Percentage of Antarctic expeditions that are able to get to Antarctica

[longterm]

My wife and I are seriously considering an Antarctic expedition on Viking for the future (probably at least a couple of years from now). I've read stories and listened to podcasts about people who took expeditions to Antarctica, only to get down there and find out that they won't be able to get to the continent. 

 

In one instance for example, a podcaster said he'd gone on a trip there, had all the jackets and gear, boarded a bus, and then they were told that the weather would prevent them from being able to get down there. He wasn't on a cruise though, so I don't know if he was supposed to fly there or if he was going to traverse by ship.

 

 

How often do cancellations occur? From what I'm reading online, weather is mercurial and sometimes unpredictable.

 

Have there been Viking expeditions that were unable to approach Antarctica because of weather conditions? If so, how often has this happened?

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2023 by longterm

[janetcbl]

1 hour ago, longterm said:

My wife and I are seriously considering an Antarctic expedition on Viking for the future (probably at least a couple of years from now). I've read stories and listened to podcasts about people who took expeditions to Antarctica, only to get down there and find out that they won't be able to get to the continent. 

 

In one instance for example, a podcaster said he'd gone on a trip there, had all the jackets and gear, boarded a bus, and then they were told that the weather would prevent them from being able to get down there. He wasn't on a cruise though, so I don't know if he was supposed to fly there or if he was going to traverse by ship.

 

 

How often do cancellations occur? From what I'm reading online, weather is mercurial and sometimes unpredictable.

 

Have there been Viking expeditions that were unable to approach Antarctica because of weather conditions? If so, how often has this happened?

 

 

 

You might also check out Hurtigruten.

[MarkTapley]

And check out Lindblad.  They’ve been going to Antarctica for 50 years.  We were on National Geographic Endurance from New Zealand to Argentina for 33 days this winter.  Lots of landings, wildlife, visiting explorer huts, Zodiac cruise along the Ross Ice Shelf, etc.  The complete experience.

[CurlerRob]

2 hours ago, longterm said:

My wife and I are seriously considering an Antarctic expedition on Viking for the future (probably at least a couple of years from now). I've read stories and listened to podcasts about people who took expeditions to Antarctica, only to get down there and find out that they won't be able to get to the continent. 

 

In one instance for example, a podcaster said he'd gone on a trip there, had all the jackets and gear, boarded a bus, and then they were told that the weather would prevent them from being able to get down there. He wasn't on a cruise though, so I don't know if he was supposed to fly there or if he was going to traverse by ship.

 

 

How often do cancellations occur? From what I'm reading online, weather is mercurial and sometimes unpredictable.

 

Have there been Viking expeditions that were unable to approach Antarctica because of weather conditions? If so, how often has this happened?

 

I do not have any referenceable statistics for you, as a number of Google queries did not help, but I have been watching various boards re Antarctica for a number of years now. Here's what I've observed - YMMV:

 

I have yet to see a single cruise that failed to put pax ashore on the continent at least once. While I suspect full cancellations may have happened due to illness or mechanical issues, I have not seen a report of a weather situation that precluded a ship from any landings. (This is NOT to say that there may have been many pax who could care less if the Drake crossing was severe enough!).

 

Once across the Drake, the Antarctic peninsula offers so many places to shelter that I'd be astonished if landings could not happen at sometime over the 'x' days the ship is there. There may not be the number of opportunities desired, or the use of many of the 'toys' such as kayaks, but I  believe the odds of completely striking out are very small. 

 

Landing at ports like the Falklands or South Georgia appears to be at very high risk of not happening - my unofficial count is about a 50% make rate. In some ways, this is similar to ports like the Shetlands and Faroes - both of which are susceptible to the same type of weather issues.

 

Finally, regarding the podcaster you mentioned, that sounds like he was trying to fly in - either as an excursion or as a pre-programmed way to miss the joys of the Drake. Flying in that part of the world is at extremely high risk of cancellation. I'd never bet my own access to the continent on an aircraft.

 

I'll be interested to see if someone else has some more definitive answers, but personally, I would not worry too much about a shut-out if on a purposeful expedition cruise. 🍺🥌

[donaldsc]

I can not name them on CC but there are tour agencies that just do Antarctica cruises.  You might go a Google search for them asn ask them about it.

