This cruise was a life-long dream to see Antarctica, and the experience was beyond what I had imagined. Bottom line: I highly recommend this ship for a tour of Antarctica for anyone who is looking for a bucket-list experience. The quality of the rooms, professionalism of the staff, and safety and entertainment of the expeditions exceeded my expectations at every turn. This review will be long due to the fact that so much of the experience and so many of the staff involved went so far above the par that each deserve an individualized moment of appreciation.

Expedition Staff: The expedition staff were exceptional across the board. Specifically, AJ provided enthusiastic, knowledgeable information based on his first-hand experience, making the zodiac rides and shore excursion entertaining and highly informative. His fellow explorer Richard was similarly engaging and incredibly entertaining with his polished, humorous, engaging presentation skills and impeccably professional demeanor. Stefano’s exceptional boat skills and obvious guiding expertise made every zodiac ride and interaction with him feel incredibly safe, which is no small thing in an area as obviously treacherous as the Antarctic. He also allowed us to enjoy the ride without commentary, which was a perfect balance to his counterparts. We all appreciated both aspects of the zodiac rides and it was nice to get a mix of stories and entertainment and also to have time to simply enjoy the quiet beautify of the silence of Antarctica. Furthermore, all three gentlemen made every social interaction feel as though they genuinely enjoyed meals and conversation, making every guest feel valued. Every excursion seemed to be pulled off seamlessly with incredible attention to detail for the safety of guests and crew as well as the biosecurity of the environment. Each outing, from drop off to pick up, was perfectly timed and appeared effortlessly executed. There is no doubt that a great deal of behind-closed-doors planning and last-minute scrambling to deal with unforeseen environmental concerns had to take place, but again, from presentation to execution, Sam, AJ, Stefano and Richard made it look easy and made sure it was fun. The Polar Plunge both from the shore and the boat were delightfully fun, and the Hotel Staff and Expeditionary Staff worked seamlessly to ensure a safe and highly positive experience for all guests. Seeing the pictures afterward from the link provided to us was a delightful surprise!

Hotel Staff: Phillipe was present at reception from the moment we arrived on board the ship and seemed to always be on duty and everywhere at once with his signature highly polished demeanor and appearance. He decidedly went above and beyond at every opportunity, in particular with his wiliness to host an impromptu birthday party, which was pulled off with champagne and birthday cake to the delight of all attendees. A surprise zodiac meeting in the Iceberg Graveyard to provide champagne to the guests was truly a surprise and a delight. Next, Pavel did a superb job ensuring the housekeeping staff kept up a high standard of care for the hotel rooms and my cabin was impeccable every time. He was even so kind as to personally deliver a guidebook for an area of interest I had expressed, showing incredible care to the interests and needs of guests. When I requested the soft drinks be removed and replaced with water, fresh water was there that very day and refilled daily by Christian, the young man tasked with taking care of my room. Christian was consistently friendly, discrete and hard working, making sure my room was consistently and perfectly cleaned and organized every single time, from the morning clean to the evening turn down service. He tended to my cabin as though it was his only one, and he clearly had far more rooms to manage than just mine. Read more