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Pricing Chart Antarctica 2021-22
Ross Sea - Bluff to Ushuaia, 33-day 2021
108 Passengers
Join us for an exploratory voyage to some of the most iconic sights of the Antarctic Peninsula: the rarely visited volcanic Peter I Island, the Ross Island huts of historic British explorers Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott, the American research base of McMurdo Station, and the expansive slopes of the Dry Valleys. Also included in this itinerary is the fascinating sub-Antarctic Enderby Island, and Campbell Island, home to the southern royal albatross.
Helicopter transfers:
During these voyages, we transfer our passengers to shore using Zodiacs. We also operate our two helicopters in sites where Zodiacs cannot be used. Potential areas for helicopter transfer are Cape Evans (the location of Scott's hut), Cape Royds (the location of Shackleton's hut), the Ross Ice Shelf, Peter I Island, and the Dry Valleys.
Our plan is to make five helicopter-based landings, though a specific amount of helicopter time cannot be guaranteed in advance. Helicopters provide us a great advantage in reaching certain landing sites that are otherwise almost inaccessible, but this is a true expedition in the world's most remote area: weather, ice, and other forces of nature dictate the final itinerary. Conditions may change rapidly, impacting helicopter operations. Please understand and accept this. Safety is our greatest concern, and no compromises can be made.
The vessel is equipped with two helicopters. If one helicopter is unable to fly for whatever reason, helicopter operations will cease or be cancelled. One helicopter always needs to be supported by a second functioning helicopter. No guarantees can be given, and in no event will claims be accepted.
Special note: Crossing the International Date Line
Depending on which direction one travels across the International Date Line, a day is either lost or gained. (Crossing westward, a day is gained; crossing eastward, a day is lost.) Please take note of this when calculating your actual time travelled. The days listed in the itinerary duration reflect the actual time travelled.
Brief Itinerary
Day 1 Bluff, New Zealand
Day 2 Sailing south with the seabirds
Day 3 Campbell Island's bounteous birdlife
Day 4 Northwest by sea
Days 5 to 8 Once more to the Southern Ocean
Day 9 The windswept Balleny Islands
Day 10 Across the seas to the Antarctic Continent
Day 11 The residents of Cape Adare
Day 12 Cape Hallett's abundant Adélies
Day 13 Exploring the inexpressible
Days 14 to 16 Highlights of the Ross Sea
Days 17 to 19 The epic Ross Ice Shelf
Days 19 to 25 Sights of the Amundsen Sea
Day 26 A rare glimpse of Peter I Island
Days 27 & 28 Braving the Bellingshausen
Day 29 Through the Pendleton Straight
Days 30 to 32 Drake Passage
Day 33 Ushuaia, Argentina
Tour Details Back to Top
Day 1 – Bluff, New Zealand
Your voyage begins in Bluff, commonly held to be New Zealand's most southerly town. Sailing beyond the boundaries of the civilized world, you venture into the untamed regions of the far south.
Day 2 – Sailing south with the seabirds
Seabirds trail your vessel across limitless horizons toward Campbell Island.
Day 3 – Campbell Island's bounteous birdlife
The plan today is to visit the sub-Antarctic New Zealand Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Campbell Island, enjoying its luxuriantly blooming vegetation. The fauna on Campbell Island is also a highlight, with a large and easily accessible colony of southern royal albatrosses on the main island. Breeding on the satellite islands are wandering, Campbell, grey-headed, black-browed, and light-mantled albatrosses. There are also three breeding penguin species present: eastern rockhopper, erect-crested, and yellow-eyed penguins. In the 18th century, seals in the area were hunted to extinction, but the elephant seals, fur seals, and sea lions have since recovered.
Day 4 – Northwest by sea
You now sail northwest, again followed by numerous species of seabird.
Day 5 – Macca aka Macquarie Island
Macca, also known as Macquarie Island, is a Tasmanian State Reserve that in 1997 became a World Heritage Site. The Australian Antarctic Division has its permanent base on this island, which Australian sealer Frederick Hasselborough discovered while searching for new sealing grounds. The fauna on Macquarie is fantastic, and there are colonies of king, gentoo, and southern rockhopper penguins – as well as almost one million breeding pairs of the endemic royal penguin. Elephant seals and various fur seal species, such as the New Zealand fur seal, are also present.
