November Reviews

Trip was great; for subject matter, see paragraph above. Crossing the "Drake" was more arduous than I expected, and quite uncomfortable in both directions. My wife and I did not get sick, but we had the patch first, and then another med suggested by ship doctor, which seemed to work better. Highlight of the trip: interacting with other passengers on the ship, sharing stories of past adventures, and plans for the next. Most magical moments(2): going ashore at Cuverville Island, and walking among the penguins, which showed no signs of fear of humans, and climbing the hill above Neko Harbor, and seeing ice-covered mountains all around, and reflections on the water, which was perfectly calm.

Having had a rocky start with our first planned ship our G experiences on the MS Expedition was way beyond our expectations. We give the total experience 10/10. The standards on the ship were exceptional from the cleaning staff, the variety and excellence of of food and their ever smiling, genuine staff, the comfort of the dining and entertainment bar. The zodiac team were exceptionally careful in all sorts of weather, the professional, expert team gave us amazing information and planned our days and the itinerary diverted around extreme weather events beautifully.The range of ages, singles and couples were all very relaxed and everyone mixed around and no pretension. All enthusiastic, avid travellers. We were exceptionally lucky with divine weather in the Falklands and South Georgia and a calm Drake. Wonderful snowing days in Antarctica with often sky blue times when on the zodiacs. Saw every wildlife, birds and some humpbacks, super close.

I could write pages. The highlight was of course the wildlife. I have been to several places where I had seen pictures before I got to my destination and the reality greatly exceeded the pictures. There is no way you can imagine 200,000 nesting pairs of penguins or nesting albatrosses until youn have seen them in real life.

It was a way more of what I was expecting. The people were great and the staff incredible. The surprise was the polar plunge, that I did of course

1. The overall quality of the experience! 2. South Georgia landscapes and wildlife viewing opportunities are the best of the best in the Southern Ocean! 3. The ship operator's staff was excellent, and the Russian crew was great! The Kayak Program's Marko and Katie were absolutely extraordinary! 4. The overpopulation of fur seals since my 2009 trip and the onshore safety issues that the staff handled so perfectly and professionally. 5. David's idea to do a sunrise visit ashore at Gold Harbor! Unbelievable!

I spent an amazing time on the Ocean Adventurer. The entire experience was amazing. The scenery in Antarctica is beautiful beyond belief. Incredible and intimate wildlife encounters. The staff and expedition team did a wonderful job making this trip an unforgettable experience. The food was excellent. I highly recommend this once in a lifetime trip.

Every moment we spent there was magical. One of the biggest highlights was spending a night on the continent and being close to nature and wildlife, specially to the cutest ever penguins. Surprisingly, the penguins were not afraid at all but rather curios and interested in us, strange visitors. The whole ship's operator crew of m/v Ortelius was simply amazing and absolutely professional in every possible way. They made our trip unforgettable.

Great landscapes and wildlife, weather was better than I expected

Initially seeing the breathtaking landscape. Saw Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins (though only on the first morning) Wish we encountered additional species of penguins as the rest of the trip were only Gentoo, not that I'm complaining, just wish I could see others as well. Did not see a great variety of wildlife, whales mostly from a distance and a few seals though I almost stepped on one camouflaged in the rocky shoreline...oops! Most magical moments was being with Kelly and sharing such exquisite beauty!

The presentations were very educational and useful.

Which magical moment to describe? I was so elated once we embarked on our epic journey to South Georgia and feel ever so lucky to hit the big 3 colonies - St Andrews, Gold Harbour and Salisbury Plain, as well as King Haakon Bay and Drygalski Fjord. Yes my anxiety levels peaked at the start of our expedition with a flight cancellation and an aborted landing in the Falklands but yes, I am now proud to be part of a statistic shared - only 0.04% of the population has ever visited South Georgia. After dealing with the initial feeling of being overwhelmed when greeted by 150,000 pairs of kings plus their furry offspring, I discovered so much more to penguins - I love how they use their becks not just to feed but also to push themselves up or to climb hills. Their cuteness, curiosity and cheekiness is so mesmerising, and their inflappable nature - I could watch them for hours. Whilst I joined the expedition as an independent traveller, I disembarked from the Vavilov with some new found friends, some moving stories, magical moments and many cherished memories. If it wasn't for the photographic evidence, I think it was a distant dream!

Highlights were the icebergs! That is what drove me to Antarctica and we were not disappointed. Of course the penguins were icing no the cake. Kayaking was superb! We don't remember signing up (did Swoop comp us?) and we loved every moment of it!

Overall, this trip was a dream come true. The highlights for me were the whaling station at Grytviken and Shackleton's grave, and being able to hike the ridges above our landing sites. In regard to the wildlife, the vast quantity of wildlife, and how close you are to it, leaves you speechless. I was surprised at how easy it was to meet people on the ship. The entire experience was well planned out. As for 'magical moments', arriving in Grytviken and toasting Shackleton's grave (before the other passengers had arrived to the cemetery) was probably the most memorable.

Everything was incredible. The foo was goo but not great.

I am from New Orleans, LA. and have not seen so much snow and ice. I have never been skiing so the highlight of my trip was after I fell going down a slippery slope, I decided to ski down the slope on my butt while pushing down on my trekking poles. I may have started a new tradition in Antarctica. The landscapes and wildlife were unbelievable: from the penguins, birds, seals and whales to the gorgeous icebergs of all different sizes and colors and, most importantly, visualizing all of the stories of the early explorers to Antarctica. What courageous men they were! I am telling my grandchildren to go Antarctica while they are still young not like their 80 year old granny.

Absolutely no glitches and lots of pleasant surprises including aircraft carrier sized icebergs, Zodiac trips through ice fields, climbing the volcano on Deception Island, and up-close-and-personal with penguins, seals, and humpback whales. The fellow-travelers were very pleasant, mostly highly accomplished, and very interesting--a far cry from what one encounters on cruise ships and escorted tours. As for the grandchildren, I'll show some pictures and when they get a little older make sure they get to Antarctica. The continent is ineffable: words fail.

Overall, the trip was great - the staff, the other passengers, the activities I participated in, the food, the overall quality of every detail. I loved kayaking, but the camping was cancelled due to bad weather. Also this voyage we visited Port Lockroy and could see the history of humans on Antarctica. The surprise was passing through the Drake in a hurricane.

Overall, it was a fabulous trip, something I had dreamt of doing since the late 1960's. Financially, I have only now been able to do it and I was absolutely thrilled by the whole package and experience. A personal experience of exploration and learning which I will always treasure.

Highlight was every morning another day; landscapes and weather were varied. Expedition staff were superb and inspirational. Boat crew were also superb - sorry for lots of superlatives but I could not fault the boat, its crew or the expedition staff on anything - they were all fantastic

We had a really rough voyage—including sailing through a hurricane plus two or three whiteout days. We arrived late and left very early. So, we got only 4 days down there. Highlights were kayaking onto an iceberg, seeing an iceberg roll, ice climbing. People were fascinating, especially over meals. One of my roommates was hilarious—both intentionally and unintentionally. I was surprised by how short the excursions were. I would have gladly given up a meal or two to experience in-depth excursions.