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Holland America Line has a great deal of expertise cruising to Alaska. The line attracts a slightly older mainstream passenger than Celebrity, and the extended cruise length rules out almost all families. Expect seasoned travelers onboard, particularly those who’ve sailed Holland America before. With such a wide variety of cruise options, ranging from small, older vessels to high-end luxury ships, it can be hard to determine what is worth spending your money on.
Expedition Equipment
Families seeking a family-friendly cruise during school holidays, with youth-focused activities. When you’re heading down to the Antarctic region on an expedition cruise ship there’s quite a few activities that you can do. A typical 10-day ‘Best of Antarctica’ itinerary, which actually only includes 4.5 days in Antarctica, has the same number of days and excursions on the continent, often doing the same thing (zodiac cruises, landings, ship exploring, etc). Scenic is an old hand in the luxury river cruise industry, they have since branched out into polar tours and are doing an amazing job at it with their beautiful ships and brilliant expedition team. Despite the allure of the adventures that await you off-ship, it’s worth remembering that a significant portion of your cruise will be spent on board your chosen expedition vessel.
Camping Amundsen Night
The bays you’ll visit during your Antarctica cruise are a startling shade of blue and remarkably clear, making for some of the most beautiful unspoiled views you’ll get anywhere on the planet. Admire towering icebergs as your ship navigates slowly through the icy waters. You’ll see icebergs in mesmerizing shapes and sizes, and colors from brilliant white to sapphire blue. This time of year, expect to see penguins carefully tending their fluffy chicks, while their partners frantically hunt for food at sea.
Best Antarctica Cruise Expeditions in 2024
In the afternoon, we board our vessel, waiting to welcome us in port. On the downside, the helicopter pad and hangars eat up a lot of space on the vessel's top deck, as do the suites along the vessel's sharply sloping front. The result is a ship with less outdoor space for viewing scenery than is typical for small vessels operating polar trips.
Standard Activities
They have some pretty unique offerings, including a submarine that you can book for seeing Antarctica beneath the surface, and really fun activities. Their itineraries are fantastic and the service for guests is excellent. In 2025 Aurora Expeditions will also be welcoming the brand new, 154pax X-BOW vessel, the Douglas Mawson, to their fleet, which will prove to be one of the most capable, luxury ships in the industry. After lots of research, personal testing, and fielding quite a few (better) offers from competitors, we decided that Quark Expeditions is the company we trust to operate our own group tours to Antarctica.
Aboard an Antarctica expedition cruise ship you will not have to sacrifice comfort for price. Some longer expedition itineraries do take passengers to landing points below the Antarctic Circle at 66°30′ S, while many classic sailings visit the more accessible tail-shaped Antarctic Peninsula at the continent’s northernmost end, landing passengers ashore via Zodiac. Other itineraries, mainly those on non-polar-rated traditional cruise ships, offer only scenic cruising along the Antarctic Peninsula without a chance to step foot on land. However, with tourist expectations evolving, the latest fleet of expedition vessels are a new breed of boat entirely, not only purpose-built for polar voyages, but also catering to the discerning traveler. Often enhancements were made though, their original wooden hulls often reinforced for polar conditions, ice anchors added for mooring on the ice, as well as installing specialized equipment for navigation and conducting scientific research. This pattern of repurposing and revamping vessels has continued into the modern expedition era.
How fit do I need to be to travel to Antarctica?
All of them sail with a large number of rigid inflatable Zodiac boats for landings and have strengthened hulls and other design features that let them operate in icy areas. Some begin in Buenos Aires; others start in Santiago and include more of South America, such as Patagonia and the Chilean fjords. The line also offers coveted sailings that include time inside the Antarctic Circle, not just out on the Peninsula.
