EricTheZed

Ah, that makes perfect sense @cruiseej. Thanks again for your advice and for injecting a healthy dose of realism into my expectations 🙂

Thanks again jjs217, sounds like a great trip! The only thing I'm a little confused and disappointed by is why they would only take one group of passengers out at a time. Since I read that they have enough zodiacs to accommodate all passengers at the same time, why not take one group out on a zodiac cruise (which I don't think counts toward the 100 pax limit?) while the other is ashore instead of having them wait on the ship? Sounds like a bit of wasted opportunity...

Thanks to you both for your helpful responses and advice! Sounds like you had a fantastic experience, and I'm looking forward to my first Antarctica cruise. Just one more question if you don't mind: While the first group goes ashore, what does the other group generally do, e.g., do they go out on a zodiac cruise (and then swap) or just hang out on the ship until they return? Also, how did your experience compare between the shore landings and the zodiac cruises? Were both equally enjoyable, or did you generally prefer one over the other?

Wow, thanks so much for your comments jjs217, that was super helpful 🙂 I definitely want to maximize my time on shore, so I'll take your advice and hang out in the lounge when they call the group before just in case there's any extra room. Do you know about how long it usually took for them to load everyone onto the zodiacs? Also, around how much time did your group get to spend on shore during each landing? How was your experience on the zodiac cruises? Any other useful info or tips you might be able to offer would be much appreciated 🙂

Hi all, I have a few questions for anyone who's done an Antarctic cruise aboard the Seabourn Venture. I recently booked a Peninsula cruise on the Venture for this upcoming season, but I'm a little concerned about the size of the ship (approx. 260 pax capacity) because of the 100-person limit at landing sites. Before booking I called Seabourn to inquire, who said that there would be 2 shifts/rotations per landing site rather than 3 (similar to vessels with <= 200 passengers). They mentioned that this was because some of the passengers would be traveling solo, some would be kayaking, and some would prefer to remain on the ship. I was wondering if anyone here has experience cruising Antarctica with the Venture (or another similar-sized vessel) and can confirm whether this is the case? Also, a related question: Assuming 2 landing sites per day weather-permitting (plz correct me if I'm wrong), how would it work regarding the groups? Would each group get to land at just one of those sites and spend the full time there, or would they rotate and spend half the time at each landing site? Lastly, I was told that during landings, any passengers that are not ashore (e.g., due to limits) would be able to go on zodiac cruises. For those that have done both, I was curious as to how the experience compares. Is there a strong preference for one over the other, or are they similarly rewarding? Thanks in advance for your help!