Antarctic Cruise

In the afternoon, we embark in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world located in the shadow of the Andes and right at the Beagle Channel shore. We’ll sail through this scenic waterway during the afternoon.

Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat Included meals: Dinner

At sea, heading towards the Falklands, the ship is followed by several species of albatross, storm petrels, shearwaters and diving petrels.

Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

In the Falkland Islands we plan to spend the whole day on the fascinating western side of the archipelago. A hike along the shore of Carcass Island will give us views of Magellanic and Gentoo-Penguins, as well as close encounters with water fowl and Night herons and passarines. In addition, on Saunders we will be able to observe four species of breeding penguins (Gentoo, King, Magellanic and Rockhopper), Black-browed Albatrosses and King Cormorants. We also visit the capital Stanley, where we can experience Falkland culture, which has some South American characteristics as well as Victorian charm.

Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

On our way to South Georgia we will cross the Antarctic Convergence. Entering Antarctic waters, the temperature will drop by as much as 10 degrees centigrade in only a few hours. Near the Convergence we will see a multitude of southern seabirds near the ship; several species of Albatross, Shearwaters, Petrels, Prions and Skuas.

Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

In the afternoon of day 7 we expect to arrive at our first landing site in South Georgia. We might visit the bay of Elsehul, with its very active fur seal breeding beach. Then we set course to Right Whale Bay, Salisbury Plain, Godthul, St. Andrews Bay, Gold Harbour, Cooper Bay and Drygalski Fjord, giving you a good opportunity to see a wide spectrum of landscapes and wildlife, like the introduced Reindeer, Elephant seals, Fur seals, King and Macaroni Penguins. One of the highlights might be our visit to Prion Island, where we expect to witness the breeding efforts of the huge Wandering Albatross and enjoy watching their displays. At Fortuna Bay we try to follow in the footsteps of the great British explorer Ernest Shackleton and hike over to Stømness Bay. There and at Grytviken we’ll see abandoned whaling villages, where King Penguins now walk the streets and seals have taken over the buildings. At Grytviken we’ll also offer a visit to the Whaling History Museum as well as to Shackleton´s grave nearby. We will depart from South Georgia in the afternoon of day 10.

Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

At sea, where the ship is again followed by a multitude of seabirds. At some point we might encounter sea-ice, and it is at the ice-edge that we might see some high-Antarctic species like the McCormick Skua and Snow Petrel.

Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We are planning to visit the Orcadas station, an Argentinean base located in the South Orkney Islands. The friendly base personnel will show us their facilities and we can enjoy the wonderful views of the surrounding glaciers.

Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Another day at sea while we sail westwards towards the Antarctic Peninsula.

Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We will sail into the Weddell Sea through the ice-clogged Antarctic Sound. Huge tabular icebergs will announce our arrival to the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. We plan to visit Paulet Island with a million pairs of Adelie Penguins and the remains of the Nordenskjöld expedition. At Brown Bluff we may set foot on the Continent.

We may land at Half Moon Island at the South Shetland Islands, where we can observe Elephant, Weddell and Fur Seals as well as Chinstrap Penguins, Blue-eyed Shags, Wilson’s Storm Petrels, Kelp Gulls, Snowy Sheathbills, Antarctic Terns and Antarctic Brown Skuas. 

At Deception Island, we will try to land at Baily Head home to a colony of ten thousands Chinstrap Penguins (please note this landing is not always guaranteed and is only possible in good weather conditions). Good walkers may hike from Baily Head over the ridge of the crater into Whalers Bay, while our ship braves its entrance into the crater through the spectacular Neptune’s Bellow into the ring of Deception Island.

Deception itself is a sub-ducted crater, which opens into the sea, creating a natural harbour for the ship. Here we find hot springs, an abandoned whaling station, thousands of Cape Pigeons and many Dominican Gulls, Brown and South Polar Skuas and Antarctic Terns. Wilson’s Storm Petrels and Black-bellied Storm Petrels nest in the ruins of the whaling station in Whalers Bay. On our way south, we sail to Cuverville Island in the Errera Channel, a small precipitous island, nestled between the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula. It contains a large colony of Gentoo Penguins and breeding pairs of Brown Skuas.
We also hope for a continental landing at Neko Harbour in Andvord Bay. We are aiming to sail further South to Paradise Bay with its myriad icebergs and deep cut fjords, while having chances of seeing large Whales. We will have opportunities for zodiac cruising between the icebergs in the inner parts of the fjords. We may land at the Argentinian station Almirante Brown, which is most of the time not manned.  Sailing through the Neumayer Channel we aim for the historic British station Port Lockroy on Goudier Island. We also hope for a landing on the neighbouring island Jougla Point which is inhabited by Gentoo Penguins and Imperial Shags. Sailing north again through Neumayer Channel and Gerlache Strait, we arrive at the Melchior Islands with a very beautiful landscape with icebergs, where we may encounter Leopard Seals, Crabeater Seals and whales.

Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

On our way north from the Peninsula we are again followed by a great selection of seabirds while crossing the Drake Passage towards Ushuaia.

Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We arrive in the morning at Ushuaia and disembark.

Included meals: Breakfast