Now what?
I trust you’ve read my post on how I snagged an affordable trip to Antarctica and now you’re asking yourself, what would I be doing on a cruise to Antarctica? Great question… read on for my first-hand experience detailed by day.
Day One
It’s embarkation day! Most of this day is dedicated to getting everyone situated in their cabins and waiting for the best timing to leave port. It’s the perfect time to unpack and make new friends as you’ll likely be bedridden for the next two days. Why? You may ask. Well if you didn’t already know, you’re crossing the Drake Passage on the way to the Antarctic Peninsula. And if you don’t know what the Drake Passage is, I’ll explain it a bit in ‘Day Two’ so you don’t find out on the day of departure (like I did).
Don’t miss out on the beautiful picturesque views of Ushuaia from the ship’s deck.
Day Two
Since we left port at around 10pm the day before, most of the night was spent navigating out of the Beagle Channel. There were strong jolts that woke me in the middle of the night but I went back to sleep almost immediately.
On our first day in open water, wake up call was at 7:30am and I was in the dining room by 8:30am ready for breakfast. Or so I thought. At this point, we’ve entered the Drake Passage. And just as quickly as I sat down at the table, I quickly got up to return to my cabin. For the next two days, the only comfortable position would be horizontal.
A quick background: the Drake Passage is a broad body of water flowing between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands in the Antarctic Peninsula. It is about 500 miles wide and offers the mariner some of the most challenging seas to be found anywhere on the globe.
Don’t miss out on meals. Even though eating will be the last thing on your mind as you concentrate all your energy on not puking, it’s really important not to skip meals and to stay hydrated when you are sea sick.
Day Three
As a disclaimer, I’ve never been sea sick in my adult life. I scuba dive often and I’m no stranger to rough seas. But the Drake Passage isn’t just any open water. Most of us stayed in our cabins for these first three days. Only coming out to grab a bite to eat and for mandatory meetings. One of which is fitting our “landing gears”. Note that everyone will be provided boots and life vests for landings.
To prepare for the upcoming landings, we were divided into four groups (red, blue, yellow, and green) with roughly 50 people in each group. The plan is to have two groups on land (for a total of 100 people in accordance to IAATO’s rules) while the other two groups are on zodiacs cruising in water.
Don’t miss out on mandatory meetings and optional lectures. There will be a mandatory meeting to try on your landings gears which includes boots and life vests and safety protocols while on the cruise. There will also be lectures held by the expedition crew and scientists on board with topics ranging from Antarctic marine biology to tying rope knots from seasoned boaters.
Day Four
Today’s wake up call was at 6:30 am, an hour earlier than the past couple of days because today, we’re going to make our first landing! Days four, five, six, and seven are the planned landing days. The idea is for each group to make two landings per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. For a total of eight landings per group, if the weather is good to you.
By morning, we’ve reached Melchior Islands. For this first “landing”, we’re not exactly touching ground just yet. All four groups took turns on the zodiacs to cruise around the islands. Zodiacs are these large rubber speed boats used for transporting people or goods on/off the massive expedition cruise ship. They can fit 10 guests + the driver.
After lunch, we reached Danco Island. We’re now officially on the peninsula.
Day Five
The next day, we’ve moved further south to Port Lockroy. Port Lockroy was a British research station and is now a museum operated by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. But most importantly, it’s also a post office! It’s the southernmost operational post office in the world. You can buy a post card at the museum, write a cute note and drop it in the “Penguin Post Office”. It takes a few weeks but my boyfriend and parents eventually got their cards.
By the end of the day, we’ve moved even further south to Port Charcot. This will be the furthest south we will reach on this expedition. From here on out, the ship will make four more stops over the next two days but moving northbound.
Don’t miss out on:
- Sending a post card from the southernmost operational post office in the world
- Stepping out on the ship’s deck while going through the Lemaire Channel, it’s nicknamed “Kodak Gap” by some as it features some of the most picturesque cliffs and icebergs
Day Six
Day six was one of my favorite days. Our first stop was Paradise Bay where I marveled in awe of a calving glacier. It roared like thunder and it was such a humbling feeling to hear something so loud that it overpowers everything else that might be happening around you.
Most days, I found the zodiac cruises to be just a filler and looked forward to getting on land. But our second stop, Neko Harbor, was different. The highlight of this stop can best be enjoyed on a zodiac: the icebergs.
Don’t miss out on the Polar Plunge. If weather permits, the expedition crew will coordinate an afternoon activity where you literally plunge into subzero Antarctic waters. It was intimidating and my thoughts were flooded with the worst case scenarios from hypothermia to frostbite. But with a little encouragement from my roommate, I did it. And it was amazing! I would do it again given the chance. As soon as my body hit the water, there was a moment of shock and all I could feel were tingles on all extremities. It felt like I was down there for at least 3 minutes, but watching the replay of the video, it was definitely less than 30 seconds.
Day Seven
It’s the final landing day. Our first stop had the most unique landscape I’ve seen on the entire trip. The ground wasn’t filled with snow or ice like the previous six landings. Deception Island is a caldera of an active volcano. There was once a whaling stations and active research stations but all have since been destroyed by volcanic eruptions. On the beach, we were met with many fur seals and chinstrap penguins.
Our final stop was at Half Moon Bay where we were greeted by a massive colony of chinstrap penguins. Unlike the other landings where we were all so busy taking photos of wildlife and the scenery, on this final stop we took a lot of group photos.
Don’t miss out on the pink skies at sunset.
Day Eight and Nine
On days eight through ten, we were on our way back to Ushuaia. And like clockwork, I knew the drill. As we crossed the Drake Passage, I laid low and stayed in my cabin only coming out to grab a quick bite to eat. It was easier on the way back.
We reached Ushuaia by the evening of day nine. Since we arrived early, we slept on the ship until check out the next day. Fortunately, we were allowed to leave the ship so naturally we corralled our crew and made our way to a local Irish pub.
Don’t miss out on exploring Ushuaia. If you have a few days left at the end of the trip, I highly recommend these things to do in Ushuaia.
