Atlas to Antarctica--Can it truly be that good?

[JanR]

The word "magical" when used to describe an experience might be considered by many to be trite, but it truly is the best description of our February 11-day journey to Antarctica on the Atlas Navigator.  From the day we arrived in Buenos Aires and arrived at our complimentary hotel, we felt Atlas's arms embracing us into what we now consider to be the best trip of our lives.  

 

Just as Atlas's representatives at the hotel had explained when we arrived, early the next morning we (and the other Atlas guests) were loaded into buses to whisk us to our chartered flight to Ushuaia.  Our luggage had been gathered the previous evening and when we arrived to Ushuaia, they were taken to the ship while the guests were boarded onto comfortable busses for our complimentary excursion to witness the beauty of the Tierra del Fuego National Park along with an engaging and informative guide.

 

Our excursion concluded by driving onto the pier right to our ship.  The ship's general manager, Nuno Da Silva, jumped on board and explained the embarkation process which had groups of about 10-12 passengers at a time walking up the gangway to the ship where we were escorted into the Atlas Lounge, offered a glass of sparkling wine, in-processed and released to go explore the ship and our room which was ready for us along with our all of our luggage.  We had a B1 Veranda which was comfortable, nicely appointed, and perfect for this voyage.  To our pleasant surprise, there was plenty of drawer and shelf space for all of our clothes (which was something that its newer sister the Atlas Traveler lacked).

 

We had expected to set sail that evening for the Drake Passage, but before we even boarded the ship Nuno had explained on our bus that we would be leaving the following evening instead.  At the evening briefing, the captain and our expedition guide leader explained that a storm system was moving through the passage and the captain decided to delay our sailing for 24 hours to avoid the storm.  While disappointed that we were missing a day in Antarctica, it gave us the opportunity to explore the beautiful town of Ushuaia.

 

As briefed, after our full day in Ushuaia, we pulled out of port for our 2 day crossing of the Drake Passage.  We had heard that we might experience the "Drake Lake" or the "Drake Shake".  While we certainly did not have the "Drake Lake", we our version of the "Drake Shake" was not as violent as we feared.  Yes, the motion sickness bags were put out at the elevators, outside decks were closed, and for a time the elevators were disabled as the 5-6 meter surge kept us swaying left and right, most everyone made the crossing in good spirits--made easier by the complimentary beverage package that Atlas provides.  

 

During the passage, all passengers attended the briefing by the expedition crew mandated by international treaty for everyone who would be landing on the continent.  It was here that we realized two things.  The first was our incredible fortune to have this team with us.  The expedition team leader, Jonathan, was as experienced as anyone could have wished.  This was his 27th season in Antarctica and was truly amazing.  We would come to love his calm, gentle wake-up call over the ships speakers of "Good Morning, Good Morning" signaling that we were about to begin on another amazing day of landings.   His team also were very experienced, each bringing to the team different specialties.  Their series of briefings given during the Drake Passage gave us 100% confidence in what we were going to experience during our landings.  

 

The second realization we had was that this was a cruise unlike any other we have had.  On most other cruises, guests had different objectives as they all selected their own experiences each day.  On an Atlas Antarctica cruise, the entire ship from crew to passengers were unified in one mission--the exploration of Antarctica.  This dynamic was something we've never witnessed on any cruise and was invigorating as each day we awoke as one team ready for the adventures to follow.

 

The last night of the passage, we gazed in wonder at a few icebergs spied in the distance and exclaimed with glee at the sight of whales.  We now laugh at how excited we were at these sights as the next morning we found ourselves completely immersed in all that Antarctica is.  That morning we woke to a wonderful sunrise and realized that instead we no longer looking at distance ice bergs, but our ship was slowly pushing its way through an ice flow in between the Antarctica Peninsula and its islands.  Then we began to see seals on several of these ice sheets including one ice sheet floating on the water measuring about 1 kilometer in size.  Before we knew it, we heard Jonathan call for the first group to move down to the Atlas Lounge to prepare for our first landing.  Because our ship only had 146 passengers (150 is the maximum on Atlas's Antarctica cruises), the passengers were grouped into four groups.  Each group would make two landings (or zodiac cruises) a day with one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  For this very first landing, our destination was that kilometer-sized ice sheet as we were literally going to walk on water--only the second time that Atlas had made an icesheet landing.  We were the last of the four groups to make the landing.  Each of these groups would be divided onto different zodiacs of no more than 12 people.  Our boat's group were led by two expedition team members.  To emphasize our trust in our expedition crew, when we started to hear and then see the ice sheet we were walking on crack and begin to separate--even making our movement back to the boat's original position impossible--we had no worries at all.

 

This first landing of "walking on water" was just the first amazing experiences we would have on our landings and zodiac cruises we would participate in twice a day for the next four days.  Penguins galore (yes, they stink. . .but are so very cute), seals at nearly every location, and so many whale sightings that made all other whale interactions we had had before seem so pedestrian.  Yet, we participated in two other additional experiences which we will never forget.  The first was the polar plunge into the Antarctic waters which--due to the water's salinity--was below 32 degrees.  Cold?  Beyond our wildest dreams!  But it was entirely worth it.  The second was our evening we camped overnight in the snow and ice of Antarctica.  After dinner, our group of 20 guests loaded into our zodiacs and made our way  to shore, met by a welcoming committee of about 150 penguins, and then began to dig our knee-deep holes into the snow which would be home for the evening.  Then upon a vinyl ground cover and foam insulation mat, we climbed into our sleeping bag for the evening--notice there was no description of a tent as there was none.  While it was not the most comfortable sleep we've ever had (hint, make sure to dig the bottom of your hole to be more even and level than we did) it was an evening unlike no other.  At 3 am the winds would sweep the clouds away and reveal the majesty of the stars above--unhindered by any light pollution at the bottom of the earth.  

 

On board, the Atlas Navigator proved itself to be worthy of the word luxury.  A major reason for this is due to attitude of the General Manager, Nuno, who is the most engaged GM we've had of any cruise.  He is everywhere checking on guests and making sure everything is just right.  The crew follows suite.  We were told on our previous cruise that the crew must have at least 5 years experience before being hired on Atlas, and it shows.  But also is evident is that this is a happy crew who even privately admit they are glad to be working on this line as opposed to the lines they came from.  Atlas does several simple things that helps keep morale high.  Not only are crew are given opportunities to make landings during their contract, but the line provides them with free WIFI which is greatly appreciated.  These things make a happy crew.  And when you have a happy crew you have a happy ship which results in a happy cruise.  Beyond the amazing service, we in the main dining room we had some of the best food we've had on a cruise ship since the pandemic.  Due to its size, the Atlas ships feel much more like a river ship with just one restaurant, a couple of lounges and a small gym and spa.  But it is elegantly appointed and perfectly sized for its complement of guests.  Although the spa is small, we are amazed at the size of its complimentary sauna which is one of the largest we've had on any ship--plus it has a full window out to the sea which makes the experience even that more relaxing.  Entertainment was once again very similar to a river ship.  Interestingly, we realized that our cruise director was the same as our very first cruise we experienced in 2005 on the Paul Gauguin--one of the best CDs we've ever had.

 

Yes there were a few minor issues--limited room service menu, a complimentary WIFI package that seems to be more akin to what you would have had in 2007, and . . . well we are sure there had to be something else.  Yet, for all intents and purposes, we leave this experience with the attitude that it was nearly the perfect way to have visited this 7th continent.

[mnocket]

Great trip report!  Thanks👍