Customer Reviews

Hard to pick just one moment --- the colours in icebergs, the complete lack of fear of penguins (they have to be the only animal on the planet that doesn't run and hide from humans), the active volcano, the whales and their incredible curiosity and playfulness, the moment I set foot on Antarctica --- it was one memorable moment after another.

Too many to list really. However, one of my aims was to walk with King Penguins and to see them in huge crowds. I did this. And to see King Penguins on the same ground as sheep was just extroadinary. I come from North Yorkshire where sheep on peat are common but I could never have imagined them with penguins. That moment in the Falklands is indeed memorable.

Christmas morning. Waking up to kayak in water surrounded by ice chunks. A minke whale pops up right as we are switching the zodiacs. The sun came out for the first time and it was magical.

Choose one? We spent an incredible afternoon on the zodiacs following whales in the Gerlache Strait - what an incredible experience. We were fortunate enough to have several groups of whales in the area, with one whale breaching within 20 yards from our zodiac.

Highlight - being so close to humpbacks in a kayak (maybe 2 meters). Having someone catch that experience on a brief video was priceless as a souvenir. Similar to the giraffes in east Africa, I was surprised how much I found the penguins to be an interesting animal. I had never seen how they swim. It was excellent to meet people that have traveled as much as we have; that was very unique and enjoyable.

Walking amid the largest penguin colony in the world.

Opening the drapes in my cabin the first morning and seeing Antarctica

Overall, and underall and in between, it was fabulous. Kayaking was the highlight, though it was pretty exciting to see baby penguins. Landscape, particularly the icebergs, was sublime, surreal, dramatic, transcendental, magical. Wildlife was a hoot, never got tired of penguins or seals. The people we met were fine. When you said we'd see "a lot" of penguins, I didn't quite grasp just how many that would be or how close we'd get to them ... a pleasant surprise. Biggest surprise was just luck -- the phenomenal weather.

The last night where we dropped anchor in a sun lit bay and had the BBQ outdoors on deck, we were able to reflect on an amazing expedition, with the friends we'd made and then some humpbacks turned up and showed us their tails reflecting the setting sun - magic

Great. If you are going late in February or March I would highly recommend a circle crossing. The feel and look of Antarctica certainly changes down there.

Waking up the first morning on the ship to see icebergs out to w window and the sound of whales over the ship’s loudspeaker. It was clear that we had arrived in another world.

Absolutely no glitches and lots of pleasant surprises including aircraft carrier sized icebergs, Zodiac trips through ice fields, climbing the volcano on Deception Island, and up-close-and-personal with penguins, seals, and humpback whales. The fellow-travelers were very pleasant, mostly highly accomplished, and very interesting--a far cry from what one encounters on cruise ships and escorted tours. As for the grandchildren, I'll show some pictures and when they get a little older make sure they get to Antarctica. The continent is ineffable: words fail.

Seeing the penguins, whales, seals, dolphins, sea birds in their environment. Natural beauty of Antarctica - the ice, snow, mountains. Learning more from the lectures from the marine biologist, then also the presentation on the sad whaling history (told by a Norwegian expedition member whose uncle was a whaler) - the room was silent. The trip gives you lots to learn and think about in a bigger context.

My most memorable moment was finishing the hike from Godthul to Sandebrugten and being greeted by a curious baby fur seal who cutely charged at me.

Standing on South Georgia with 100,000+ breeding pairs of King penguins.

This is so hard to answer because there were so many memorable moments. I think our most memorable moments was during our first kayak trip. We landed our kayaks on a rocky beach to go see a penguin rookery. After getting out of the kayaks, we turned around to see dozens of Gentoo penguins walking by and going about their penguins business a handful of meters away. Nothing prepares you for how many penguins you'll see, how unfazed they are by you, and how adorable they are.

It is hard to pick out a highlight, the penguins especially seeing a Macaroni penguin on the first landing (I could watch penguins for hours), making a dash against the conditions to reach the Antarctic Circle and some of the scenery around Neko Harbour. Unfortunately we didn't camp due to the wind conditions, but this didn't have much of an impact on the enjoyment of the trip. Such a wide range of people from all over the world.

Hard to pick one moment but the scale and beauty of South Georgia and Antarctica was beyond my expectations. One moment that comes to mind is when a humpback whale near the ship to check us out while we were at anchor in Fournier Bay. The whale surfaced, blew, rolled and hung around the ship for quite a while before moving on. The clear water made it easy to see the whale just under the surface. Many good photos adn videos were captured!

Brilliant! Thousands of penguins, delightful weather, stunning scenery. We feel very lucky to have been able to experience such an amazing place.

There were two - setting foot on the main continent of Antarctica during sunset and experiencing the sheer size and scope of the wildlife on South Georgia (especially seeing the playful personalities of the Gentoo penguins and seal pups).