We have been on six continents and I decided I needed to see the 7th so we decided to go to Antarctica. We are 70 and 75 so really too old to layer up, hop on a Zodiac and trudge across ice and snow to see a shack. I would have done it 20 years ago, but now, just seeing it was enough. We traveled on NCL during the pandemic and thoroughly enjoyed our voyages. We are independent travelers but this was the only way to get to Antarctica. We only cruise for the destinations, not for cruising in itself. Now that I have given you some of our background, you can take our review with a grain of salt depending on your lifestyle.

Antarctica was not as white as I expected. It was summer and global warming has taken its toll, but the giant icebergs I expected to view were nowhere to be seen. Wildlife was present, but mostly birds and porpoising whales. If you haven't seen this before, it is wonderful, but if that is your goal I would suggest Alaska before this cruise. We really didn't see any jaw dropping sights on the cruise. You can watch the closed circuit tv in your room and if there is a sighting you can go out for the view.

The excursions were mediocre to fabulous. We did four: Puerto Madrid Peninsula Valdes Wildlife Sanctuary, Punta Arenas Magdalena Island Penguin Reserve, Ushuaia Wildlife Cruise and Tierra del Fuego National Park and Falkland Islands Gentoo Penguins at Newsans Farm. The worst one was in Ushuaia. I expected a more majestic park, but it was basically a ride through a forested area and the stop was a lake. The cruise highlight was an island filled with seals and penguins that you saw from a distance. No other wildlife. I would give this excursion a miss. The other 3 were all good. At all 3 you could get right up close to the penguins. There is a 6 foot rule, but penguins do not always follow the rules. You can get some good shots. Puerto Madrid excursion had limited penguins (Magdalena) with only a few nearby. The majority were on the beach. We also stopped to view elephant seals but they were far away on the beach. I had a telescopic lens and only got mediocre shots. Magdalena Island was great. The guide was passionate about penguins and was very informative. He also gave us a lot of information about the other birds on the island. Our highlight was the Falklands with the Gentoo penguins. There were a ton of them and we got lucky as some king penguins decided to take a day at the beach also. Read more