January Reviews

I am adding a little personal information because my perspective was very much colored by my physical limitations. I am way beyond middle age. I am a breast cancer survivor however one of the medications also left me with osteoarthritis resulting in mobility issues. Also since birth I have been legally blind (US gov term) I see about 10% of what the average person sees. However I think I see more because I look more intently at things but I do travel with a "seeing-eye-elbow" to make certain I get where I intent to be. Everything was a high-light. Having never encountered the likes of the Antarctic I was delighted with the chance to be able to experience everything which came my way. The expedition staff were incredibly helpful without being fawning. Their assistance on the gang-plank and boarding an off-loading from the zodiacs was wonderful. They seemed to anticipate my needs and assisted in my enjoyment of the trip.

While on ship, the trip was near perfect. The highlights occur all the time, be they ice bergs, orcas, or just the fascinating light. The travels to and from could have been better organized

The complete journey was fantastic. Every day would reveal yet more wonders of the cold continent. Words cannot describe what your eyes see. No camera can capture the experience. You name it we saw it - no polar bears though. (people back home kept asking) There was not one negative about the "experience". People from 15 to 89, from every walks of life added to the expedition. The surprise was the adventure itself, how fantastic it was.

Main highlights: walking amid penguins and seals, watching icebergs float by, watching up to 40 blue whales feeding around the ship, following into the footsteps of Shakelton and just gazing at the glaciers. we met a lot of varied nationalities and interesting people. biggest surprise was how tame the dreaded Drake passage was!

Zodiac trips were amazing~ wildlife was amazing~ landscapes amazing..and I really enjoyed the lectures.

I stepped on Antarctica - the final continent for me! The combination of the landscapes and wildlife will always be a highlight for me. It is hard to believe that such a place still exists on earth. I mailed a postcard from Port Lockroy, Antarctica! The crew of the Plancius were outstanding. They even remembered my name among all the passengers. Food and services were outstanding. There were many surprises. The Plancius was able to go through the Lemaire Channel for the first time this year, so we were very fortunate. Also, the captain took us to Deception Island and Cape Horn on the way back. I was very fortunate that I was matched up to a great roommate from Finland. I met many people from many different countries, all with very interesting stories.

Spending 3 1/2 hrs in Grytviken was the highlight of my trip Staff and other travelers were wonderful to spend time with Less wildlife seen than during November trip

Too many highlights too pick out one in particular, but South Georgia is a must do. Landscapes were simply awesome. The wildlife was much more plentiful than I imagined, also unafraid and curious. We were literally amongst them and not simply viewing from a distance. The passengers on board our expedition (don't like the word 'cruise'!) were about 70% English which did surprise us. Maybe 20% American and the remainder were European/Chinese/Brazilian. Average age was early sixties but all pretty fit, game, and in it for the adventure, so pretty like minded. My grandchildren will hear of the apparent isolation (other cruise ships were out of sight!) teeming wildlife and magnificent scenery. Our biggest surprise was the amazing weather, we did not use our thermals at all. The only big blow we had was behind us and helped us on the way to the Falklands. We had rain on our last day in the Antarctic peninsula which was also the day of the polar plunge! I was also pleasantly surprised by the standard of the catering, I was not expecting it to be so good. Only complaint is that there was too much of it.

Great experience with eighteen landings. Highly professional crew and expedition staff.

As a bird watcher and photographer, the penguins were the stand out act followed by the landscapes and ice. I had wondered about the point of visiting the Falklands but after visiting the Black browed Albatross colony I quickly became enchanted. South Georgia is amazing for both its wildlife and the sheer wonderment of its land mass and form. You get a much better sense of and focus on the beginnings and break up of the continents similar to the relationship between the Galapagos Island and Charles Darwin's theory of evolution where you can see it happening. Having visited most prime bird watching areas around the world, its takes something very special to get me going and penguins aside, I would rate Galapagos as a better experience from a bird watching perspective. I hope that somehow in this seemingly out of control period of time across the globe, that Antarctica can continue to be preserved for generations to come and that my children and grandchildren and so on can experience it. I would be very disappointed but not at all surprised to see this happen from from hotel bases on Antarctica in the future. Mankind in general and business in particular cannot help itself in this regard. I was surprised at the mix of people on board the ship and quickly concluded that generally, it is the only generation that can afford the trip. I was surprised at the kindness of the weather which may have been a double edged sword from a bird watching perspective with relatively calm seas reducing numbers of seabirds sighted. I do suspect there were other areas that could have been visited that would have produced different numbers and species but I guess time, accessbility and other ships all play a part in that situation. I understand there were 14 ships in the area at the time. My grown up children have already experienced much overseas travel to remote and interesting places and no doubt my young grandchildren will follow on some day with Antarctica being on their lists. My photographic records are in part, kept for them and in time, my Antarctica bird photos will be uploaded to grahamefinniganbirdphotogrpahy.com where my birding highlights are stored.

The whole experience was fantastic, from beginning to end (apart from BA flight home which you did not book!). Mixture of elements to meet both our interests: wildlife (Jane), photography (Mike), landscape (both) and history (both). Highlights included walking amongst the animals (particularly on South Georgia), doing the Shackleton Walk (SG), kayaking amongst icebergs and the privilege of being there - all this was helped by weather which Hayley had never experienced in 15 years of working in the area. Expedition staff were outstanding in enthusiasm/ knowledge/ mixing with clients and we will nominate leader Hayley for the Wanderlust Guide Award 2017. Good mix of people with similar interests meant conversations over many meals were always interesting. The ship was very well run with great crew and high quality catering (too good for our waistlines).

Great staff who are very knowledgeable , patient and who make every effort to make the client feel cared for and welcome.

Excursions were terrific being so close to the birds, seals and penguins. The landscape was breath taking and so different from the other sixth continents that I have seen. There were numerous people from all over the world and very friendly. As George Carlin says: Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away and Antarctic certainly took my breath away.

The highlight was stepping onto Antarctica. Landscapes were awesome. The whales and penguins were fascinating. The elephant seal was a real treat to see and hear him snoring. The ship operator's staff and ship crew members were outstanding. They accommodated each passenger individually. The people we met were lovely.

Crossing the Antarctic Circle, seeing Penguin rookeries, Elephant Seals, pack ice and Ross Sea ice shelf. Storm Force 10 in the roaring forties was dramatic, unfortunately a couple passengers suffered bruised/cracked ribs and a fair number shaken up. The cruise ship "World" was one day behind us during our tour of the Ross Sea. It was a surprise we were not alone but that such a large vessel had sailed so far South. Seem regulations will stiffen in 2018 requiring vessels to be polar strengthened and banning heavy diesel and so this was 'The World' last chance to make such a trip.

So many wonderful moments on the trip! Each landing, I would spend some time just quiet and alone, feeling the vastness of the area, just watching the penguins and disappearing into the scenery. That was my favorite part.