My Antarctica Expedition Cruise with Albatros Expeditions

Visiting Antarctica is a pretty epic trip, so we decided to add on some time in Patagonia, both in Argentina and Chile, to make the most of our time in the region. Overall, we were away for three weeks, including flight time, which I think was perfect. 

How to get to Antarctica

Almost all ships that cruise to Antarctica depart from Ushuaia, the southernmost city in Argentina. This unique town is a one of the most remote in the world, the perfect starting point for your cruise to the white continent! You can easily fly down from Buenos Aires or from El Calafate in Patagonia, which is what we did. This worked really well, we had 5 days explore El Calafate and Torres del Paine NP in Chile before flying down to Ushuaia. 

We also chose to have 2 nights in a hotel in Ushuaia, firstly as a buffer in case we had any flight problems or delays that would cause us to miss our ship departure, but also to give us a day to explore the town and the surrounding Tierra del Fuego National Park. 

Which ship to choose?

There are several different companies to choose from when it comes to booking a cruise to Antarctica. I chose to travel with Albatros Expeditions, one of our favourite companies to work with. They have two boats, the Ocean Victory and the Ocean Albatros. We were onboard the Ocean Albatros and I really can’t recommend it enough. The ship felt new and modern, with all the mod cons we needed but still a reasonable price for such an incredible journey. It also felt very safe, with bannisters to hold onto in all of the corridors in case the ship was rolling in the waves and very thorough safety briefings from the crew at all points of the journey. 

We stayed in an Category B Suite, with a large balcony and what felt like a huge room. The design is lovely, really modern but still cosy, with a huge window onto the balcony and beautiful photos from Antarctica photographers. There was plenty of space to unpack clothes and other items, with specific cupboards so everything would stay still during the voyage. 

There’s also a television in front of the bed, which displays the itinerary for the day, as well as map with your current location, so you can always see where we are. There’s also a lot of nautical information such as our speed and the height of the waves, plus channels to watch lots of films, sort of like a version of Netflix. This was great for a couple of the longer days at sea. 

Crossing the Drake Passage and seasickness solutions!

Crossing the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica is part of Antarctic folklore and one of the iconic experiences you’ll have on any Antarctic voyage. I was not looking forward to it, as I get very seasick, so was pretty nervous as we boarded. We were told in our first briefing that the weather was looking great and they were hoping to slip down to Antarctica between two bad weather fronts, in the calm space between them. Music to my ears!

I will say, however, if I travelled down there in good weather, then I dread to think what bad weather would have been like. I still felt dreadful for the first two days but luckily there were plenty of ways to get through it. Firstly, I took seasickness pills every 8 hours for the whole trip – who knows if they worked or were just a placebo but I like to think they helped. I also wore travel sickness bands on my wrists while we were on the Drake passage – another placebo perhaps, but definitely one that helped. 

As I do get motion sickness, I’ve not been on any trip in the last 10 years without a trusty pack of ginger nut biscuits, which have saved the day on bumpy boat trips in Fiji, twisty roads in Thailand and many more places. Ginger is great to alleviate motion sickness, so I’d really recommend bringing some. Onboard you could source crystallised ginger and also motion sickness medicine but Albatros always recommend bringing your own remedies, just in case they run out. 

The two days on the Drake Passage were dedicated to going through safety briefings and cleaning off our gear before arriving in Antarctica. If you wanted to be involved in the additional activities offered, a safety briefing was mandatory for each one including kayaking, snow shoeing and camping. This was also the time you signed up for these activities, so I did have to drag myself away from my cabin for these briefings, but generally I stayed in bed trying not to think about the movement! 

There were also lots of lectures on board during this time, on so many fascinating topics, from the history of the Antarctic treaty to presentations on whales, penguins and seals. If you were feeling unwell like I was, you could watch these lectures live in your cabin which I thought was brilliant. Albatros also offered to order food to your cabin, so on one of the evenings I had dinner in the cabin as I was feeling too ill to move. I really felt like they did so much to look after you during the Drake Passage and make sure that you still had access to food and the lectures if you were bed bound.

A typical day on board

We had such a smooth (?!) and fast journey down across the Drake Passage that we actually arrived in Antarctica half a day early, meaning we got to do 9 landings over our time there, instead of the usual 8. It was fantastic weather when we arrived – bright blue skies, cold air and brilliant sunshine. As soon as we arrived in the more sheltered seas of the Antarctic Peninsula, I had no issues with the movement of the boat at all. 

Although we’d been given a plan of what the captain planned to do in terms of our itinerary over the 5 days we were on the Peninsula, this was updated each evening to reflect the weather and the change of circumstances that it caused. Our trip started with fantastic weather and then became snowier towards the end, which I think was perfect, as it was nice to experience the blue skies but also the proper snowy wilderness of Antarctica. 

A typical day would begin early with a delicious breakfast on board. All of the food we enjoyed was so delicious and very varied. After breakfast, we’d head to the main lecture room to hear the plan for the day. We were all split into four groups with a colour for each. Every morning and afternoon we’d have a landing, and 2 groups would go first, followed by the next 2. This was flipped around every day, so you were given the opportunity to go out first half of the time. This is because only certain numbers of people are allowed to land at each site on the Peninsula. 

