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Antarctic Cruise with Landings!


HDS

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We would like to visit Antarctica late 2009-early 2010.

We would appreciate information from people who have taken cruises that land on the Antarctic peninsula and on Malvinas (Falkland Is). We are not interested in a "fly-by and wave cruise".

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http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=531528

 

This will link you to my extensive report on the cruise we took with Quark in January 2007. We did the long itinerary that includes the Falklands and S Georgia.

 

Photos from the trip are at:

 

If you scroll through the Antarctica board you'll find many others who have posted reviews of their small ship cruising experiences as well.

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We would like to visit Antarctica late 2009-early 2010.

We would appreciate information from people who have taken cruises that land on the Antarctic peninsula and on Malvinas (Falkland Is). We are not interested in a "fly-by and wave cruise".

 

My daughter booked her cruise through Quark in January. It was the 20 day Explorers' Route on Orlova, via the Falklands, South Georgia and South Shetlands, so lots of landings, history, as well as wildlife.

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HDS - A couple of other options for you to consider for excellent small-ship experience with lots of landings: The Hanseatic and the Prince Albert II. They are both quite luxurious and of a distinctly higher quality (according to the Berlitz Guide to Cruising) of any other expeditions ships in that area. We went on the 18-day Hanseatic cruise two years ago and loved every minute of the trip.

 

If I may be so bold as to suggest something, it is not a visit to the Falklands that makes the cruise remarkable - it is a visit to South Georgia, where the enormous colonies of King Penguins are, and where much of the Shackleton saga took place. If you can possibly swing it, take a cruise that includes South Georgia. It was without question the highlight-of-highlights of a trip with more highlights than we can count.

 

Now, back to ships: The Hanseatic is lovely, but is primarily marketed to German-speaking passengers. Even their occasional "bi-lingual" cruise, such as the one we took, can be a bit odd, with a couple of dozen English speakers amongst 120 people speaking German. A better choice for North Americanos, now, in my opinion, is the Silversea ship, Prince Albert II. According to our friends now aboard, it is a genuinelly luxurious little ship, with excellent food and service, in addition to a great expedition staff and fleet of zodiacs. There are some very good deals being offered at the moment on Prince Albert II cruises for next year in Antarctica.

 

As for the Minerva, it is a decent choice if one needs a single room, since it is so large that it sails in Antarctica only half full and therefore offers fabulous single supplements. Aside from that, it cannot compare to the qualilty of the Hanseatic or Prince Albert II, based on our personal experience and that of friends who've sailed on all three ships.

 

Another category of ships are the Russian research vessels, which are not really all that cheap, but are certainly not remotely to be confused with luxury travel. Hmm, desks bolted to the floor and greasy borsch served for lunch?? Amazingly enough, some of the Russian vessels are more expensive than expedition ships that are far more comfortable and offer as much or more in terms of "hands-on" and "lands-on" experiences. Frankly, it seems to me that going on most of the Russian vessels is a good way to gather lots of good cocktail chat for later years but isn't the best choice for most experienced travelers.

 

Finally, I can't comment on the Norwegian coastal vessels (Fram, etc.) or their converted versions (i.e. National Geographic Explorer), as I've not sailed on them. If I had to make a choice among them, however, I'd go with the Lindblad Nat'l Geographic Explorer. It's a conversion (major, major conversion) of a Norwegian coastal vessel and is reputed to have amongst the best team of naturalists in Antarctica. A friend of mine just returned from an Antarctica cruise on the Explorer and was very happy with it.

 

I think that it would be prudent to do a sort of spreadsheet (don't ask me how to Excel, as I am totally incompetent with regard to that program) and compare your options, in terms of price, itinerary, and accomodations. But, please do bear in mind one of my earlier suggestions that you include South Georgia in your itinerary if possible.

 

Have fun planning.

 

Cheers, Fred

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HDS - A couple of other options for you to consider for excellent small-ship experience with lots of landings: The Hanseatic and the Prince Albert II. They are both quite luxurious and of a distinctly higher quality (according to the Berlitz Guide to Cruising) of any other expeditions ships in that area. We went on the 18-day Hanseatic cruise two years ago and loved every minute of the trip.

 

If I may be so bold as to suggest something, it is not a visit to the Falklands that makes the cruise remarkable - it is a visit to South Georgia, where the enormous colonies of King Penguins are, and where much of the Shackleton saga took place. If you can possibly swing it, take a cruise that includes South Georgia. It was without question the highlight-of-highlights of a trip with more highlights than we can count.