To bypass the notoriously rough waters of the Drake Passage, passengers can book an Antarctica Bridge sail. Passengers fly business class to and from King George Island in the South Shetland Islands and board Silver Endeavour from there. Scenic is for cruisers seeking the ultimate hybrid of a luxury cruise ship and a small environmentally conscious expedition vessel. It is also attractive for adventurers wanting to try more unusual Antarctic experiences, such as snowshoeing, viewing wildlife from a submarine or soaring above ice floes in a helicopter. Quark's 172-passenger World Explorer’s amenities include all-suite accommodations, polar library, gym, pool, sauna and spa, plus activities such as kayaking, camping and stand-up paddleboarding. Quark also offers options for those fearful of the roundtrip two-day Drake Passage crossing, which may involve turbulent seas with a “fly the Drake” cruise.
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Video Angry travelers claim Norwegian Cruise Line rerouted Antarctica voyage mid-trip - ABC News
Video Angry travelers claim Norwegian Cruise Line rerouted Antarctica voyage mid-trip.
Posted: Wed, 14 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The trip across the Drake Passage is a little long and can be very rough, but it is unavoidable. We wanted an exploration class cruise to have a more direct experience in Antarctica. Virtually every Antarctica ship offers an open bridge policy where guests can visit the bridge at any time of day. Watch the crew navigate the ship and learn the art of navigation and modern equipment. Or simply chat with the crew and hear stories of their expeditions in Antarctica and beyond.
I found Goldilocks in Antarctica with this big little ship that’s just right - The Points Guy
I found Goldilocks in Antarctica with this big little ship that’s just right.
Posted: Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Antarctic fur seals start to arrive in their summer feeding grounds, and humpback whale numbers increase as more of these gentle giants arrive at the end of their long migration. Perhaps the ice will retreat far enough to allow us access to the unknown islands south of the Antarctic circle – where the midnight sun never sets. Like Scenic river ships, Scenic Eclipse is a high-end vessel with all-suite accommodations (and we're talking real suites, with separate living rooms), butler service for all and a wide range of onboard dining options including a sushi restaurant. It has a whiskey bar stocked with more than 110 whiskies and other high-end liquors, plus a spa and a yoga studio. For that reason, I am partial to the older but more intimate Hurtigruten polar vessel Fram, which carries just 200 passengers when operating in Antarctica.
We’re deeply committed to being a responsible business and understanding the impact we have on the places we visit. All Intrepid trips are 100% carbon neutral, but we are driven to do more, from committing to science-based decarbonisation targets to and recently updating our Seven-point Climate Action Plan. While the destination itself might conjure up images of nefarious voyages only the fittest can endure, you only need to be in good health and be able to move around freely to participate in and enjoy Antarctica's numerous activities and adventures. The cost of an Antarctica cruise largely depends on the departure date, how long the cruise goes for, and the type of cabin you book on the ship but most cruises start from USD$4,500. Antarctica is best visited in the summer months from November to March when the weather is warmer and the sea ice has melted enough to get closer to the island shore. While you can't embark on an expedition to the world's seventh continent alone, you can travel solo on a group tour to Antarctica.
The line will literally have a car pick you up at home, fly you to your cruise and do the reverse at the end of your Antarctic adventure. Known for its posh eponymous river cruise line since 2008, Scenic next conquered the ocean by debuting Scenic Eclipse in 2019, with near-twin Scenic Eclipse II making its splash in 2023. Billed as "six-star discovery yachts," the glam ships feature 114 all-veranda suites (200 passengers in polar waters), 10 dining experiences, nine lounges and bars, gym and even a yoga and Pilates studio. Long-known for its luxury ocean liners, Seabourn introduced its devotees to Seabourn Venture, its first expedition vessel in 2022 and its second, Seabourn Pursuit in 2023. These 264-passenger sister ships feature many of the amenities of Seabourn’s more traditional ships.
Head to Sky Lounge to listen to soothing live music as you enjoy a glass of wine with the perfect ocean view. Take in the views from the alfresco Rooftop Terrace, or enjoy a peaceful moment at the pool in the adults-only Solarium. Viking Octantis is designed to carry 378 passengers, which is on the high side for Antarctica cruise ships. Like Hurtigruten's Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen, it isn't able to land all or even most of its passengers at once in Antarctica. In September 2021, Ponant unveiled an even tougher polar vessel, the 270-passenger Le Commandant Charcot.
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