Azamara Quest Antarctica cruise or expedition cruise?

[b_short]

While browsing Azamara itineraries, we saw there is a 17-day one to the Antarctic (RT from Buenos Aires) on sale for Feb '24. We were seriously considering it until I realized that it's a "drive-by" cruise, so we won't actually set foot in Antarctica. But then I started reconsidering because it's a very good price for the cruise, and, c'mon, it's Antarctica! I feel like taking the opportunity even to just see the place might be worth it. The alternative is to wait until we can afford to pay more than twice as much for an expedition cruise. Opinions? 

The fare we got is $3950pp for a balcony. The boat spends 3 days in the Antarctic Sound, and stops at Port Stanley. I like that we'd also get to see some of Patagonia on this one. (Though I was thinking that a cruise that goes down the other side through the Chilean fjords might be cooler.)

 

It seems that an expedition will cost $10000+ each and they all leave from Ushuaia.

 

So, people who have been there, WDYT? Does this sound like a deal we should take? Or wait for a "real deal" expedition? Thanks for your input! 

 

[Sarnia 432]

We did a sail by on Princess in January.  Fabulous experience, great views from the ship.  We enjoyed it so much we want to go back!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Sarnia 432
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[MamaFej]

We did an expedition on SilverSea in December. They sail out of Puerto Williams in Chile, which is south of Ushuaia. It was phenomenal, and hugely discounted. My unproven theory is that was due to timing. The cruise ended on 22 December, they flew us back to Santiago for an included night in the same amazing hotel they had us in for one night before sailing, then we left for home on the 23rd. This meant that we got home Christmas Eve. Christmas 2022 was during Hanukkah. I think that the dates were unattractive for many folks, and SilverSea offered great agent rates (there were several TAs on board, including ours) and discounted the fares to try to fill the ship. We ended up with 176 passengers on a 300 passenger ship. Because we had fewer than 200, we were allowed to go ashore at the landing sites that ships with more passengers are not allowed to. 
 

It was utterly phenomenal, and I’m glad we did the financial acrobatics necessary to make it happen. 
 

If you look at expeditions, make sure you understand what is and isn’t included. Some charge hundreds for kayaking. We did it at no extra charge. 
 

One of the reasons the expeditions are so expensive is the Expedition Team of experts. We had a couple dozen, including a geologist, a historian, ornithologists, whale experts, penguin experts, crustacean experts, marine biologists… you name an appropriate expert, and we probably had one or more. 
 

It truly was one of the best things we’ve ever done, and I’m grateful we did it while healthy enough to actually walk around on the continent itself. 
 

By the way, the penguins don’t seem to care about the 5 meter rule, and will walk right toward you. It’s up to the humans to walk away. 

[b_short]

Thanks so much for the insight! I think we are going to wait for an expedition so we can go ashore. It looks and sounds amazing, and we decided we want the full experience! 

 

[rhsjr]

What hotel in Santiago?

[MamaFej]

9 hours ago, rhsjr said:

What hotel in Santiago?

SilverSea had us at the Mandarin Oriental. It was beautiful, with the most amazing shower, service, food, architecture…

[Nitemare]

That price for Azamara for that many days is REALLY nice. If I had the time I'd do this AND do an Expedition later!

[Bella0714]

If Antarctica is your main priority, you can do $3900 or thereabouts for an expedition cruise with landings. We did it for less than that in early March. Flexibility is the key because the fares might not show up until a month or so before sailing. As for $10,000 a day, and without last-minute planning, I'm seeing expeditions for next December on Hurtigruten's Norwegian website that are $6200 a person; five days in Antarctica with landings. I'm also seeing expedition cruises with two landings a day on Atlas for $7500 and less, including the flight from B.A. to Antarctica, and on Quark on some of the cruise wholesaler sites.

