Magellan Explorer Ship Reviews

Landing on King George. The reason is that we had been delayed due to fog for two days and our trip was in jeopardy of being canceled. Two groups behind us never got to visit this incredible place due to weather. People who want to travel here have to understand that if you’re going to do the fly route the weather can be very fickle. Fog is a real issue. We came to learn that there must be at least 1000 feet of visibility clearance for the pilot to see the runway. This is a serious wild place. Landing strip has no landing lights, no tower and it’s gravel. And, wind plays a part too. Was it worth the risk of cancellation? OMG YES! The Antarctic is Overwhelming beauty and floods all 5 of your senses. Never experienced anything like this before. Sight and sounds are one of a kind. My wife and I are in our mid 60s and we didn’t find the trip physically challenging.

When we saw how Chinstrap penguins are able to survive and thrive in Orne Harbor area, we were stunned. Of course, the entire trip was splendid! Everyday experience becomes more and more speechless. At the end, we didn't say anything but purely enjoyed the beauty of such pristine nature.

Walking amid the largest penguin colony in the world.

Our excursion in Fournier Bay to see the humpback whales. The abundance of whale activity was an amazing experience.

This is difficult as my adventure was filled with many memorable moments...but the first day after flying in will remain indelibly in my memories. We had cruised for 21 hours south in rough seas (at least for sea sick me it was rough!) That day I set foot on the continent of Antarctica, it was windy, snowy and blustery, everything I anticipated Antarctica should be! The gusting wind forced us to take a knee to avoid being blown over as we climbed up a small hill to our first penguin colony. That experience was quickly followed by our first whale citing during our zodiac back to the ship. But it was not one whale, oh no, it was 5 whales with a tremendous flock of birds hovering above tracking the leftover krill. You would think it would be difficult to beat this day but each day was as special in its own way as Antarctica shared its wonders with us!

We had 9 excursions in 5 days, 7 landings and 2 zodiacs. One of those zodiacs was supposed to be a landing but the tide wouldn’t allow us go ashore, so we did zodiacs instead at Heroina Island. I had lowered my expectations a bit since it was a plan B, but it was probably my favorite excursion of the trip! There were thousands of penguins all over the rocky island, some chilling, and many diving into the water in what seemed like swarms. We kept circling all of the action with dramatic waves crashing against the rocks as the penguins jumped with us safely and calmly very close by in the zodiac boat. Then a leopard seal came up right next to the boat and stuck his head up just to see what was going on, a little before we saw two whales surfacing side by side slightly in the distance. It was everything I could have hoped for and more.

Getting close to the humpback whales on our kayak and also kayaking in Neko Harbour

Standing on the Antarctic continent with all the penguins & the majestic mountains & glaciers all around.

When I saw the first Iceberg and the penguins

The first morning, waking up and seeing the awesome landscape of blue icebergs, black terrain covered with pure white snow while on zodiak cruise, seeing a group of humpback whales engage in bubble net feeding

You can't put words to the feeling you get in Antarctica. Just being there is a life changing experience that one needs to have for themselves to appreciate the Arctic. My most memorable moment was seeing all the wildlife in their natural environment and how they live. Walking so close and feeling as a part of the environment was something we just don't experience in the "real world".

The whole trip! Learning about everything about Antarctica and Drake passage. I also enjoy the landscape once we’re on land

Being on the water among feeding humpback whales.

Too many to tell. The visit to South Georgia was spectacular. The ability to see so many penguins and fur seals in their natural habitat was spectacular. But best of all were the guides. They were outstanding. They went above and beyond to make our trip both enriched and kept us safe.

Very hard to pick one but maybe the hike on Petermann island, surrounded by so many penguins

Watching a pod of orcas swim under the boat and being in a zodiac, surrounded by humpback whales.

It's hard to pick just one. The entire trip was magical. If I had to pick, I'd say it was setting foot on the actual continent and posing with Antarctica21's "7 Continents" flag. A close second would be when two pods of orcas decided to swim alongside our ship.

Every second of it.

Kayaking in the brash ice in Neko Harbor. The stillness created by the ice was broken only by the occasional glacier calving. We paddled past a sleeping crab eater seal and watched feeding penguins swim past.

We were fortunate to have Loli (Lolly) as our Naturalist and Zodiac driver for an incredible encounter with Humbacks. She was super informative, and was as excited as we were to see them. She was helping out on the boat for a couple of weeks but also was a Swoop employee as well. She made sure that we (Craig and Candice) were also sorted out on our flights when we had a delay. Everyone on the boat wanted to have her as their driver because she was so fun and pleasant to be with.