Days 6 to 8 – Once more to the Southern Ocean
You once again enter the vast expanse of the Southern Ocean. Sea birds are also prolific on this leg, during which we hope to enjoy good weather conditions.
Day 9 – The windswept Balleny Islands
Your intended route is past Sturge Island in the afternoon, getting an impression of these windswept and remote islands before crossing the Antarctic Circle.
Day 10 – Across the seas to the Antarctic Continent
By now you've become a veteran of the high seas, if you weren't when you started the voyage. You spend today sailing toward the Antarctic Continent.
Day 11 – The residents of Cape Adare
You next attempt a landing at Cape Adare, where for the first time humans wintered on the Antarctic Continent: The Norwegian Borchgrevink stayed in here 1899, taking shelter in a hut that to this day is surrounded by the largest colony of Adélie penguins in the world.
Day 12 – Cape Hallett's abundant Adélies
Sailing south along the west coast of the Ross Sea, you may attempt a landing at the protected area of Cape Hallett and its large Adélie penguin rookery.
Day 13 – Exploring the inexpressible
If sea ice permits, you land at Inexpressible Island, which has a fascinating history in connection to the less-known Northern Party of Captain Scott's expedition. It is also home to a sizable Adélie penguin rookery. You may also head farther south toward the impressive Drygalski Ice Tongue if ice conditions prevent entry into Terra Nova Bay.
Days 14 to 16 – Highlights of the Ross Sea
Keeping to the Ross Sea, your aim is now to visit Ross Island. In this location you can see Mount Erebus, Mount Terror, and Mount Byrd, as well as many other famous spots that played an important role in the British expeditions of the last century: Cape Royds, where Ernest Shackleton's cabin still stands; Cape Evans, where the cabin of Robert Falcon Scott can still be seen; and Hut Point, from which Scott and his men set out for the South Pole.
If ice is blocking the way but weather conditions are favorable, you may use the helicopters to land in one or more spots in this area. The American scientific base of McMurdo Station and New Zealand's Scott Base are other possible locations you might visit. From McMurdo Station you could also make a 10-km hike (6 miles) to Castle Rock, where there are great views across the Ross Ice Shelf toward the South Pole. Additionally, you may make a helicopter landing in Taylor Valley, one of the Dry Valleys, where conditions are closer to Mars than anywhere else on Earth.
Days 17 & 18 – The epic Ross Ice Shelf
The next goal is to enter the Ross Sea from the east, venturing south toward the Bay of Whales and close to Roosevelt Island (named in 1934 by the American aviator Richard E. Byrd for President Franklin D. Roosevelt). The Bay of Whales is part of the Ross Ice Shelf, the largest ice shelf in the world, and is constantly changing with the receding ice masses. Large icebergs are present here, along with great wildlife opportunities. Roald Amundsen gained access to the shelf en route to the South Pole, which he reached on December 14, 1911. Also, the Japanese explore Nobu Shirase had his camp in this area in 1912, at Kainan Bay. You may make a helicopter landing on the ice shelf if conditions allow. During this part of the voyage, we will also cross the International Date Line.
Days 19 to 25 – Sights of the Amundsen Sea
You then sail through the Amundsen Sea, moving along and through the outer fringes of the pack ice. Ice conditions are never the same from year to year, though we aim to take advantage of the opportunities that arise if sea ice is present. Emperor penguins, groups of seals lounging on the ice floes, orca and minke whales along the ice edge, and different species of fulmarine petrels are possible sights in this area.
Day 26 – A rare glimpse of Peter I Island
Known as Peter I Øy in Norwegian, this is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Bellingshausen Sea. It was discovered by Fabian von Bellingshausen in 1821 and named after Peter the Great of Russia. The island is claimed by Norway and considered its own territory, though it is rarely visited by passenger vessels due to its exposed nature. If weather and ice conditions allow, you may enjoy a helicopter landing on the glaciated northern part of the island. This is a unique chance to land on one of the most remote islands in the world.
Days 27 & 28 – Braving the Bellingshausen
You now sail across Bellingshausen Sea, bound for the Antarctic Peninsula.
Day 29 – Through the Pendleton Straight
You arrive at the Antarctic Peninsula near the Antarctic Circle in the afternoon. If sea ice allows it, you can then continue through Pendleton Strait and attempt a landing at the rarely visited southern tip of Renaud Island. Here you have the opportunity to see the first Adélie penguins of the trip as well as enjoy spectacular views of the icebergs in this surreal, snow-swept environment.