 

You might be happy with a drive-by if scenery and ice are your priorities, although there's nothing like Zodiac cruising around a harbor of icebergs (no guarantee you'll get that). As for wildlife, other than whales, landings are the way to go. Keep in mind that penguins are small and not easy to see from a distance, nor are seals. We were kayaking in Antarctica last month and didn't realize until we looked at the photos that the dots in the distance on the hillside were penguins.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Bella0714

[southerngoose]

@Bella0714  Which cruise line did you do an expedition for $3900 booking a month in advance?   Also, in March, are there penguins?  I heard that they are gone by then.  😞 

[dd57]

We did a "drive by" on Princess 10 years ago.  Our friends wanted to go on an expedition cruise and refused to go with us.  They ended up never seeing Antarctica at all (the husband has since passed away).  For me it was the most amazing, jaw dropping, beautiful scenery I have ever seen, and we have been to many places.  The magnificent table icebergs in Iceberg Alley,  The incredible deep snow on the mainland.  The island with 400,000 penguins queued up and marching in and out of the ocean,  Even though we didn't go ashore, we saw lots of wildlife (binoculars and a telephoto lens).  We did go to Magdelena Island and the Falklands so did see penguins up close.  It is still the cruise I think of when someone asks about my favorite cruise.

 

Now we have more time, and more resources, and are researching going back on an expedition ship.  We look forward to even more adventures that way.  But I am glad we did the "drive by" because you never know what the future holds.

[b_short]

On 4/11/2023 at 3:40 PM, dd57 said:

We did a "drive by" on Princess 10 years ago.  Our friends wanted to go on an expedition cruise and refused to go with us.  They ended up never seeing Antarctica at all (the husband has since passed away).  For me it was the most amazing, jaw dropping, beautiful scenery I have ever seen, and we have been to many places.  The magnificent table icebergs in Iceberg Alley,  The incredible deep snow on the mainland.  The island with 400,000 penguins queued up and marching in and out of the ocean,  Even though we didn't go ashore, we saw lots of wildlife (binoculars and a telephoto lens).  We did go to Magdelena Island and the Falklands so did see penguins up close.  It is still the cruise I think of when someone asks about my favorite cruise.

 

Now we have more time, and more resources, and are researching going back on an expedition ship.  We look forward to even more adventures that way.  But I am glad we did the "drive by" because you never know what the future holds.

Thanks so much for sharing! I guess the moral of the story is... No time like the present, right?! 

[Bella0714]

On 4/3/2023 at 10:14 PM, southerngoose said:

@Bella0714  Which cruise line did you do an expedition for $3900 booking a month in advance?   Also, in March, are there penguins?  I heard that they are gone by then.  😞 

Atlas through an online travel agent. It was actually $2900 each. Early March and plenty of penguins. Not as many as early February but still plenty, plus more seals and whales. I’ve seen recent reports about plenty of penguins in late March, too. You won’t get wall to wall penguins, but they’re there.

[Heartfelttraveler]

We went with Hurtigruten January 2023.

I looked at the US website and chose the trip and date we wanted to travel.

Then I went to the hurtigruten.no website and looked at the same trip with the Norwegian price.  I did the currency equivalent in USD.

Then I called the Seattle office to see if they would match the price.  They did!

In February the prices on the Roald Amundsen for a 12 night start at about $5900 on the Norwegian site.

It was an absolutely fabulous trip which started in Buenos Aires Argentina.  Hurtigruten flew us to Ushuaia where the cruises started and ended.  (The Drake was rough.)

This was a trip that was canceled five times before we actually got to go - thanks alot Covid.

 

[Heartfelttraveler]

Oops

Edited June 21, 2023 by Heartfelttraveler

[alyssamma]

On 6/20/2023 at 11:58 PM, Heartfelttraveler said:

We went with Hurtigruten January 2023.

I looked at the US website and chose the trip and date we wanted to travel.

Then I went to the hurtigruten.no website and looked at the same trip with the Norwegian price.  I did the currency equivalent in USD.

Then I called the Seattle office to see if they would match the price.  They did!

In February the prices on the Roald Amundsen for a 12 night start at about $5900 on the Norwegian site.

It was an absolutely fabulous trip which started in Buenos Aires Argentina.  Hurtigruten flew us to Ushuaia where the cruises started and ended.  (The Drake was rough.)

