New to Antarctica thinking Atlas?

[Ellen495]

Hi All,

We have become obsessed with the idea of an adventure to Antarctica. Our grown son (single) would like to join. 

We spoke to Viking, Expedition and Atlas. Atlas has an 11 day which was the most "reasonable," of the 3. (We understand the cost of this trip will be no joke - but the single supplement matters to us)

Atlas explained their ship is small (less than 200) and luxury - they said they're newer and costs will go up. Currently, Jan 2025 is about 11K per person and "only," 17K for the single. 

 

But we don't want to spend 5K less and get a lot less.

 

The other thing we're interested in doing is an add on (either via the cruise company or on our own) is Patagonia. But we're open to all thoughts - as we may only visit South America this one time (maybe Galapagos is in the future so it's possible...)

 

I would love your thoughts, suggestions, and ideas.

 

THANKS!

Ellen

[skrink]

Atlas traveler here.  As a solo traveler, I paid $15,778 in April of 2021 for a B1 Verandah, so the pricing nearly three years later seems reasonable to me.  I think it was $10,199 pp double occupancy, with a 150% single supplement.  This was for a Jan 2022 9 day sailing.

 

Ways to save money on Atlas:  Book through an online travel company that offers extra perks, such as the $600 prepaid Visa card I got from mine after I took the cruise.  Plus another person and I each got another $50 prepaid Visa when I asked for and got a referral bonus.  Be sure you take advantage of military discounts, if eligible.  

 

Atlas ships are absolutely fabulous.  If you look at other companies, be sure to look at whether balconies are available, or if it’s just portholes or ocean view.  I wouldn’t want anything less than a Juliet balcony for Antarctica.  The penguins start swimming alongside the ship long before you reach the continent and with ships that small, your cabin will be very close to them, unlike on the large cruise ships.

[PerfectlyPerth]

Quark & Ponant both have deals with no solo supplement. Other operators may also - I just know those two right off the top of my head. 

[Ellen495]

Hi Shrink,

Wow thanks for the information. Yes, I want a good room - though for my son he'll deal with whatever. He'll want to hang out with us anyway. Balcony - isn't it too cold to sit out on a balcony? I was thinking a room with a large window. Online travel - good idea. (We aren't military - Atlas did ask us when we called)

12 hours ago, skrink said:

Atlas traveler here.  As a solo traveler, I paid $15,778 in April of 2021 for a B1 Verandah, so the pricing nearly three years later seems reasonable to me.  I think it was $10,199 pp double occupancy, with a 150% single supplement.  This was for a Jan 2022 9 day sailing.

 

Ways to save money on Atlas:  Book through an online travel company that offers extra perks, such as the $600 prepaid Visa card I got from mine after I took the cruise.  Plus another person and I each got another $50 prepaid Visa when I asked for and got a referral bonus.  Be sure you take advantage of military discounts, if eligible.  

 

Atlas ships are absolutely fabulous.  If you look at other companies, be sure to look at whether balconies are available, or if it’s just portholes or ocean view.  I wouldn’t want anything less than a Juliet balcony for Antarctica.  The penguins start swimming alongside the ship long before you reach the continent and with ships that small, your cabin will be very close to them, unlike on the large cruise ships.

 

[Ellen495]

10 hours ago, PerfectlyPerth said:

Quark & Ponant both have deals with no solo supplement. Other operators may also - I just know those two right off the top of my head. 

Did you travel with either of them? Do you have a preference? THANKS!

[Ellen495]

I am also now learning there's a difference (Atlas told me this) between reaching the peninsula and going below the Arctic line. Does anyone have information about this? 

THANKS

Ellen

[Nitemare]

2 hours ago, Ellen495 said:

I am also now learning there's a difference (Atlas told me this) between reaching the peninsula and going below the Arctic line. Does anyone have information about this? 

THANKS

Ellen

No real difference in terms of what you see.  Real difference in terms of "bragging rights", if that matters to you.  But by going past the circle you are cruising more and stopping less, so likely fewer landings to get those extra miles south.

 

We prefer landings.

[PerfectlyPerth]

On 1/10/2024 at 12:43 AM, Ellen495 said:

I am also now learning there's a difference (Atlas told me this) between reaching the peninsula and going below the Arctic line. Does anyone have information about this? 

THANKS

Ellen

I went with Quark 3 times and Oceanwide once. Oceanwide occasionally has solo discounts but mostly it has the supplement. 
Your son can also choose -with most operators - to be paired up with a same gender passenger to pay for just the berth price in a twin cabin. 
 

If Atlas told you anything about the "Arctic line" in relation to Antarctica I would be seriously concerned about their lack of geographical knowledge. 
 

I've been well below the Antarctic Circle on all of my trips. The peninsular trips only go a tiny way beyond it. Not enough to make any specific differences. Depending on what region - west side or Weddel Sea side - there may be more ice floes & bergs. 
 

Also - I wouldn't put too much effort into worrying about cabin choices and balconies etc. At the end of the day you are only in there to sleep and shower. Most of the time you will be on landings or zodiac cruises, out of the decks watching the scenery & photographing the wildlife, in lectures, dining or meeting fellow passengers. 

We have only had a couple of trip reports on Atlas on the Trip Advisor Antarctica Forum but feel free to read them. 
https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g1-i12337-k8993183-Frequently_Asked_Questions_Top_Questions_on_Antarctic_Travel-Antarctic_Adventures.html
 

https://antarcticafaqs.boards.net/thread/451/atlas-ocean-voyages

 

 

 

 

[donaldsc]

I am going to come onto this from a different direction especially as you are trying to keep your costs down or else spend the same amount pf money and get a longer trip and maybe even a trip that does Antarctica and either the Falklands or South Georgia.  You have to ask yourself which is more important - what is inside the ship such as luxury stuff or what is outside of the ship such as sea birds, penguins, seal and stuff like that.  If you can live with smaller but comfortable cabins, good but not fancy food and a lack of fancy ship amenities you can save money or have more of a trip.  That was the route I took the 2 times I went to Antarctica.

