I can't say enough about the cruise experience I had going to Antartica. It was near perfection. The itinerary was very informative and challenging. The Vega handled the Drake Passage easily, the stabilizers are amazing. The ship was large but with only 150-person capacity, everything felt spacious and never crowded. The furnishings, rooms etc. were first class. The food was incredible, almost too good! Fortunately, the multiple onshore excursions kept us in shape. The excursions were led by experts in their fields which provided us with interesting treks and who were very knowledgeable of the wildlife we saw on the excursions. We saw an incredible amount of wildlife from penguins to seals to whales. The crew on the ship were extremely courteous and helpful from the captain to the waiters. The captain in particular was most generous with his time, mixing with the passengers constantly and allowing visits to the bridge by passengers most days, which was well worth visiting. The zodiac drivers also were tremendously skilled in ferrying us from ship to shore and back. Every evening there was a briefing of our next day's activities which was most helpful. During the day when we weren't on an excursion, there were interesting lectures on a number of topics related to polar environments. We used the large hot tub and pool a lot. We really liked the fact that the cruise is truly all inclusive, we literally did not spend a nickel the entire trip. The public space on the seventh deck was very spacious and there was food always available on the rear of the deck. Getting to the embarkation port was a breeze as Swan Hellenic chartered a jet from Buenos Aries to get us there. The hotel they put us up in the evening before was five star. All in all, if I ever go on another cruise, I'm pretty sure it will be with Swan Hellenic!