When the other groups were doing their landing, most of the time you’d be back on board, where there would be a lecture happening or you can just enjoy time on the ship. Sometimes though, we’d go on a cruise in zodiac boats, looking for wildlife and learning about the icebergs and vast wilderness around us. 

For each landing, we’d get onto the zodiac boats, which hold around 10 people, and head out to the landing site. Here you’d get out into the water and wade through about a foot of water onto the shore. The guides get there first and set out areas where you can explore with really clear paths to follow with little red flags. They also make it really obvious where you can’t go, usually so that you don’t get too close to the penguin rookeries. 

Each landing felt so different and exciting. We visit Yankee Harbour, under a clear blue sky - this was our first landing and our first experience spotting penguins, it was just magical. We saw thousands of Gentoo Penguins, just starting to build their nests. Just watching them waddle around was so incredible - I think I took about a thousand photos! We also saw an elephant seal in labour which was so cool; we hoped we'd see her give birth but we had to leave and she was still roaring away! 

Other landings included the incredible Neko Harbour where we climbed up the hill for spectacular views over the iceberg graveyard below and Spert Island, where we cruised around looking for seals and penguins. We saw some beautiful Adèle Penguins on an iceberg and watched them leap into the ocean and back out again as they played. When snow began to fall on our final days in Antarctica, we had some incredible landings with snow swirling around the waddling penguins and baby seals gazing up at us with snowflakes on their long whiskers. 

On our second day, we went out on a kayaking excursion, which we signed up for as soon as we got on board. Only a certain number are allowed out each expedition, and each time it depends on the weather. We were very lucky to be in the first group, although actually all 3 groups on our cruise managed to get out, which was fantastic for everyone on board. Our kayak trip was brilliant - we headed out, with penguins swimming all around us as we paddled around a small island in the South Shetland Islands. 

Watching the penguins bob around us was already amazing but getting so close to seals as we explored was even better. As the kayaks have no engine, you can get so much closer and the seals aren't at all bothered! 

Deception Island and the Polar Plunge

Two real highlights of the cruise were our visit to Deception Island and the Polar Plunge! As you have no idea before your cruise where you might land, both because there is no set schedule and because any schedule can change because of the weather, I didn't bother looking into possible landing sites before we went. However, if I had done, Deception Island would have been number one on my list of hopefuls! 

Deception Island is the caldera of an active underwater volcano. The centre of the island has been flooded with seawater, with a small gap called Neptunes Bellows allowing access into the heart of the island. As the island is volcanic, all of the rock and beaches are black. Deception Island was our second to last landing, and by that point it was pretty snowy and freezing cold as the weather started to get worse. With all the snow, it was like the whole world had turned monochrome, everywhere you looked was just black or white. I kept having to look at my blue coat to remind myself of colour! 

Exploring the island was incredible - we climbed up a large ridge which gave us amazing views over the new caldera from the most recent eruption in 1969. There was an edge of risk to it - even though it was very unlikely to erupt without warning, stranger things have happened and we were all a little more nervous on this day than our usual landings! There were thousands of penguins on the shore and it was fascinating learning about the history of the island, including the whaling stations and the research stations that were destroyed by eruptions. 

On our final day, my husband Ed braved the Antarctic waters and took part in the Polar Plunge. I'm a wimp and decided to watch him in my nice warm coat from our balcony! He was almost the last one out and nearly froze in the mud room where they queued up to jump out but eventually out he came and bravely leapt in! A rather cocky few moments of floating in the water until he seemed to realised how cold it was, and quickly climbed out again! It was so much fun watching lots of people jump in, and a great way to finish our incredible voyage. 

Journeying back to Ushuaia

Finally, after 5 days exploring Antarctica and the South Shetland Islands, we started the journey north back to Ushuaia. My seasickness quickly returned and I spent the first full day at sea lying on the bed, trying not to thinking about the water sloshing against our window. The second day, the weather was a lot better and by the afternoon I was tentatively out on deck with my husband, with some of our new friends looking for albatrosses. There were so many incredible birds to watch, it quickly took my mind off feeling ill! That and the sight of land! 

For soon we had arrived at Cape Horn. We were lucky to have incredible weather when we arrived at the Cape, and the lighthouse keeper let us come as close as 2 miles away from the rocks to admire the majestic tip of South America. It was unbelievable to think that you could travel from those islands all the way up to Alaska all in one go! We entered the Beagle Channel as night fell and went to sleep after a final delicious dinner onboard the Ocean Victory. 

Arriving back into Ushuaia was just bizarre - after 10 days exploring the white continent it was strange to see the town and dock and people. Antarctica is an unbelievable place and I was so so lucky to be able to see and experience this wild and majestic place. We saw penguins leaping into the ocean, icebergs the size of cathedrals, adorable baby seals and enormous elephant seals, fin whales and killers whales, frozen volcanoes and rocky islands. And all while enjoying the comfort and professionalism of Albatros Expeditions and their team. What other place on the planet can you experience all of that?

Inspired to visit Antarctica on an expedition cruise?

If you'd like to plan a trip to Antarctica, we can help. I'd love to chat to you about the experience and put together the perfect tailor-made trip for you. If you want to extend your time in Argentina and Chile, we can help with this too - just request a quote or give us a ring on 1273 320 580. I hope my blog has inspired you to visit this incredible place!