 

If you want the 2nd option you will not get a lot of information on CC as it appears that most of the people who post on CC for Antarctica want to go the luxury route.  You will also not get a lot of good information by looking at the WEB sites from the different cruise companies since all of them a puff sites.

 

What you need to find a travel agent company that specializes solely in Antarctica trips.  Not one that does both polar regions or one that does Antarctica and a bunch of other places.  You need one that does just and only the southern Polar regions.  They exist.  That is where I booked my trips but unfortunately according to CC rules I can't tell who they are.  Talk to them on the phone (not internet but phone) about what you want and what your budget is.  They will come up with some good options.  They also know what bargains there are out there.  

 

The ships I ended taking held about 90 people so the 100 people on the continent regulation did not impact us.  They had small but functional cabins.  After all what do you really need in a cabin but beds, a desk and a bathroom.  The dining room was not fancy but the food was good.  There was a large lounge where we had our meetings and also where we relaxed.  After all what more do you need in Antarctica.  The expedition staff was wonderful.  We even had the person who was station chief at the Russian Antarctica station Vostok Station (look it up - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vostok_Station) earlier in his career.  He had some interesting stories to tell.

 

Hope this helps.

 

DON

Edited January 11 by donaldsc

[Ellen495]

Thank you for your information. We are also considering Quark because the ship is smaller and it's actually less expensive. They will let me son share a room with another solo traveler dropping the cost.

[donaldsc]

5 hours ago, Ellen495 said:

Thank you for your information. We are also considering Quark because the ship is smaller and it's actually less expensive. They will let me son share a room with another solo traveler dropping the cost.

 

I did a shared room on the Quark Ocean Adventurer.  That is the ship I was describing in my post.  I booked a shared room figuring that I wouldn't have a problem sharing with a stranger and the saving was significant.

DON

[Ellen495]

6 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

I did a shared room on the Quark Ocean Adventurer.  That is the ship I was describing in my post.  I booked a shared room figuring that I wouldn't have a problem sharing with a stranger and the saving was significant.

DON

Which ship was it, Don? I do care about the room being beyond basic - but we would book a balcony room. I do care if the food is good and if it feels somewhat luxury - my husband and son won't care. This is an adventure that I'm anxious about  - and they're excited about. I'm sure I'll enjoy it - but I hate to  be cold and I hate to be uncomfortable so as you can imagine - this isn't the perfect trip for me (I don't complain when I'm doing things - I will be a good companion etc) My point is that we need to compromise and my husband knows I need it upscale and also knows I will go out and do everything with a smile (and will probably like it more than I imagine)

[Ellen495]

2 minutes ago, Ellen495 said:

Which ship was it, Don? I do care about the room being beyond basic - but we would book a balcony room. I do care if the food is good and if it feels somewhat luxury - my husband and son won't care. This is an adventure that I'm anxious about  - and they're excited about. I'm sure I'll enjoy it - but I hate to  be cold and I hate to be uncomfortable so as you can imagine - this isn't the perfect trip for me (I don't complain when I'm doing things - I will be a good companion etc) My point is that we need to compromise and my husband knows I need it upscale and also knows I will go out and do everything with a smile (and will probably like it more than I imagine)

This one is the World Explorer.

[BayGirl22]

Just returned from the 11 day on Atlas World Navigator. We had an amazing trip and I'm ready to rebook with Atlas. Our trip was fortunate to have excellent weather so that played a role, but beyond that the Atlas team and ship was perfect for what I was looking for. We had about 130 people on our voyage and 130 crew - so it felt personal and luxurious. The ship is very nice, but has a casual vibe, not so formal that anyone felt the need to dress up. The food was good, not everything was excellent but I certainly was well fed and felt catered to. The expedition team was beyond excellent - they knew their stuff and did everything they could to make the trip educational and unique. 

 

I was a solo traveler in a Horizon room (window opens like a Juliette balcony) and pricing was similar to what you described. They actually didn't use the oceanview rooms on deck 3 for our trip - the expedition team stayed in those rooms and guests were on decks 5 and 6. You could debate a full balcony vs Juliette, but either room was very nice and comfortable. I was not interested in sharing a room, and Atlas solo prices were better or competitive with other lines. When I booked they had "solo cabins" on deck 3 but I chose to pay for the Horizon so I had fresh air and more space. 

 

As for crossing the Antarctic circle vs just going to the peninsula - yes those are not the same thing, all typical small voyages will go to the peninsula (from S America) but not all go far enough to cross the circle. Look at a map and you can easily see the difference. Atlas is clear about this on their maps and in and their trip descriptions, the 11 days go further south than work their way north, the 9 days don't go as far. (And some of the comments above are just silly - they have a different expedition team for Antarctic vs Arctic, and most cruise lines cover multiple regions and don't sail just 3-4 months a year.) 

I also spent some time in South America after, which I planned myself. Its not that difficult to get air, hotel, and tours in all the major areas, using Buenos Aires as a home base. If you can handle basic travel planning you don't need to book a pre/post trip excursion for this. Before/after the cruise we had a couple hours in Ushuaia on the bus, which was a nice add; I also went to Iguazu Falls and had a stopover in Panama City on the way home. I've done the Galapagos in the past and honestly would make that a separate trip. 

 

I was skeptical of Atlas 1.5 years ago when they were newer. I'm happily impressed with them and have zero hesitation recommending them.