The thrilling view of the expansive collection of King Penguins on South Georgia Island - St. Andrew's Bay and Gold Harbor

Great holiday

We loved the Zodiac excursions. The expedition crew and the support staff ensured that our entering and leaving the Zodiacs was always safe. We appreciated the mix of landings and cruising - often able to do both at one location. We had the opportunity to go on excursions with various expedition members, each bringing their own style and knowledge. Our most memorable Zodiac landings were on South Georgia - Gritviken for Shackleton, St. Andrew's and Gold Harbor for the King Penguins (described in previous answer). We loved all of the opportunities for cruising among the icebergs - every location. We also had an amazing opportunity to see a Leopard Seal up close in the water. on the peninsula, maybe Elephant Point? where the Leopard seal circled our Zodiac, lifting it's head, playing. Then it jumped into an empty Zodiac boat that was moored in the water. Wild!

Yes

As stated above we loved the Expedition Team! They were knowledgeable, friendly, fun and funny. Christian as the Expedition leader always emphasized the need to be flexible and he was attuned most to the safety of the passengers in explaining decisions about landings. Mark, the assistant expedition leader was so funny, friendly and went out of his way to help arrange a private tour for us at Stanley to see the war battle sites. Elena was informative and passionate about birds in particular and Antarctica in general. We enjoyed more than one extended hike with her both at Gritviken and I think Godthul. She was friendly and always engaging. Our favorite lectures tied between geology and history. Sydney Carste was so knowledgeable about geology. She was able to explain information in a straight forward way for the less informed but also meet the needs and interests of those who were more knowledgeable. And she was funny! Jack was extremely knowledgeable about the history and presented detailed and informative lectures. He was also fun, funny, flexible and passionate. Jamie, the photographer was funny and Katya, one of the snorkleing guides, was warm, engaging, and fun. Leo, knowledgeable about seals and willing to engage in our enthusiasm about Shackleton. In addition to the educational aspect we appreciated that the expedition team members always made efforts to sit with passengers at meals so we could get to know them better. And there were several just silly and fun events like the game "How Big is It?" that Gabby and Gus ran as well as an Antarctica trivia game that Sydney and Katya ran.

We had never been on a cruise, expedition, or even a boat overnight. We loved the Sylvia Earle. It exceeded our expectations in terms of comfort and luxury. We thought our cabin was great - roomy, attractive, good facilities, comfortable - even better than a couple of hotels we were at in Ushaia. The food was plentiful and delicious. We were most impressed with the service staff, as mentioned earlier, who were so attentive to our dietary needs. In particular, Allan, who checked with us every day to ensure that there were vegetarian or fish options for us to eat for lunch and dinner. He also arranged for off menu items if needed. We were well served by all of the staff but especially Jose whose tables we always tried to sit at. We would definitely choose the Sylvia Earle again.

My earlier answers included more specifics as I was unsure that there would be space to comment.

If we had not specifically been interested in Shackleton and South Georgia I feel that we would have missed out. While the Antarctic peninsula is amazing, we loved South Georgia for all its differences and own beauty and wildlife. I don't know if others are aware of some of the differences.

Make sure to recommend South Georgia

Prepared enough and excited enough. While my husband looked at You Tube videos of wild life I did not, wanting to be amazed and surprised while there.

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Yes

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