Polar Pioneer vs Sea Spirit to Antarctica

[tbidd1]

Hi, we are trying to decide the best way to go to the Antarctic Pennisular. We are tossing up between the Polar Pioneer and Sea Spirit. Basically we are trying to choose between less people or more comfort. If anyone knows of a happy medium, or has had experiences on one of these, we would love to hear from you.

[2552phxcrzr]

Can't speak to either of these, but we went on a 48-pax Russian research vessel that Quark used to operate. While basic, it was plenty comfortable. For us, fewer passengers on a safe vessel was key. If you search on my username, I have a lengthy review posted. We have since done the Arctic on the Silver Explorer, and though we enjoyed our expedition and would consider it for Antarctica, we'd still look for a smaller ship first.

[parischris]

Hi, we are trying to decide the best way to go to the Antarctic Pennisular. We are tossing up between the Polar Pioneer and Sea Spirit. Basically we are trying to choose between less people or more comfort. If anyone knows of a happy medium, or has had experiences on one of these, we would love to hear from you.

 

I've been three times on three different vessels (about to head out in March for a fourth time). I would pick less people over comfort every time, but have found a happy medium on the NG Explorer - less than 150 people, great itineraries, stabilisers and a comfortable cabin with a great bathroom!

 

I have met fellow Aussies on a previous expedition who were traveling on the Polar Pioneer (might want to check on equipment rental as they had to hire boots and I think jackets in Ushuaia). Also check whether it is stabilised - a non-stabilised ship will rock and roll across the Drake like you wouldn't believe. Can't comment on the Sea Spirit as I don't think I've ever seen it in port or in passing (looks nice enough, but what's with the mirrored walls in the cabins??), but would say that it is much larger than the Polar Pioneer and has stabilisers.

 

Itinerary would be the big determining factor for me in choosing which ship as well.

[Piepkorn]

Sorry to chime in so late on this, as I haven't paid much attention to this board since our 2009 trip. We took that trip in February 2009 - a 12 day trip 'beyond the circle' on Polar Pioneer. We had 53 people onboard our trip, but we chose this trip due to itinerary. The cabins are very basic, yet well laid out and didn't feel cramped.

 

They provided us with boots on-board, but we had to bring our own jackets and pants. As Aurora Expeditions is an Australian company, they cater to that crowd, so the food took us a bit getting used to....but it was hearty and filling. Like h2so4 said we too would definitely choose the smaller vessel. Drake Passage is unpredictable, we encountered 20 foot seas going down, our return trip was smooth as glass, yet a vessel that was a day ahead hit 30 foot seas. In those kind of seas, stabilizers don't do you any good.

[iambn]

What websites can you point me to in order to find how to setup a cruise to Antartica? Thanks, Brian

[cougfan]

Hi Brian,

 

My trip was planned through Lindblad/National Geographic. Another website that I found that was very good for research was:

 

http://www.polarcruises.com/

 

on this website you can research many different companies, their ships and the tours that they have.

 

My Antarctica trip was my most favorite one of all my travels.

 

Julie

[Gandini]

Piepkorn,

 

What was the matter with the Aussie food / cooking on your trip? I was in the US last year and US food is the same, only the servings are bigger.

[PerfectlyPerth]

Piepkorn,

 

What was the matter with the Aussie food / cooking on your trip? I was in the US last year and US food is the same, only the servings are bigger.

 

LOL and really - there is no such thing as "Aussie" food considering we are a nation of 220 years of migrants from all over the planet!!

[crizzlyhug]

We are tossing up between the Polar Pioneer and Sea Spirit. Basically we are trying to choose between less people or more comfort.

 

Hi there,

I have been on the Akadenmik Shokalskiy (back then operated by Quark) which is a sistership to the Polar Pioneer. (Some pictures here: http://sniederer.k-i-s.ch/2010.08/index3.html) In the waters of Antarctica you spend more time on deck and in the dining room. So the comfort of the cabin seems not to be the most importend thing. The Presentation room is not the best in the world because it is on deck 1 in a small room with no windows but alrigth for a short information meeting. It also depends an which time of year you will go down south, in my opinion I would choose the Polar Pioneer in November/December because of more Ice in these waters, then she is a real icebreaker. I would go for the more comfort on the Sea Spirit later in the season. I belive that both vessel don't handle the waves that good, but we had Beaufort 8 in Greenland on the Shokalskiy and it was not much rolling going on, depends on the captain for sure. To Antartica we went in 2005 on the Nordnorge by hurtigruten. Nice cruise, nice food, but short time a shore. We had 150 passengers aboard, that was not much for the ship but too much for shore expeditions. Some pictures of that cruise here: http://sniederer.k-i-s.ch/2005.11/index.html.