 

Now, back to ships: The Hanseatic is lovely, but is primarily marketed to German-speaking passengers. Even their occasional "bi-lingual" cruise, such as the one we took, can be a bit odd, with a couple of dozen English speakers amongst 120 people speaking German. A better choice for North Americanos, now, in my opinion, is the Silversea ship, Prince Albert II. According to our friends now aboard, it is a genuinelly luxurious little ship, with excellent food and service, in addition to a great expedition staff and fleet of zodiacs. There are some very good deals being offered at the moment on Prince Albert II cruises for next year in Antarctica.

 

As for the Minerva, it is a decent choice if one needs a single room, since it is so large that it sails in Antarctica only half full and therefore offers fabulous single supplements. Aside from that, it cannot compare to the qualilty of the Hanseatic or Prince Albert II, based on our personal experience and that of friends who've sailed on all three ships.

 

Another category of ships are the Russian research vessels, which are not really all that cheap, but are certainly not remotely to be confused with luxury travel. Hmm, desks bolted to the floor and greasy borsch served for lunch?? Amazingly enough, some of the Russian vessels are more expensive than expedition ships that are far more comfortable and offer as much or more in terms of "hands-on" and "lands-on" experiences. Frankly, it seems to me that going on most of the Russian vessels is a good way to gather lots of good cocktail chat for later years but isn't the best choice for most experienced travelers.

 

Finally, I can't comment on the Norwegian coastal vessels (Fram, etc.) or their converted versions (i.e. National Geographic Explorer), as I've not sailed on them. If I had to make a choice among them, however, I'd go with the Lindblad Nat'l Geographic Explorer. It's a conversion (major, major conversion) of a Norwegian coastal vessel and is reputed to have amongst the best team of naturalists in Antarctica. A friend of mine just returned from an Antarctica cruise on the Explorer and was very happy with it.

 

I think that it would be prudent to do a sort of spreadsheet (don't ask me how to Excel, as I am totally incompetent with regard to that program) and compare your options, in terms of price, itinerary, and accomodations. But, please do bear in mind one of my earlier suggestions that you include South Georgia in your itinerary if possible.

 

Have fun planning.

 

Cheers, Fred

 

Thank you so much for your comparisons.

 

I had already listed the following ships of possible interest:

Hanseatic

Prince Albert II - Silversea

Minerva - Swan Hellenic

 

Like you, our daughter (who travelled on Orlova in January) said South Georgia was a highlight, not to be missed!!

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We would like to visit Antarctica late 2009-early 2010.

We would appreciate information from people who have taken cruises that land on the Antarctic peninsula and on Malvinas (Falkland Is). We are not interested in a "fly-by and wave cruise".

 

We cruised on the Fram below the Antarctic Circle January 23 - February 4, 2009 and it was absolutely wonderful. Not a luxury cruise ship by the standards of most large ships, but very comfortable with a great and attentive crew. We made 2 or 3 landings a day of about 1 hour each, though many times we remained ashore for much longer periods.

 

As I was not as interested in the South Georgia's or the Falklands, we chose a trip to go below the Antarctic Circle and spend as much time as possible there. I might have enjoyed the King penguins in South Georgia, but didn't want to spend a lot of time at sea.

 

I booked my trip through Cruise Norway in NY (http://www.cruisenorway.com) and they were great to work with. Mark really works hard for his clients.

 

Our cabin, a regular outside on deck 6, was little small, but the larger "suites" seemed very roomy by comparison. As indicated in other posts, not much time is spent there, so it was not a big deal for us.

 

The food and the lectures were good to great, but the landings are what you go there for and they were spectacular. The sheer pleasure of walking among the penguins, though odoriferous, is like nothing you could imagine and the accompanying scenery is a combination of the Alps, Rockies, Andes and Himalayas with more ice and snow.

 

I don't have any other cruise experience to reference, but if I were to go again, the Fram would be a top contender, based on price service and pure enjopyment of the time spent aboard. The excellent handling we received from Miami through Argentina and back again without a single problem or complaint speaks for itself.

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HDS -

 

 

 

 

Finally, I can't comment on the Norwegian coastal vessels (Fram, etc.)

 

 

 

Cheers, Fred

 

I did a trip on the Nordkapp which is one of the NCV ships. It was a well run trip with 2 landings per day and a good shipboard experience. I would assume that the Fram would be similar.

 

DON

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  • 1 month later...

Pick a ship, just do it. Just do it. It is amazing - makes Alaska look puny (and I loved Alaska). Peter Hillary (son of ... ) was part of the expedition team on our Antarctic adventure in 2007. Amazing speaker and expedition leader - however, I would not have wanted his life. He's part of the team on the Clelia II late this year. Either way, just do it.

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