CHOOSING A CRUISE
Face it: visiting Antarctica is EXPENSIVE. No way around it – you will NOT find a “shoestring budget” option, especially if you want to set foot on shore. So, once you’ve decided to blow your savings on the trip of a lifetime (like we did!), there are many factors to consider beside the price tag when selecting your ship. (Because let’s face it, flying down to Antarctica doesn’t make sense – flights are canceled more often than not, and it’s not like there are domestic transfers for tourists once you get there.)
The biggest issue for us was, of course, whether or not we would make landfall on Antarctica. We did find a great last-minute deal on a Holland America cruise which had an almost identical itinerary to the one we ended up with. While it was a fraction of the cost, we finally decided it would cost us more in the long run if we went all the way there and decided we would have to save up and come back someday to “do it right.”
The next factor was the length of the itinerary and the cost per day of the entire cruise. In his research, Igor found quite a few smaller, “expedition-style” ships with a similar price tag, however they all started in Ushuaia, Argentina and only lasted 10 days. We figured that if we were going to drop a small fortune on a single trip, we wanted to stretch out the spend as long as possible. We also had the unique situation of taking a year off to travel, and needed to fill in a few weeks of activity before our next destination. Once we are working again, we’ll probably never have the chance to take a three-week long cruise again.
Seabourn “Quest” cruiseship to Antarctica
The final consideration was whether or not we would visit the island of South Georgia. Most Antarctic expeditions include a stop at one of the islands off the coast of Argentina, however many itineraries visit the Falkland Islands instead. While both the Falklands and South Georgia lie at a similar latitude, the climates are drastically different as South Georgia is below the Antarctic Convergence and is thus considered a “sub-Antarctic island,” while the Falklands are significantly warmer and much more developed. Since our interests tend to lean more towards wildlife than history, we knew South Georgia was a must and only considered ships that made a stop.
SOUTH AMERICAN PORTS OF CALL
For anyone who has yet to visit Chile, or has only visited Santiago and the wine country, this cruise hits all the must-see locations along the coast. We, on the other hand, have already explored Chilean Patagonia so we didn’t feel the need to rehash all the sights this go-around. But, just to recap:
Valpariso, the port city two hours outside the capital where the cruise embarks, is a cool, artsy place that is definitely worth coming in a day early for. It reminds me of San Francisco: cold & foggy in the morning; steep hills with great vistas of the bay (you can take a hair-raising funicular ride to a viewpoint); and lots of colorful street art (AKA graffiti) that can be really pretty.
Visiting Valpariso during a company sales & marketing trip in 2014
Puerto Montt is in the Lake District of Chile, marking the unofficial border of Patagonia. You’ll start to see lots of dramatic, snow-covered mountains, and dozens of beautiful blue lakes. We decided to rent a car for the day, which allowed us to combine two of the ship’s excursions at a quarter of the cost. (Although, we did risk missing the ship’s All Aboard time.)
Exploring Chile’s stunning Lake District outside Puerto Montt
We would have liked a little more time on the island of Chiloé. With only 6 hours onshore, we didn’t feel comfortable venturing too far on our own, as a result, we didn’t get a chance to check out the national park. The city is pretty walkable, though, so we were able to get pictures of the iconic palafitos – the colorful stilt houses that line the shore.
Colorful and quaint – Chiloé is a very pretty stop in Southern Chile
The first time we sailed through the Chilean Fiords two years ago, we had AMAZING weather, so we knew how spectacular they are. Even when we were in Doubtful Sound in New Zealand early this year, we had to admit that Chile is just bigger and wilder. Sadly, we had rainy weather this time around, so we didn’t get the same effect.
Cruising the Chilean Fiords in 2014 – day-trip from Bernard O’Higgins National Park to Punta Arenas
We arrived in Punta Arenas on Christmas Day, so the normally busy city was practically shut down. A handful of museums were open, and the tourist information center was open as well. For those who wanted to see one of Patagonia’s most scenic parks, the cruise ship actually arranged a *day trip* to Torres del Paine! The price tag is astronomical and there is not enough time for ANY hiking (it is just a fly-by & drive-through) – it would be cheaper to fly back to Chile separately and give yourself time to explore Torres del Paine on foot. But, the excursion was apparently SOLD OUT, so there must be enough people who don’t have the time or strength to make a return visit (this is a *bucket-list* location after all!). Punta Arenas is also a great place to see Magellanic Penguins – a trip to Magdalena Island (which we did two years ago) is worth the rough and bumpy boat ride as you get to walk among the penguins!
