So many amazing moments that its tough to pick one. A few examples: - Being in a zodiac and suddenly finding ourselves being circled at close proximity by 2 pods of hunting humpback whales which were fluking, rolling and generally bubbling to confuse their prey. - Navigating the incredible Lemaire channel which was so blocked by a massive iceberg that getting through was a miracle performed by the ships bridge. - Looking down on and listening to the immense penguin colony at St Andrews bay in S.Georgia. - Seeing my first blue iceberg. - Seeing a glacier calve into the sea.

Great holiday

- We felt super safe in the zodiacs. The safety of our gear (life jackets etc) was always checked before we set off. There was always a helping hand (and or walking poles) to get on and off a slightly rocky boat, wade across a river etc. We were always briefed when landing on what to do or not to do and what to see where. - During landings we'd generally be positively surprised by how warm we stayed. I hadn't fully appreciated how much colder a zodiac excursion might be. The wind chill increases exponentially and that could be for upto 1.5 hours. - The risk element of a zodiac cruise was who was your Expedition team guide / driver. They ranged from amazing (Thank you Sydney, Ryan, Heather) to very average.

- The Expedition Team was generally very good . They were all enthusiastic, helpful and friendly. - Stand out members of the team were Heather (a cool customer, always in control and the guide present at the best wildlife experience ever) , Ryan (consistently businesslike, unfazed, funny and helpful), Sydney (Inspirational about rocks, clouds and most things natural, as well as being great fun to be with). Reza (always smiling and efficiently checking us off and onto the boat and selling us things in the shop !). - The biggest shout out would be for Ashley and Jarryd from Nomadasaurus who were actually on board to create marketing for Aurora but ended up giving 3 fabulous lectures on photography and hosted the best photographic zodiac cruise. - There was the odd ET member that was less experienced and that stood out.

- We knew when we first saw the Sylvia Earle in port in Ushuaia that we had made the right choice - for us. She was dwarfed by some of the larger cruise ships. - Generally we liked the ship. She had a great sauna with a picture window out to the sea, a great gym again with large picture windows and from where my husband saw orcas. The ship staff were fantastic. The waiters especially were brilliant. They remembered to tell my husband every time something he was allergic to was on the menu. The food was plentiful, with a great mix of options for those with dietary constraints, but a bit mixed in terms of quality. The salad bar, breakfast selection and curries were consistently good. Aside from the Chocolate and vanilla ice cream, the puddings were consistently uninspiring. We booked dinner almost every night in the Rockhopper as the the Gentoo dinners we found could be a bit hit and miss (under cooked pork loin, mushy veg etc). - Cabin - there was a huge amount of storage space and a separate dressing area that we weren't expecting. Generally it was very comfortable. My only criticism would be that we deliberately booked a premium cabin and didn't realise it was under the Rockhopper restaurant, which meant that 3x a day you could hear chair legs scraping back on the floor above as people started or finished their meals.

Yes

Choose the smallest ship you can afford - it makes a big difference in terms of time spent waiting to load and unload zodiacs and to time spent onshore.

I have a new found respect for icebergs and the natural global ecosystem that the Antarctic supports. I will never knowingly consume omega 3 made from krill again.

Yes

Yes

No

Photography - I would say the photography advice needs to be updated. With bird flu you cant get as close as you used to previously. Longer telefoto lenses are the way forward (100-500 ideal)

Generally very prepared and very excited. I actually became more excited when I realised that bird flu and A23a were less of a risk than the press suggested.