Antarctica Cruise … Any Experiences ?

[Dave Judy]

Have been looking at the 2023 January - February cruises on Celebrity Infinity.  
 

I know that they do not have any “Port Calls” on the peninsula, just cruising.  Has anyone had any experiences on this cruise ?

[WeBcruisingMN]

Hello @Dave Judy, John and I did the Argentina/Antarctica itinerary on the Celebrity Eclipse February 2-16, 2020. We had a fantastic time, and very unique experiences in the Argentine ports (Ushuaia, Puerto Madryn), the Falkland Islands, and Montevideo, Uruguay….but the absolute highlight was our three days of cruising in the Antarctic waters! The words majestic, amazing, breathtaking, and other-worldly don’t even begin to describe what we saw as we sailed past and lingered in the waters, taking it all in. 
 

I will attach a couple of photos from Antarctica (I am not a good photographer, and was just using my iPhone), and if you’d like to message us with any specific questions- go ahead. email = sharonbaranick at yahoo dot com

 

Sharon (& John)

[Dave Judy]

25 minutes ago, WeBcruisingMN said:

Hello @Dave Judy, John and I did the Argentina/Antarctica itinerary on the Celebrity Eclipse February 2-16, 2020. We had a fantastic time, and very unique experiences in the Argentine ports (Ushuaia, Puerto Madryn), the Falkland Islands, and Montevideo, Uruguay….but the absolute highlight was our three days of cruising in the Antarctic waters! The words majestic, amazing, breathtaking, and other-worldly don’t even begin to describe what we saw as we sailed past and lingered in the waters, taking it all in. 
 

I will attach a couple of photos from Antarctica (I am not a good photographer, and was just using my iPhone), and if you’d like to message us with any specific questions- go ahead. email = sharonbaranick at yahoo dot com

 

Sharon (& John)

 

Edited November 24, 2021 by Dave Judy
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[Dave Judy]

Wow !  Big Thanks !

 

This was just what I was wondering about.  Even without actually “docking” you were able to get a sense of the majesty.  Perfect. Kind of like the Alaskan Inside Passage, but on Steroids?

 

Any secrets on airfare to Buenos Aires ?

[foodsvcmgr]

We were on a BA-Santiago sailing with Princess in February 2020 just prior to the halt of operations. Air booked through the cruise line was over $500 savings per person.

Also the difference from economy to premium economy seating was minimal and well worth it.

The Southern Hemisphere is a fascinating place. 
We are currently booked on Infinity for January 2023 as we are anxious to see the Antarctic component and happy to visit the other ports again.

[WeBcruisingMN]

32 minutes ago, Dave Judy said:

Kind of like the Alaskan Inside Passage, but on Steroids?

Yes, that is an accurate depiction. We have cruised Alaska and the inside passage 3x (twice on Celebrity and once on Princess) and I would agree that Antarctica was even MORE majestic and an absolute display of the wonder of creation and nature. Plus, the factor of Antarctica being so remote and the fact that VERY FEW people get to visit or see this continent just adds to the mystique. 

 

37 minutes ago, Dave Judy said:

Any secrets on airfare to Buenos Aires ?

No secrets from us….it IS expensive, we just kept checking and finally bought. I think our RT main cabin ticket was around $1200-1400/person, if I remember right. We flew MSP-JFK-EZE (Buenos Aires) and then we actually continued on to El Calafate, Argentina (an additional 3 hour flight south of BA)… where we hiked in Patagonia for five days pre-cruise. [I would be happy to give advice about that, too, if you are interested in hiking].
 

The flight from JFK to EZE is a long one, too, approximately 10.5 hours…..but oh, SO worth it! Our flight pattern home was different, we were able to get the ticket cheaper that way (Buenos Aires to Bogota, Columbia to Houston to MSP… yes, we were very tired when we got home!).

 

 I hope you book….the Antarctica cruise is ‘on our list’ as a definite repeat! 

