Antarctica - Cruise line choices - Reviews?

[NewCruiseFan]

Two friends and I are planning an Antarctic cruise for late this year. I've got the spreadsheet going with the different options, prices, days on shore, options, offerings and so on.

 

But, what I'd like to hear from you about is - how do these guys rate, would you do it again on the same cruise line or seek someone else? Is one of these ships so great/awful you'd go anywhere/nowhere on it again?

 

Specifically we are looking at:

Quark : Classic Antarctic; Crossing the Antarctic Circle and Explorers Cruise (ice breakers)

 

Intrav : Antarctica & Flaklands; A, F, South Georgia; Discover Antarctica (Clipper Adventurer)

Orient : Antarctic Peninsula (AP) ; Antarctica and Falklands (Marco Polo)

 

Abercrombie and Kent : AP; AP & Falklands; AP, F & S Georgia Islands(Explorer II)

 

Zegraham : AP (MV Explorer)

 

iExplore : Classic (M/V Orlova); Classic (Professor Molchanov, Akademik Shokalskiy)

 

Celebrity : AP (Kapitan Klebnikov)

[shmabbies]

Just did Classic Antarctic with Quark on the Orlova in November and would go again in a heartbeat! They do run an early booking discount (or they used to) of $500pp so if they are a line you are considering you should not wait to book. If you have specific questions, please ask them. We found the lack of information on these boards, including not even a separate heading for Antarctica, very disheartening, and would be happy to share information if we thought someone cared!

[wander]

We went with Zegrahm in January 2004. We also would go with them again in an instant. They bring all their own speakers, expedition leaders and most zodiac drivers. Everything was a 10+. However, we sailed with them on the Clipper Adventurer. Notice you list a different ship that I am not familiar with.

[relevart]

Have not been yet but am looking into it. I am thinking about the Marco Polo. I took that ship to the Baltic and loved it. Talked to the crew on board and they said the Antarctic cruise was incredible. The passengers were older but hearty and most of them have gone there several times. They don't sell out the whole ship so there is plenty of room for all.

[wander]

Relavart,

 

You get a very different experience on the Marco Polo than on the other lines you mentioned. I have heard raves about all of them, but the experience is different with about 400 folks (MP) and about 100 folks (Quark, Zegrahm, Lindblad). You have to balance what you want to/can pay and what you want from the trip with which ship or firm you go with. My friend just got back from a Marco Polo trip and loved it - but her experience much less intense than trips with the small ship trips.

[wander]

NewCruiseFan

 

Just a note - according to the Zegrahm website and the literature we have, they are using the Clipper Adventurer for their December 2005 and January 2006 trips to Antarctica. This would be an important difference from the mv Explorer. The Clipper Adventurer is set-up for crusing in ice, although not an icebreaker, and it goes there multiple times a year with various groups. It is a wonderful ship for Antarctica.

 

Also, I would suggest that you select a trip that includes South Georgia. For scenery, penguins and seals it was fantastic. Being in Antarctica was of course the highlight of the trip, but for wildlife and scenery - South Georgia was tops.

[relevart]

Wander, thank you for the information. I will check out the other ships now!

[shmabbies]

It seems that there are basically three different Antarctic experiences these days - the large ships that merely sail BY Antarctica & wave to it, Marco Polo which features a few relatively brief adventures ashore, and the expedition ships that make numerous lengthy landings. We knew we wanted to actually WALK there so we immediately eliminated the first type of cruise. We did check out Marco but when we learned that the Antarctic treaty limits the number of people ashore at any given time and that the Marco passengers had to rotate to accomodate everyone, that virtually eliminated Marco. I believe all the Marco sailings have days in Buenos Aires also, necessitating two different clothing requirements. When a friend of DH's did Marco & confirmed that there were limited landings & they were for about 45 minutes each (at least on her sailing), it was bye-bye Marco. The expedition ships don't have casinos & room service, but what they do have are LONG periods where everyone on the ship can be ashore at the same time if they choose, excellent lectures, movies etc., wonderfully helpful staff, great food, AND small but very functional cabins (ours had a window that opened which was FANTASTIC). I think one of the best things about the small ship was the quality of the passengers. Everyone was well-traveled, adventurous, and had actually read their literature in advance and knew what to expect. No whiners, complainers, and prima donnas. I think you have to make an informed decision right off the bat which type of experience you are looking for based on an honest evaluation of your sense of adventure & expectations from a cruise. Probably the two most important questions are what do you need in the sense of accomodations, food, and entertainment, and how much time do you want to spend on land. That will narrow it down and it will be easy after that!

