freakwentcruising Posted July 18, 2017 #1 Share Posted July 18, 2017 I'm looking into booking a cruise to Antarctica. I know I definitely want to do the Falklands and South Georgia but I am undecided on if I want to include crossing the circle. I guess because this is a bucket list trip that I probably will only do once, I want to try and include as much as possible. But there are fewer options for cruises that include all these places. And the couple I have found were either at a bad time of year to get time off work (over Christmas) or more expensive. I am looking at the cheaper end of the market (ok with sharing a cabin but would prefer not to end up in a top bunk) which seems kinda funny to type since I know it is gonna cost 20K+ :) Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2552phxcrzr Posted July 19, 2017 #2 Share Posted July 19, 2017 I just saw an itinerary that includes FI, SGI, and the Circle in the 2018-2019 Quark offerings. Check out their website. You might be able to get a sharing cabin that will keep the price within your budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerfectlyPerth Posted July 19, 2017 #3 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Quark does the 3 "tick off" itineraries several times per season. Only their quad and triple cabins have bunks. The twin cabins are both normal beds on all ships. 3 of my 4 polar trips have been with them so I definitely recommend them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare terry&mike Posted July 19, 2017 #4 Share Posted July 19, 2017 The more "places" you add to your sailing, the longer the sailing needs to be, so the price does get higher. If you want something more comprehensive, do S Georgia, Falklands, Antarctica with a polar circle crossing. You'll be gone a long time, it will cost a lot of money, but it will tick a lot of boxes. If you want to shorten it a bit and save a little money, plus have more options on sailings, skip the polar circle crossing. Have fun with your planning! We were in that stage a couple of years ago and you can really get absorbed into it. We booked our trip a year ago March, thinking it was so ridiculously far away, and now it is going to be here in 6 months! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising Latitude Posted July 21, 2017 #5 Share Posted July 21, 2017 They usually don't even begin to attempt to cross the circle until late December due to ice conditions. There might be a higher chance for success if you go in January or later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
equinelady Posted July 27, 2017 #6 Share Posted July 27, 2017 In my research I noticed Ponant does all three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare terry&mike Posted July 27, 2017 #7 Share Posted July 27, 2017 In my research I noticed Ponant does all three. Some of their sailings do. We are booked on a January, 2018 sailing that does S. Georgia, Falklands, Antarctica, and crosses the polar circle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakwentcruising Posted July 27, 2017 Author #8 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Thanks for the replies. I guess what it boils down to is the question I am still stuck on. Is crossing the circle worth it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerfectlyPerth Posted July 29, 2017 #9 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Thanks for the replies.I guess what it boils down to is the question I am still stuck on. Is crossing the circle worth it? Its about what it is worth to you - not us. Everyone has different reasons for wanting to do it. I have probably crossed the circle about 20 times - not simply to "cross it" but because my voyages went well south of if for weeks at a time. Only one of my voyages was a "lets just cross it today to say we crossed it" type trip and it was a cross over in the morning and back again in the afternoon heading north again. That was on a FI/SGI/Crossing style trip - different to my other expeditions which were more remote and mostly below the circle for entire voyage. On those one day type crossings you are not physically going to see any difference in the scenery or weather on the Peninsula - maybe just a tiny bit more ice depending on the time of season - its more a "tick box" moment. So you need to weigh up whether its an important tick box for you or whether you have other priorities/goals that you want to achieve on this big trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Smokeyham Posted August 12, 2017 #10 Share Posted August 12, 2017 I have a friend who did Antarctica on M/V Plancius (Oceanwide Expeditions). She is a very adventurous, but economical, traveler, who stays in youth hostels, etc. She was able to get a very good deal on her trip by being willing to share a cabin. She only did the Antarctic trip, but this company does offer Falklands and South Georgia options. Looking at pictures on the website, it seems the ship is more basic than some other expedition ships, but still quite comfortable. The expeditions seem geared to a somewhat younger/fitter crowd. She mentioned that she was talking with the captain, who said that it costs quite a bit more to take a trip which "crosses the line." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitl Posted August 12, 2017 #11 Share Posted August 12, 2017 Make sure you include the Falklands, South Gerogia and the peninsula in your trip. After that ask yourself how, without the crew telling you, you would know you had crossed the circle. One of our trips was one to cross the circle, and there were some fairly subtle differences from our other trips that we enjoyed, but nothing that shouted to us that we had gone that far south. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryann ns Posted August 13, 2017 #12 Share Posted August 13, 2017 We spent two days south of the circle in Feb. 2015 on Expedition. We visited an abandoned British Research station. The expedition staff were very excited to see this. None had been before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakwentcruising Posted August 15, 2017 Author #13 Share Posted August 15, 2017 Wow thanks these replies were super helpful. Definitely seems that crossing the circle is only worth it if you do a dedicated trip that actually has more in depth exploring so I am gonna look into just doing the Falklands, South Georgia and the Peninsula. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerfectlyPerth Posted August 16, 2017 #14 Share Posted August 16, 2017 I don't think you will regret your decision :) An amazing trip is waiting for you full steam ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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