Antarctica - is Elephant Island worth giving up 4 days of cruising the peninsula?

[Ken the cruiser]

We recently booked a B2B Antarctica cruise in Jan 2024 on the Eclipse, with each leg 14 days long. Here is the itinerary:

 

14 Nights Antarctica from Buenos Aires, Argentina | Celebrity Cruises

 

We're also waiting for Princess to release their Jan 2024 Antarctica cruises, hopefully any month now. Here is their 2023 itinerary:

 

Cruise Details - 16-Day Antarctica & Cape Horn - Princess Cruises

 

We went on a HAL Antarctica cruise back in Jan 2018 that included 4 full days cruising around the Antarctica peninsula and really enjoyed all of the wildlife we saw each day. OTOH, we noticed the Celebrity itinerary includes just 2 days cruising around the Antarctica peninsula, with one focused on Elephant Island. However, their description gives you the feeling there is an Elephant Island excursion, maybe via zodiac?

 

Anyone ever cruise on this Celebrity itinerary offered every year who can possibly explain what they mean when the refer to "the truly adventurous" in the below description?

 

Check out the island's wildlife on your Antarctica cruise. The island is covered with elephant seals, hence the name Elephant Island. At Cape Lookout, a bluff on the southern coast where various penguins (chinstrap, gentoo, and macaroni) call home. Other birds of note include sheathbills, cape petrels, and stormy petrels; it's also a great place to spot the elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals. The truly adventurous can explore the moss colonies, which are thought to be thousands of years old. The moss bank is not terribly far from where the Shackleton party was marooned and is considered one of the oldest living things in the world. Your cruise to Antarctica will truly be an experience of a lifetime.

 

Edited January 20, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[sippican]

FWIW, Port Stanley in The Falklands has  currently banned all cruise ships carrying more than 500 passengers. It is unknown whether the ban will be lifted in the future.

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We recently booked a B2B Antarctica cruise in Jan 2024 on the Eclipse, with each leg 14 days long. Here is the itinerary:

 

14 Nights Antarctica from Buenos Aires, Argentina | Celebrity Cruises

 

We're also waiting for Princess to release their Jan 2024 Antarctica cruises, hopefully any month now. Here is their 2023 itinerary:

 

Cruise Details - 16-Day Antarctica & Cape Horn - Princess Cruises

 

We went on a HAL Antarctica cruise back in Jan 2018 that included 4 full days cruising around the Antarctica peninsula and really enjoyed all of the wildlife we saw each day. OTOH, we noticed the Celebrity itinerary includes just 2 days cruising around the Antarctica peninsula, with one focused on Elephant Island. However, their description gives you the feeling there is an Elephant Island excursion, maybe via zodiac?

 

Anyone ever cruise on this Celebrity itinerary offered every year who can possibly explain what they mean when the refer to "the truly adventurous" in the below description?

 

Check out the island's wildlife on your Antarctica cruise. The island is covered with elephant seals, hence the name Elephant Island. At Cape Lookout, a bluff on the southern coast where various penguins (chinstrap, gentoo, and macaroni) call home. Other birds of note include sheathbills, cape petrels, and stormy petrels; it's also a great place to spot the elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals. The truly adventurous can explore the moss colonies, which are thought to be thousands of years old. The moss bank is not terribly far from where the Shackleton party was marooned and is considered one of the oldest living things in the world. Your cruise to Antarctica will truly be an experience of a lifetime.

 

We have been twice once on Celebrity and once on Hurtigruten. The Celebrity experience is good but it is basically "sightseeing". Hurtigruten is the real expedition experience and nothing compares with landing and walking amongst the wildlife. That said if it has to be Celebrity or another traditional cruise ship go for the one that gives the longest time on the peninsular.

[Ken the cruiser]

21 minutes ago, the penguins said:

We have been twice once on Celebrity and once on Hurtigruten. The Celebrity experience is good but it is basically "sightseeing". Hurtigruten is the real expedition experience and nothing compares with landing and walking amongst the wildlife. That said if it has to be Celebrity or another traditional cruise ship go for the one that gives the longest time on the peninsular.