[oceanprincess]

I actually did a Quark expedition in the Arctic. The ship is the same as Antarctic. I found the food to be quiet tasty, and the cabins were small. It does have two helicopters on board, which is nice if you want to go and see a glacier (I don't know if they use them in Antarctic). The crew was very helpful and they really attempt to cater to the individual. The only thing is there is a very small library and the only entertainment is the lecturers. Which are great if you want basic knowledge, but if you have that you find them to be a little boring.

 

I don' t know, if you had heard but Celebrity is renting the one of the ships for two cruises in the Antarctic. The advantages is Celebrity is including all drinks and making it more inclusive vacation. I don't know if Celebrity is booking the whole ship, but I assume that Quark will run those weeks (but Celebrity is helping fill space).

[NewCruiseFan]

Oh, boy, my mistake!

 

Fathom: Antarctic Peninsula, M/V Explorer (I believe that would be the one on the homepage for CC which just experienced damage and had to set passengers off for repairs)

 

Zeghram: Clipper Adventurer

 

:-) my spreadsheet isn't much good if I don't read it properly!

 

shmabbies: thank you, that was pretty much the process of elimination I was using as well. I read elsewhere on CC that folks on a recent Marco Polo visit had only 4 land visits for their trip due to the large number of passengers.

also, I couldn't agree more about the sad lack of information on CC about Antarctic adventures. on the other hand, since so few people know about it maybe that helps keep it more pristine and mysterious?

 

would love to see your review of Quark trip posted - regardless of whether it has to get put into S.A.

 

Doing a driveby/wave is out of the question, if that was enough I'd rent a movie. ;-)

 

oceanprincess: I read Celebrity is using the Kapitan Klebnikov - which is an ice breaker that looks like a Russian apartment building got dropped on its bow.

 

 

for our little group of three one has never been on a cruise (this should be an exciting first one - LOL), one is a fortunate recently retired/extremely adventurous, and me - just happy i found some folks interested in sharing the adventure. for the two of us who had been noodling over this we've expressed interest in Quark and Intrav - both in the expedition/adventure class.

 

 

many thanks all, I'll take your input to my friends to see if we can start knocking off some of the prospects.

[NewCruiseFan]

p.s. Wander, want to let you know I saw your post on the Rounding the Horn, Part II thread. As a result Zeghram was added to the list - which is posted above.

 

looking for some info on the not included list for Zeco; I don't have info on government taxes, fuel charges, possible logbook provided to passengers. Do have that port charges are covered as are gratuities.

 

Would you be so kind as to fill in the blanks?

 

thanks!

lisa

[wander]

NewCruiseFan,

 

Before we left home we received a 192 page spiral "Expedition Notebook" that is 8-1/2 by 5-1/2 size done for Zegrahm. Table of Contents titles - Antarctic Conservation, Physical Sciences, Natural History, The Human Factor-History, Science & Politics, and a few others. It is a excellent reference. Then we also received a published book on the Wildlife of Antarctica and numerous other bits of printed information. There was also a book of "Pre-Departure Notes", covering a wide rante of topics ranging from clothing to health advice to climate, baggage allowances (airlines), Electricity and many, many more. There were also several sections on Photography in Antarctica suggestions and information of the ship itself.

 

Fees - for our trip:

Cruise fare itself

Round trip airfare to Santiago

$100 per person "entry fee" for Chile (aka reciprocity fee)

If you go from Chile, keep the receipt for your return trip home

This fee we had to pay in cash at the airport.

Then there were the following which were added to our shipboard

account: Argentine airport tax - $34.50 to fly to Ushuaia and

$34.50 to fly back from Ushuaia to Santiago.

Of course, these fees may change and you may have different ones depending on where you fly from.