Days 30 to 32 – Drake Passage
Over the following days on the Drake Passage, you enjoy some of the same experiences encountered by the great polar explorers who first charted these regions: cool salt breezes, rolling seas, maybe even a fin whale spouting up sea spray. After passing the Antarctic Convergence – Antarctica's natural boundary, formed when north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic seas – you are in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. Wandering albatrosses, grey-headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses, light-mantled sooty albatrosses, cape pigeons, southern fulmars, Wilson's storm petrels, blue petrels, and Antarctic petrels are a few of the birds you might see.
Day 33 – Ushuaia, Argentina
Every adventure, no matter how grand, must eventually come to an end. It's now time to disembark in Ushuaia, reputed to be the southernmost town in the world, and return home with memories that will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies.
* Itinerary may be subject to change
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Rates Antarctica 2021-22
Twin Deluxe
Falklands, S Georgia, Antarctica
Oct 25 - Nov 14, 2021 (21 days)
$12,600 $15,200 $15,900 $16,900 $18,150
Weddell Sea - In search of the Emperor Penguin
Nov 14 - Nov 24, 2021 (11 days)
$11,300 $12,900 $13,500 $14,000Full $14,900
Falklands, South Georgia, Antarctica
Dec 13 - Jan 03, 2022 (22 days)
$15,500Limited $18,700 $19,500 $20,800 $22,400
Antarctic Peninsula with S. Shetlands.
Jan 03 - Jan 13, 2022 (11 days)
Camp, Kayak
$8,050 $9,950 $10,400 $11,000 $11,900
Basecamp Ortelius - Antarctica 13-day
Camp, Mountaineering, Photography, Kayak, Snowshoe
Jan 25 - Feb 06, 2022 (13 days)
Camp, Mountaineering, Photography, Kayak, Snorkeling
Feb 06 - Feb 18, 2022 (13 days)
Basecamp Ortelius - Antarctica
Mar 08 - Mar 19, 2022 (12 days)
Polar Circle and Antarctica - 14 Day
Mar 19 - Apr 01, 2022 (14 days)
$8,5001 Berth $10,450 $10,950 $11,600Full $12,300
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Click on the tour dates in the left column to view a trip itinerary. Point MOUSE at Cabin Category to view DETAILED description.
Single travelers can chose between "single occupancy" at a supplement of 1,7 x the Twin or Superior cabin rate , or "sharing basis" in Twin or Quadruple category at no additional cost.
Adventure options must be pre-booked and paid for prior to start of the trip. Space is subject to availability. Some activities require experience.
Camping - $195 per night, max 30 people
Kayaking - $450 per trip, max 14 people
Snowshoe - No charge but sign up required
Nov 14th, Jan 13th & Feb 16th voyages include helicopters.
All trips subject to possible fuel surcharge.
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2 windows (minimum) • 1 double bed • 1 single (sofa) bed • Private shower & toilet • Desk & chair • Flatscreen TV • Telephone & WiFi (supplemented) • Refrigerator • Coffee & tea maker • Hair dryer • Ample storage space
3 windows • 2 lower berths • Small sofa • Private shower & toilet • Desk & chair • Flatscreen TV • Telephone & WiFi (supplemented) • Refrigerator • Coffee & tea maker • Hair dryer • Ample storage space
Twin Window
2 windows • 2 lower berths • Private shower & toilet • Desk & chair • Flatscreen TV • Telephone & WiFi (supplemented) • Hair dryer • Ample storage space
Twin Porthole
2 portholes • 2 lower berths • Private shower & toilet • Desk & chair • Flatscreen TV • Telephone & WiFi (supplemented) • Hair dryer • Ample storage space • Cabins 337 & 338 have an additional third bed
Quadruple Porthole
2 portholes • 2 upper / lower berths • Private shower & toilet • Desk & chair • Flatscreen TV • Telephone & WiFi (supplemented) • Hair dryer • Ample storage space
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We had an absolutely fabulous time on our trip. Thank you so much for your help.. The Iceland stay was great .The hotel staff were very friendly and helpful.The food in Iceland was spectacular as was the scenery.
We had 4 nights of northern lights and got some great photos.The Greenland scenery,the HUGE icebergs and the fabulous expedition staff added up to wonderful trip that we will recount for years to come.
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