antarctic - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

sunshine38 · 01-28-2006, 08:45 PM

We are thinking about taking a trip to antarctia in Dec and would like to know if any of you have had that experience.
What was it like and what ship did you travel on?
Did you enjoy the trip
Thank you so much for your time and answers

hanna · 01-28-2006, 09:02 PM

Sunshine38, first welcome aboard. Glad to have you here. 2nd, I know nothing about the Antartica hopefully someone will. I hope you enjoy it here!

AngieBaby · 01-28-2006, 10:13 PM

Sunshine......just wanted to stop in and say welcome to CLF! I hope you enjoy this site as much as I have.

I do not know anything about Antartica either, but hopefully someone will be able to help you

We are one big family and we all love to cruise. ENJOY!

PagodaSwan · 01-29-2006, 08:15 AM

Welcome to the site

I was aboard NCL Crown on her Cape Horn cruise in December last year. She did a day excursion from her Punta Arenas port stop that lasted 12 hours, including flights there and back, for $2000. Alternatively there are ships like Orient Lines Marco Polo, Norwegian Coastal Voyages vessels 'Nordnorge' and 'Nordkapp' which go to Antartica as part of their sailing itinerary due to being full ice-breakers. They are a bit more expensive but if you want to spend more than a few hours at Antarctica, then they might be good alternatives for you. If you go to the cruise line section here, type in any of the 3 names of ships I have quoted, you will find profiles of them, including cabin details etc. Any further questions, just ask and I will try to be of help.

isujim · 01-29-2006, 10:41 AM

Sunshine welcome to CLF.........glad you found us........now we need to find somebody who has actually been to the antartic.........you will need some sunshine

If you go, think of the trip report you could provide us all

Welcome to CLF...........enjoy your stay.

PagodaSwan · 01-29-2006, 01:16 PM

One thing that we did have a laugh about while on NCL Crown was that the people who went on the day trip to Antarctica had been advised to take cold weather clothing, as you might expect to do. But when they actually landed at the research station the ended up stripping off alot of the layers cos it was so much warmer than they expected. Having said that, they had been glad they had taken all the clothing as the temperatures can change very quickly. The ship left Punta Arenas a couple of hours later than planned due to the expedition experiencing headwinds on their flight back. The ones who went said they enjoyed the trip though, as it is a once in the lifetime thing. Ships like Nordnorge, Norkapp and Marco Polo have zodiac boats that passengers can travel across from the ship to the ice floes and the research station, they don't fly you from Punta Arenas, they sail there instead.

JodiBB · 01-29-2006, 02:45 PM

Sunshine...

to the CLF gang! My DH really wants to take a trip to the Antarctic as well...please let us know what you find in your research!

DarkWarriorXII · 01-29-2006, 03:03 PM

Welcome to the site sunshine38!

I've never been to Antarctica either, but I'd love to try it one day.

This was an interesting link: http://www.coolantarctica.com/Travel...ravel_home.htm

Bill S · 02-01-2006, 01:30 AM

Sunshine-two words: DO IT!

We did a 17-day South America/Antarctica cruise on HAL's M.S. Amsterdam in December 2003--it was an awesome experience and a cruise of a lifetime for us.

Our 3-days cruising in the waters of the Antarctic peninsula were just spectacular. We were blessed with mostly clear, blue skies, calm seas and minimal ice conditions. Our 3 Antarctic experts/lecturers on-board told us we were enjoying some of the best conditions they had ever experienced!

Large cruise ships, like the Amsterdam, cannot put any passengers ashore but we were within a long stone's throw from land several times. The wildlife was varied and almost constant: penguins, orcas and unique birds were plentiful.

I have posted some of my Antarctica photos in the CLF cruise gallery-go there and look for my "folder/album/directory".

We had calm waters even at Cape Horn and while traversing the Drake Passage. Antarctica was without doubt, the highlight of our entire cruising experience. Hope this helps and that you get to cruise there!

ghosthost · 03-14-2006, 12:13 PM

agree..

@dark warrior
you should