Antarctica Travel Forum

I have two questions....

1. Does anyone have any comments about the ExplorerII. I am about to book a trip on the 20 days trip for Dec 07. I am not used to being on a ship with 200 people..Is it better to go on a smaller ship?

2. Is it worth the extra time and money to visit the Georgia and Falklands compared to just doing the classic short trips to Antarctica?

All comments will be appreciated...Laurie

Although I have not (yet) read your extensive travel pages, you sound like the kind of person who might enjoy a small ship. Whereas I’ve reached the age when the prospect of sharing sleeping accommodation and facilities with strangers when travelling is not appealing, and although I don’t suffer from seasickness I am not beyond being squeamish if others are! As I was travelling alone on my Antarctica trip, it would be difficult or absolutely impossibly expensive to get a single-occupancy cabin on a small ship. This was possible and affordable on Hurtigruten’s Nordnorge. As I have travelled on their ships in Norway and have a huge interest in the history of the coastal shipping there, I did not research other ship alternatives and so cannot comment on ExplorerII. Just try to find out if the possibilities for shore landings are in line with your expectations, as mine were. See also my reply to deseaux’s questions in the posting next to yours on this forum.

My voyage took me to the Antarctic peninsular, South Georgia and the Falklands, in that order, and yes, there are a couple of days at sea between each destination so you need to consider how you would react to that. I found the change of pace refreshing; time to reflect on the incredible experiences in Antarctica, to enjoy the company of new friends and to make the most of the extensive lecture programme. Arriving at South Georgia after having become accustomed to the icy white of Antarctica is a spectacular sensory shift; the constantly changing light and weather, the subtle colours of sea and mountains, the lush green vegetation (it was late summer). If you are interested in the biography of Shackleton it is also something of a pilgrimage. I would not have missed it for anything.

As I am British, the chance to get to grips with the incongruities of Britain transplanted to the South Atlantic, and perhaps to make some sense of recent history, made the Falklands irresistible. I explored the village-sized township of Port Stanley on my own, so did not witness the American passengers' first impressions. But if you are the kind of person who appreciates the opportunity to glimpse the way of life of people in a remote environment you will be rewarded. A few passengers found the scenery of the islands, with much peat moorland, an anticlimax after South Georgia, but it has its own stark wild attraction and is an absolute paradise for bird watchers. For many our final landing became the highlight of the entire trip when we saw, sharing the only available shelter from the wind, the normally aggressive Rockhopper penguins happily co-existing around the fluffy white chicks of Black-browed albatrosses.

I hope my comments will be of some help in making your plans.