[Ken the cruiser]

We went on a 22 day Antarctica cruise on the HAL Zaandam back in 2018 and were simply wowed by all the animals, sea life and beautiful scenery. We had such a great time, we’re looking to book another extended Antarctica cruise in late 2023/24. If we do it on Celebrity, we would do it on a B2B, where the cruise goes to both Argentina and Chile along with going to Antarctica and the Falkland Islands.

[Ginnyfyr]

1 hour ago, WeBcruisingMN said:

Hello @Dave Judy, John and I did the Argentina/Antarctica itinerary on the Celebrity Eclipse February 2-16, 2020. We had a fantastic time, and very unique experiences in the Argentine ports (Ushuaia, Puerto Madryn), the Falkland Islands, and Montevideo, Uruguay….but the absolute highlight was our three days of cruising in the Antarctic waters! The words majestic, amazing, breathtaking, and other-worldly don’t even begin to describe what we saw as we sailed past and lingered in the waters, taking it all in. 
 

I will attach a couple of photos from Antarctica (I am not a good photographer, and was just using my iPhone), and if you’d like to message us with any specific questions- go ahead. email = sharonbaranick at yahoo dot com

 

Sharon (& John)

Thanks for these fantastic pics! My husband and I, my MIL, and a few family friends are booked on this sailing on Infinity for January 2023. 

[jelayne]

We also sailed on the Infinity to Antartica, it was wonderful.  We had amazing weather and we didn’t have any of our ports cancelled due to weather. The Falklands were great, we had been to Ushuaia and Montevideo previously but The Falklands and Puerto Madryn were new and not to be missed.  I highly recommend going.

[Arizona Wildcat]

2 hours ago, Dave Judy said:

Wow !  Big Thanks !

 

This was just what I was wondering about.  Even without actually “docking” you were able to get a sense of the majesty.  Perfect. Kind of like the Alaskan Inside Passage, but on Steroids?

 

Any secrets on airfare to Buenos Aires ?

LAN has great sales about 4 times a year.  The big hassle is the airport in BA is 30+ miles from the port 

[the penguins]

7 hours ago, Dave Judy said:

Have been looking at the 2023 January - February cruises on Celebrity Infinity.  
 

I know that they do not have any “Port Calls” on the peninsula, just cruising.  Has anyone had any experiences on this cruise ?

We have been twice. Once on Infinity as a "cruise by" once on Hurtigruten as an "expedition" Please see the post headed "northern lights " page 3 from 39 onwards as this "diverted to being about the Antarctic- my fault, which gives a detailed description of our experiences. Both cruises good but there is really no comparison with the experience of being able to land. Bergs are great from both, the penguins shown on the earlier post are in South America not the Antarctic.

[teacherman]

We did this as a "round the Horn" cruise from Santiago to Buenos Aires in January, 2020.  First I heard of the Covid was at the airport in BA when I was asked if I had been in China during the previous week.  I said "No.  I have been down here".  Everyone laughed.  It didn't turn out to be very funny.  Anyway, we have cruised MANY places but there is nothing like cruising through Antarctica.  Having breakfast and looking down at a pod of whales also having their breakfast is magic.  If you can, do the total "round the Horn" cruise.  We did it on HAL.  An amazing experience with different lectures each day on what we would see the following day.  AND definitely add a side trip either before or after your cruise to Iguazu Falls in Argentina.  We did 2 nights there at the end of our cruise and it was the "icing on the cake".   Enjoy.

[cruisinsusin]

We also did this cruise on the Infinity and it was as awesome as previously described. Even though a "drive by", we were amazed at the sights. The Falklands and Volunteer point with the penguins were another high point.

If you can add a few days before or after, we second the recommendation to see Iguazu Falls. Not hard to arrnage on your own much cheaper than the Celebrity excursion.

