December Reviews

Highlights were just being there, being able to walk around on the continent and see the wildlife in its natural habitat - in terms of activities the highlight was camping out in a snow hole overnight on the summer solstice (truly magical). Our fellow travellers were also amazing, from the incredibly competent ship's crew, to the expedition staff (who were friendly, helpful, informative and approachable, as well as being experts in their field), to the wonderful people we met - all with adventurous souls and full of tales of travel. No matter how well travelled anyone was - we all had the same sense of child-like wonder in Antarctica.

It is almost impossible to describe Antarctica in a few simple sentences. We were treated to her best - spectacular weather, amazing wildlife, surreal scenery. Having spoilt us, Antarctica decided to throw a tantrum and fog delayed us somewhat at King George Island. This just added another dimension to our trip and we got to sail the Drake. (Sof got her wish!) Highlights - way too many. Cruising through the ice to the Antarctic Circle in glorious sunshine, Kayaking with Humpback Whales - literally! They were that close we got caught up in their bubble nets. Watching the kamikaze penguin come face to face with a Leopard Seal. (Have you ever seen a surprised penguin? He loved!) Feeling so small, insignificant and wanting to desperately protect the fragility of this amazing continent as we listened to calving ice and absorbed the silence of the glacial splendour that is one facet of Antarctica. The ship operator's staff were amazing. They worked really well together as a team. As Kayakers we were exceptionally lucky. Great group, great guides, awesome experience. A great group on board - even with the Chinese. I think the delay and Drake Crossing highlighted how well the dynamics between crew, staff and passengers worked. We felt very protective of the staff when we finally left the Vavilov. Antarctica was a surprise, the fog was a surprise. Epic. Just epic. The whole trip was epic! Biggest surprise - our upgrade and that bottle of wine.

Stunning scenery, icebergs everywhere some of incredible sizes both in length and breadth, wildlife, whales of various species. 6 types of penguins, birds nesting and following the ship, and all overlaid with amazing historical sites and stories. My grandchildren will hear how their grandmother was picked up by a 6 foot 3 inch giant and thrown from a beach into the zodiac, got knocked off the tubes by the strength of the waves, and then returned, soaked, to the ship with 8 inches of water in the zodiac!

Too many memorable moments to list though, if pushed, I'd have to say the look on my husband's face when he saw Brabant Island, an island he'd spent 9 months on back in 1984, for the first time in 39 years. This would shortly be followed by reaching the summit of Cuverville Island on snow shoes, taking the polar plunge and disco dancing on the helideck of m/v Ortelius on New Year's Eve.

Catching my first glimpse of the icebergs on arriving at the Antarctic Peninsula in the early hours of the morning.

Antarctica is the most pristine place that I have ever visited. My wife and I were amazed at the amount of wildlife we got to experience (Adelie, Gentoo, and Chinstrap penguins; Leopard, Crabeater, Weddell and Elephant seals; Humpback whales and a pod of over 20 Orcas that swam right by the ship). The ship and expedition staff were the most professional and informative group. They all worked well together and went out of their way to interact with the passengers. The best part about the team was how quickly they adjusted to weather conditions. This allowed us to not miss out on our landings and expeditions.

Highlights: kayaking through pack ice, cruising through ice through the Neumeyer Channel, evening light in Paradise Bay/Harbour. Also, for Stephen, the visit to Port Lockroy and penguin pebble-thieving. The expedition staff were never less than good, and sometimes brilliant.

South Georgia was the surprise! The extra sailing days were not the easiest but it was definitely worth it once arrived. That's definitely something incredible to know that there's a place like this on this planet. Lived up to every expectation Plus more.