Thanks! I had a feeling it was just a drive by. But, you're right about expedition cruises. There's nothing better than walking amongst the wildlife. I guess we'll just have to book the appropriate Falkland Island excursions (if it has opened up by 2024) as well as those available when we stop at the southern Argentina and Chile ports if we book the Princess cruise. 😎

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

However, their description gives you the feeling there is an Elephant Island excursion, maybe via zodiac?

 

Has anyone ever seen a Zodiac on the Eclipse (or any S-class ship for that matter)? 😉

 

Seriously, in terms of the question you raised about Celebrity and Elephant Island, it would be very interesting to know the answer.  Have you called Celebrity to ask?

 

Ken, I haven't priced out your B2B cruises, but with 28 days, I'm sure they aren't cheap.  I know an expedition cruise would be more expensive, but have you looked into it?  You've already done the drive-by.   Second time around,  in terms of Antarctica, you'd get so much more out of an expedition cruise (even though it would be shorter than your B2Bs).   I do of course realize it's not something everyone can swing, but I raise it here given the expense of 28 days on Celebrity.

 

Just for fun:

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

[the penguins]

54 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! I had a feeling it was just a drive by. But, you're right about expedition cruises. There's nothing better than walking amongst the wildlife. I guess we'll just have to book the appropriate Falkland Island excursions (if it has opened up by 2024) as well as those available when we stop at the southern Argentina and Chile ports if we book the Princess cruise. 😎

Our Roll Call name is another clue.

If you have the time and the budget a cruise that includes, The Peninsular, South Georgia (home of 100,000 King Penguins) with stops at Carcuss Island, New Island and West Point in the Falklands plus Stanley gives you the perfect mix. Geoff

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Has anyone ever seen a Zodiac on the Eclipse (or any S-class ship for that matter)? 😉

 

Seriously, in terms of the question you raised about Celebrity and Elephant Island, it would be very interesting to know the answer.  Have you called Celebrity to ask?

 

Ken, I haven't priced out your B2B cruises, but with 28 days, I'm sure they aren't cheap.  I know an expedition cruise would be more expensive, but have you looked into it?  You've already done the drive-by.   Second time around,  in terms of Antarctica, you'd get so much more out of an expedition cruise (even though it would be shorter than your B2Bs).   I do of course realize it's not something everyone can swing, but I raise it here given the expense of 28 days on Celebrity.

 

Just for fun:

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

We actually had a 24 day Seabourn Quest expedition cruise booked for Nov 2021, which included South Georgia Island, that of course got cancelled. The main reason we booked that cruise was because we got a balcony cabin for around $900 pp/day. However, with the current expedition cruises running around $1,600+ pp/day for 11-13 day cruises out of Ushuaia, that's just too far out of our comfort zone. So I guess drive-by cruises will have to do, as there is just too much scenic beauty as well as wildlife to see around the Antarctica Peninsula for us not to go back again. But not to worry, there are plenty of Falkland Island as well as southern Argentina and Chile port excursions to keep us knee deep in penguins, so to speak. 😎

 

Edited January 20, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We actually had a 24 day Seabourn Quest expedition cruise booked for Nov 2021, which included South Georgia Island, that of course got cancelled. The main reason we booked that cruise was because we got a balcony cabin for around $900 pp/day. However, with the current expedition cruises running around $1,600+ pp/day for 11-13 day cruises out of Ushuaia, that's just too far out of our comfort zone. So I guess drive-by cruises will have to do, as there is just too much scenic beauty as well as wildlife to see around the Antarctica Peninsula for us not to go back again. But not to worry, there are plenty of Falkland Island as well as southern Argentina and Chile port excursions to keep us knee deep in penguins, so to speak. 😎

 

Hurtigruten on the Fram have had prices well below especially if you book early. Also consider the dates/seasons basically 3 choices:

1) early i.e November/December more snow so landings more difficult, lots of baby penguins and seals, good chance of seeing whales.

2) late : Feb/ March: less snow landings are easier, no baby penguins or seals, very little chance of seeing whales.

King Penguins breed all year so you will everything from eggs to adults on any dates.

3) Christmas and New Year: great for millionaires.

We did end Feb early March 17 nights on the Fram- inside cabin- this is a cruise to out and about.

 

[sunpsyche]

Gorgeous photos, the penguins!

[the penguins]

8 hours ago, sunpsyche said:

Gorgeous photos, the penguins!

