Antarctica- how many expeditions?

[teamflames]

Hi we are looking at a couple of itineraries in Antarctica this coming January. Interested in reviews of those who have been onboard the new ships recently?

Especially interested to know how many expeditions per day you get to do if conditions permit?

it seems most companies aim for 2 (at least one landing and one zodiac trip) is this the same with Seabourn? Cant tell in the literature and the ships do hold more than the smaller expedition companies

thanks

[frantic36]

1 hour ago, teamflames said:

Hi we are looking at a couple of itineraries in Antarctica this coming January. Interested in reviews of those who have been onboard the new ships recently?

Especially interested to know how many expeditions per day you get to do if conditions permit?

it seems most companies aim for 2 (at least one landing and one zodiac trip) is this the same with Seabourn? Cant tell in the literature and the ships do hold more than the smaller expedition companies

thanks

If you use the search function you can find a few recent reviews. But I thought from your recent comment on the other thread Seabourn v Viking you didn't like Seabourn? 

 

I will add, as with most cruises, it can vary depending on weather and the Avian flu issue down there isn't helping.

[markandjie]

1 hour ago, teamflames said:

it seems most companies aim for 2 (at least one landing and one zodiac trip) is this the same with Seabourn?

 

This is the objective. Sometimes you even get multiple landings if things go your way. Or you can get unlucky, like we did in November with sea ice, and have multiple days with only a single activity. It is an expedition cruise, after all, and you just have to roll with it.

 

I posted a thorough thread on our experience in Antarctica, which you can find here. @highplanesdrifters *just* posted a great thread on his Antarctica trip on Silversea, which you can find on the Silversea board.

[teamflames]

2 hours ago, frantic36 said:

If you use the search function you can find a few recent reviews. But I thought from your recent comment on the other thread Seabourn v Viking you didn't like Seabourn? 

 

I will add, as with most cruises, it can vary depending on weather and the Avian flu issue down there isn't helping.

I didn’t say I didn’t like them - just that on our one particular cruise service was poor. As mentioned love the stateroom, caviar, the events, ship decor, art classes and more. Drinks service was worst ever encountered and service in general was poor.

i don’t believe in the notion that every cruise on a certain line is of a certain standard. Too many variables. Crew and officers change and can make a big difference.

seabourn is well priced and well experienced in Antarctica and so more than happy to consider them. Also this ship is smaller than their others so hoping service will be better. However it is bigger than many other options hence I want to ensure I am comparing  experiences correctly.

will search as you suggest - thanks

[teamflames]

2 hours ago, markandjie said:

 

This is the objective. Sometimes you even get multiple landings if things go your way. Or you can get unlucky, like we did in November with sea ice, and have multiple days with only a single activity. It is an expedition cruise, after all, and you just have to roll with it.

 

I posted a thorough thread on our experience in Antarctica, which you can find here. @highplanesdrifters *just* posted a great thread on his Antarctica trip on Silversea, which you can find on the Silversea board.

Thanks for your reply, great to hear Seabourn aim for similar amount of expeditions, we were looking at an Atlas cruise which has fewer passengers but then I have learned Seabourn has more zodiacs. I have read that they split into 6 groups which sounds like a lot and with the limited numbers allowed on shore was concerned there maybe only enough time for one expedition.

I will look up the silversea thread. How do I find yours?

[markandjie]

Here you go: 

 

[teamflames]

Thanks M

[teamflames]

48 minutes ago, markandjie said:

Here you go: 

 

Wow that is so disappointing what happened to you re expeditions. As you say though the other ship didn’t so I guess no point crossing Seabourn off specifically.

also sounds like the service issues we experienced on the encore especially around bars and dining are still a thing

[highplanesdrifters]

Thanks for the shout out.  Look forward to sailing with you someday.  @markandjie

 

It is important to know that a trip to Antarctica is a weather roulette wheel. Temper your expectations. We are on Silver Cloud.  Silver Wind was one day behind us.  We sailed through the Drake Lake in one day, sunshine and high 30's for 5 days and had 10 excursions. Silver

Wind got caught/delayed by weather. We heard they had only a handful of excursions.

 

We love the Cloud, but she is an older ship.  If the itinerary is right we'll jump aboard without hesitation. Seabourn Venture and Pursuit are our preferred expedition vessels. Better facilities in general. Larger boot room, and most importantly much more outdoor deck space for wildlife viewing. Do not underestimate the importance of this.  We'll be trying Ponant soon.  Perhaps veteran expedition traveler @jpalbny can chime in on those ships. 

 

Food and service are also a roulette wheel on all cruising ships right now.  Staff changes constantly. Do not judge based on one review, good or bad. Although it seems expedition ships are faring a bit better in the food and service department than traditional ocean cruises.  

