DanJimmy

@liberty176 Definitely the one on HAL if you have 100% decided that you would like to do just the cruising in Antarctica. However, if you are still open for consideration, I would strongly recommend to do the expedition cruise to Antarctica. It will be shorter and more expensive, but worth every penny as it's once-in-a-lifetime for the most of us. For me, if we are going all the way over there to that part of the world, you might as well step outside and set your foot on the 7th continent. I am taking Seabourn Pursuit on December 17th-December 28th to Antarctica this year and am looking forward to it. Hope you decide soon. Enjoy the time with your family!

I see. I understand. I just sent you an email as well. Thank you so much for your help! Much appreciated. Dan

Would like to understand the rationale why does it need to be on or before December 7th 2023? I am sailing on December 17th 2023. Thank you so much!

Hello Diane, I'll send an email if that's okay. I am sailing on December 17th. Thank you!

I am glad to hear that. Hopefully, Seabourn will keep up with their improved services in all the ships moving forward.

One of the major differences is that it's much cozier and more intimate as the number of people on board can be around 200 or sometimes even less. There is almost a 1-to-1 ratio between the passengers and the cruise staff onboard, which is great as you get more attention.

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, @adoctor. We appreciate it. I'll be on Pursuit to Antarctica in December and am looking forward to it. Are there any tips or any advice that you would like to provide in addition to what you have already shared? Thank you so much, again.

Do you all think that there should be a central governing body that should classify these cruise lines? Because as of now it seems very subjective. How do you quantify premium and premium+ as well as luxury? Is there a score?

What happened in that cruise? Would it be possible for you to elaborate a little more? Thank you for sharing!

Holland America is cruise only. You cannot get out of the ship while in Antarctica region. The number of people on the ship does not allow according to Antarctica regulation.

I agree with you. My apologies, I should have mentioned that I was focusing more on the Antarctica expedition cruises as that's what I have been researching lately.

I feel categorizing Ponant and Swan as Premium is not fair. They are certainly luxury in my view and are definitely comparable with SB and SS. I agree that Atlas is too early to categorize and I am okay if you put Hurtigruten below Premium category. 🙂

Luxury: 1) Seabourn 2) Silversea 3) Ponant 4) Swan Hellenic 5) Atlas Ocean Voyages (still work to do but it's almost there to be considered a luxury) Premium: 1) Hurtigruten 2) Viking 3) Quark

I agree. Seabourn would certainly be less stuffy than Silversea and Ponant.

Hello @Cdn_Traveller - You can check out Ponant. They have a number of cruises where they do not charge single supplement.

@donaldsc - The thing is that there are people who prefer and appreciate the comfort inside the ship as well. After all, people will spend more time on the ship than outside the ship. The expeditions last for only a few hours. The entire journey during the drake passage is in the ship, which can be 3-4 days in total. Point is, there is a reason why Ponant, Swan Hellenic, Silversea, Seabourn, Viking, etc. exist, because there are people who would like to be comfortable when they are in the middle of nowhere.

I have shared a couple of YouTube links of the vlogs of this YouTuber who had Antarctica with Swan Hellenic. I think they are pretty good. I am in the process of deciding a cruise for myself as well for December this year. I have been doing a lot of research for the past 3 months or so. Since I am a single person, I am leaning more towards Ponant. I will be booking one soon. Good luck with your search!

Hello James, Your website is little complicated to navigate around and I believe it's not possible to book online either. May I know the price in USD for an Antarctica expedition cruise either in the month of December 2023 - the departure can be in either of the first three weeks of December 2023. Also, I am a single person. Do you have no single supplement like Ponant? Thank you and am looking forward to your reply.