[rlbeck]

We did this sailing in 2010, the second one Celebrity had ever done to Antarctica, and it was worth every cent! So good in fact, that we have booked a repeat for Feb. 2023..... and recently added on the following 12 night cruise around the Horn that ends in  Valparaiso Chile. Have fun planning. 🙂

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, rlbeck said:

We did this sailing in 2010, the second one Celebrity had ever done to Antarctica, and it was worth every cent! So good in fact, that we have booked a repeat for Feb. 2023..... and recently added on the following 12 night cruise around the Horn that ends in  Valparaiso Chile. Have fun planning. 🙂

Your so lucky with the weather. We did the first, 90 mph winds, 60 foot waves, the sea came in through the doors by the Sky Lounge, all outside areas and balconies closed for most of the trip. Falklands was cancelled. Then after 2 days battling to reach the Peninsular we turned back to Ushuaia which we reached after a further 2 days of storms. One day onland and the Captain announced we would try again. 2 more days battling the storms and then 4 hours sailing amongst the bergs in glorious sunshine and calm seas. Turned north again into even worse weather for another 2 days. We have a map,  kindly drawn by the Captain, of the planned route and the one we actually took. Oh yes and we had a passenger mutiny which ended with passengers confined to their cabins with crew outside each door - the ringleaders were all put off the ship in Ushuaia. A great trip which we followed up by going on the 12,500 ton Fram.

[Northern Aurora]

In 2015 we an Antarctic cruise on the Infinity.  We boarded on February 15th so it was the last Antarctic itinerary of the season.  We stayed on for two additional legs to create a B2B2B which started in Buenos Aires and ended in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

We didn't seriously consider one of the smaller expedition ships.   We have a friend who worked for several years on an expedition ship.  She had some some interesting experiences with really bad weather and injuries onboard.  I preferred a larger ship with a larger medical facility.  And we also generally do B2B series and longer, so I look for interesting B2B and longer series to create an interesting itinerary.

 

Since that leg Buenos Aires in the middle of February we didn't expect really great weather.  It actually wasn't too bad but our days in Antarctic waters were definitely not as sunny or clear as some of the photos posted on this thread.  We experienced fog, mist and snow.  One day we had several inches of snow on the open decks, and someone created a snow penguin which was about three feet in height.  As someone who lives in Alaska I wouldn't describe the scenery as "Alaska on steroids."

 

My husband is a bird watcher and there were a number of birders on board.   There are several species each of albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters in Antarctic waters.  There was one albatross species which he didn't spot on that leg, but he had seen that particular species before.  And of course there were thousands (or millions?) of penguins.  While we went to Volunteer Point in the Falklands, we both felt that our two times at Harberton Estancia out of Ushuaia was much superior.

 

Given the somewhat industrial nature of some of the South American ports I think that the Infinity is a better sized ship for this type of itinerary.

 

And while we have been to Buenos Aires several times we fly down to start trips.  We find it easier to fly to Miami for a few days and then on fly to Buenos Aires.  It is a somewhat edgy city which I love so we spend several days before boarding a ship.

[Ride-The-Waves]

Do Antarctica on an ice-rated expedition ship.  Make the landings.  Some people even swimming!  Expedition ships can travel into ice regions and through narrow inlets.  Pick one that goes south of the Antarctic Circle, if possible.  Seals, sea lions, whales of all kinds.  We flew into USH from MIA with a connection at EZE on Aerolineas Argentinas.  About one-third the cost of American Airlines who code-shared the airplane.

[rlbeck]

16 hours ago, the penguins said:

Your so lucky with the weather. We did the first, 90 mph winds, 60 foot waves, the sea came in through the doors by the Sky Lounge, all outside areas and balconies closed for most of the trip. Falklands was cancelled. Then after 2 days battling to reach the Peninsular we turned back to Ushuaia which we reached after a further 2 days of storms. One day onland and the Captain announced we would try again. 2 more days battling the storms and then 4 hours sailing amongst the bergs in glorious sunshine and calm seas. Turned north again into even worse weather for another 2 days. We have a map,  kindly drawn by the Captain, of the planned route and the one we actually took. Oh yes and we had a passenger mutiny which ended with passengers confined to their cabins with crew outside each door - the ringleaders were all put off the ship in Ushuaia. A great trip which we followed up by going on the 12,500 ton Fram.