If you have some questions about the cabin choosing on the Polar Pioneer and/or other onboard amenities, I'm glad to help.

Edited May 28, 2012 by crizzlyhug

[sevenunderfour]

I am looking for people who have travelled on the sea spirit to the Arctic with poseidon adventures. I would love to hear from anyone. I have no knowledge of Poseidon adventures and have been unable to find any on this forum. Thanks so much. If I have posted in the wrong place could you direct me, please. I am new to cruise critic.:)

[tbidd1]

Hi, we ended up going on the Sea Spirit to Antarctica in Dec 2012. I guess you need to consider the company, the ship and the itinerary. We do not know Poseidon so you might need to do some more research into that. We went with Quark and found they were fantastic. We did book the kayak option and would highly recommend that if it is possible and you're up to some adventure. We had no kayak experience, but it was fine.

As for the ship, the Sea Spirit was wonderful. A little bit of luxury! The rooms were of a suitable size, enough room for storage. Small bathroom, but what do you expect? We had a room with a balcony which was used often. It has well sized rooms for dining and talks. There was enough deck room so everyone could see passing animals and icebergs. There was an outdoor dining area, which they used twice for BBQs- these were great. The ship was pretty stable, but we were lucky and had calm waters ( at worst a 3/10 in rough-ness).

There were about 100 people on the ship, but we had no issues with getting on and off for expeditions.

Ultimately I would highly recommend the ship, but you'll need to check more into Poseidon.

[gayengarry]

Hi, we ended up going on the Sea Spirit to Antarctica in Dec 2012. I guess you need to consider the company, the ship and the itinerary. We do not know Poseidon so you might need to do some more research into that. We went with Quark and found they were fantastic. We did book the kayak option and would highly recommend that if it is possible and you're up to some adventure. We had no kayak experience, but it was fine.

As for the ship, the Sea Spirit was wonderful. A little bit of luxury! The rooms were of a suitable size, enough room for storage. Small bathroom, but what do you expect? We had a room with a balcony which was used often. It has well sized rooms for dining and talks. There was enough deck room so everyone could see passing animals and icebergs. There was an outdoor dining area, which they used twice for BBQs- these were great. The ship was pretty stable, but we were lucky and had calm waters ( at worst a 3/10 in rough-ness).

There were about 100 people on the ship, but we had no issues with getting on and off for expeditions.

Ultimately I would highly recommend the ship, but you'll need to check more into Poseidon.

 

Hi tbidd1,

 

Thanks for reporting back on your cruise ...we're in the process of researching trips & Quark is on our list as they always seem to have such positive feedback

 

Cheers,

G&G :):cool:

[PerfectlyPerth]

Hi tbidd1,

 

Thanks for reporting back on your cruise ...we're in the process of researching trips & Quark is on our list as they always seem to have such positive feedback

 

Cheers,

G&G :):cool:

 

I can totally recommend Quark having done 3 Antarctic voyages with them since 2010. They are long time pro's in the industry.

[gayengarry]

I can totally recommend Quark having done 3 Antarctic voyages with them since 2010. They are long time pro's in the industry.

 

Thanks PP, have you been on Ocean Diamond? I like the idea of a larger ship with better stabilisers? but not sure about 189 passengers & amount of time for landings etc. as I believe max 100 only can land at one time?

 

Cheers,

G&G :):cool:

[PerfectlyPerth]

Thanks PP, have you been on Ocean Diamond? I like the idea of a larger ship with better stabilisers? but not sure about 189 passengers & amount of time for landings etc. as I believe max 100 only can land at one time?

 

Cheers,

G&G :):cool:

 

No as per my signature I have been on the Khlebnikov icebreaker and most recently the Sea Adventurer this year. The OD sailed past us near Neko and was noticeably larger than the SeaAd (from memory our passenger count was 112). I have quite a few friends in the OD's expedition team and they really love the ship and its versatility.

 

"Most" landing spots have the 100 rule but there are quite a few that have a smaller restriction of 10 to 30. All ships and expedition teams in the region are well practiced at ensuring everyone gets time on shore.

 

For smaller ships you can look at Aurora Expeditions (Polar Pioneer =54) and whoever has the Ioffe or Vavilov at the moment. Nat Geo Orion (102) is also a bit smaller.

 

If you want to do the other side from NZ - Spirit of Enderby with Heritage Expeditions carries 50.