 

About a month after we got home they sent us a spiral bound, detailed log of where we were and what we saw each day. They also sent us a DVD of pictures from our specific cruise along with music.

 

By the way, coffee, tea, cocoa and fruit juices were available 24/7. Soda was available (no charge) until the bar closed. We found the cost of wine, beer and drinks very reasonable.

 

I imagine that each of the Expedition companies have some variation on the theme of many (or all) of the same things.

 

Hope this helps.

[voyageur]

My husband and I have been studying Antarctica cruises as well and I think from what I've read I would choose the following: www.traveldynamicsinternational.com .

[LabeYoung]

A lot of you guys are doing what shmabbies and myself did this time last year..exploring your options. You have a distinct advantage, you have at least got to hear some experiences from other cruisers. Last year there was little activity on this subject!

 

After saying that, we agreed with shmabbies and booked Quark and my son (21) and myself enjoyed New Years Day on the white continent. The cruise was unforgettable with amazing vistas, penguin rookeries and intensive lectures from the guides who are all trained naturalist in different fields ranging from geology to history. The russian crew was very friendly and the food for such a small ship was outstanding. Now this wasn't a crystal cruise, the accomadations were small and dated but hospitable. We chose the Orlova because it had private bathrooms, some of Quark's ships share bathrooms.

 

One warning on traveling to Antarctica is the Drake passage. It was rock'n'roll for 2 days coming and going so if you are prone to seasickness it may be a challenge.

 

As far as celebrity's ship, that is the most impressive icebreaker that sails to the polar regions, I believe that it even plows its way to the north pole! It has helicopters secured. Quark used it in the past to leave NZ and travel to other parts of the continent.

 

The Quark "Classic" was enough for me to see the continent. We had 4 days of excursions on the continent, we even passed on one day just to sleep in. I have been lucky enought to see the Falklands on a Princess cruise, Quark and others include this stop on some of their journeys but there really isn't more there than what you will see on the classic.

 

Good luck on your decision!

All the best!

Labe

[NewCruiseFan]

Voyageur, the TravelDynamics trip sounds really plush! Marble tubs would be very cool. sadly, it's out of my price range. Although I'm not up for the cruises that wave as they glide past I'd also like to get the biggest bang for my buck and spend more days.

 

I'm leaning towards something that includes the South Georgia Islands as I've read they are incredible.

 

If you do it, please be sure to post your experience here, it really sounds lovely.

[digby]

Add Oceania to the list of lines going to Antarctica. We went with them in Dec./Jan. and had a wonderful trip.

[Benita]

Add Lindblad, the granddaddy of Antarctic cruising. They just merged with National Geographic, making it even better. We just returned on Friday from their 15 day White Continent trip. They are now doing a 25 day trip, which includes South Georgia Island and the Falklands.

Small ships are the way to go. Because of the Antarctic tourism agreements, it is the only way to get off the ship regularly. We had 2-3 landings, kayakings, or zodiac rides a day. On the Marco Polo, you will be lucky to get off the ship twice during the whole cruise.

Lindblad uses the Endeavor, which is double hulled and can get through the ice. The captain has been doing this itinerary for many years. They have an onboard videographer as well as an onboard underseas videographer. Their staff includes many of the lecturers for National Geographic.

You can check them out at http://www.expeditions.com

[Debby28]

So glad to read all the positives about Quark. I am booked on the Orlova for next Nov. Am traveling solo and will share with an unknown but probably an adventerous traveler. I would love to hear more of your trips. Great sailing to you all.

 

 

 

 

Celebrity Baltic cruise May 2005

Celebrity Alaska Sept. 2004

[LabeYoung]

Debby: I hope you enjoy your cruise with Quark, I know that I did. I met several single cruisers on board and most enjoyed the mystery of their unknown roommate. Email me when your trip nears and I will try to answer your questions. If you are like me, you will have many before your cruise.

 

All the best!