Hello Geoff!!! You know our last sailing was with you and Anita on the 2019 Silhouette TA. One great cruise, my friend!!!

[the penguins]

4 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

Do Antarctica on an ice-rated expedition ship.  Make the landings.  Some people even swimming!  Expedition ships can travel into ice regions and through narrow inlets.  Pick one that goes south of the Antarctic Circle, if possible.  Seals, sea lions, whales of all kinds.  We flew into USH from MIA with a connection at EZE on Aerolineas Argentinas.  About one-third the cost of American Airlines who code-shared the airplane.

Brings back great memories of our trip on the Fram. Also shows how much better the Polar Circle boats are for landings rather than the Zodiacs most other companies use. Looks as if you went pre Christmas rather than Feb/ March.

[Turtles06]

28 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Also shows how much better the Polar Circle boats are for landings rather than the Zodiacs most other companies use.

 

I've never been on a Polar Circle boat, but I can tell you that Nat Geo's Zodiacs were fantastic.  And on this American day of Thanksgiving, I will just say how thankful I am to have been able to visit Antarctica on that amazing trip.

 

 

(photo by turtles06, Neko Harbor, Antarctica)

[GottaKnowWhen]

On 11/23/2021 at 7:16 PM, Dave Judy said:

Have been looking at the 2023 January - February cruises on Celebrity Infinity.  
 

I know that they do not have any “Port Calls” on the peninsula, just cruising.  Has anyone had any experiences on this cruise ?

February 2015, Infinity, our first Celebrity cruise. Fantastic! Good wildlife viewing around Ushuaia, in the Falklands and Puerto Madryn. Smooth sailing across to Antarctica, cloudy and chilly weather while we did our drive-by, but still good views. I am sure the small-ship expedition trips are more intensive and could well be more satisfying but I have no regrets about this cruise. We spent a few days at Iguazu beforehand and also in/around BA, then a few more days in BA after the cruise before heading home.

Stan

[Ride-The-Waves]

2 hours ago, the penguins said:

Brings back great memories of our trip on the Fram. Also shows how much better the Polar Circle boats are for landings rather than the Zodiacs most other companies use. Looks as if you went pre Christmas rather than Feb/ March.

February 2017.  Great weather all trip, including pre-cruise in USH and across the Drake.

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I've never been on a Polar Circle boat, but I can tell you that Nat Geo's Zodiacs were fantastic.  And on this American day of Thanksgiving, I will just say how thankful I am to have been able to visit Antarctica on that amazing trip.

 

 

(photo by turtles06, Neko Harbor, Antarctica)

If you look at the pictures you can see the big difference. In the Polar Circle boats you sit "inside" rather than balanced on the edge. There is also a large bar that runs down the centre of the boat. Finally when you arrive at the beach there is a set of steps that unfold to drop down in front of the bow - see pic below. Why don't others use them - mainly the weight and also they take up more space which is not a problem on the Fram as it has a huge cargo deck.

[the penguins]

6 hours ago, rlbeck said:

Hello Geoff!!! You know our last sailing was with you and Anita on the 2019 Silhouette TA. One great cruise, my friend!!!

Fantastic cruise, great Slot Pull, amazing Godiva Group for chocolate lovers. We are booked on Silhouette again in April 2022 Fort Lauderdale to Southampton. We were also booked for the November TA  but the price on Celebrity is so high now that they have introduced "Always Included" pricing we have switched to Anthem of the Seas in October. 

[foodsvcmgr]

Undoubtedly a true expedition cruise with landings ashore is superior to a drive by.

However for those with a more limited travel budget being able to at least get an overview of Antarctica on Celebrity for $3,000 pp vs not going at all for $15,000 plus IMO is far better option.