This was a trip that was canceled five times before we actually got to go - thanks alot Covid.

 

Can you give more detail on this? What did the $5900 include? I assume it was pp? How many landings did you make?

 

TIA

[Heartfelttraveler]

1 hour ago, alyssamma said:

Can you give more detail on this? What did the $5900 include? I assume it was pp? How many landings did you make?

 

TIA

The trip I did was 18 night (1 night in Buenos Aires, R/T flight to Ushuaia, 17 nights onboard the Roald Amundsen).

The $5900 ($7200 on the USA website) for February 2024 is 12 days/11 nights from Buenos Aires in a ocean view cabin. Includes one night in Buenos Aires, R/T airfare to Ushuaia.  Four days of landings in Antarctica.  There are a few extras if you choose to do them like kayaking, camping on Antarctica, special photo safari.  You sign up for them and then there is a lottery.  You only pay if you are chosen.  Each day consists of one landing and one zodiac tour.  It is NOT like a traditional cruise.  No shows, no casino, etc.  But there is lots to do and soooo many photo opportunities.  It does include all meals on board the ship, wine and beer with lunch and dinner.  You get an expedition jacket that you wear when you get off the ship.  They lend you boots that you have to wear when getting off the ship in Antarctica.  There are some social things you can do such as crafts (free) and photo talks.  They also have groups that do actual research, and the guests are chosen for those by lottery.

 

If your main goal is to see penguins, you can do a "South American" cruise from Chile to Argentina.  We did that cruise a few years before Antarctica and did three excursions and saw four different types of penguins.  Lots of them.

[alyssamma]

3 hours ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

The trip I did was 18 night (1 night in Buenos Aires, R/T flight to Ushuaia, 17 nights onboard the Roald Amundsen).

The $5900 ($7200 on the USA website) for February 2024 is 12 days/11 nights from Buenos Aires in a ocean view cabin. Includes one night in Buenos Aires, R/T airfare to Ushuaia.  Four days of landings in Antarctica.  There are a few extras if you choose to do them like kayaking, camping on Antarctica, special photo safari.  You sign up for them and then there is a lottery.  You only pay if you are chosen.  Each day consists of one landing and one zodiac tour.  It is NOT like a traditional cruise.  No shows, no casino, etc.  But there is lots to do and soooo many photo opportunities.  It does include all meals on board the ship, wine and beer with lunch and dinner.  You get an expedition jacket that you wear when you get off the ship.  They lend you boots that you have to wear when getting off the ship in Antarctica.  There are some social things you can do such as crafts (free) and photo talks.  They also have groups that do actual research, and the guests are chosen for those by lottery.

 

If your main goal is to see penguins, you can do a "South American" cruise from Chile to Argentina.  We did that cruise a few years before Antarctica and did three excursions and saw four different types of penguins.  Lots of them.

Thank you SO much for such a detailed response.

[2552phxcrzr]

While I am a strong proponent of doing expedition cruising in Antarctica — we’ve been twice and are booked on our third expedition in 2025 — I was surprised at how much I enjoyed our brief foray into Antarctic waters on Oceania’s Insignia this year.  It was part of the world cruise itinerary, so for us it was a “bonus return visit” to Antarctica.  Being on the smaller side — under 700 passengers … similar in overall size to Quest, I believe — the ship managed to get into places I didn’t think it would venture.  That we had a great ice pilot, and a captain who was willing to listen to the advice of the pilot, were important factors in where we went, what we saw.

 

If Antarctica is part of an otherwise good itinerary on a small cruise ship, I would consider it again.  Yes, no one got off the ship during Insignia’s time in the Antarctic.  For those of us who had been before, it was a very nice “repeat trip” and I know of at least 10 couples who have since booked expedition cruises back for a more in-depth trip.  So, it was a good “promotional trip,” if you will.

 

By the way, we had the most amazing bubble-feeding whale behavior right next to the ship.  So regardless of whether on an expedition or a regular cruise ship, the place to always be is on the outside decks.  You never know what you will see.