 

DON

[longterm]

1 hour ago, CurlerRob said:

...regarding the podcaster you mentioned, that sounds like he was trying to fly in - either as an excursion or as a pre-programmed way to miss the joys of the Drake. Flying in that part of the world is at extremely high risk of cancellation. I'd never bet my own access to the continent on an aircraft.

I suspect you're right; he didn't say how he was getting to the continent, but since he was on a bus, I bet he was headed to a flight.

 

I looked at quite a few carriers who do Antarctica tours, and none of them mentioned the chances of not being able to get to the continent (which of course makes sense). We're at least 2 years from going, so we have time to decide, but it sounds like we would *probably* at least get to spend some time there, if not on the Falklands or Georges Island.

 

We're doing the British Isles Explorer next summer, and the Shetlands and Orkney are high on our list--from looking at reports, July is a good month to go, but who knows... I sure hope we get to see them.

 

[CurlerRob]

1 hour ago, longterm said:

We're doing the British Isles Explorer next summer, and the Shetlands and Orkney are high on our list--from looking at reports, July is a good month to go, but who knows... I sure hope we get to see them.

 

It's odd how things work. We are 0 for 3 in tries for the Shetlands, which we would love to see - but 2 for 2 regarding the Faroes, which is very fortunate, as they are spectacular. Best of luck on your BIE! 🍺🥌

[CDNPolar]

We went Hurtigruten.  At the time they were less than half the price PP than Viking.  That aside, as Viking loyal cruisers, we decided that this cruise was about the expedition and not about the restaurant or the theatre or a spa.

 

We also found after the fact that Viking excursions are easier and less demanding than those of Hurtigruten - we would have been upset had we gone Viking.  Hurtigruten expeditions were physically demanding, but that was what we signed up for.

 

To your question....

 

Our story in a very brief set of bullet points.

 

• Left Ushuaia on time.
• Drake Passage 9-11 metre waves
• First morning at lunch Captain informs us we are returning to Ushuaia because of an ill passenger.  Turns out that she fell in the high waves and broke her hip and this was far too extensive for ship medical to take on, and we were just starting our journey.
• We immediately thought - crap - here is a day of our journey lost.
• Turns out that Hurtigruten builds in time for weather and other delays.  
• Captain turned our journey around so instead of sailing to the southern most part of our journey we started at the north end and then modified as we went.
• We were to have 5 full days around the continent - which we did.  BUT, there is still no guarantee that you will land on the continent any given day.
• The first day was to be Deception Island and we arrived but the weather was too uncooperative for landing so we sailed around instead.  We lost one day of landing.
• Next four days were superb weather and we got landings every day.

 

With Antarctica you are never guaranteed that you will land.  In our first briefing the Cruise Director informed us that they start with Plan A everyday and move to B, C, D, E, F and to whatever it takes to get us to something...  Plans are constantly on the move, and you have to be flexible.

 

Heck, the Viking ship left one or two days early because of the Zodiac accident and then was hit by the rogue wave.  Plans change.

 

We did a LOT of research before taking this trip and we were hit with a potential disaster with the first day in the Drake Passage, but our expedition crew worked overtime when we were at the continent and we got what we felt was our money's worth out of the experience.  However, if you lose one day - which we did - or two days, that is just the luck of the draw.

 

The crews and Captain are expert at navigating around the weather which can change in a moments notice.  They have many, many landing spots that they can take you to.

 

My suggestion is go with a long experienced cruise line.  

 

Here is our experience.  The opening scenes are around Deception Island, and the weather does not look that bad, but for launching Zodiacs is was....

 

 

[longterm]

Thanks for the info; I went to the Hurtigruten site, but there is almost no information on their site. A little better on the Natl. Geo site though. 

 

 

[deec]

The only way my husband could convince me to go to Antarctica was when Viking offered the Expedition Ship...I do want creature comforts.  He realizes Viking's excursions will be a compromise but in reality snow shoeing , cross country skiing, and trecks lasting hours  are getting to be a reach for us ( 73 yrs old).  We were scheduled to go last December and his aortic valve decided to quit....we were so fortunate NOT to be in Antarctica when that happened!  We will go hopefully in January!

 

Friends who did go enjoyed the Viking Experience!  You need to be flexible...most of their landings were NOT on the continent itself but the surrounding islands but they could not tell the difference.

 

[janetcbl]

1 hour ago, longterm said:

Thanks for the info; I went to the Hurtigruten site, but there is almost no information on their site. A little better on the Natl. Geo site though. 

