Tough to identify only one. Crossing the antarctic circle was important to me, so the moment we did that was special. Oddly, I would rate the drake passage as highly memorable; we got the "drake shake" but I had actualy wanted that to be a part of the experience so I quite enjoyed that too. But I enjoyed every single moment.

Life changing

Yes

I enjoyed them and felt safe at all times. The expedition leads were all very expertised. In particular with snorkeling, they were very helpful with getting our dry suits appropriately fitted, ensuring our gear was good before each excursion, and knowing when it might not be appropriate/safe to snorkel. One time in particular we had seen a leopard seal, and they would not ever allow snorkeling with leopard seals or orcas in the area. I never once was concerned about my safety. I always enjoyed when we could do landings. And I snorkeled -which I chose to not do every day, but when I did it was great. We would do the same zodiac excursion as everyone else but then snorkel for 30 minutes or so on the way back to the ship. I really enjoyed snorkeling, it was very special and memorable to have that as part of my experience. My favorite excursion was one where there were so many penguins! We did not have a landing that day, but saw numerous rookeries on our tour. And there were countless penguins swimming around our zodiacs, and also playfully jumping in and out of the water. I also enjoyed another day where there were countless humpback whales (it was another zodiac tour without landing). I was able to get 4 separate whale tail shots with my camera. We couldn't even count how many were in the area.

They were all incredible- all very knowlegeable and friendly. Standouts- Ted. He just seemed like a badass at what he does. Extremely knowledgeable of course. I loved his enthusiasm and his accomplishments in his area of research (whales). Ben- He made rocks fun! Really good lecturer. Very funny too. But I had the opportunity to talk with him some outside of the lecture, and I was blown away by not just his enthusiasm and expertise, but by his experiences in particular with Antarctica. I loved hearing about his experiences with South Pole expeditions. And he told me that you can skydive on antarctica (I am a skydiver). So, he alone planted the seed in my mind for a future trip for jumping, and a future trip that includes the South Pole. Thomas- great snorkeling instructor. He was personable and knowledgeable, and just very likable. He was great with communication, setting up a whatsapp thread for our group so we were always aware of the plan, which I really liked. He also helped organize our being able to share photos at the end of the cruise. Eddi- I just really liked Eddi so much! Great personality. She was my favorite when it comes to likability, it is just fun to be around her. I snorkeled in her zodiac a few times. She was very knowledgeable and expertised.

Cabin was great. Food was great, but they really need to have something available after hours other than cookies in a jar. I eat more smaller and frequent meals- and this was fine during the day. They had buffet breakfast and lunch, and an afternoon tea offering (ie waffles), a captains special happy hour with featured cocktail and canapes, and then dinner, But I usually like to have something to eat later, and there was nothing available! I had to take fruit from one of the buffets, or take the remainder of my plate from dinner, and I much would have preferred to not have to do this. Even if they added fruit to the 24 hour coffee/cookie location, that would be adequate. Or one after hours offering similar to the tea for those who like to eat something late also. Service was great. My cabin steward was Leland, and he was really awesome. In the dining room, we ended up with Tony for meals. and oh my goodness he was just fantastic! He would have our group's "usual" table set for us, complete with our drink preferences (I like tea and he always had it waiting for me). He had a wonderful personality too. And, he could sing! He sang for the dining room and sang just for our table a couple of times. If I had to pick one person who elevated the experience, it would be Tony. I would definitely choose this ship again. I loved the rooms, the design and layout, and the amenities (hot tub, spa, library). It was also the perfect size for this sort of expedition cruise.

I enjoyed and would recommend. I didn't have much experience with snorkeling and definitely none in cold water. I personally found suiting up to be difficult- it requires another person to do! But, that is a general comment and I only mention because that was why I did not choose to snorkel every time. The instructors were great. In my opinion, adding this enhances the experience a great deal. And, it was nice to do excursions with a small group, we all enjoyed getting to know each other some.

I have only positive things to say about swoop! Recommendation- the amount of material you provide is overwhelming. And it was presented in a way that, just how my personality is, made me feel like I needed to go through it in detail so that I felt somewhat anxious about, like having not completed that before the cruise was a failure. The amount of gear recommended could be decreased a little. I think 2 not 3 merino wool sets is fine. And one not two pairs of gloves is fine (one liner and one outer, yes- but it was suggested to have backup). And it isnt mandatory to have the waterproof backpack although I was under the impression that it was mandatory. Most people didn't take anything with them. And, snorkelers are provided with a waterproof bag for personal items. The webinar before was really good and it was nice that you recorded it so we could watch it again. I found that to be very helpful. All swoop team members I interacted with were great!

Use swoop! :) Plan well in advance so there is adequate time to prepare for everything. Learn how to use a camera bc even with the great camera on the iphone 16.....it's not the same. And get a go pro with waterproof casing. Even without snorkeling- people would put it on a stick and submerge it from the zodiac, and got some great underwater photos! And plan a few days in advance to acclimate to time zone and have buffer for travel delays.

Not sure what you are asking here. It was life changing. If I could say one "perspective" that was changes- Aurora does an exceptional job of minimizing waste and being very eco-conscious. Additionally, all travelers to antarctica on such expeditions are subject to high level bio security. It brought me back to being very conscious about and intentional about efforts to preserve our planet. And, I was really impressed with how 'untouched' antarctica feels, thanks to the prevention of ruin or contamination by us humans!

Very prepared, very excited

Yes

Yes

No