Thanks, all taken by the boss (Anita) except the one where you can see her standing with the King Penguins. Geoff.

[81Zoomie]

Just our opinion, but if you go to Antarctica you should do an expedition and get off the ship!  It was the trip of a lifetime for us!  Pick a line that does expedition cruising and set foot on the continent 🐧 

[Ken the cruiser]

24 minutes ago, 81Zoomie said:

Just our opinion, but if you go to Antarctica you should do an expedition and get off the ship!  It was the trip of a lifetime for us!  Pick a line that does expedition cruising and set foot on the continent 🐧 

I totally agree. But for those who can only afford a “drive by” cruise, go! Both the scenary as well as the abundant wildlife you’ll see is simply too awesome to miss if at all possible!! 😎

 

[smbt1]

27 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I totally agree. But for those who can only afford a “drive by” cruise, go! Both the scenary as well as the abundant wildlife you’ll see is simply too awesome to miss if at all possible!! 😎

 

Except now the drive by cruises are further north and not even long the penninsula.

[Ken the cruiser]

39 minutes ago, smbt1 said:

Except now the drive by cruises are further north and not even long the penninsula.

That’s not what we’re seeing when we look at the Jan 2023 Princess itinerary.

 

https://www.princess.com/search-cruise/details/?voyageCode=H302
 

[Arizona Wildcat]

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That’s not what we’re seeing when we look at the Jan 2023 Princess itinerary.

 

https://www.princess.com/search-cruise/details/?voyageCode=H302
 

Ken - have done Celebrity and Nat Geo to Antarctica.  The cruising routes are really very similar for Princess and Celebrity.  No landings on Antarctica with either line.  Only small explorer ships allowed on shore.

The variable is the weather.  On the Infinity we sat near the coast and cruised slowly for almost 2 days.  Ocean was smooth as glass.  Flatlands were magnificent.   We organized a private tour to see the penguins.  Saw lots of sealife. 

The NatGeo ship out of Ushuaia hit bad weather 2nd day out.  50' waves ended the cruise.

Thus it is a crap shoot.  Was told 2/3 of cruises that year could not tender in to the Falklands.

[Ken the cruiser]

51 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Ken - have done Celebrity and Nat Geo to Antarctica.  The cruising routes are really very similar for Princess and Celebrity.  No landings on Antarctica with either line.  Only small explorer ships allowed on shore.

The variable is the weather.  On the Infinity we sat near the coast and cruised slowly for almost 2 days.  Ocean was smooth as glass.  Flatlands were magnificent.   We organized a private tour to see the penguins.  Saw lots of sealife. 

The NatGeo ship out of Ushuaia hit bad weather 2nd day out.  50' waves ended the cruise.

Thus it is a crap shoot.  Was told 2/3 of cruises that year could not tender in to the Falklands.

You’re definitely right about the weather and we were also lucky on our first Antarctica cruise as the waters were smooth and the sky clear the whole time we were there. The only rough part was crossing the waterway between South America and the Peninsula. Those were quite rough, especially during the overnight hours!

However, when we were on our HAL 22 day Zaandam cruise in Jan 2018, we cruised roughly the same route over a 4 day period you see in the above Princess itinerary diagram. What’s also interesting is that we originally had the Celebrity 14 day cruise booked, with the same 2 days cruising around Antarctica like the one the Eclipse is advertising, until we cancelled and booked the HAL cruise. But, that was then. That’s why we booked the 2024 Eclipse B2B, but are waiting to see what Princess offers when they eventually post their 2024 itineraries.

 

[Arizona Wildcat]

8 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

You’re definitely right about the weather and we were also lucky on our first Antarctica cruise as the waters were smooth and the sky clear the whole time we were there. The only rough part was crossing the waterway between South America and the Peninsula. Those were quite rough, especially during the overnight hours!

However, when we were on our HAL 22 day Zaandam cruise in Jan 2018, we cruised roughly the same route over a 4 day period you see in the above Princess itinerary diagram. What’s also interesting is that we originally had the Celebrity 14 day cruise booked, with the same 2 days cruising around Antarctica like the one the Eclipse is advertising, until we cancelled and booked the HAL cruise. But, that was then. That’s why we booked the 2024 Eclipse B2B, but are waiting to see what Princess offers when they eventually post their 2024 itineraries.

