Trip date: March 2025
I had been wanting to do an Antarctica trip for years; I was sending emails to friends about possible ships as early at 2011! Prices were HIGH so I started collecting information and making lists of what was important to me in a cruise and by the time I found a deal in Aug of 2024 I was ready to pull the trigger!
There are so many people "going to Antarctica" now, but what does it really mean to go to Antarctica? Most of the people I knew had just sailed past, or made one or 2 zodiac landings. To me that is not going to Antarctica. That’s not a judgment, it’s just my own opinion on what constitutes traveling to somewhere . If I sail past a country, I don't consider that I have been there.
So for those of you who are interested in going to Antarctica on an expedition cruise… boots on the ground… here is what I did. The season runs October thru March so this is a great time to plan.
My check-list of must-haves were: at least one landing per day (weather dependent) with top-tier naturalists, go during prime whale season (Feb/March), smaller vessel (ships with over 500 passengers are legally barred from landing at all), age limit on children.
In August I found a deal on Travelzoo thanks to some members in a few of the Antarctica groups I was in. My March 2025 sailing on Atlas Ocean Voyages World Navigator, was booked thru Prestige Cruises for $7399 total (normally $14000! check that link for deals) & included:
- 1 night pre-cruise hotel in Buenos Aires
- Private charter between Buenos Aires & Ushuaia
- All taxes and fees
- Tierra del Fuego National Park tour
- 9- night luxury expedition cruise
- Take-home parka and vest, plus the use of walking sticks, binoculars and knee boots
- All dining onboard cruise including 24-hour room service
- Unlimited beverages (including alcohol), including stocked in-room minibar
- Pre-paid gratuities
- Private group transfers between airport & cruise
- 2 excursions daily (weather dependant) consisting of 1 Zodiac cruise & 1 shore landing.
Everything on an Antarctica cruise depends on the weather. This was the map of what they hoped/expected our trip would take. Spoiler alert, our weather was so amazing that we got to go farther & make more stops!
My friend Gail and I were staying in a gorgeous big room with a Juliet balcony, living room, mini fridge, 2 closets, a fantastic shower with body jets and completely stocked with l'Occitane products. And there were just 155 passengers & 170 crew!
There is absolutely nothing I wouldn't recommend about this company, the ship, the crew, etc. Everything was basically perfection! Feel free to reach out to me directly with any specific questions.
And with that, let's talk head to Antarctica!
I arrived in Buenos Aires a few days early to explore the city (more on that later). Since Atlas included a night at the Hilton Buenos Aires I just stayed there the entire time.
Day 1: 2:30am wake up, check out of the Hilton, meet in the lobby, on the bus at 3:20am to the airport (suitcases had been picked up the night before and were already on their way). Holy shit that was early! Gail had flown in the same day and was at the airport when we arrived. We boarded the private charter on FlyBondi for the 3-hour flight to Ushuaia.
Let's be clear, just because it was private flight, did not mean it was posh. If fact, to say it was basic would be generous! We landed in Ushuaia just before 10am, collected our bags, handed them off to be taken to the boat, and boarded buses outside for our tour of Tierra del Fuego.
The drive through the park was beautiful and we were able to get out and walk around in a few different areas. This sub-antarctic area is so wild (and windy!) and the scenery is super dramatic with glimpses of the Andes meeting the sea.
From here we were driven high up in the mountains just behind Ushuaia for lunch at Chez Mano. Behind these mountains were the peaks of the Andes and the other side was the Beagle Channel where we would be sailing out of!
Finally it was time to board the beautiful World Navigator! We were greeted with lovely canapés and champagne, then shown to our cabin which we really couldn't have been more pleased with. Our Horizon Stateroom was a bit larger as they turn the entire space that would be an outside balcony into a living room with a floor to ceiling window that lowers at the push of a button. We felt this would be a lot more useful considering the temperatures (& we were right, we lowered that window almost daily to take a few shots & then quickly closed it up while we continued to sit in front of it.)
Our butler introduced himself and let us know that room service, or anything we needed/wanted, was available 24/7, and we just had to buzz. I will say this butler was fantastic and made our trip even more incredible doing so many little wonderful things.
At 6pm we left the dock of Ushuaia, the southernmost tip of South America, known as the “End of the World”! There was a presentation in the auditorium where we met the staff and crew and were given info about the ship and all the facilities. We had complimentary WhatsApp and 1 gig of free WiFi so they reviewed how to set our phones up to take advantage of that. I was treating this as a bit of a digital detox, except for taking photos with my phone, so 1 gig was enough for me. I stayed in touch with home via WhatsApp and didn't purchase additional internet.
We also met all the naturalists who would be exploring with us. Our Expedition Leader Jonathan Zaccaria has been exploring Antarctica since 2004 when he lived there as a scientist. He gave us an overview of Antarctica and how they tracked the weather and came up with each daily plan.
I was EXCITED!!
There was an easy buffet dinner that night and then we headed to bed. That 2:30am wake up call, all the excitement, the gentle rocking of the boat... I was out like a light!!
We were headed out the Beagle Channel and would enter the Drake Passage in the middle of the night.
The Drake Passage lies between South America and Antarctica and is widely considered the world's roughest sea due to the convergence of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern Oceans. Massive waves (up to 30m/100ft) are not uncommon! The next 2 days we were scheduled to be at sea and navigating the 600 mile wide Drake; all of us were hoping for the "Drake Lake" (calm seas) vs the "Drake Shake" (massive swells).
