Antarctica Cruise Watch-Outs. 8 Things Brochures Don't Warn You About

I'm GOING to Antarctica!! I don't care what it costs! I rather $$$$$ pay a price and be ACCOMPLISHED than sit in a rocking chair in my 90's thinking with regret, "I wish I would have..."

Off in 4 weeks, been round the world but never got to Antarctica, last two years have been awful, lost my wife, had to retire, major health problems and Covid so decided to go and getting very real now.

I went on an Antarctic cruise early in the season - late October to middle of November. It was a great time to be there. The temperatures weren't all that bad. And the ground where we went ashore had not yet been chewed up by people tromping around. I was on the Ortelius, which is one of the smallest ships, originally a research vessel. There weren't very many amenities, but the food was very good. Our planned itinerary included the Falklands, South Georgia Island, Sandwich Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. Because there were only 100 passengers we were able to sometimes make two landings in a day. We experienced very rough seas due to storms that lengthened our time at sea, but the Drake Passage was a "lake." Because I'm a winter hiker and ice climber I had all the requisite gear, although I did buy a jacket and waterproof pants. The ship supplied muck boots, which are mandatory because every landing is a water landing. The cost of the trip, including travel insurance (also mandatory) was around $18,000.

I’m 72 so I took an easy leisure Celebrity cruise to Antarctica in February of 2024. I bought all of the things that Gary recommended as they were recommended on different cruise sites. Since we did not have any land excursions, I didn’t use any of the special cold weather clothing. A beanie, a merino wool turtleneck, and a bulky sweater were all that I needed while on deck. I came home with hundreds of dollars of unused items that could not be returned as the 30 day return window had closed. The Falkland Islands were very windy so I appreciated my heavy duty hoodie. Binoculars are a must. If I had not recently had two hip replacements, I probably would have opted for the cruise sailings that provided land excursions.

No kids you say? Saving those pennies starting NOW!

This is a very informative video. I have booked one of the National Geographic expeditions for January 2024 and after seeing this I think I made good decisions thus far. This is a very balanced presentation and should be seen before you book a cruise to this place.

No kids? Expensive and limited number of ships every year plus restrictive regulations on large ships on disembarkation on the peninsula? This is bloody perfect.

I was able to go in Feb. 2015 for about half the normal price by being in a group that contacted a travel company 18 months in advance. They were going to charter a small ship with a 120 passenger capacity, and by paying a $1K per person non-refundable deposit we locked in 6 3-berth cabins for 18 people at 2800 each. We were provided parkas to keep, and loaned boots. I found that wearing waterproof rubber gloves over knot inner gloves worked well. For other layers I had thermal underwear under a ski bib along with sweaters. We had Drake Lake on the way over. On the return the weather forecast was bad so we left a day early and went at the ship's maximum speed across. Still quite rough but only a single day to cross in bad weather. Since the docking space is reserved, we spent the last day slowly cruising the channel.

Years ago there was a cruise that left from Tasmania and came back to New Zealand that went right into the Ross Ice Shelf and visited McMurdo Base

If you are a photo nut like me there are a couple of extra things you need. Most importantly 5 zip lock bags. Each big enough to fit your entire camera body and lens into. Cut the bottom two corners out, take your camera strap off your camera and threat them, from the outside into the bag and reattach to your camera. You can now hang your camera around your neck and pull the bag down over the entire camera or rip open the zip, slide it up the straps and use it normally. It gets wet on the zodiacs and we watched so many amazing cameras completely die. Take about three lens cleaning cloths, punch a hole in them, attach 1m of string and then you can tie it into your pocket. You will be able to clean ocean spray and whale snot (i kid you not) off your lens on a moving zodiac in the wind. I took a 18-400 lens. Don't ever count on being able to change lens in the zodiacs. Buy a lanyard with a pulley and take a small waterproof point and shoot as well. You can keep in your top jacket pocket. There are times where it is so wet you cannot open your zip lock. The best shot of the whole trip came from my point and shoot as a whale fully breached metres from our zodiac. All the expensive DSLRs missed the shot. And keep this one with you at all times while moving around the ship. They say the best camera to take is the one you are holding in your hand right now.

Visited Antarctic Peninsula in January 2005 on M/V Polar Star, a Finnish built icebreaker of around 5,000 tons and catering for around 90 passengers. 18 days, including return flights from LHR and about 8 days on the peninsula itself for about £4,200 all in. Of course, it's gone up a bit since then! Drake Passage running at 8 - 10 metres but great fun! Usually 2 or 3 peninsula landings by Zodiac boat each day, very friendly and helpful crew and an adventure in every sense of the word. Many years ago I had a vivid dream where I was walking on Antarctica - on waking up I was determined to make it happen and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Can't fault your advice - it's spot on!

We, in our early 80's got a very good bargain. We went from Ft Lauderdale and back on HAL through the Panama, down the west coast of South America. To the peninsula for several incredible days. Then the Falklands, up the East Coast, the Amazon to Manaus. Then home to FTL on March 20, 2020 just before Covid shut down the airlines so we could fly home. The fare (not the total cost) was $20K total for my wife and I for a 77 day cruise. I know I'll never find another bargain like that. Full disclosure, we were in an inside cabin.

For those who live in colder climates, just take clothing that you normally wear in winter. It can be colder in Chicago in January than in Antarctica.

I just came back from the classic Antarctica cruise with Quark EXpedition on their Ultramarine ship. What Gary said was right on, to the point. We had incredible weather the whole time we were there , and the Drake passage crossing to and from were pretty calm. Dress in layer is a must, and water proof pants is essential . Quark Expedition loaned us the boots and gave us a parka, I wore 2 pairs of short cashmere socks with the boots in outings, and it was warm enough. I had been to most parts of the world, but this trip was an eye opening for me: the world is supposed to be like that!

Very interesting video. I’m going on the silver cloud in February, doing 10 days in Antarctica then 21 days from Ushuaia to Cape Town. Can’t wait. It’s the trip of a lifetime.

Great video's, very concise no-nonsense and to the point.

For those travelers dreading Drake's passage, an alternative is to fly to King George Island and start your expedition there. Avoid 2 days in Drakes's passage and gain those extra days on the ship. We just finished a 5 day on Ocean Nova over New Years and it was wonderful. Sunny and calm. Everyone was stripping off their gear as soon as we landed ashore. They put out a big tarp for our gear. Many of the guests were only in one thin layer. We were delayed flying off King George island for one day due to weather so we got an extra day on board.

Excellent and important information, as always. I agree and I hope others listen to you. Thanks, Gary!

We are about 99% ready to call our travel agent for a January 2023 13 day trip on Viking. You are right about the cost; $16,400 USD PP!!!! Its a once in a life time trip.

This was cheaper than I thought, I already have all that gear living in Indianapolis (it's gotten down to -56°F with windchill), a lot of this stuff I already know from growing up camping and traveling with family and the Scouts. This just makes me want to go a bazillion times more.