“This trip far exceeded my expectations in terms of organization, pre and post expedition hotels and the sheer variety offered on board ship. I will certainly travel with GAdventures again as every aspect of the voyage was professionally managed. The expedition staff were nothing short of amazing with their depth and scope of knowledge and flexibility to cope with the vagaries of weather and sea conditions.”
“I went on the Spirit of Shackleton in January 2017. I can't fault G Adventures or the staff and crew of the MS Expedition at all. The expedition crew did their utmost to ensure as many landings as possible, while the hotel crew kept us well fed with wonderful food.”
“I travelled on the Quark MS Ocean Endeavour on the 21d Epic Antarctica cruise. This visited the Falklands, South Georgia, and the Antarctic Peninsula travelling to just below the Antarctic circle. I am certainly glad that I did the extended trip as South Georgia is absolutely spectacular. The ship was fully booked with 200 passengers. This is about the maximum optimum size for Antarctica, with enough room and facilities on board to be comfortable, without that big ship cruise crush. 200 is also the maximum to ensure that everyone can go on shore landings at typically two different locations each day. The journey was truly amazing and I can't recommend Quark highly enough. The accommodation, food and quality of expedition staff and the landings etc were outstanding. Of course having good weather for the majority of the trip was the icing on the cake. All scheduled landings were able to be made (almost unheard of) , and even the crossing of the notorious Drake Passage was benign. We were very lucky sneaking in between weather systems. Other cruises that departed after us were not so lucky. The expedition staff were very highly qualified in their fields and complemented the shore landings with many excellent presentations about wildlife, history geology etc. On days at sea there was very little downtime, when presentations or other activities were happening although one could still find a quiet corner to chill out in given the size of the ship. An expedition style cruise is definitely not one for passive relaxation, especially on the days when shore landings and zodiac cruises are happening. Following my return to Buenos Aires I spent another week seeing the sites of the city and surrounds and also going to the Iguazu Falls. My week's itinerary was arranged by Chimu. All of the arrangements for tours and transfers out of BA went like clockwork.”
“It's a long journey for what is a 4 day holiday on the white continent. It is however worth it. Be prepared to accept what mother nature throws at you weather-wise but also be prepared to see the most amazing sights. The whole experience was further enhanced by the Expedition Team - phenomenal people who do an amazing job. Overall a humbling but worthwhile experience”
“It was an absolutely fabulous holiday. But the most difficult holiday to describe. The scale of the landscape just mind boggling. Just when I thought I had a gauge on the potential mountain size, off goes a zodiac from the ship and within a few meters of the ship the zodiac was more than dwarfed by the mountain, again revealing to me that my scale was yet again a thousand to a million times out. The unfathomably beautiful blues of icebergs. Combined with their popping and crackling as air bubbles burst as they weathered. The soothing and relaxing braying of Gentoo penguins. And the hiss of aggression as they warned Skuas from their nests. While Adelie penguins chased the offending Skuas. The no fuss attitude of crab eater seals on icebergs as the ship dwarfed their berg of rest. The cool daily temperature, blue skies, balanced with grey skies. Katabatic winds blowing even the smallest warmth hidden beneath many layers away. Standing on fast sea ice. Watching a crack appear 50m metres from our landing point and then a portion of the ice the size of half a tennis court floating away. More food than was sensible to eat. I would go back again and again if not simply to better absorb the scale of the landscape. We had a fantastic combination of weather and seas, spoiling us to believing it could be like that all the time.”
“We went to Antarctica on MS Expedition run by G Adventures. What a fantastic experience, Antarctica is THE most stunning destination one could ever imagine, words cannot describe the sheer magnificence of the landscape down there. The Expedition crew were fantastic the whole experience was awesome.”
