The main reason we were on this cruise is because we had no other option. We purchased a 2 for 1 Deal to do the special Shackleton 100 Years Celebration Expedition Cruise but we couldn’t get to it because our State Government in Queensland Australia didn’t open up regarding Covid-19 until a few days prior to the trip. The Economy flight per person was over AU$10K and time taken was 67 hours each way. We cancelled so we could go to Antarctica another time. However the 2 for 1 Deal was not honoured, just a credit for what we paid. The ONLY trip we could use this large amount of credit was this one here. But we had to pay thousands of dollars more to use our credit.

You can do this same trip much cheaper and better with other companies. We had been to Antarctica before, travelling with Aurora Expeditions aboard the Greg Mortimer, so very much better and I see they are very much cheaper too. Because there were less than 100 passengers on that ship we could all go to shore at the one time and have a lot more time there. With Quark and about 160 passengers onboard, there was always 2 groups, half ashore and half zodiac cruising, then swapping over. Only a maximum of 100 people can go ashore at any one time in Antarctica.

Don’t let the helicopter flights influence your decision. That was a 10 minute flight over land and ice you could see from the ship. Don’t for one minute think you will be flying inland from the water’s edge. We, along with many others, were bitterly disappointed. Read more