 

What also will be interesting is what will happen at Port Stanley.  Will they open to tendering?

The other question is the agreement restricting cruise ships to both fewer and smaller ships.  A bit of research might assist you in determining the likelihood of cruising on a particular ship.

[smbt1]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That’s not what we’re seeing when we look at the Jan 2023 Princess itinerary.

 

https://www.princess.com/search-cruise/details/?voyageCode=H302
 

Except Princess does not have a cruise there this year.

 

NCL was the first to change their itinerary since they had antarctic cruises this spring 

 

Now from your post Celebrity, who a couple of weeks ago still had the old description  now have the non penninsula description.

 

I expect Princess and Hal to also update theirs in the same way when their cruise dates gets closer.

 

All of them face the same restrictions with the revised Polar code.

Edited January 22, 2022 by smbt1

[Ken the cruiser]

4 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

What also will be interesting is what will happen at Port Stanley.  Will they open to tendering?

The other question is the agreement restricting cruise ships to both fewer and smaller ships.  A bit of research might assist you in determining the likelihood of cruising on a particular ship.

True on both. But there is plenty of time between now and Jan 2024 for the pandemic to hopefully disappear in the rearview mirror for Port Stanley to hopefully reopen their port to larger ships.

 

With regards to the Polar Ice Class 6 specifications, Jan 1, 2022 is also now in the rearview mirror, so we’ll just have to wait as well to see what actually happens with the drive-by cruises currently on the books of a variety of cruise lines, such as Azamara, HAL, Celebrity, NCL and Princess as well as probably a few others.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, smbt1 said:

Except Princess does not have a cruise there this year.

 

NCL was the first to change their itinerary since they had antarctic cruises this spring 

 

Now from your post Celebrity, who a couple of weeks ago still had the old description  now have the non penninsula description.

 

I expect Princess and Hal to also update there's in the same way when their cruise dates gets closer.

 

All of them face the same restrictions with the revised Polar code.

The Princess cruise I’m referencing above is in Jan 2023. Has far as what Princess does between now and then, we’ll just have to wait and see.
 

With regards to Celebrity, they’ve usually offered in recent years just 2 days in Antarctica with one day cruising around Elephant Island. This diagram is still posted with theirJan 2024 itinerary.

 

 

But, whatever happens, I am going to continue to remain hopeful drive-by cruises will continue in Antarctica waters around the peninsula that are known to remain ice free during the Dec-Feb timeframes the drive-by cruises are scheduled to sail.

 

[the penguins]

8 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

Just our opinion, but if you go to Antarctica you should do an expedition and get off the ship!  It was the trip of a lifetime for us!  Pick a line that does expedition cruising and set foot on the continent 🐧 

All our pics are from our Hurtigruten (Fram) expedition.

All our drive by cruise pics are of icebergs - great pics but no wildlife. 

Weather is a gamble.

On Hurtigruten seas flat and smooth as glass.

On Celebrity (Infinity) 90 mph winds, 60 foot waves and the sea came in through the doors by the Sky Lounge. Couldn’t get in at Port Stanley. Geoff

[Ken the cruiser]

Here are some pictures from our drive by on the Zaandam. They are not only from cruising around the Peninsula, where we also saw bunches of huge icebergs, but also from some of the other ports we stopped at in the Falkland Islands, Argentina and Chile. As you can see there were no shortage of wildlife on our cruise as well. 

 

[the penguins]

16 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here are some pictures from our drive by on the Zaandam. They are not only from cruising around the Peninsula, where we also saw bunches of huge icebergs, but also from some of the other ports we stopped at in the Falkland Islands, Argentina and Chile. As you can see there were no shortage of wildlife on our cruise as well. 

 

I wasn't implying we didn't see wildlife but most of your pics and indeed the ones used by Celebrity are from Chile and Argentina on an extra cost excursion. The King's are presumably from the Falklands on an excursion from Stanley. We enjoyed both trips and if health issues didn't prevent us doing the Fram itinerary again we would book tomorrow.

[vickykay]

Ken, 

Did you do a blog of you Zaamdam cruise?  Would love the link.  Thanks.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, vickykay said:

Ken, 

Did you do a blog of you Zaandam cruise?  Would love the link.  Thanks.

Unfortunately not. However, I did create a video using some of the pictures we took if that would help.