 

We had terrible food and service on the Encore in November,  but have 3 Seabourn expedition trips on the books. 

 

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

 

[highplanesdrifters]

Link to the live :

 

 

 

[markandjie]

7 hours ago, teamflames said:

Wow that is so disappointing what happened to you re expeditions. As you say though the other ship didn’t so I guess no point crossing Seabourn off specifically.

also sounds like the service issues we experienced on the encore especially around bars and dining are still a thing

 

I mean, yes, it was disappointing. But as I reflect back we had an amazing experience with some once in a lifetime sights. The Pursuit got MUCH luckier on landings, but I don't believe they had a pod of 10-20 orcas swim directly beneath the bow of the ship. Every Antarctica experience will be different but they're all amazing in their own way. It is Antarctica, after all.

 

Venture and Pursuit are the newest and best luxury expedition ships you'll find anywhere. Some itineraries I believe spend more time in Antarctica, so if you want to maximize your experience you might look for one of those.

 

The final thing is that as more and more ships go to Antarctica they are sharing the same number of potential landing sites. That gives far less flexibility if things go awry and the expedition team has to scramble for alternate sites. And that's true for every cruise line. Like highplanes says, it's a roulette wheel.

[markandjie]

3 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

Thanks for the shout out.  Look forward to sailing with you someday.

 

Yes, hope one day our plans align! It will make for the most epic "Live from" thread in CC history... 😉

[FlyingScotSailors]

11 hours ago, teamflames said:

I have read that they split into 6 groups which sounds like a lot and with the limited numbers allowed on shore was concerned there maybe only enough time for one expedition.

The Quest used 6 color groups, called 2 at a time, since it carried 400+ passengers.  The Venture and Pursuit have 1/2 that number of passengers, and can do 2 expeditions a day.

[Woodrowst]

18 hours ago, teamflames said:

 

Especially interested to know how many expeditions per day you get to do if conditions permit?

 

We were on the Venture in January.  We had seven days on the south side of the Drake passage.  Below is the number of landings/zodiac rides for each day:

 

Day 1: One zodiac ride.  It should be noted that under ordinary circumstances we might have been off the ship twice that day. But the ship spent time going further south than usual because we had the rare opportunity to see Emperor penguins.  
Day 2: One landing and one zodiac ride.

Day 3: One landing.

Day 4: Two landings.

Day 5: Two zodiac rides.

Day 6: One zodiac ride and the polar plunge.

Day 7:  Two landings.

Don’t judge by the number of landings vs zodiacs.  Some places were better seen by zodiac - especially those that had plentiful icebergs with lots of creatures on them.  Traveling on a zodiac among and between icebergs is an amazing visual and emotional experience.  

[highplanesdrifters]

Just now, Woodrowst said:

Don’t judge by the number of landings vs zodiacs.  Some places were better seen by zodiac - especially those that had plentiful icebergs with lots of creatures on them.  Traveling on a zodiac among and between icebergs is an amazing visual and emotional experience.  

 

Very true!

[teamflames]

5 hours ago, Woodrowst said:

We were on the Venture in January.  We had seven days on the south side of the Drake passage.  Below is the number of landings/zodiac rides for each day:

 

Day 1: One zodiac ride.  It should be noted that under ordinary circumstances we might have been off the ship twice that day. But the ship spent time going further south than usual because we had the rare opportunity to see Emperor penguins.  
Day 2: One landing and one zodiac ride.

Day 3: One landing.

Day 4: Two landings.

Day 5: Two zodiac rides.

Day 6: One zodiac ride and the polar plunge.

Day 7:  Two landings.

Don’t judge by the number of landings vs zodiacs.  Some places were better seen by zodiac - especially those that had plentiful icebergs with lots of creatures on them.  Traveling on a zodiac among and between icebergs is an amazing visual and emotional experience.  

Thanks for amazing detail. Sounds like a great trip trying to book the exact same one for next year.

[mlk58]

We are just back from a 20-day Antarctic/South Georgia/Falklands trip on Pursuit and yes, the goal is 2 expeditions a day. Sometimes it was two landings, often it was one landing and one Zodiac ride, and occasionally it was two Zodiac rides. Each and every outing was out of this world and I heartily agree that some locations are best seen by Zodiac. We did miss one or two planned events due to weather, but we also had two extra outings (an early landing on Deception Island and an early arrival in the Falklands) so it all balanced out. And we were also lucky enough to spend a morning circling a pod of about 7 orcas on the way to the Falklands -- amazing! The ship, service, food, and personnel were all top-notch. We loved it so much we booked another trip on Pursuit for next year, to the Kimberley in Australia!