This trip included four days cruising around the Antarctic peninsula and nearby South Shetland Islands. Ice bergs - check. Really bid tabular icebergs - check. Penguins on the shore and on floating ice - check. Penguins swimming and porpoising - check. Whales floating, swimming, diving - check. Sea lions - check. Glaciers - check. Large areas covered by continental ice sheets - check. Even recent lava covered ice. Cape Horn encircle - check. Albatrosses and other birds for watching - check. Plus some actual before before and after - Falkland Islands with penguin nesting areas, Ushuaia and Punta Arenas with Patagonian landscapes. And a stop in Montevideo for those who brought shorts along. Nature galore.

Great ship with good forward, rear and side (both protected and open) viewing areas. Solid service, good food and a captain who took advantage of conditions to see as much as possible and more than was initially planned.

It was summer in Antarctica and it was cold, ranging from 31 to 37 degrees F. Sometimes with winds. Still, a "must do" trip. Read more