 

Labe

[NewCruiseFan]

Many thanks all for the very informative and useful information. My travel companion and I ploughed through everything, handy spreadsheet helping along the way. We finally settled on Abercrombie & Kent, here are the things that went into our thought process:

 

* late December arrival on the peninsula to occur after baby penguins hatch

* 4 days on peninsula, 3 days South Georgia (when the fur seals should be in heavy population) and 1 day Falklands

* all inclusive (no thought given to any surprise expenses)

* overnight in Santiago (although I'm opting out as I'd rather fly through Buenos Aires)

* competitive cost with other cruise lines offering same itinerary

* the nice side benefit of the polar jacket and trip log

* mid-size ship (198 passengers) and multiple landings/day

* and, last but not least, my travel companion has travelled with them before and is well acquainted with their style and benefits

 

In addition to the cruise I'm spending a couple of days in B.A. and Ushuaia before sailing.

 

Thanks again, you guys were huge help.

[TedC]

Radisson is offering two Antarctica cruises, Jan. 16 and 27, 2006. They are using Explorer II (not to be confused with the World Explorer, which was damaged off Alaska).

 

Explorer II holds 394 pax but takes a maximum of 198 to Antarctica. The cruise is RT from Ushuaia. Radisson includes free air and a free night in Santiago or Buenos Aires, depending on the cruise date. House wines and bar drinks are also included in the price, which starts at $7995.

 

I Googled Antarctic expedition ships and found a review by a Gina Robinson, who took the Radisson Explorer II cruise in late Dec., 2004. It sounded very good.

 

Also, I agree there should be a port of call entry for Antarctica. After awhile, some people do get sick of the Caribbean.

[Benita]

Lindblad just merged with National Geographic. Their ship will be renamed the National Geographic Endeavor. Now there will be a great, experienced Antarctic ship combined with great photojournalists.

[cands]

I can’t help but respond after reading this thread. I have recently returned from a cruise on Royal Princess from Cape Town to Santiago via Antarctica, including the Falklands. It is still very fresh to me, and very difficult to explain to others.

 

 

Having had to make the decision about how to ‘do’ the Antarctic we went for the bigger ship where we only got to ‘wave’ at the bergs & penguins. Nevertheless I think it was a life changing experience.

 

 

The decision for us was mostly cost as the ‘cruise and wave’ trips seem to be considerably cheaper.

 

 

Some other differences are the bigger ships are more stable and quicker crossing Drakes passage.

 

 

Some people may not be agile enough for the Zodiac trips. Also from what I researched, you do get wet on the zodiacs and sometimes put at risk by others who just have to get that shot. The penguin rookies are smelly and you need to clean up your boots before going back to the ship. (I read somewhere Marco Polo has staff to do it for you!).

 

 

If you look at the Antarctic Tourism site it explains about ship size and landings. Marco Polo is rumoured to break these by taking more than 400 people. The tourism site also explains how the pilots work out your course while in the Antarctic. There is a plan A which is what you see when booking, then adjustments to it as it gets closer and even while down there to avoid bad weather, sea and iceberg conditions. We diverted to a Polish station in Discovery Bay to off load a very sick passenger by Zodiac. She was helicoptered to Punta Arenas and died there.

 

Being someone who is interested in going to Antarctica I assume you are a bit environmentally savvy. Do you think it is reasonable to enter (invade???) penguin rookeries?

 

 

This posting is in an effort to explore the issues from multiple angles. Hopefully it doesn’t sound like sour grapes. If I do the trip again I would most likely do one with landings!

 

 

After all my research, a cruise that includes the South Georgia islands sounds best as the islands have very large rookeries that are accessible.

 

 

At the Falklands we had a choice of two penguin trips. I tried to establish clearly which one included King penguins. It seems this changes from year to year .At both our options the penguins were mostly Gentoo. But both had 3-4 Kings sitting in the middle. There is a much longer day trip to an actual King penguin rookery at the Falklands. This was not offered to the cruise. Also there was a shuttle that left from the tourist centre for less than USD20 to nearby penguins – but no Kings. This was found out by accident on disembarkation.

 

 

At the Falklands tourist centre at the end of the landing pier, there is an internet café upstairs that no one seemed to know about – much cheaper than the ship.

 

 

There is a small ship that is doing Antarctica from Australia/New Zealand next season. This will generally go to the Ross shelf (?) rather than the peninsular.