Zodiac cruise with multiple whales, one popped up just a couple feet away

Sleeping on the continent in my bevy bag to wake up at 3am to light snow, peace and a phenomenal view of glaciers and a waterfall. The watching a group of artic turns chase a skua right over me as I lay snug in my bag. The windy wet ride through iceberg alley with dark clouds on the horizon, making it look like one could fall off the edge - cerulean blues iceberg caves, huge icebergs with turrets and knife edge peaks and, to top it all off, a leopard seal on an iceberg. And penguins frolicking in the water - torpedo like in their speed and jumps, clearly having a blast. I could go on...ice climbing with calving icebergs, swimming penguins and seals below, and snow waterfalls from avalanches in the mountains across the bay; Damvoy Point - blue sky with great clouds coming across the peaks and that amazing blue streaked, cracked glacier ...and baby penguins! Love the Adeline's her and there and sharing the penguin highways with them...wacthching them hoping, sliding, jumping, braying....could watch pimguisn forever.

Watching penguins hop up and down on the rocks, also moving through the snow on their bellies using their flippers.

Standing above a colony of over 300,000 King Penguins at Saint Andrews Bay, South Georgia ...... although that ties with also being able to stand on Antarctica with my husband, Mark, as we celebrated our 52nd wedding anniversary.

Trip was fun and seeing the wildlife and various landscape up close was the main highlight. There were some hiccups with the trip that seemed to be weather depending. We did not get to make many landings in Antarctica which upset many people on board and there didn't seem to be as much empathy from the staff regarding this. The itinerary said that we would make landings or do something everyday but there were several days when we could not leave the ship. Expectations of the trip were poorly managed and several passengers left disgruntled and saying they wouldn't travel with the ship's operator again. We had a great time and tried to just go with the flow and enjoy what we could but there definitely was some negative feedback expressed by many other passengers.

I think seeing penguins for the first time. The colors of the ice, glaciers and water -- so intense.

The wildlife we saw and history we learned was amazing, but it was the quiet moments when we could just sit and experience the otherworldly landscapes that truly stood out to us, and the Aurora Expeditions team seemed to innately understand the importance of that.

Probably seeing a pod of an estimated 45 humpback whales feeding right along the Hondius. Even veteran crew members said it was the biggest pod of whales they'd seen, perhaps ever, and they were amazed at how close the whales came to the ship -- they just passed by and came up for air one after another for a couple of hours in the Gerlache strait. Stunning.

I have only answered No above because there are still several places on my bucket list that I need to get to while I am still able to travel long distances, including the Arctic! There was no one single highlight, there were many and the whole trip was a highlight in my advancing years. The landscapes and wildlife unique and I felt privileged to be able to see it all. The people on the trip from young to older were all very friendly, and good company, with several nationalities, but we all got on and quickly gelled, all having one common purpose. What have I told my grandchildren? A lot for kids to take in but they will always have my photos! Hopefully one day they will have the ability and the desire to go too. Surprises? The colour of the snow and the icebergs and the overall impression of all shades of blue. And the delicious chocolate cake I was presented with on my birthday!

Antarctica and the experience with Plancius far exceeded my best expectations. Hard to identify a specific highlight since everything was so outstanding-scenery, kayaking amid Humpbacks, daily snow shoeing hikes and climbs, incredible fellow passengers, etc. The only surprises were positive ones-much bigger and more comfortable room and much, much better food than we expected. Can't say enough about how great this trip was! Swoop did a super job of finding a trip and a ship that fit our interests and preferences. Overall, Swoop performed as advertised. As suggested in my sister Kate's feedback, my only recommendation for improvement would be to book individuals who are not married but share a last name and a cabin ( such as my sister and I) under separate names so that we each separately get the critical information required for the trip.

The trip was overall a matter of extremes—some things were outstanding and some things really fell short of expectations. Contracting Covid on the ship after avoiding it for over 2.5 years and having 5 vaccinations was a real surprise.

We were extremely lucky with the weather -- lots of sunny days and overall very calm seas. The food was much better than I expected. Our landings went well - only 2 had to be cancelled due to winds preventing the landings and only was was a wildlife landing at Sauders for Rockhopper penguins. The other was Deception Island which was more about the polar plunge, not much to see there in terms of wildlife.