February Reviews

Pod of Orca, 12 circled and porpoised on both sides of the Sylvia Earle for a long time. This was during dinner. Most of the passengers, expedition team, and many of the crew ran, outside on deck to observe the beautiful spectacle. It was an unforgettable moment of observing nature that was observing us!

How do I choose just one moment? Was it being close enough to touch a humpback whale and her calf as they fed? Was it kayaking in a bay, watching penguins "dolphining" as they swam, watching seals lolling on icebergs? Was it taking a Zodiac cruise and seeing an old shipwreck? Was it going on a mountaineering trek and getting the most amazing views? If I have to choose just one moment, I will choose the first time I set foot on the continent--such a thrill!!!--but honestly, the whole trip--each and every day--was made of memorable moments.

Our zodiac boat landed on St Andrews Bay in South Georgia Island. I was in pure awe as we walked among king penguins who seemed to share the same curiosity about us. I snapped countless and countless of pictures documenting, video recording every memory. We continued to walk until we reached the beginning of this dense colony, the second largest in South Georgia Island, where we found ourselves standing in front of hundreds of thousands of king penguins, their vibrating calls echoing through the valley, as giant albatrosses swooped down towering green mountain peaks above us creating a shadow directly over us. My boyfriend insisted, "Put the camera down. Just for 10 seconds." It was difficult to this, but as soon as I did, tears came running. This is Jurassic Park.

No question, hard to choose one. Far the best: zodiak cruise with the whales. Second: Paradise bay zodiak criuse on an amazing suny afternoon. Third: Deception Island on an amazing sunny day.

For Peggy, she was overwhelmed by Atacama because she couldn't believe that there were Flamingoes at 14,000 ft elevation with limited water. She was also astounded by the Antarctic oceans with the stark colors between the ocean and the icebergs and the oceans as compared to the animals that we saw. For CC- I really loved getting to go below the Antarctic circle and seeing the differences a we moved up the peninsula. I thought the Crew did an amazing job with their ceremony for crossing the circle and I really enjoyed being out on deck with lots of people as we gathered around GPS systems and cracked champagne as we crossed the circle. I also really enjoyed getting to see all of the wildlife and it has made me want to go to the Falklands and South georgia to see how it is different

The ice was the best part. The wildlife of course was super fun, like the baby penguins and hundreds of humpback whales feeding, but to see ice so blue, so vast, so grand - breathtaking.

It's hard to decide between the penguins and sleeping in a bivy bag on the Antarctic was the highlight, looking up at the Milky Way and unfamiliar stars! You cannot describe the immenseness of the place, it's mind blowing! Snow covered mountain ranges, glaciers galore, and penguins on every uncovered spot you encounter. The mix of people on the ship was refreshing! Different ages, nationalities (16 on our ship) and different walks of life. So many inspiring people! Fun! Most magical moment?! The little Gentoo penguin that bee lined for me and we looked each other up and down for several minutes - magic - wonderful!

Blue icebergs and penguins

Four-star experience! Could not have been better. Highlight was the ship's crew, our guides, and our fellow explorers... all nice folks. Landscapes stark and challenging, photogenic and forboding. Wildlife incredibly resilient and not camera shy, especially the young penguins! Surprised how wonderful the experience was. Being on the bridge, with the Captain, navigating the Lemaire Channel, which had a HUGE iceberg towering over us!

We were kayaking on the second day through rivers of ice and spotted a really cool iceberg in the distance. We decided to make our way towards the iceberg and stopped in a cove-like area for rest and pics. Before we decided to leave, a Leopard Seal came right up to our kayaks and seemed to be toying with or playing with us. The seal spent a good 10 mins swimming around us all, creating waves, popping up out of the water in various places - a lot of people were laughing and enjoying this organic moment.

Seeing the giant king penguin colony in Fortuna Bay, South Georgia.

The highlight for me was being a part of our 9 person kayaking group plus two guides. We were able to paddle into small coves and the most magical of all was being near three feeding humpback whales and hearing their breathing as they rose up every few minutes.

Crossing the Antarctic Circle!! this was unexpected, and awesome!

The trip was great. The Plancius was a clean and well run ship. Accommodations and dining on the hotel staff side were well run and comfortable. The Expedition Staff were helpful, informative and showed their passion for Antarctica. Events were flexible but well planned. Landscapes were stunning, the weather was warmer than expected, hovering around freezing and the wildlife was great to see up close. The small ship size with 105 guests was nice. You may not have had the chance to speak to everyone, but that was your own or their choice. 28 different nationalities amongst the guests and crew, so a nice mix. One surprising aspect was the age of the guests. My initial thoughts due to the "bucket list" type vacation and expense of a trip to South America and Antarctica was of an early retired mid-60's well off couple with appropriate means as the standard guest. However there were many younger guests, although the youngest few (mid 20's) were there with their parents for special birthdays etc. But also many in late 30's to 40's which may have been a product of this being a diving adventure. There definitely were the 60's-ish couples but much more age diversity. It is hard to pick one most special moment, however crossing the Antarctic Circle and cruising in Crystal Bay is something to remember for a lifetime. The same goes for the close interaction with Fur Seals on land and near the shore.

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.

The highlight of the trip was seeing all the penguins, seals, birds, whales, glaciers, and beautiful landscape. I never dreamed there would be so many penguins and seals and they would be so close to you. My favorite experience was seeing all the seal cubs and loved how they would run up to you about three feet and then run back. I also loved getting close to the seals that were on floating ice. The Hebridean crew were amazing and everything was so organized with lectures and landings. There was little down time. Safety came first when determining if a landing was possible. Having Sunny and Seb on board to share their experiences was another highlight. I liked how the crew ate with us and shared stories. The ship provided a e drive of pictures taken while on the ship so I will show these pictures to my grandchildren. They will not have to wait for me to go through my thousand pictures .

The otherworldly scenery of Antarctic. Plus the penguins, seals, and chance to mountaineer, kayak and sleep on the continent.

The Moment when one of our guides, Steffie, told us to put down our cameras when we were on an outing on the Zodiac, and just listen! It was surreal - the peace that surrounded us, the sound of the whales, blowing through their blow hole, the water lapping around us - I realized, I have not actually been listening for years!

It's hard to choose from so many; every day I thought was the best ever but I think I will say that the zodiac across Paradise Bay with the whales right in front of us or the cruise through Spert Islands channels and the iceberg graveyard with it all set off by the amazingly blue water. Also getting to 68 degrees south was incredible!

Seeing icebergs for the first time and getting out on the water. This memory even manages to surpass seeing penguins, seals and whales up-close.