Visiting Antarctica

[TheMetetron]

So, a few friends and I are looking at taking a cruise to Antarctica in mid-December of this year from Ushuaia, Argentina. I don't know many details of the trip yet, but will be going on Monday to find out more information and probably pay for this. I figured I should post here to get people's experiences and thoughts about this.

- The cost is expected to be in the $2,500-$3,000 range including roundtrip chartered flights from Buenos Aires. I'm also going to not be able to use a ticket back to the USA I already bought as it is for during the time of this cruise so this will add another $1-1.5k to the price.

- The trip is 10 days in length.

- I'm assuming it will visit the Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands) and the Antarctic Penninsula. I'll be sure to ask for the exact itinerary.

- Apparently only 100 people are allowed onshore at a time in Antarctica. This actually means you want a smaller ship from what I understand. If the ship is more than a few hundred, it becomes very hard to get onshore. I also need to make sure the ship actually docks and isn't a cruise-by "experience".

- I intend to ask about internet onboard, but I get the feeling that I want a smaller ship which means less amenities and makes this very unlikely. Fortunately, I think the trip will be very busy with only a few empty sea days and even then you will want to be looking for whales and such.

This site was helpful:

http://cruises.about.com/od/antarcti...antarctica.htm


A friend brought this offer to me so I wasn't the original person who looked into this and as such a lot of the details are missing or incomplete. I'll be sure to find out as much as I can in the next day or two, but I wanted to get everyone's thoughts and possible experiences with Antarctic cruises.

I'm also considering buying a HD-video camera before this trip which will probably cost around $1,000. I'd be a complete idiot not to, right?

[TheMetetron]

This is the cruise:

http://us.voyagesofdiscovery.com/voy...ruise_id=18202

Here is a review of the ship:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/...cfm?ShipID=304

I'll find out exact dates tomorrow, but the itinerary appears to be as follows:

Day 1: Ushuaia, Argentina
Day 2: At Sea (Drake Passage)
Day 3: Deception Island*, Antarctica & King George Island*, Antarctica
Day 4: Arctowski Station*, King George Island, Antarctica
Day 5: Point Wild, Elephant Island, South Shetland Islands
Day 6: Antarctic Sound, Antarctica; Hope Bay*, Antarctica; and Gerlache Strait, Antarctica
Day 7: Waterboat Point*, Antarctica and Lemaire Channel, Antarctica
Day 8: Half Moon Island*, Antarctica
Day 9: At Sea (Around Cape Horn)
Day 10: Ushuaia, Argentina

* Ships or local tenders, or inflatable craft will be used for landings and sightseeing

I think we are getting the trip for substantially less than the price listed. More details to be found out tomorrow.

Apparently we go onshore 100 people at a time for an hour at a time. The boat takes no more than 600 passengers on one cruise.

[steel108]

I think this will be a very good experience. Just wish I had the funds like you to travel the world [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] have fun bro. Euro trip report???? My first Euro trip is coming up in a few months and it would be sick if I knew the ins and outs.

[TheMetetron]

[ QUOTE ]
I think this will be a very good experience. Just wish I had the funds like you to travel the world [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] have fun bro. Euro trip report???? My first Euro trip is coming up in a few months and it would be sick if I knew the ins and outs.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hot damn, I almost forgot about that. Maybe I'll do that instead of blowing money.

[Cancuk]

I was looking at going to Antarctica when I was in Argentina.. I remember the pricing being way less... but we were looking at prices while we were in Patagonia.... so, I don't know.

Either way, sounds awesome. I don't think you'd be an idiot for NOT buying a HD camera, though.

[TheMetetron]

[ QUOTE ]
I was looking at going to Antarctica when I was in Argentina.. I remember the pricing being way less... but we were looking at prices while we were in Patagonia.... so, I don't know.

Either way, sounds awesome. I don't think you'd be an idiot for NOT buying a HD camera, though.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was considering buying an HD camera when I went back to the States to visit in December. I think it'd be incredibly dumb to not move that purchase up a month with this trip in the works.

Also, $2,500 would be a steal for an 10-day Antarctic cruise. They are usually nearly double that.

[binary]

hows the skiing in antartica

[Kneel B4 Zod]

I know someone who got trapped on-shore for about 8 hours. a landing craft dropped them off, the seas got really rough, and they couldn't get back to the boat. they huddled under some sort of shelter for a long time, I guess it was a pretty harrowing experience.

[TheMetetron]

[ QUOTE ]
hows the skiing in antartica

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm just confused.