5 Antarctica Cruise Tips — An Expert Shares His Insights Based on Multiple Trips to The White Continent

Antarctica Cruise Tips

By John Roberts

Today, there are more cruise lines and more ships offering exciting expeditions to Antarctica than ever.

I’m talking about getting down to the peninsula and to the Antarctic continent for actual landings and other adventurous activities, not simply cruising on a big ship to have a look from the outer decks at the icebergs and far-off mountains and glaciers.

I’ve been to the White Continent four times, and these thrilling voyages all took place on small expedition ships, which is the best way to experience the wonders of Antarctica.

So, what have I learned during my trips and how can that help you choose your Antarctica cruise?

I recently cruised for the second time with Atlas Ocean Voyages on the 196-passenger ship World Navigator (Dec 2025) to enjoy the region in the full glory that is austral summer down there.

With the knowledge gained from this trip as well as my earlier cruises to Antarctica — on World Navigator in 2021, with Albatros on Ocean Victory in 2022 and with Abercrombie & Kent on the Ponant ship Le Lyrial in 2020 — I have a few thoughts to share about the different ways to cruise that just might assist you in best picking a voyage to match your cruising style.

On World Navigator, I cruised during the first week of December both times, and this most recent trip offered wonderful conditions, allowing us to do multiple landings and a full range of other great activities and excursions throughout the 11-day voyage.

5 Things To Consider Before Choosing An Antarctica Cruise

1. When You Cruise

The Antarctica cruise season runs from November to March. The different months offer different experiences.

November & December

When you go at the start of the season, which is the end of spring and right before summer in the southern hemisphere (austral summer), there is much more snow and ice.

You’ll see pristine landscapes, but access to landings can be more complicated. This means you might go ashore less often or that your expedition team will have to bypass certain spots they had hoped to visit for places that are more accessible in the early season.

So, in November and early December, you might have more Zodiac excursions in the program in addition to the selected landings where possible.

Animal sightings and behaviors also will be different based on when you travel to Antarctica. In these early months, this is a time for a lot of whale sightings as they are feeding constantly. We had a lot of humpback sightings during the recent cruise with Atlas Ocean Voyages.

VIDEO: Here's some footage and info on whale watching (and kayaking) in Antarctica, in John's video below.

 

The penguin colonies will be building their nests on the highly coveted rocky outcroppings that start to appear as snow recedes from the land. The penguins that get the best spots will have the best breeding results. This time of year, you will see the cute birds making their way along newly formed penguin highways back and forth to the water for feeding and to the nest for building and sitting on eggs.

If you visit on a cruise in mid- to late-December, you will see penguin chicks in the nests, and in January and beyond, the young fuzzy chicks start moving around and offer a wonderful spectacle for observers. The nests and tracks become muddy and smelly, though, with penguin guano overtaking the areas.

Your parkas and boots will be much messier and smellier this time of year.

Seabird rookeries for imperial shags, cormorants, kelp gull and skuas also are busy with newborns.

January & February

The ideal months are January and February, when you will get a great mix of the very best of Antarctica, with better access to the mainland, warmer temperatures and colorful lichens blooming on exposed rocks. Seal pups are active, as well, and your ship will be able to navigate farther south.

Bird viewing diminishes as the season goes on, and the sea ice disappears, so the opportunities for epic photos of blue icebergs have passed by this time. Whale watching, however, continues to be excellent, and cruise prices typically are the most affordable in March.

Of note: Cruisers always want to know about the Drake Passage. The season will not affect the conditions of this unpredictable and often turbulent stretch of water. You can see a calm Drake or wavy Drake on any trip, as conditions change quickly.

2. The Activities

Check carefully to understand what type of activities your expedition cruise will offer. All of these trips will feature Zodiac cruising and landings when available. But you might be interested in a wider variety of options, with a mix of fun active stuff, too.

The polar plunge is offered by most expedition cruises, while kayaking (about $200 for an hour-long excursion) and camping overnight on the ice (Atlas charges $750 and Albatros about $400) is offered by lines like Quark, Aurora Expeditions, Albatros Expeditions, Atlas Ocean Voyages and Swan Hellenic.