 

 

Hope this helps someone in their decisions. I am happy to answer any questions.

[NewCruiseFan]

Cands - super informative, thank you.

 

yes, I like to think of myself as being very environmentally aware. I was appalled and deeply saddened to learn the hole in the ozone above Antarctica is now larger than the continent. wrt the rookeries, I'm not planning to touch a penguin and am generally very careful about where my feet go - having participated in doctoral thesis research on similar fragile ecosystems. also, I would guess that the cruise I'm on, which is also educational and very savvy, will ensure people do nothing to impact the penguins. one of the reasons we selected the trip we did was because of their outlook and background.

 

some friends were on the Marco Polo a few years ago and showed slides of their trip, including the post-landing, pre-boarding, boot-washing party. it looked very entertaining!

 

like with all travel where I'm with people, I'm planning to pack a large dose of patience and save my snarly comments for the shower when I can voice an opinion which may not be shared by others. :-) I find that helps me smile in the face of the inevitable events presented by such a variety of people.

 

I'm sorry your cruise had someone pass, that must have been difficult for everyone even those who did not know her.

 

 

my travel companion plans to someday do the Australia/Antarctica visit as they have a much greater chance of seeing the Emperor, she's very eager to see a 4' penguin!

[shmabbies]

Having been on Royal Princess in 2003 and Quark Orlova in 2004, I'd just like to clear up a few issues raised by Cands:

 

Yes, one does get wet on the zodiacs, but nowhere near as wet as I expected we would. The crew doesn't want a bunch of freezing wet people if it can be avoided and is aware that everyone is carrying camera equipment. Do you stay 100% dry? No. But then again the only time I ever stayed 100% dry on a tour was when I was in Egypt and it never ever rained. I'm proud & privileged to say I've gotten wet all over the world & I haven't melted yet!

 

Boots are NOT cleaned by passengers. To clean them properly on shore, you would need to have both disinfectant & paper products - both are not allowed on shore. We re-boarded Orlova in our dirty boots (actually they were not that dirty because you board the zodiacs from the ocean so they are already getting one cleaning "for free") and were directed to a basin of disinfectant in which we stood in our boots. We then lifted our left leg so it could be examined by a crew member, who scrubbed the boot on our foot if he saw anything that needed removal. Then we lifted our right leg (and we did the hokey pokey and we turned ourselves around) and this was repeated. We then stepped in & out of a basin of clean water.

 

I'm not sure about the "at risk by someone who had to get that shot" part because I never ever heard that statement before but I can assure you that Quark was obsessed with safety. There's no way a zodiac could overturn by one person out of 10 standing up inappropriately. They are way too stable. We did have days where we did zodiac cruising around the icebergs & we were instructed if we wanted to stand for a photo to ask permission first. Everyone complied with this. I don't know how on land one person could jeopardize others by taking a photo. I just can't figure that comment out.

 

As for agility, we had a lady from NYC on our sailing who used a cane. Nothing was going to keep her from our landings & nothing did. She got safely down the ladder and into the zodiacs and did the water landings like everyone else and when on shore she did precisely as much as she could physically do. She made no demands on anyone and she was a pleasure to be around.

 

We went in November when there was mostly ice so there was no quano smell at all. I can't vouch for later in the austral summer. I can say that the guano smell in the Falklands in February 2003 was far more intense than in Antarctica in November 2004!

 

The issue of humans "invading" the penguins is a valid one, but I question why it was OK for you and me to "invade" them in the Falklands but question the propriety of invading them in Antarctica. Isn't it equally a good, bad, or indifferent thing? Shouldn't we leave them alone in the Falklands too? There were a LOT more of us parading around them at one time in the Falklands than there were when there were 100 of us on shore in Antarctica. There has been a lot of research on the effect of humans on penguins and other Antarctic wildlife. I'm not a scientist but after doing a lot of reading, I did feel OK about our intrusion.

 

I feel badly about the loss of a passenger on your sailing but at the risk of sounding insensitive to that loss and to the effect on you & your fellow passengers, I cannot think of a better way to go - on vacation, enjoying life and new adventures. One only has to watch the news these days to see an alternative.