My wife and I just got off the Venture and are headed back home after the 2022-2023 holiday Antarctica cruise. While disappointed about the South Georgia cancellation, we treasured the extra time in Antarctica. We went waaay south, all the way to 68 degrees, 15 minutes, which was an incredible adventure. I came away feeling like we had a rare opportunity and wound up trading one amazing experience (South Georgia) for another (spending 10+ days in Antarctica and going far off the beaten path there).
We did feel the lack of stabilizers - Venture rolled noticeably whenever we were in open ocean with swells over 2-3 meters, especially when coming in perpendicular to the ship (broadside) - but it wasn't a huge deal to us. We experienced worse when we visited Antarctica on Quest in 2015 and encountered 20 foot seas off Patagonia and again in the Drake. Our Drake crossings on this trip were a little bouncy but not bad.
As explained by the officers and the expedition team, the decision to cancel South Georgia was made because the passage from South Georgia to Antarctica would be made at a shallow, unfavorable angle and would be long enough to be outside a highly reliable 3-day weather forecasting window. The decision was made on the basis of comfort. The ship is perfectly seaworthy.
Going back north to Ushuaia a day and a half early was a smart call given the nasty weather that swirled south of the Horn for the next few days. The captain of the Venture took us between two storms and the trip was fine.
FWIW, my wife and I talked to passengers from a number of different ships while waiting at the airport and there were issues all around during this season - various ships either missed ports of call (e.g. Stanley), encountered very rough weather in the Drake, or had their Antarctic itineraries curtailed by the need to head back to Ushuaia early to avoid 50 knot winds and heavy swells. Our extra day in Ushuaia saw 30kt winds in the lee of the mountains, so I can only imagine what it was like down south. Bottom line, I think the captain and crew made lemonade out of some lemons and gave all of us memories that we'll never forget.
I don't post a ton but I feel an obligation to help those who are struggling with the decision to keep a booking or make one - or are feeling some angst about an upcoming cruise on Venture. If you're interested, here's my "Seabourn Sailors" review of the recent cruise (made in the same spirit):
Hello from the Venture on the last night of the 2022-2023 holiday Antarctica cruise. I’ve read a lot of questions from members of this group about this and future trips, so I thought I’d share my experience and some thoughts.
Bottom line, my wife and I felt like we had an amazing adventure and came away with incredible memories that we will treasure forever. I saw such beauty that my heart actually… ached. This is a harsh place but it is breathtakingly beautiful, and it will haunt you, seeping deep into your soul. Venture took us there in style. The voyage was not without problems, but we wouldn’t trade a minute of it.
While the cancellation of South Georgia was a disappointment, the extra time meant we were able to go well beyond the Antarctic Circle, all the way down to 68 degrees, 15 minutes south. At one point we were the southernmost passenger vessel on the peninsula, with only one other expedition ship within 200 miles.
Highlights from our time below the polar circle: We broke through the fast ice in front of a glacier off Marguerite Bay and then “parked”, which gave us a chance to get off the ship and walk around it on the ice. We saw a super rare Ross Seal, colonies of Adelie Penguins, and an Emperor Penguin. We visited two abandoned bases that are well off the beaten path. We traversed the Gullet on a perfectly still morning where you could see reflections of icebergs and mountains in the sea, creating a stunning mirror-scape all around us. We saw icebergs in all shapes and sizes, each individually sculpted.
Back on the normal expedition circuit - up north - we dived 360 feet in a submersible in a place that nobody has ever dived before. After going deep down, we ascended next to a rock wall leading up to Cuverville Island and saw sponges, starfish, krill, and strange jelly-fish like creatures with rippling surfaces.
In Paradise Bay a humpback whale surfaced about 20 feet from our Zodiac, and then we cruised along the face of a gnarled glacier.
There was one magical night when the ship traveled along the Bransfield Strait in the golden hour of a late sunset, with the mountains radiant on every side and whales feeding all around us.
There was so much else to see as well… albatrosses and rockhoppers on the Falkland Islands, Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins, lots of seals, many types of whales, and so, so many birds.
The expedition team was great and the captain was clearly a good sailor.
On the not so good side, one of my bags got lost in transit from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia and didn’t turn up until 30 minutes before sailing, giving me a panic attack. The news of the South Georgia cancellation came late (after we had sailed). The ship has teething pains beyond the stabilizers - some of the lights and switches didn’t work in our cabin, there were some fit and finish issues around the vessel, and one bank of elevators was out of service quite a bit. The crew was also settling in and the rhythm just wasn’t right yet.
On the topic of stabilizers, the ship definitely rolled a bit when we were in open water, including the Drake - but we had worse during our first trip to Antarctica in 2015 on the Quest where we encountered some 20 foot seas.
The captain of the Venture was careful about comfort and the decision to cancel South Georgia came from the need to make a long passage at an unfavorable angle from South Georgia to Antarctica, which would take us out of the highly predictable 3-day weather forecasting window. Comfort was the issue, not seaworthiness.
The captain did take us back to Ushuaia a day and a half early, threading the needle between two storm systems. Seeing the current weather south of the Horn, it seems like a smart decision.
So, there were issues… but also magic and wonder.
I’d recommend the longer Antarctic cruise without South Georgia in a heartbeat to those who thirst for adventure, assuming you get to go south. If you do have your heart set on South Georgia and you’re only ever going to make one trip, then yes, probably worth finding an alternative. But the longer Antarctic experience is not “less than”, it’s just different and marvelous in its own way.
And the Venture is a fine vessel for the standard Falklands -> Antarctica circuit.
One person’s opinion of course.
