While many of the same destinations are visited, between the cheapest and the most expensive cruise, there’s a huge variance in what you’ll get aboard the ship.
Determine your budget
Luxury sailings (From $20,000)
From the moment you step onboard a luxury Antarctica-bound ship, you’ll be treated like absolute royalty. Lines like Ponant and Silversea offer butler service for all passengers, where every imaginable need is attended to.
Aboard these ships, you’ll be treated to gourmet dining and have multiple restaurants to choose from. Meals will be paired with wines, beers and cocktails, with some ships even hosting a cocktail and canapé hour.
During days at sea, or even after a cool day on the ice, you’ll be able to unwind with soothing spa treatments, jacuzzi baths and warm saunas. Luxury ships usually have full-service spas on board, but treatments may or may not be included in your initial fare..
Mid-range and budget sailings (Less than $15,000)
Focusing more on the destination than the shop, mid-range sailings will still get to the same magical destinations across Antarctica as the more expensive sailings. You’ll still have Zodiac excursions and opportunities for epic optionals like camping on the snow or sea kayaking.
Aboard the ship, though, there will be fewer facilities. But that’s not to say there won’t be any at all. Meals may be served buffet-style, and it’s unlikely that alcohol will be included in the base fare.
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Settle into your cabin options
For more modern suites, European style and spacious rooms, the more luxurious lines like Ponant, Silversea and Seabourn will probably fit the bill.
Luxury sailings offer the majority of cabins with balconies, where lower-cost ones have fewer, or none at all.
Mid-range ships, though, still offer comfortable cabins. Just with less thrills. Think of it as staying in a 5-star hotel compared to a 3-star hotel. There’s still everything you need, but rooms are likely to be a bit simpler and less flash.
Unlike large cruise ships, Antarctica-bound boats tend not to have interior cabins, so no matter what you choose, you’ll always have a view.
At the end of the day, no matter what room you’re in, you’ll still be taken on an incredible journey. After all, you’re not booking an Antarctica cruise to stay in your room, are you?
Age is just a number
Not exactly a backpacking destination, due to the cost of expedition sailings, cruises here do have a higher-than-average age of travellers.
However, while cruises in general often come with the connotation that they’re designed for older travellers, that’s not at all the case with Antarctica-bound ships.
These trips are designed to get you off the ship, sometimes multiple times per day. They’re not physically exhausting, but they are active adventures.
Lower-cost sailings like Oceanwide Expeditions’ average age is 30-50, while luxury lines like Ponant veer toward the 50s-60s range.
If you are looking for a lower average age, the cheaper sailings tend to attract younger crowds. But, it’s key to consider whether that’s worth foregoing luxuries to be with a younger group.
Consider your travel companions
Honeymooners or couples may love onboard jacuzzis, private balconies, in-room dining options and the butler service. Still, if you’re travelling with a family or group, they may not be ideal for you or your company. It’s key to understand all the needs and wants for you and your fellow travellers when deciding which Antarctica cruise ship to sail with.
Travelling with families may mean you need cabins that can accommodate three or four passengers, or you may want to be on a ship that has more flexible dining options.
If you’re travelling with younger adventurers who don’t need extras like spas, unlimited alcoholic drinks or won’t appreciate fine dining, then it may be worth choosing a ship that doesn’t require you to pay a higher fare for those benefits.
Expeditions and excursions that excite you
Zodiac cruises, sea kayaking, guided glacier walks and wildlife viewing are standards that come with just about every Antarctic cruise. But if you want something truly special, you may be more limited in your choices.
A few examples of limited expedition options include:
- Snorkelling and scuba diving: , Oceanwide Expeditions
- Helicopter rides: Oceanwide Expeditions, Quark Expeditions,
- Submarine trips: Seabourn, Scenic Eclipse, Viking
Array of departure ports
Whether you’re looking for a shorter flight or somewhere with exciting extension destinations, there’s a wide range of ports from which Antarctica cruises depart. Some are much easier to get to than others.
Here’s where some popular cruise lines depart from:
- Buenos Aires, Argentina: Atlas Ocean Voyages, HX Expeditions, Ponant, Quark Expeditions (flight included to Ushuaia), Seabourn (flight included to Ushuaia), Scenic (flight included to Ushuaia)
- Cape Town, South Africa: Swan Hellenic
- Dunedin, New Zealand: Aurora Expeditions, Ponant, Swan Hellenic
- Invercargill, New Zealand: Heritage Expeditions
- Hobart, Australia: Aurora Expeditions, Ponant
- Punta Arenas, Chile: Aurora Expeditions, Quark Expeditions
- Santiago, Chile: Heritage Expeditions (flight included to Punta Arena or Ushuaia)
- Timaru, Zealand: Seabourn
- Ushuaia, Argentina: Atlas Ocean Voyages, Aurora Expeditions, Ponant, Quark Expeditions, Swan Hellenic
Size sometimes matters
Most Antarctica expeditions are on smaller ships, typically carrying 250 passengers or less. They offer more intimate experiences, allowing you to interact with fellow guests, never wait too long for Zodiac transfers and attend more landing sites. (Some are limited to smaller groups or ships). But, travelling on a smaller ship does have a few downsides, too. They do often mean fewer dining choices and fewer amenities.
If you’re looking for a more traditional cruise experience, some larger ships are heading to the deep southern seas as well.
Celebrity Cruises, Holland America and Princess Cruises offer limited sailings to the Antarctic Peninsula aboard larger ships.
However, larger ships can’t reach as many destinations as the smaller ones, making some ports off-limits.
Decide your itinerary
Antarctica is so much more than just ice, snow and penguins. There are three major ‘zones’, you could say, and knowing which you want to visit can help you narrow down your journey.
While the Antarctic Peninsula and some of the islands (South Georgia and the Falklands) can be combined on longer itineraries, they generally aren’t also part of journeys that visit the Ross Sea.
Antarctic Peninsula
The classic expedition location, the Antarctic Peninsula, juts out to the north, stretching toward the tip of South America.
It takes about two days to get here after crossing the Drake Passage, you arrive at plenty of penguin colonies, seals relaxing on beaches, research stations and some of the world’s clearest waters in the Weddell Sea off the east coast.
This is also the busiest region of Antarctica, where the most ships are sailing.
Ross Sea
With departures available from Australia and New Zealand, the Ross Sea is a bit more accessible than the Antarctic Peninsula, which requires starting from South America.
At 600,000 square kilometres, the region is one of the world’s largest marine protected areas. Yet fewer expedition vessels sail here.
Here, you’ll find the massive Ross Ice Shelf, plenty of penguin rookieries and McMurdo Station, the largest in Antarctica.
Sub-Antarctic islands, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands
If you’d like the best of both worlds, consider trips that combine either the Antarctic Peninsula or the Ross Sea with a sub-Antarctic island or two. The islands are a wildlife lover’s dream, as they’re a warmer, temperate environment and sanctuaries for many species of birds and mammals.
Ross Sea itineraries will be combined with the south of Australia and New Zealand, while Antarctic Peninsula tours can include stops in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.