Exploring Torres del Paine & the Magellanic Penguins during our vacation in 2014
Ushuaia was our first new location of the trip, so we packed our day full of sight-seeing activities. It is possible to do a lot on your own – taxis are pretty reliable (they all use meters) and the parks are only about 20min from town. Weather can be pretty brutal – with wind and snow make it feel even colder than Antarctica! – but we lucked out and had an amazingly beautiful sunny day. We had just enough time for a hike up to the Martial Glacier and a one-way train ride “to the end of the world” in Tierra del Fuego National Park.
Ushuaia is a “cruise-town” – if you are going to Antarctica, there’s a 95% chance you’ll have to stop here
Our final port of call in Montevideo was after our two weeks in Antarctica. Since the captain left the Antarctic a day early to avoid bad weather, we arrived in Montevideo a night earlier than scheduled. We had a full 24 hours in Uruguay – plenty of time for an evening stroll around the Mercado del Puerto before dinner on the ship when we first arrived, shopping for toiletries the next morning and an excursion to the wine country in the afternoon.
Old-World feel of Montevideo and Uruguayan wineries
The cruise ended in Buenos Aires, and many of our fellow passengers planned a few extra days of sight-seeing after disembarking. We were doing a bit of extra travel around Argentina before moving on to our next country, but we did eventually fly back to Buenos Aires for a few days in the city. The Argentine capital is absolutely gorgeous, and a hop-on/hop-off bus tour was perfect for us. We are also into ballroom dancing, so naturally we visited an authentic milonga to watch the locals dance Argentine Tango.
Touring Buenos Aires via open-air bus by day and watching serious tango dancers by night
THE CROSSING
Sailing across the Drake Passage is dreaded price you have to pay in order to visit Antarctica. The 1,000KM stretch of open ocean between Ushuaia and the Antarctica Peninsula is the shortest route to the continent, but it also has the reputation of having the roughest waters in the world. Our original itinerary gave us two full days at sea to cross the Drake Passage, but we were lucky enough to get a break in between two storms and made the trip in only one day. The first 12 hours or so were pretty bumpy, with 10ft swells pitching our front-of-the-boat cabin up and down, but the huge stabilizers on the ship prevented us from suffering too much of the side-to-side motion that usually induces seasickness. By lunchtime the wind died down, the sun came out, and the water flattened to a docile “Drake Lake.”
Stock up on Dramamine to get you through the “Drake Shake.” Our cabin was in the very front of the ship – it wasn’t that bad.
ANTARCTIC PENINSULA
We were ridiculously lucky in terms of weather during our time in the Antarctic Peninsula – sunshine every day and almost no wind provided us with postcard-perfect views and flat, mirror-like waters. We spoke to both staff and guests who have been to Antarctica before, and everyone agreed that these were rare, exceptional conditions. Even though the weather was phenomenal, our captain cut our 6-day itinerary short by a day due to poor weather projections on our return journey. However, the five stops that we did make were great, giving us a good variety of landscapes and exposure to each of the three penguin species that nest in the area. The itinerary was pretty light on points of historical significance, but we’re not usually interested in that anyways.
Our first and last landings were in the South Shetland Islands – an archipelago just off the northern tip of the Peninsula. Both were had pretty flat, rocky beaches that were easy to explore on foot. Yankee Harbor had a huge rookery of Gentoo Penguins, while Half Moon Island was home to a colony of Chinstrap Penguins. Because the northern location was relatively warmer and mostly snow-free, these penguins were the furthest along in their mating cycle – both locations had 1-3 week old chicks!
More penguins than you can count in the South Shetland Islands!
We had two landings on the actual mainland of Antarctica – Neko Habor and Waterboat Point. These two locations were the furthest south, although still far away from the Antarctic Circle (which we never crossed). As a result, both had a lot more snow and the penguins’ eggs hadn’t hatched yet. Both had large colonies of Gentoo Penguins. Other than that, the topography of these two locations were very different: Neko Harbor had a tall hill we could climb for a nice viewpoint, and the snow was so deep we could only navigate the beach via trenches in the snow (AKA “penguin highways”). Waterboat Point, however, is the location of one of the Chilean research stations, so there is a paved walkway leading through the nesting area. There is also a gift shop and post office!
Setting foot the White Continent and sending postcards from the end of the world
Torgersen Island was the only location were we weren’t permitted to get on the shore – the activities were limited to zodiac tours and kayaking excursions. However, this ended up being one of our best days as we encountered a huge variety of sights: this was the only location where we saw Adelié Penguins (who were very active – porpoising in the water, jumping off icebergs and tobogganing on the snowy beach), there was an ice field of particularly beautiful blue icebergs, and we were fortunate enough to be in a zodiac when four Humpback Whales were swimming around the bay, constantly surfacing as they hunted for krill.
