Antarctica - demographics and social atmosphere?

[daffodil_11]

I'm trying to compare the various small ship expedition companies - Quark, Lindblad, etc. Aside from cost and itinerary, I'd like to get a feel for the typical passenger age but more importantly the "climate" aboard the ship. By climate I mean is it staid/quiet/polite, or boisterous/partying, or something in between. Is there a late night bar crowd, is there lots of noise and laughter in the dining room, things like that. I know every sailing is different, but any observations would be helpful, thanks!

[greatam]

I'm trying to compare the various small ship expedition companies - Quark, Lindblad, etc. Aside from cost and itinerary, I'd like to get a feel for the typical passenger age but more importantly the "climate" aboard the ship. By climate I mean is it staid/quiet/polite, or boisterous/partying, or something in between. Is there a late night bar crowd, is there lots of noise and laughter in the dining room, things like that. I know every sailing is different, but any observations would be helpful, thanks!

 

On my trip-everyone was about 50-60. I was not on a cruise ship-an ice breaker.

 

A couple of hard core boozers, but most were very excited about the adventure. Lots of quiet conversation about where we were going and why we were going. Dinners were pretty relaxed-most people were tired and ready for bed right after dinner. I stayed up late one night-no partying, soft music playing until I put in a couple of 70's CD's. It was a little livelier after that, but mostly a trip to reflect on life and the world. Some very spirited political discussions, as there were only 24 Americans on board. About the same number of Aussies and a group of Europeans-mostly Brits, but some Germans, two French and three from Spain. There was even a lonely researcher from Korea-he was really lost. Spoke very limited English and no Russian or other language so he could communicate with the crew. But he went scuba diving with some of the crew and had all kinds of camera equipment. His was a paid trip for some research company. There were all kinds of ice and other samples kept in coolers on board.

 

All in all, a pretty laid back experience. It only got rowdy the night we crossed the Antarctic Circle with everyone whooping and hollering. And we had helicopters on board, so got to go up in the helicopters at night a couple of times. It wasn't night at all and it was pretty hard to sleep some nights.

 

Seeing McMurdo and the Ross Ice Shelf was the entire purpose of my trip. I had been offered a job at McMurdo years ago and was too chicken to go so far from home (So California). I have kicked myself in the butt for 35 years, so when I had the chance to go, I took it. Enjoy!!!!

[daffodil_11]

Thanks Greatam! As I've only experienced Caribbean cruises, your response helps to give me a potential "feel" for the experience.

 

Interesting mix of passengers. Hence the political discussions, I suppose. In my experience, Americans are less likely to bring up politics as a topic, at the risk of offending someone. But Europeans and others are comfortable discussing it, disagreeing, and then continuing to be good pals!

 

I'll have to remember to bring my own 70s CDs (most of my collection is from that era). Thanks again :)

[diebroke]

We were on Lindblad's National Geographic Endeavour.

 

The climate aboard was best described by Cruise Critic's correspondent Ben Lyons who authored the excellent trip report in the thread at the top of this page titled: Virtual Cruise: Antarctica Onboard Lindblad's National Geographic Endeavour

I cut & pasted the following parts from his story that applied to the onboard climate.

 

"Fewer passengers also means less anonymity, and combined with everyone's shared enthusiasm for seeing Antarctica, there is already a camaraderie that you'd never find amidst the thousands of passengers on a larger ship."

 

"It's not cheap traveling halfway around the world, and on most cruises that start at $10,000 like mine does, passengers are typically comprised exclusively of retirees. That's definitely not the case here, where fellow adventurers represent a good mix of ages -- from a very well-traveled man in his 80's to several in their 20's and 30's (more than 10 percent onboard are under 35). The cruise even boasts two honeymoon couples and a 12- and 14-year-old pair of sisters traveling with their dad. We all share something in common: This really is the kind of once-in-a-lifetime experience that's worthy of a splurge."

 

"Having cruised on more mainstream ships more frequently, I could easily tell that the atmosphere onboard was completely different. On a typical cruise, thousands of passengers have thousands of reasons for cruising, ranging from the food to shopping to the ports to simply relaxing. Onboard N.G. Endeavour, we were a cohesive group of travelers that were all here for the same reason: We were all eager to experience nature in its most raw state and see parts of the planet completely unaffected by humans."

 

To add to Ben's comments, I would say we were mostly Americans with a few people from Canada, a few from England, six ladies from Jordon & Lebanon, and a couple from New Zealand.

 

Meals were served at tables of 6 to 8 people with pick-your-own seating. A few tables stayed together the entire trip but most of us moved around. The conversations over meals were always interesting. We enjoyed everybody we met. The passengers were intelligent, well traveled, and diverse.

 

There were a few who hung out at the bar until well after dinner but I would not describe it as a party crowd. Since it didn't get very dark at night, most of us wanted to be outside sightseeing, on the bridge watching the activity, or in our bunks trying to rest up for the next excursion.

 

As you say, each group is likely different but I suspect there is more similarity in the climate on board expedition ships than there are differences. Everybody is there to experience the spectacle of Antarctica, not the luxury or features of the ship.

[daffodil_11]

Diebroke, thanks so much!!! I'm so glad you redirected me to the article. I had read it a while back when first considering Antarctica, but I just read it again and literally had goose bumps the whole time, knowing I'll be experiencing the same thing. And I'm glad you could confirm the atmosphere on board from your own experience. I think your last lines, especially, gave me the comfort level I was hoping for. :)

[2552phxcrzr]

We were most definitely not on a luxury ship when we went with Quark's Prof Molchanov - 48 pax. Luxury was the last thing on our mind, and I'd say the same went for our fellow pax. We were there to experience Antarctica (Falklands and S Georgia as well) and maximize our landings - hence the size of the ship.

 

Dining was open seating at tables of 8 in two dining rooms. Although some people formed groups, most people moved around, socializing with a variety of people. I think there may have a been a couple of people who enjoyed the camaraderie of drinking later into the night (if you can call near 24 hours of daylight night), but for the most part, people either went to bed after dinner or stayed up long enough to watch the after-dinner movie/documentary. For most of us, resting up for the next day's adventures was a priority - although I must say it was difficult to convince ourselves to do so when there was so much to see outside and there was so much daylight to enjoy.

 

Our group consisted mostly of Americans, with two couples from Australia, two from Austria, one from China, three from England, and a gentleman from Brazil. All seemed like-minded enough that I don't recall any particular person or couple not mingling with the rest of the pax. Which was a good thing, since we had only 47 pax sailing. The expedition team mingled with passengers during meals and were willing to answer questions, share experiences. The ship's crew did not mingle with the pax, but were willing to answer questions when we visited the bridge.

 

Antarctica is a fabulous place and we'd go back in a heartbeat. Enjoy it!

[daffodil_11]

Another very informative response, thanks Sulf! This is definitely a great thread (if I don't say so myself LOL), the stuff you don't get from reading the brochures. Thanks again everyone :)