Expedition Cruise to Antarctica

 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.

On our own we had to provide travel insurance as it is mandatory if you will be on the continent. $250,000 to $500,000 minimum emergency evacuation is suggested. I bought a yearly policy with Allianz and stacked it with one of my credit cards which had good coverage if the trip was charged to it. 

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!

With all of our mandatory duties done, it was time to relax with a drink in the Dome Lounge. This huge lounge at the front of the ship was the place to take in the views as it had floor to ceiling windows on 3 sides and tons of couches and lounge chairs. 

Later there was a ship-wide "meet your neighbors" mixer in each hallway. Our room stewarts passed champagne and appetizers while we all got to know each other. It was actually quite fun and all of our neighbors were great!

Dinner was back in the main dining room but now we had menus which changed slightly each evening. Food onboard was good, I think the lunch buffets were actually better than the dinner menu items most often. Service was exceptional throughout the cruise. 

After dinners there was always some entertainment in the Dome Lounge, not like a full blown stage production like on big ships, but usually the cruise director singing, some folks dancing, just a regular loungy situation. A stop here before bed happened pretty much every night. After the first time I ordered my martini the way I liked it, the server or the bartender remembered and offered it to me each time I walked in! 

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

Other post from this trip:

Walking on the White Continent, Antarctica

Chasing Butterflies and Waterfalls

Trip date: December 2015

After spending Christmas on Ipanema Beach in Rio, we hopped a flight to Iguazu. There are two airports and we flew into the Brazil side based on cost and schedule.  We grabbed a taxi and headed to the Argentina side, which is where we were staying. The drive was short but the line at the border, even being late in the evening, was extremely long. Taxi from the airport in Brazil to our hotel in Iguazu, Argentina was about 140 Real.

It took some time and questioning a few of the locals before our taxi driver found our hotel- TTupa Boutique Hotel.  I consider this more of a motel, approximately ten rooms, all with kitchenettes and living rooms, with front doors leading out to the pool and breakfast/ bar area. Rooms were bare but adequate and, as we saw when we walked around town, there wasn't really any place we would have chosen that looked nicer. Our breakfast was included but unfortunately each day it was barely more than some sad looking fruit and various breads. I got by with dulce de leche on toast along with cafe con leche. I'm all about the milk products apparently.

In the morning, we set out for a walk around town and found red dirt roads, many boarded up businesses, overgrown yards, and crumbling homes. Perhaps Iguazu was once a thriving destination, or perhaps they had planned to be, but it seemed full on third-world now.

We wandered through the Mercado (really, the mercado was a series of shops all selling olives and sausages), tasted a few and purchased some for aperos. The olives were really quite good, had some interesting marinades, and were being stuffed by shop workers right on site.

From here we walked to the viewpoint where we could see both Paraguay and Brazil just across the river.

We loaded up on booze and more snacks at the grocery store nearest our hotel. The selections were sparse but as with our travels around the globe we always make due.

It was hot and muggy so we all had a refreshing swim, a nap, and then regrouped for cocktail hour. Our hotel was very adamant about not drinking your own booze but we know how to get around that as well.

That evening we walked down dark streets with crumbling sidewalks to a nearby parrilla for dinner. The steak and sausages were grilled right in front of us on an outside grill and it was delicious. The wine which was recommended ended up being completely overpriced and we felt we had gotten a bit scammed on that. Oh well, we retired to our hotel for another round of nightcaps from our own stash.

The next morning we hired a taxi to take us to the Brazil side of Iguazu Falls. We had a round trip negotiated price of 500 Argentinan Pesos along with an agreed upon time to pick us up. It took about 30 minutes to go through the border and then about another 30 minutes in a queue at the falls to get our tickets. We were all very excited to spend the day hiking around! We had been told that the Brazil side is best done first as it has the jaw-dropping panoramas, while the Argentina side gets you basically on top of the falls. After doing both, I'd totally agree with this.

Everyone has to board the park bus which takes you to the trail head, and almost immediately we were face to face with the breathtaking views. But as we spent our day hiking the easy trails, the views got more and more spectacular. It was amazing and I've never seen anything like it or felt such a force of nature, even having been to Niagara. There are a whopping 275 falls!

The park was over ridden with tourists and the raccoon-like coati, which although cute will bite you and try to take your food (I'm speaking of the coati). And as we made our way down closer and closer to the bottom of the falls there were pretty bright blue butterflies everywhere. It was magical.

We finally made it to the bottom where you can walk all the way out, one of the falls crashing to the level of the walkway, and peering over the side where it continues down another drop. We were all completely soaked and giddy with the sheer power of the rushing water and being so close to it! These falls run brown because of the logging of the forests, a very visual lesson also.

It was nice to return for a dip in the pool and take a nap after all the excitement of the day. That night we had a very lovely (if not slow) dinner at La Reuda which was the nicest of the restaurants we had seen in town.

After another bad breakfast the next morning, we called a taxi, this time to take us to the Argentinian side of Iguazu Falls. Our ride cost us about 200 Pesos each way.

We spent over five hours and hiked over 10 miles here! The park is made up of three major trails with a small train that takes you to the furthest; Devil's Throat. Based on the queue we decided to hike to Devil's Throat and were glad we did, it was an easy flat hike along the train tracks and we had the opportunity to see hundreds of butterflies.

We could hear Devil's Throat before we could see it. We could also smell sweet mandarin oranges hanging in the trees. Butterflies were getting free rides on hikers, taking in the salt they needed to survive. This place has it all; sights and scents!

There is no way to describe the sheer power and awe that you come face to face with as you walk out on the walkway to the edge of Devil's Throat. Over half of the river's water flows over this 2,297 foot column-like fall. Spectacular to say the least. There's a video in the photo album, link at the end.

From here we rode the train back to the main hub, stopped for a casual lunch of empanadas and beers, and then hiked out to the Upper Falls trail. You cross right over the top of the falls, the roaring water flowing right under your feet as you cross the metal slatted bridges.

As we made our way to the Lower Falls trail we came upon a bunch of monkeys having entirely too much fun. Two were using the tents at the snack bar as trampolines even!

We had planned on taking one of the boats that get you up close and personal with the falls but because of earlier rains the water level was too high for the boats that just do a quick 1-hour tour. Since we didn't want to spend 4+ hours on the other option we skipped it in favor of the hikes but I'm sure it would be absolutely stunning to do.

We could easily see across the river to the trails we had been on yesterday over in Brazil. It was amazing that the views of the falls never got old, I mean we saw A LOT of waterfalls! At the end of the day we were even rewarded with a beautiful rainbow as we headed across one of the last bridges!

After all that hiking, it was great to cool off with a cold drink and a refreshing pool.

We had dinner that night at Bocamora, which has outside terrace seating and views of Brazil and Paraguay. It was dark by the time we got there, so the views were kindof lost on us. The twinkling lights in the distance, through the jungle were nice though!

The next day we checked out and hung around the pool before calling a taxi to the airport. This time there was no one at the border when we drove through, our ride was about 350 Pesos to the Brazil side.

We had an easy 2-hour flight back to Rio where we were all excited to spend another seven days. And the next was New Years Eve!

All Iguazu photos here, warning... there are A LOT of waterfall pictures!