Zippin’ by Adelié Penguins and Humpback Whales during our zodiac tour
SOUTH GEORGIA
Unfortunately, the weather did not hold out for our visit to South Georgia. Apparently the island only gets 1,000 hours of sunshine PER YEAR, so it’s extremely rare to get a nice day. We arrived 3 hours behind schedule due to a snowstorm we encountered during our crossing of the Southern Ocean. When we finally arrived in the late morning, our zodiac tour to Cooper Bay had to be canceled because the swells made it too dangerous for the guests to board the zodiacs from the side of the ship. Instead, we had a scenic cruising tour of Drygalski Fjord. This was our only chance to see Macaroni Penguins, so even though there are over 5 MILLION of them on the island, we left South Georgia without seeing a single one.
So close, yet so far – scenic cruising around South Georgia due to bad weather
Our only landing in South Georgia was at Grytviken – the very first whaling station on the island. We suspect this is the most popular destination on South Georgia itineraries – not only is there a lot of historical significance (it is the site of Ernest Shackleton’s grave and the only museum on the island), but it is located in a very protected bay, making it easier to access even in poor weather. Luckily for us, South Georgia is so jam packed with wildlife, even Grytviken had enough Fur Seals and King Penguins to leave us satisfied.
The old whaling station of Grytviken – now home to Antarctic Fur Seals and moulting King Penguins
Our final stop in South Georgia was a zodiac tour along the beach of Salisbury Plain – one of the biggest rookies for King Penguins. It was an amazing sight – around 250,000 penguins blanketed every inch of ground! The Expedition Team was optimistic that a landing *might* be possible, but the captain pulled the plug since the huge swells required the zodiacs to land backwards and created too big of a risk for injury.
So. Many. Penguins.
THE EXPEDITION TEAM
The Seabourn Quest had a staff of over a dozen Expedition Team members who provided an educational element to our voyage. Their backgrounds were very diverse – there were several marine biologists (that’s to be expected), but there were also historians and geologists, in addition to some general wilderness experts. The Expedition Team were our guides during our Antarctic landings and did everything from driving the zodiacs, marking walking paths on the shore, and guiding the kayak excursion. They were a wealth of knowledge on all animals we encountered, and were typically stationed on deck for 6 hours per day, helping guests look for whales and seabirds.
Most members of the Expedition Team also held educational lectures during the day, which were also live-broadcast to the TVs in our staterooms and archived for later viewing. We attended about half of all the lectures during the cruise, and they vary widely both in subject material and (sadly) quality level. Many of the presentations were quite impressive – especially those led by one of the scientists with a professional academic background (John Ford’s presentations of Killer Whales and Kirstie Yeager’s presentations on pinnipeds were particularly well done). Even though we are not big history buffs, a lot of the stories we heard from Peter Damisch had just enough information to be entertaining without boring us with too many names and dates. But then, there were also quite a few duds in the mix – one or two of the presenters were constantly all over the place during their PowerPoints, and a few of the others were just dull. The presentations were typically 45min long, and the afternoon presentation had drink service in the auditorium, so it was easier to suffer through.
FOOD & WINE
The biggest difference between visiting Antarctica on a small expedition boat verses a cruise is, of course, the luxury aspect. We had a mindset that “you get what you pay for,” and given the exorbitant price tag, we were expecting A LOT. And you know what? We were not disappointed. Seabourn has a partnership with celebrity chef Thomas Keller (owner of Napa’s French Laundry and New York’s Per Se), so the nightly menu at the main restaurant on the ship always had new, interesting, and alternately weird and daring items to try. We also found out late in the game that Seabourn prides itself on two unique offerings: 1) caviar is available ANYTIME, and 2) the chef can prepare ANYTHING you request given 24 hours’ notice (including frog’s legs, Baked Alaska, Crepes Suzette – you name it!).
Even though we had plenty of opportunity to indulge and over eat during the set meal times, we were surprised by the comparative lack of food on this ship verses other cruises we’ve been on. We are used to having a Lido Deck with a 24hr buffet offering constant temptation. While the Quest does offer 24hr room service and small pastries and sandwiches are available at the coffee bar for 12hrs during the day, there actually times during the cruise where Lindsay *felt hungry*! And yes, our pants were a bit more snug by the end of the trip, but considering it was a 24-day cruise, we really didn’t gain any weight.
Artery-clogging breakfast buffet, “stupid-good” daily dinner specials, and caviar-on-demand
The unlimited booze was the luxury that Lindsay enjoyed the most. And this wasn’t watered-down or low-quality selections either. We were incredibly impressed to find out that the *house wines* included many of the brands that Lindsay had previous worked for: Casillero del Diablo, Banfi, Chateau Ste. Michelle, and Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, just to name a few! Though there were more premium wines available at an additional cost, we were baffled as to WHY as of the guests would find it necessary. Despite the free-flowing alcohol, the atmosphere was anything but a booze-cruise. Most of the bars were empty by midnight (with the exception of New Year’s, which probably quieted down around 1:30AM), and pretty much all the guests were moderate drinkers. Again, with the exception of New Year’s, we NEVER saw anyone visibly intoxicated. And even though we indulged in the occasional lunchtime or afternoon cocktail and drank more over dinner than we normally do at home, we didn’t get a single hangover during the entire cruise.
