We watched a pod of orcas hunting two penguins in the Gerlache Strait for ten to fifteen minutes. We have long been on the hunt for orcas, and have never seen anything more than a distant dorsal fin. It was an incredible spectacle to watch.

Great holiday

Yes

They just weren't long enough. We got out on four zodiac cruises and four landings over six days. One day we were ship-bound as we headed south in the Weddell Sea in search of an Emperor Penguin colony and were repelled by the sea ice, and then we cut the expedition a half-day short omitting one landing/cruise to account for expected rough seas on the Drake Passage return. So, we had hoped for a couple more, but fully anticipated some weather-dependent flexibility. Some of the cruises were as short as an hour. As an observer, it felt like they probably could have squeezed a little more time out on the boat for us at most of the stops.

We were a little disappointed at the quality of the expedition team. Several of them didn't seem that well-informed. For example, we were travelling with a wildlife guide, and we had much better success at identifying most of the wildlife than we fared by asking our guides. The quality of the lectures left something to be desired, as many of them felt like souped-up wikipedia page presentations.

Quite prepared and very excited. It was a trip we booked a year in advance. The build-up was considerable, and I think the trip lived up to our expectations. Swoop was great along the way.

No

Yes

Yes