Customer Reviews

Trip was great; for subject matter, see paragraph above. Crossing the "Drake" was more arduous than I expected, and quite uncomfortable in both directions. My wife and I did not get sick, but we had the patch first, and then another med suggested by ship doctor, which seemed to work better. Highlight of the trip: interacting with other passengers on the ship, sharing stories of past adventures, and plans for the next. Most magical moments(2): going ashore at Cuverville Island, and walking among the penguins, which showed no signs of fear of humans, and climbing the hill above Neko Harbor, and seeing ice-covered mountains all around, and reflections on the water, which was perfectly calm.

All of it! Incredible to experience Antarctica onboard the Ortelius, fantastic crew looking after us all, zodiac cruises, mountaineering, hiking, wildlife close up with penguins, whales, orca’s.

- seeing the land scape and the animals. - simply unmatched, unperturbed, unadulterated, and pristine. - every society has some jerks. 90% were very mannered. - do not miss the chance to visit antártica. - the drake passage was abominable.

The kayaking was fabulous, truly the best way to see things. Many of the kayaking moments stand out.

There was not just one memorable moment. Is absolutely incredible. Seeing all the penguins seals and whales. The icebergs, especially in wilmina bay Made me feel like I was in the movie avatar the way of water. It was all totally amazing!

Kayaking around icebergs.

When the Minke whale swam under our kayak, and then stopped in the center of our grouped kayaks among the broken ice, and proceeded to blow snot at a few of us, 4 times, while poking the tip if his mouth out of the water at us….lasting at least 2 full minutes…then gliding past me underwater (about 1 m) and looking me straight in the eye…..I couldn’t breathe!!

Many moments... The New Year's Eve party, stepping in Antartica for the forst time, South Georgia...

Every day brought a new highlight, the ice, the mountains, the quiet, the isolation, the penguins, seals, whales and birds were all extraordinary. We were so fortunate to be able to go on this trip, I can't say enough good things about it. The ship was perfect, crew were great, our room cozy and calm, the ship operator's staff were professional, knowledgeable and fun. Every moment was special.

Honestly, there are almost too many to count. The top moments were probably seeing a pod of orcas off the side of the boat, seeing a caving iceberg, and climbing Spigot Peak.

We were married on Antarctica, so that was definitely the most memorable. Second was the polar plunge we did with about 40-50 other people.

Fantastic experience, would recommend to anyone interested in wildlife and the history of the area. Great informal atmosphere with no cocktail parties

Seeing the masses of frolicking penguins and seal pups in S Georgia

We were amazed by the beauty of its nature. The steep hill with their snow and glaciers. The icebergs were so huge and colorful. The gentoo penguins were the only breed we saw, but they were cute for a few days. We sat with different people at every meal and met some really interesting people. The ship was a good size for this trip. I would not want to go any larger since we would have not been able to make landings at some of the places we did. The ship's operator provided a very nice experience, with the only downside being that some of their lecturers were not well prepared.

The general itinerary was great, but we found the extra activities such as kayaking and camping to be the most memorable. I liked the idea of the closed group for kayaking since it did seem to take a while for people to get comfortable, and I could not imagine having to repeat that process every outing. The scenery kayaking through some of the harbors seemed out of this world. We also saw orcas on multiple occasions with the pod coming right up to the ship. One pod was even hunting a seal. It was all very exciting!

Lots of wildlife - penguins galore, eggs & chicks. A humpback whale breaching close to the boat, orcas poking their heads up between the ice. Guides & staff were fantastic -nothing too much trouble. Loved going out on the zodiacs & lots of landings. Visiting a research station was very interesting. Getting close to wildlife, hiking on a glacier. Food on board was excellent. Drake passage was a 'rock & rolling ' adventure!!!!! Being chased by fur seals on the beach & having enormous elephant seals getting up close & personal!!

In zodiac in the iceberg graveyard and the whales feeding by us

Watching the Gentoo Penguins fighting and squabbling with her neighbors over pebbles to build its nest and how mummy/papa penguins changing shifts to keep their eggs warm and for those which had chicks, its remarkable watching them feed their young after an outing at the sea..

Seeing the great landscape without anything disturbing it. The icebergs, snow, animals, mountains, glaciers and undisturbed landscape was jaw dropping.

The turning over of the iceberg and seeing Cape Horn.