The landscapes and wildlife were spectacular. After awhile you almost stop taking pictures of whales because you have so many. The other passengers were diverse, adventurous and many will hopefully be friends for life. It was a bummer the weather made us head north a day early, but no worries.

It's pretty epic down there.

Yes

Swoop was good. I don't have anything to compare it to, but the trip was exactly what they told me it would be and was what I was hoping for.

Overall the trip and crew were great. The trip leader should have definitely displayed more tact when telling us we had to leave early. In the field (ie zodiac excursions and the like) the crew was awesome. It was obvious they knew what they were doing and they were very good at it. The lectures were painfully bad for the most part. I'm biased as I used to give lectures on boats for a living, but I just feel like if your crew isn't really going to put a lot of effort into the lectures, why bother having them. There were exceptions however. The Scottish mountaineer guy gave good talks and to be fair I stopped attending so maybe they got better. It didn't mar the trip because I didn't go for the lectures but they were pretty bad overall.

N/A

Onboard the vessel, the expedition staff were adequate. I have no real complaints. On the zodiac bit, they were exceptional. I think the lectures and passenger interaction aboard the ship could be greatly improved but again I want to stress that out in the field, they were awesome. I mean, icebergs are icebergs. Not sure what else you want me to say about them. Lots of wildlife. Highlight was probably Crystal Sound.

Go do it. It's completely unlike anywhere else and one should jump at the opportunity if it presents itself.

I am in Patagonia and have already been to the Arctic, so my answer to the previous two questions should be taken with a grain of salt.