We recently returned from a New Year's trip on the Explorer. I was also torn about whether spending the extra money on National Geographic / Lindblad would be worth it.
I can't speak for other providers, but I KNEW we were on the right ship the first time we stopped to watch a pod of whales. After watching the whales for a while, I started watching the people on board. Every person had a front row seat to the action - no elbowing people so you could get to the front to see. And most noteworthy, every group of passengers had a ship's naturalist or photographer with them - identifying species, pointing out behaviors, giving camera tips, etc.
The 10 days on board only got better from there. Besides the shore trips and nightly talks, these same professionals spent every meal eating with the passengers. If you had a question, they were always interested and if they didn't know the answer they would find another crew member that did. And I'm not just talking about "normal" Antarctic wildlife questions. If you had a question about lichen, they had an expert on board. If you had navigation questions, you could go to the bridge and get a detailed explanation. A friend & I spent hours on New Year's Eve watching tabular icebergs with the National Geographic photographer on board. I'm no expert, yet he was cheerful and more than patient with our composition and camera setting questions... at midnight... when he was certainly off the clock and could have ignored us.
I could go on and on but you get the idea. I'm a fan and every penny spent was worth it. It's a once in a lifetime trip* so don't cheap out, spend the money, go ashore, and do it right.
*It's only once in a lifetime until you get there. I can't wait to go back!
National Geographic worth it? Going ashore?
in Antarctica
Posted
We recently returned from a New Year's trip on the Explorer. I was also torn about whether spending the extra money on National Geographic / Lindblad would be worth it.
I can't speak for other providers, but I KNEW we were on the right ship the first time we stopped to watch a pod of whales. After watching the whales for a while, I started watching the people on board. Every person had a front row seat to the action - no elbowing people so you could get to the front to see. And most noteworthy, every group of passengers had a ship's naturalist or photographer with them - identifying species, pointing out behaviors, giving camera tips, etc.
The 10 days on board only got better from there. Besides the shore trips and nightly talks, these same professionals spent every meal eating with the passengers. If you had a question, they were always interested and if they didn't know the answer they would find another crew member that did. And I'm not just talking about "normal" Antarctic wildlife questions. If you had a question about lichen, they had an expert on board. If you had navigation questions, you could go to the bridge and get a detailed explanation. A friend & I spent hours on New Year's Eve watching tabular icebergs with the National Geographic photographer on board. I'm no expert, yet he was cheerful and more than patient with our composition and camera setting questions... at midnight... when he was certainly off the clock and could have ignored us.
I could go on and on but you get the idea. I'm a fan and every penny spent was worth it. It's a once in a lifetime trip* so don't cheap out, spend the money, go ashore, and do it right.
*It's only once in a lifetime until you get there. I can't wait to go back!