

 

I've traveled on the Expedition (Medium according to TTTP) and Fram (High), and based on those two experiences I think that most traditional cruisers would prefer High or above, depending on their personal tastes. The cabins on Fram were much closer to a cruise cabin (smaller, understandably), and the ship has very nice public spaces. Of course it's still much different from a traditional cruise, since it's much smaller and the entertainment is all natural!

 

By contrast, I found the Expedition to be quite comfortable from a budget-travel perspective, but the ship and rooms don't have the same amenities you find on the higher-luxury options. Personally, I preferred that, because I liked being surrounded by the workings of the ship and I felt a bit out of place wearing my base layer top to the dining room on the Fram (where I seemed to be surrounded by collared shirts). I would say that the Expedition was comparable to a European 3-star hotel, compared to the Fram's 4-star.

 

*Regarding ship size, you'll quickly learn in your research that landing sites are limited to 100 people (or less in some places), so it's better to avoid the largest ships, where landings have to rotate. A lot of people don't mind the rotation with the ~200 pax ships, but compared to the smaller number, I did notice the reduced shore time. On future trips, I'll definitely go back to the ~100 or smaller ships, but I would absolutely advise avoiding the 300+ ships if possible.

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We were on Expedition and while it may be informal, the food was fantastic with incredible variety every day. Our room was small but well equipped. It was the crew and staff who made the entire time so special. We really got to know the staff who were a very enthusiastic group with an amazing depth of knowledge.

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We were on Expedition and while it may be informal, the food was fantastic with incredible variety every day. Our room was small but well equipped. It was the crew and staff who made the entire time so special. We really got to know the staff who were a very enthusiastic group with an amazing depth of knowledge.

 

Thank you all so much for all your information! This is most definitely on my bucket list in the near future. I've done a bit of exploring on these expedition cruises and already have learned so much :).

 

Right now I am just day dreaming about cruising to Antarctica lol. If I go it will definitely be with one of these expedition ships. And will definitely choose a smaller ship for the reasons above. Thanks for that!

 

I booked a cruise to Alaska earlier this year. I'm leaving July 6 for 12 days. Doing the land cruise tour. Counting the days :).

 

So back to Antarctica, I emailed lastnight national geographic Orion, and quark expeditions to inquire about if the excursion such as kayaking is included or extra. Both have emailed be back this is what they said:

 

For the 14 day national geographic Orion. Kayaking is only a one time activity and it is included. With quark, kayaking is an extra $995.

 

 

National geographic Orion said most of there expeditions for this season is full booked. I can believe it.

 

So basically for an Antarctica expedition cruise, you have to book 2 years in advance?

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National geographic Orion said most of there expeditions for this season is full booked. I can believe it.

 

So basically for an Antarctica expedition cruise, you have to book 2 years in advance?

 

Not sure about the two years -- but these are fairly small ships, so they can book up well in advance. We traveled to Antarctica four years ago with Lindblad/Nat Geo on the National Geographic Explorer, and we booked about a year out. I do get emails from time to time from Lindblad with offers for trips during the current season, so there is often space, but my guess is that the cabin selection is limited. Quite frankly, I was glad to have had a good bit of time to plan, given all the gear issues, etc. It was lots of fun. And of course the trip was incredible.

 

I have a very detailed photo journal at this link, which covers our planning as well as the expedition itself:

 

https://antarcticjourney.wordpress.com/

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Yes, bookings for Antarctica generally open 18 month to 2 years in advance. Bookings are now open for the 2018-2019 winter season. Bookings for this upcoming season (winter 2017-2018) opened about a year ago and many people book early to get the early bird discount, so the ships do fill up quickly.

If you are not too picky about time of year or itinerary, you can sign up for the newsletter of the company you are interested in, and you will get info about special deals or last minute offers. Quark for instance has a very interesting sale in the fall (around Thanksgiving I think) for departures in the following weeks/months.

If you want to choose your ship, cabin, date and itinerary then book as early as possible.

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I agree, there are 2 schools of thought as to when to book. Do a lot of research, know exactly what you want, and book your cabin and itinerary as soon as it is released, which is usually between March-June for the following winter season (1 year past the current winter season). Or, do your research, know what you want but have some flexibility, and when it comes close to final payment date for the current sailing season (usually 90-120 days out) be watching for last minute cabins and sales.

 

I agree with the above poster about needing the time to plan and gather the gear. I'm very happy we had a lot of time. Plus it allowed me to start watching the airfare to Buenos Aires, which I was able to catch on a sale when it dipped down for about 24 hours, saving us about $350 pp.

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I agree, there are 2 schools of thought as to when to book. Do a lot of research, know exactly what you want, and book your cabin and itinerary as soon as it is released, which is usually between March-June for the following winter season (1 year past the current winter season). Or, do your research, know what you want but have some flexibility, and when it comes close to final payment date for the current sailing season (usually 90-120 days out) be watching for last minute cabins and sales.

 

I agree with the above poster about needing the time to plan and gather the gear. I'm very happy we had a lot of time. Plus it allowed me to start watching the airfare to Buenos Aires, which I was able to catch on a sale when it dipped down for about 24 hours, saving us about $350 pp.

 

You guys have really helped a lot with your info. Thanks :). So it seems that there are no 10 day itinerary that include South Georgia and Falkland Islands. If I want to do those destinations I have to book at least 20 days? Most 10 day itineraries offer the Shetland islands.

 

How do the South Georgia/falkand Islands differ from Shetland islands?

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You need one sea day to go from South America to Falklands, 2 more to go to South Georgia, 2 more to go to the Peninsula area and 2 more to cross the Drake back. So an itinerary including SG and Falklands will have a minimum of 7 sea days, which is why these trips are always closer to 3 weeks long, otherwise you just spend your time sailing.