 

 

Request a catalog. The catalogue will make you want to sign on! https://www.hurtigruten.com/en-us/expeditions/destinations/?&infinity=ict2~net~gaw~ar~525854081219~kw~hurtigruten expedition cruises~mt~e~cmp~US_EXP_Tactical_Adventure-Cruises_B2C_W21_YR_2021_NO_All~ag~General&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxvTr7O7KgAMVyCmtBh2FbAozEAAYASAAEgJdFfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

 

[pavementends]

It is quite unusual for the entire trip to Antarctica to be cancelled but it has happened. I remember the recent case of the Seaborne Venture which had a stabilizer failure. Trips can also be cut short because of injuries, severe sickness, etc.

 

Apart from these (relatively rare) events weather mostly limits the number of landings or results in a route change. I am sure the podcaster case had to do with a flight; these are more often canceled and are a less certain way to get to Antarctica.

 

And yes, there are a fair number of different operators to Antarctica but they all have to operate in the same environment with the same risks of weather, equipment failure, and accidents. The number of "luxury" expedition ships has increased recently. A web search will reveal some companies that represent multiple smaller operators and if OP wants to explore alternatives this is one way to do it.

[longterm]

31 minutes ago, janetcbl said:

Request a catalog. The catalogue will make you want to sign on! https://www.hurtigruten.com/en-us/expeditions/destinations/?&infinity=ict2~net~gaw~ar~525854081219~kw~hurtigruten expedition cruises~mt~e~cmp~US_EXP_Tactical_Adventure-Cruises_B2C_W21_YR_2021_NO_All~ag~General&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxvTr7O7KgAMVyCmtBh2FbAozEAAYASAAEgJdFfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I saw that, but I don't want to get on their mailing list... 

 

Not impressed with their site. 

[Frenchberet]

I don’t have the statistics but I think you’d need to a lot of research across many cruise lines to answer your question.  
 

We did the Antarctic Explorer cruise with Viking (Octantis) in February 2023.  We had a wonderful time on the trip and would rate it as excellent.  We had great weather (clear, sunny skies and 30 degrees Fahrenheit), which enabled us to do four landings in Antarctica.  We saw penguins, seals, whales, and many types of birds.  It was an amazing experience.  
 

In our opinion, the issue with an expedition to Antarctica is that there are no medical facilities available for serious illnesses or accidents.  Your trip is dependent on everyone else staying healthy.  We were required to complete a medical statement signed by a doctor.  There were others on board that (in our opinion) did not appear to be “fit to travel”.  Fortunately, there weren’t any problems but it was a definite concern.  
 

Also, since this destination is rather weather dependent, (in our opinion) your odds of being able to complete the trip are about the same for any cruise line you’d select.

[Baron Barracuda]

DW & DD are booked on the Polaris Dec. 2024 (too adventurous for me).  We did a lot of research plus had some great chats with our Viking rep Maury who is planning a trip there herself.  I'm not sure if any one cruise line has a better chance of getting you ashore then any other.  It's all weather dependent.  We chose Viking because of favorable experiences with their ocean and river products.  One thing Maury told us is the ship is only allowed to have 100 people ashore at a time. so 3/4 of the passengers will always be offshore sightseeing in zodiacs and submarines or doing things aboard ship.  The day is broken into periods and you pre-book your desired activity for each period of every day.  As with the ocean cruises those in higher level cabins get to select first.  If weather delays morning activities once landings do commence they still begin with period 1.  So later periods for that day may be cancelled.  Because of this we booked a higher level cabin than we otherwise would to secure us a better place in line. 

[janetcbl]

2 hours ago, longterm said:

I saw that, but I don't want to get on their mailing list... 

 

Not impressed with their site. 

I have sailed with them many times in Norway. I opted out of the mailing list and get one large catalogue once a year. No emails, no catalogues, no phone calls.

[Frenchberet]

1 hour ago, Baron Barracuda said:

DW & DD are booked on the Polaris Dec. 2024 (too adventurous for me).  We did a lot of research plus had some great chats with our Viking rep Maury who is planning a trip there herself.  I'm not sure if any one cruise line has a better chance of getting you ashore then any other.  It's all weather dependent.  We chose Viking because of favorable experiences with their ocean and river products.  One thing Maury told us is the ship is only allowed to have 100 people ashore at a time. so 3/4 of the passengers will always be offshore sightseeing in zodiacs and submarines or doing things aboard ship.  The day is broken into periods and you pre-book your desired activity for each period of every day.  As with the ocean cruises those in higher level cabins get to select first.  If weather delays morning activities once landings do commence they still begin with period 1.  So later periods for that day may be cancelled.  Because of this we booked a higher level cabin than we otherwise would to secure us a better place in line. 

This sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is.  When excursions open you are able to express an interest in zodiac landings, special ops boats, kayaking, and subs.  You don’t actually book anything prior to embarkation.  Once on board you receive a schedule of your activities.  In addition, there are waiting lists for everything.  We booked a DN3 Nordic Balcony stateroom and we were able to do all the activities we wanted to do.   

[Baron Barracuda]

3 hours ago, Frenchberet said:

This sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is.  When excursions open you are able to express an interest in zodiac landings, special ops boats, kayaking, and subs.  You don’t actually book anything prior to embarkation.  Once on board you receive a schedule of your activities.  In addition, there are waiting lists for everything.  We booked a DN3 Nordic Balcony stateroom and we were able to do all the activities we wanted to do.   

Good to know.  I was only passing along what Viking sales rep told us.

[CDNPolar]

Yes - a lot of waiting on board the ship as any landing site can only have 100 passengers on the continent at any given time.  This is Antarctica law/rules.  Because you are daylight 24 hours, we even had excursions that left the ship at 8:30pm at night.  This is what they have to do to get everyone a landing especially if there have been weather issues that prevented earlier day landings.  We lost one full day to weather but the next four days were amazingly sunny and beautiful and the expedition crew did everything in their power to get us all ashore hence the 8:30pm excursions.

[ShopperfiendTO]

Can anyone provide insight on how Viking requires only one sea day to cross the Drake Passage (each direction) from/to Ushuaia when it seems every other cruise line that uses the same port states two sea days each way?

 

I looked at departure times and Viking doesn’t leave that much earlier, maybe 3-4 hours earlier only.  🤔

[irishwitchy]

19 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Good to know.  I was only passing along what Viking sales rep told us.

We are booked with Viking in 2025 and purposely booked a higher level cabin to ensure better chances on excursions choices/landing.  Your first response made me very happy,  this one did not.   🤨

[Frenchberet]

3 hours ago, ShopperfiendTO said:

Can anyone provide insight on how Viking requires only one sea day to cross the Drake Passage (each direction) from/to Ushuaia when it seems every other cruise line that uses the same port states two sea days each way?

 

I looked at departure times and Viking doesn’t leave that much earlier, maybe 3-4 hours earlier only.  🤔

It is 2 days to sail from Ushuaia to Antarctica. The wording is weird.  Embarkation day is a sailing day.   On the return, scenic sailing is a second sea day.

[CDNPolar]

Definitely 2 days and can be longer with winds and high surf.  2 days is a minimum for any cruise line.

[ShopperfiendTO]

2 hours ago, Frenchberet said:

It is 2 days to sail from Ushuaia to Antarctica. The wording is weird.  Embarkation day is a sailing day.   On the return, scenic sailing is a second sea day.

 

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Definitely 2 days and can be longer with winds and high surf.  2 days is a minimum for any cruise line.

Thank you for your responses

 

If you look at the Viking website, it shows something like this:

 

Day 1: Buenos Aires (pre-cruise stay)

Day 2: Ushuaia (embark and sail late afternoon/early evening)

Day 3: Sail Drake Passage

Day 4: Explore Antarctica

 

On the other cruise lines, their Day 4 equivalent is still sailing the Drake Passage and exploration starts only on their Day 5 equivalent.

 

Is it that Viking is pushing the boundaries of truth in advertising and can still say that they are exploring Antarctica on Day 4 because they technically reached it on Day 4, albeit late near the end of that Day?

This the same in reverse as well, where there is only one “Sailing Drake Passage” day when the other cruise lines have two.

 

By showing the itinerary this way, Viking suggests that it completes the crossing more quickly resulting in more time in Antarctica for a given cruise duration.  I would just like to know if this is actually true.

 

Perhaps you could complete my example?:

 

Say there is a Viking sailing tomorrow (Wednesday) and the weather conditions are the same/typical as summer there (normal winds, normal surf, etc.), I am guessing it would leave Ushuaia at 5-7 pm, so when would it expect to reach Antarctica, Friday afternoon, late Friday night, or sometime Saturday?

 

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by ShopperfiendTO