Hats off to the Beverage Director – the wine selection was top notch
ENTERTAINMENT
The choice of evening entertainment was the most disappointing aspect of the cruise. There were a lot of understandable limitations – the small size of the ship meant there was no real stage (just a raised platform big enough for a band next to a dancefloor), the remote location meant new guest performers couldn’t join the ship after Ushuaia (in fact, one of the four scheduled performers missed the ship!), and the rough seas made it dangerous for many physical performances like acrobatics and dance. All the guest performers who were either not singers (i.e. comedian Scott Harris or magician John Lenahan) or were both a singer and a musician (i.e piano player Judy Carmichael and a guitarist Nestor Sandorio) were very good – each performed at least twice and we attended every show.
But the big problem was the lack of variety: there were way too many singers. In addition to another two guest vocalists, there was a cast of TWELVE singers on the ship. We’re not generally into musical reviews, so even though all the performers were talented, it was monotonous for us. (And the guest singers were painfully bad at the between-song chitchat with the audience.) Finally, there were four movie nights, but at least three of them were pure filler as the films they screened in the auditorium were available on demand on the stateroom TV.
FELLOW GUESTS
Given that we are in our early to mid-30s, we were by far the youngest guests on the ship (except for the 2 or 3 teenagers travelling with their parents) and we really stuck out. During the first few days of the cruise there were several cases of mistaken identity, where other guests flat-out asked us if we were staff or brushed us off as “trust-fund babies.” (That’s a direct quote!) A handful of other guests completely ignored us (even when we were seated next to each other at the same table for dinner). By the end of the trip, we had become quite a curiosity to both our fellow guests and members of the crew, so we had lots of people coming up to us, trying to find out what our deal was. Eventually word got around that we had quit our jobs and were travelling the world for a year.
There was *one* other couple on the ship that was our age, but we never got to know each other. You’d think we would have naturally gravitated toward each other, but we could not have been more opposite. Lindsay and Igor were slumming it – travelling with only one piece of carry-on luggage each. With our hippie pants, Lindsay’s lack of make-up and Igor’s raggedly ponytail, we looked like bums. The other couple were chic, fur-wearing Eastern-Europeans, who looked like their parents might run a mob syndicate. We must have looked each other up and down the first week and thought, “Nooooo, this isn’t going to work. We’re not going to be friends,” and never spoke a word to each other.
The demographic of the rest of the guest-list was pretty predictable: old & rich. Some were STUPID rich. We actually overheard one guy claim to be a rare egg collector who wanted to pick up a penguin egg while we were down in Antarctica (rest assured – he did NOT get an opportunity to steal an egg). Another gentleman had his favorite pet dog skinned and turned into a hat after it died. Dude sitting behind us at dinner? He casually slipped his waiter a 100-dollar tip, *even though all staff gratuity is included*. We expected a lot of retired doctors, lawyers and bankers (and there were plenty of those on the ship) – but we’ve been exposed to those kind of people before. This was truly the first time where we encountered people who were so out of touch with reality, that we could feel the divide between ourselves and the “1%”.
With that being said, most of the guests on the ship were totally normal. We’re not overly gregarious when meeting new people, but Seabourn had a few ice-breaker events to help people to know each other: a “block-party” cocktail hour to meet other guests on our floor, and dinner invites hosted by one of the staff members. As a result, we met quite a few friendly, down-to earth people who weren’t obscenely rich (including a pair of mushroom farmers from New Zealand, an outdoorsy-couple from Colorado, and some fellow “Travel-Gnomes-in-Training” who were planning to visit 7 continents in 70 days in 2017).
CONCLUSION
We LOVED this cruise. Even after 24 days on a ship, we didn’t want it to end (we contemplated hiding out in one of the lifeboats and staying on for the next sailing – we could still sneak into the buffet and sleep in the bar, right?). There are very few things (other than a car) that are worth this price tag, but we felt we got what we paid for: a once-in-a-lifetime experience in one of the most remote locations on earth, while pampered in the lap of luxury.
Will we do it again? No. As I said in the beginning – the point was to do it once, and to do it right. We have zero regrets and would recommend this cruise to anyone planning a trip to Antarctica. But we still have a long list of places to see and things to do on our bucket list – it’s time for us to start ticking off some more!