The trip was fantastic. I highly recommend that anyone travel to Antarctica. I am so glad that we chose to fly the Drake Passage, instead of sailing it, which gave us more time in Antarctica. I also think crossing the polar circle was a huge highlight. I would also insist that anyone booking a trip participate in the kayak program... knowing what I know now and having experienced the kayak program was the best thing about the trip. Kayaking gave us a pristine and uncluttered experience of Antarctica and allowed us to visit more than other tourists on our boat. I also really enjoyed stepping on the Antarctic continent. Most of the stops were on islands along the peninsula, but one stop was on the continent itself, which is a must do. The people we met on the trip were great. I did notice that the average age range of the guests on board was 60-80 years old, but in the kayak program it was younger (30-40 years old) and more at my pace. It was great to meet all the guests on the ship, but I did notice that the tour groups tended to stay separate and did not mingle, and that was disappointing. The food was great, but there were not many chicken options and limited salad bar items. I would have liked to see more white-meat options at dinner.

Antarctica was amazing and then some--we had an unprecedented five days of sunshine in a row (first time that happened all season), that was the cherry on top of an already amazing trip.

Yes

Swoop was fantastic. The only disappointment I had was that in chatting with the Swoop representatives before the trip, they kept emphasizing that February is when you see the baby penguins the most and they are most active in walking up to cameras, etc. This wasn't exactly the case though. Our cruise started on February 19 and got back on February 26, and by this time we cruised the penguin chicks were pretty much full grown and indistinguishable from the adults. For instance, in one colony, the only way to tell the adults from the adolescent penguins was that the adults were molting, and the "babies" had already molted completely. I wish this had been communicated that we wouldn't really see any babies, or that they would be full grown at that time. Swoop was fantastic in everything. They were communicative and prompt. The assistance in picking a cruise and pricing out all our options was outstanding!

Fantastic! I have some suggestions about the ship, though. Parts of the ship (the Ocean Nova) were definitely outdated and in need of upgrades. For instance, the chairs in the lounge had old, stained upholstry and were soooooooo uncomfortable to sit on. The mattresses were thin and hard as rocks.

AMAZING. I would insist that anyone going do the kayaking program if they are physically capable of doing it. You see all the things that the zodiaks see, but also get a totally unique and pristine experience.

Would have liked more on-continent excursions (as opposed to the islands off the peninsula). Expedition staff was great, although the expedition leader did not seem very friendly one-on-one.

Definitely sign up for the kayak program. Definitely fly across the Drake. Definitely choose a ship with less than 100 passengers. Binoculars were not needed. The bridge had two loaner pairs and no one needed their own. Don't waste time buying or bringing them. Bring a deck of cards.