Day 2: Our first full day at sea. "Good morning... good morning..." the first we would hear of Expedition Leader Jonathan's daily wake up greeting over the in-room speakers.
Pro tip- sturdy, slip on shoes were super handy while onboard the cruise. Bonus when they have sheepskin lining.
We ordered room service breakfast, which we would end up doing on most mornings, and then headed to a presentation in the auditorium to learn all about getting on & off our zodiacs. Presentations were also broadcasted on the bedroom tvs if you didn't want to attend in person. Some presentations were mandatory in-person such as this one, as it was reviewing IAATO guidelines for being on Antarctica. Another reason I chose Atlas was that they are a member of IAATO and follow the strict environmental rules of the Antarctic Treaty System.
Gail and I spent the rest of the morning exploring the ship; visited the bridge, checked out the pool and hot tubs (!), gift shop, and the spa where they gave us a 5 minute "sample". Lunch was served in a big dining room- sit wherever you want style. Lunches were huge buffets which always had tons of salads, soups, side dishes, a station making a special dish of the day, a station with a whole roast, cheeses, desserts, ice cream bar, etc etc etc!
After lunch we had a biosecurity meeting with one of the naturalists. We had to bring all our outer layer garments that we would be wearing during landings for them to inspect for any non-native species that could be transported to the Antarctic environment. It was a very detailed inspection of pockets, cuffs, zippers (velcro is highly discouraged), etc. looking for seeds, leaves, dirt, etc. They even vacuumed all of our gear!
We also had a parka, boot, and life jacket fitting and were shown the mudroom where we each had a cubby to store our gear that we would use during Zodiac outings.
Boots were provided by the ship for use while on the cruise which was great as they were warm and waterproof. Parkas were for us to keep and were incredibly warm, waterproof, and also had zip-out puffy vests inside!
Day 3: "Good morning... good morning..." We had exited the Drake in the wee hours, it was smooth sailing and we were making great time. So good in fact that we woke up to the news that our 2nd full at-sea day was actually going to be our 1st expedition day! I also had my first iceberg spotting!
After room service breakfast I headed to the spa for a wonderful massage. On my way back to the room I passed Paula's Pantry, the ship's coffee bar which has daily health shots, juices, fruit bowls, pastries, etc. They had lobster rolls as a little special so I grabbed one, headed back to my room, had my butler bring me a bottle of wine, and enjoyed both while watching a few lectures being broadcast from the auditorium on penguins and on ice (sea not cocktails).
I also saw my first penguins, a raft of them swimming! So the morning was a huge success!
Shortly after lunch we had our first landing on The Aitcho Islands. This group of minor islands is on the entrance to the English Strait between Greenwich Island and Robert Island in the South Shetland Islands; 75 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula.
As no more than 100 people are allowed on Antarctica from a ship at a time, Atlas has a system where we were divided into 4 groups and in the morning 2 groups would go on a Zodiac cruise around whichever bay we were in while the other 2 groups went ashore. Then after lunch we'd swap. But for the Aitcho Islands the excursion team decided to get all groups out for a cruise and a hike. This team never considered doing the barebones, they wanted us all to experience the most possible even if that meant they had to work extra hard and extra fast to make it happen. They would continue to impress everyone daily!
The first 2 groups met in the Atlas Lounge, which is a smaller "living room", and then we were led down to the mudroom to get our boots, parkas, and life preservers on. We queued up and loaded into Zodiacs with the help of the staff of waiters, room stewarts, the bartender, etc. This ship was a team event! I was crazy excited and also a bit scared. I've been in Zodiacs before in Hawaii where if you happened to go overboard the water was warm compared to the 32F degree temp of the ocean here!
But all was fine and we were actually the first boat to land. Right in the middle of all these Gentoo penguins (identified by the white strip on their head)!
We had about 1½ hours to hike around and of course were told not to get close to the penguins. But these curious guys were coming right at us! I had to go out of my way to skirt more than a few of them! There were also Chinstrap penguins on the islands, they look like... you guessed it, they have a little black chinstrap!
You can see that there was no snow here, in fact it was about 34F and very sunny! Polarized sunglasses were a must on this trip. Each Zodiac had walking sticks to use each time we landed which came in handy on the unstable terrain.
We met back down on the beach, and after using boot scrubber mats which were set in the water to get rid of all the guano and soil debris, we loaded into Zodiacs again and set out for a cruise around. The boot scrubbing was done at every landing before getting back on the Zodiacs and then we also walked thru a full washing station with our boots on when we boarded the ship. This is so that nothing is transferred from land to land as each area of Antarctica has different native soil, moss, etc. Also the spread of Avian Flu has gotten to the White Continent and that is also picked up thru guano.
Besides the amazing scenery, we saw our first Humpback whale, both a leopard seal and a fur seal, and lots of Arctic birds including a Wilson's Storm Petrel which is the smallest seabird in the world, during our Zodiac cruise. It was just a small taste of the incredible expeditions that awaited us!
Back on board we were met in the mudroom with hot apple cider or a little warm toddy. This would also happen after every outing! We headed to our room to get cleaned up, grabbed some drinks and went to the auditorium for a recap of our outing complete with photos of the leopard seal hunting one of the penguins!
It had been a pretty awesome day! And this was just the start!
All photos of my Antarctica cruise here
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