Antarctica Cruise Reviews

The southern most point of the world is the continent of Antarctica. It is a true nature's paradise and a real treat for adventure seekers. Once in Antarctica, you will have the opportunity to experience snowy storms as well as surreal natural beauty. This continent has a long history of fascinating survival tales of the discoverers like Nordenskjold, Bruce and Charcot and numerous scientific discoveries that hold the power to thrill every potential explorer/traveler! The fascinating facts about Antarctica is the main reason why many people wish to visit this nature's realm at least once in their lifetime. The best preferred route to go there is via cruise ships. There are two reasons for this. First of all, most of the Antarctic wildlife exists in the narrow ridges near the coastlines of the continent and secondly, this continent doesn't have the basic infrastructure like hotels, tour guides and restaurants, etc. that are required for a successful land tour.

Antarctica Cruise Vacation Information

There are numerous tour companies that run expedition trips and cruise vacations to Antarctica that differ in itineraries, types of touring options, dates and cruise cost. The best places to visit at Antarctica are Ross Sea, Weddell Sea and Antarctic Peninsula. For starters, always opt for Antarctica cruises, that are associated with the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). You need to understand that most of the cruise trips for Antarctica start from Ushuaia, Argentina, while if you want to visit the eastern Antarctica or Ross Sea, then your trip will start from New Zealand or Australia. The shuttle services from cruise to the spots is provided by zodiacs, while some cruises do provide helicopter shuttles that offer you a scenic 'flight-seeing'. Reviews for Antarctica cruise also reveals that some cruises do offer visits to nearby spots like Falkland Islands, Shetland Islands and South Georgia. Along with the rest of the cruise amenities, while on Antarctica cruise, you can enjoy various informative lectures and workshops by experts of geology, glaciology, wildlife, history, oceanography, etc., who are present on-board with you.

Popular Antarctica Cruise Ships

There are four different classes of cruiselines from which you can select the best one to visit Antarctica. They include, Icebreakers (100 passengers), expedition cruise ships (100 - 125 passengers), research boats (45 - 110 passengers) and luxury expedition ships (100 - 200 passengers). These cruises are made up of 30 individual ships from which you can select the best one for yourself.

National Geographic Endeavour
The National Geographic Endeavour is equipped with maximum capacity of 96 passengers. It started its seagoing journey as a fishing trawler in the year 1966 but then it was converted to the expedition carrier by Lindblad Expeditions. The National Geographic Endeavour is fully air conditioned, with covered deck with tables and chairs, fitness chamber, doctor's office, LEXspa, golbal gallery, library, sauna, lounge, facilities for slide shows, films and presentations and a tiny swimming pool. It is also equipped with a fleet of zodiacs and numerous cranes for shuttle service. This is more of a expedition ship, rather than a luxury cruise!

The Ushuaia Antarctica Ship
The Ushuaia Antarctica Ship was initially build for National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), but today, it is used as a passenger cruise ship for Antarctica adventure trips. Maximum passenger capacity of The Ushuaia is maximum 84 passengers. However, this ship is equipped with a large number of zodiac, and an inflatable landing craft, ice strengthened hull, and large and spacious cabins with loads of storage space. Other facilities of this cruise ship are a large dining room with the capacity to accommodate all its passengers at one go, a lounge and modern bar, conference room and library. The reviews about The Ushuaia are positive when it comes to its delicious Argentine food that you get on-board and the vast wildlife that you observe throughout the tour.

Akademik Shokalskiy Antarctic Expedition Cruise
The Akademik Shokalskiy Antarctic Expedition Cruise was built in 1983 with a lot of refurbishment in order to convert it into what it is at present. This is a medium-sized Antarctica cruise ship that looks after all the passenger needs on the white continent. The best thing about this ship is the friendly nature of its crew members and the user-friendly facilities like camping on ice for one evening and visits on the bridges to gaze the amazing natural beauty of the continent. Maximum capacity of this cruise is of 49 passengers that helps you to thoroughly enjoy the Antarctica expedition! Akademik Shokalskiy Antarctic Expedition Cruise comes with top-notch amenities including a dining room, lecture room, sauna, library, modern bar, a lounge and an infirmary.

An obvious inquisition must be about the Antarctica cruise cost. Well, the cruise cost depends upon the kind of cruise ships that you choose and the kind of amenities that they have on offer. However, approximate costs of luxury expedition cruises range from USD 9,000 to USD 18,800, while icebreaker cruises are some of the cheap cruises that may cost you somewhere around USD 6,200 to USD 10,000. A research cruise costs around USD 5,900 to USD 9,500, while an expedition Antarctica cruise costs around USD 5,200 to USD 8,800.

The above mentioned cruise prices are based on the various classes of Antarctica cruises for a single trip of 10 days. These costs do cover all meals but exclude drinks and scheduled and charter flight airfares. Well, as a parting note for this article on Antarctica cruise reviews, I would like to tell you that you shouldn't forget to check the special Antarctica cruise deals, and also remember to take all the essentials along with you for this exciting expedition! All the best!