Expeditions to Antarctica - how does Silversea compare to Seabourn and Ponant?

[Fletcher]

On 11/20/2023 at 7:54 PM, scvgirl said:

We did consider booking the Arctic Expedition while sailing on SS in Antarctica, but can we really top Antarctica (topic for those of you who have done both itineraries)?

Antarctica lacks the polar bear element.  

[lincslady]

But the Arctic lacks the penguin element, so I would say not quite.

[Host Jazzbeau]

14 hours ago, Fletcher said:

Antarctica lacks the polar bear element.  

 

21 minutes ago, lincslady said:

But the Arctic lacks the penguin element, so I would say not quite.

Is this like 'rock, paper, scissors'?  Polar bear eats Penguin – Fletcher wins.  😃

[lincslady]

I haven't done the Arctic, just find the whole Antarctic 'thing' much more exciting and completely different  to the rest of the world.  

[machotspur]

I apologise to the OP for going slightly off topic, however I’d like to make two points that I believe contribute to this subject.

 

My wife & I disembarked Silver Endeavour last Saturday having completed the 18 night Falklands/South Georgia/Antarctica itinerary.  It was a very memorable cruise – for all the right reasons.

 

I very much respect that – as shown in this thread – there is much variance in individual views of a particular ship. I for one do not like the Cloud/Wind, hence we switched to Endeavour when it became available (and cancelled the Wind booking we had).

We did not regret this decision one bit, in fact whilst there are a few unfamiliar aspects to Endeavour we found the ship itself – and elements such as service, expedition personnel, suites & décor etc to be outstanding. The only thing that missed the mark for us was (at times) the dining, but again, F&B is highly subjective and I’m sure there are other guests that were very satisfied with the dining.

 

With regard to the situation in South Georgia. We were fortunate in being able to complete our first two days on the North side before this section of the island effectively became a ‘no go’ zone.

Our third day was spent on zodiacs in the beautiful King Haaken Bay on the South Side. A different experience, which to me was an unexpected bonus as we got to see the exact site(s) where Shackleton and his other 5 crew members landed after the gruelling journey from Elephant Island.  

 

It is unclear how the whole Avian Bird Flu will develop in the coming weeks and months. As has already been noted the disease is carried and predominantly spread by migratory birds. There is of course no control over these and it is clear that it has spread rapidly on the North Side, before the cruise season had even got going. 

 

I have no specialist knowledge of this subject but reflecting on what happened to us I am thinking that at best South Georgia may now consist of ‘zodiac only’ visits – at worst a total lockdown. Time will tell.      

[labrasett]

On 11/16/2023 at 8:13 PM, whirldcruzrs said:

Friends of ours are finishing their cruise in Antarctica now and there is no fly down there. It should remain clean given all the bio safety precautions which the Falkland and South Georgia do not have. 

What a very ill informed comment.   There are and always have been fairly extensive bio security measures around Falklands and South Georgia for cruise passengers and the simple fact is that Avian flu has reached the area (and Antarctica) having been brought to these remote places by migrating birds  which makes it very difficult to exclude the carriage and transmission of this devastating disease.

[whirldcruzrs]

7 hours ago, labrasett said:

What a very ill informed comment.   There are and always have been fairly extensive bio security measures around Falklands and South Georgia for cruise passengers and the simple fact is that Avian flu has reached the area (and Antarctica) having been brought to these remote places by migrating birds  which makes it very difficult to exclude the carriage and transmission of this devastating disease.

Mea culpa.  

[Pumblechook]

On 11/23/2023 at 10:59 AM, machotspur said:

It is unclear how the whole Avian Bird Flu will develop in the coming weeks and months. As has already been noted the disease is carried and predominantly spread by migratory birds. There is of course no control over these and it is clear that it has spread rapidly on the North Side, before the cruise season had even got going. 

 

I have no specialist knowledge of this subject but reflecting on what happened to us I am thinking that at best South Georgia may now consist of ‘zodiac only’ visits – at worst a total lockdown. Time will tell.     

 

Having just completed a cruise to Falklands, Sth Georgia and Antarctic Peninsula on the Wind, I may be able to update this.

 

The Silver Wind folks said that, because of their strict and effective on-board biosecurity measures, and passengers' efforts in presenting well in "in person" inspections by the biosecurity officials, SS were allowed the maximum opportunities to land on Sth Georgia.  This was quoted as 3 possible, of which we did 2 landings - both on the north side.  Implications being that other cruise lines may not be able to offer the same range of experiences (all subject to weather, of course).

 

This may be a bit self-serving of course.

 

There were very detailed - down to tweezer level - inspections by the expedition team of our 'outer layers' (esp. Velcro) several times, at the most sensitive areas, plus boot power washing, disinfectant troughs etc etc.  You can't put anything down on the ground except your boots and the end of walking poles - no sitting, no backpacks put down.

 

I was completely satisfied with our Sth Georgia (and Elephant Island) experiences.