Having had a great Antarctica cruise a few year ago I jumped at the chance to go gain. I'd travelled with Heritage before and knew that this was not a 5 star ship, so budget "hotel" services did not bother me. There were 3 areas that did.

1. Safety. It's all very well to say "one hand for the ship and one for you" but if there is nowhere to hold onto in the cabin or the bathroom there is a problem. In the rough weather we had, the cupboards and doors flew open with the swell-- getting dressed was like an episode of Roller Derby with you versus the furniture! There were hand rails around the ship, but in the cabin it was every man/woman for themselves. the leader asked at at the final briefing to tell us how the problem could be fixed-- I'm sorry, but you have been chartering this ship for how long now?-- you should know the issues and the solution.

2. Leadership. This was marketed as an expedition, and if so It was led by Trump not Obama. There were proper briefings before a landing, but otherwise our briefing was an announcement on the PA about the plans for the day, with no opportunity for questions, elucidation or dialogue. We had to head north without being able to get to the huts-- we could all understand the implications of pack ice in McMurdo Sound, but we just headed for Cape Adare without any explanation as to why any other possibility was not feasible. And to echo another reviewer, on days when we were just at sea, the other expedition staff seemed to disappear, and on several occasions we passengers did the dishes ourselves to keep up the supply of clean cups. I don't blame the individual staff-- this attitude came from the unapproachable and uncommunicative leadership. Read more