If you have the time and budget, South Georgia is highly recommended to put in your itinerary. It is a totally unique place both in terms of landscape (huge jagged mountain peaks falling into the sea, glaciers and fjords) and in terms of wildlife. This is were you find the colony of thousands of king penguins (which you don't see in the Peninsula or SSI) and at the start of the season also impressive gatherings of elephant seals and fur seals.

Falklands is very different, much more mellow landscape, but also very unique in terms of wildlife particularly if you are interested in birds.

Both these places have also a lot of historical/ethnological interest. For me, it is totally worth it to put them in your itineraray (many people would even say it's mandatory! ;) ).

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I assume you mean the South Shetlands? ;) Unless you're a geologist, landings on the South Shetlands are extremely similar to landings on the Antarctic Peninsula. The climate and wildlife are quite alike, although the penguin breeding season starts a bit earlier since the islands are farther north. In terms of scenery, most of it is fairly similar from a layman's perspective, but certain sites like Deception Island do have a noticeably different landscape given the active volcanism. (If you do happen to be a geoscientist, the geological history of the South Shetlands is dramatically different from the peninsula.) Nearly all trips that include the peninsula also include a landing or two on the South Shetlands.

 

South Georgia is a significantly different ecosystem, and there is a lot more plant life and a wider variety of animal species. I've heard it compared to the Galapagos in terms of wildlife viewing. It is truly worth a visit, and I would definitely recommend it if it's at all possible.

 

If you absolutely cannot save up the time/money to include it, I think it's still worth a trip to the peninsula. My first trip was peninsula-only, and I was still blown away. However, I'm lucky that it turns out I love the ice even more than the wildlife. If you're a birder or wildlife aficionado, you might regret missing South Georgia.

 

As for booking... I've been watching prices at a handful of companies for 7-8 years, and the last-minute deals are nowhere close to what they used to be. My first trip was booked "last-minute" (six months out!) back in 2011 and I haven't seen a deal close to it since. Most of the good late-booking deals are for single travelers in cabin shares, since they're trying to fill up a spot that they know will go empty otherwise. If you're traveling as a twosome, the later deals tend to be for the higher-class cabins, because the budget travelers tend to snatch up the lowest-price options during the early booking discounts. (The highest-class cabins and suites also tend to go early because there are so few, and they're typically booked by the "price is no concern" crowd.) It's even less likely to find the South Georgia itineraries as last-minute deals, because they're extremely popular but can't run as often, since they're so much longer. A lot of them completely sell out well in advance. My second trip was booked two years in advance during early booking. In fact, I was actually on the website looking for last-minute deals for the upcoming Arctic season! I saw the price of the newly-released Antarctica-South Georgia itineraries, and they were such a good deal for that itinerary that I turned around and asked my partner if he wanted to go to Antarctica instead!

 

So my advice for booking would be to subscribe to emails from all of the companies you're interested in, and watch the prices for the rest of this year. Last-minute deals are happening now, so you can get an idea of what to expect. Then when the 2018-19 season is announced towards the end of the year, you can compare more easily. Of course, if you see something for this coming season that you're happy about, go for it!

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That's pretty scary

 

Quite seriously, the Antarctic Peninsula is one of the primary places on earth where the effects of global warming can really be seen. For example, when we where there four years ago, naturalists pointed out places that until recent years had always been snow covered, but were no longer, allowing Gentoo penguins, which normally did not live as far south as where we were, to move in.

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I have no regrets doing an Antarctica only cruise. It was what we could afford and like mentioned above we were more interested in the ice and the geology than the animal life. We saw enough penguins and were fortunate to see a couple stray king penguins on an excursion from Ushuaia.

 

Thrilling for me was getting south of the Antarctic Circle for two days and visiting an abaonded research station that few have visited.

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I have no regrets doing an Antarctica only cruise. It was what we could afford and like mentioned above we were more interested in the ice and the geology than the animal life. We saw enough penguins and were fortunate to see a couple stray king penguins on an excursion from Ushuaia.

 

Thrilling for me was getting south of the Antarctic Circle for two days and visiting an abaonded research station that few have visited.

 

Wow, that's awesome Maryann which cruise line did you go with? Holland America ?

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This is the one we are booked in a Veranda suite on:

 

http://www.silversea.com/destinations/antarctica-cruise/ushuaia-to-ushuaia-1829/?fycref=row1

 

This one goes to South Georgia but was just too expensive for us.

http://www.silversea.com/destinations/antarctica-cruise/ushuaia-to-ushuaia-1723/?fycref=row2

Edited by cflutist
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If you can afford it, it really is worth doing the longer trip which includes the Falklands and South Georgia. You won't regret it.

You can still do it relatively cheaply on an old Russian icebreaker. Not recommended unless you like to share facilities.

Check out Hapag Lloyd expedition ships and do it in 5 star luxury.

Have a look at Noble Caledonia , we are with them in November. 2nd visit.

National Geographic have great reviews.

Hurtigruten also.

But go it is amazing.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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As others have suggested, go for the longest trip you can afford and include the Falklands and South Georgia. All of our Antarctic (and Arctic) trips have been on Hurtigruten's Fram: she offered (for us) the best compromise on cost and comfort along with itineraries which suited us.

 

Each trip has been booked as soon as the brochure has been published, so almost two years before the sailing. That has produced good prices with Early Bird discounts and low flight costs as we could book as soon as flights were released. Last minute didn't make too much sense as the savings would be reduced by significantly higher air fares and we would not be able to have the choice (if any!) of itinerary and cabin that early booking offered.

 

If you need to reduce cost, don't pay-to-sway! Cabins lower down in the sjip are almost always lower cost than those higher up and, in less calm weather, the ship's motion is much less noticeable. Add to that that you are hardly ever in your cabin.

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