Some even offer snowshoeing, skiing and helicopter rides (typically for an extra charge). For example, Scenic, Oceanside Expeditions and Quark feature helicopter rides. HX, Swan Hellenic, Oceanside Expeditions and Albatros Expeditions can also offer snowshoeing. Additionally, Aurora Expeditions and National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions sometimes offer skiing experiences.

I’ve done the kayaking with both Albatros and Atlas Ocean Voyages and had a great time paddling on clear waters, navigating around icebergs and seeing whales and penguins up close.

READ MORE: Robin McKelvie reviews his Swan Hellenic Antarctica cruise aboard the Diana.

3. The Length Of Your Voyage

The longer your trip, the more places your itinerary can include — the range is six to 18 nights aboard the ship.

While the weather conditions will play a factor in where you can go from day to day, having more days means that you can get farther south and poke around a wider variety of bays. Here, you have more opportunities to see a more diverse variety of landscapes and animals.

For example, a cruise deeper in Antarctica — which comes with a lengthy turnaround, too, means better chances for viewing beautiful icebergs and leopard seals, as well as Emperor and Adelie penguins, which thrive on sea ice and typically are found at points farther south than the chinstrap and gentoo colonies that will dominate your film rolls.

The transit of the Drake Passage takes an average of two days each way no matter the conditions, and your activities down around the continent and Antarctic peninsula will last six to seven days on the classic 10- or 11-night cruise voyage.

I always suggest a longer itinerary that also includes a visit to South Georgia (so, your total cruise might reach 15 to 18 nights). This island is part of the British Overseas Territories and offers a rich blend of wildlife and history.

Called the Galapagos of the South, it features incredible and abundant wildlife, with the colorful rockhopper, king and macaroni penguins. You also will see elephant seals and fur seals, including hundreds of adorable pups.

The landscapes feature snowy hills, volcanic beaches, grassy valleys, glaciers and majestic fjords.

My thinking is that if you’re going all the way down to Antarctica, it’s absolutely worth the additional week to experience this magical place, too.

Some small-ship cruise lines offer a fly program so you can skip the Drake Passage.

These itineraries last about a week because they zip you right over to the islands, but windy weather conditions can severely disrupt flying schedules. Companies like Atlas, Quark and Nat Geo offer a “fly over the Drake” option; either both ways or one-way flying and one way cruising.

4. The Level Of Luxury & Cost

Comfort, food and onboard amenities might be a big factor in choosing an Antarctica cruise. I really enjoyed having access to spa services and a well-equipped gym on Atlas Ocean Voyages’ World Navigator.

My Antarctica voyages with Atlas, Albatros and Ponant also featured cruise directors and live music and games as part of the daily program. These cruises and those from other lines, such as Swan Hellenic, Quark, National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions and Viking also feature outstanding culinary programs.

Typically, every ship has a handful of elevated suite options that you can book that will be more spacious.

However, if you’re looking for the most basic and affordable cruises to Antarctica, you won’t have this broad range of amenities or anything more than basic food. For example, Argentinian line Antarpply Expeditions operates the 90-passenger ship MV Ushuaia, which was built for NOAA as a research vessel before being converted to a leisure cruise ship.

You can also find cruises on lines such as Antarctica21 (on the 78-passenger ship MV Ocean Nova) and Oceanwide Expeditions (with ships MV Hondius, MV Ortelius and MV Plancius, ranging from 108 to 170 passengers), which focus on expedition activities with fewer extras onboard.

Keep in mind, Antarctica cruises are expensive; especially the luxury ones. Expect to pay from $6,000 to $8,000 per person for the standard 11-night trip and up to $25,000 per person for the longer trips on luxury cruise lines, not including airfare to/from Buenos Aires.

The trips generally include a one-night hotel stay in Buenos Aires; charter flights between Buenos Aires and your ship in Ushuaia or Punta Arenas; and transfers to the ship.

SILVERSEA IN ANTARCTICA: If you want luxury, Anne Kalosh reviews her Silver Endeavour Antarctica expedition.

5. The Size Of Your Ship

Choosing a small ship is the best way to maximize your enjoyment and time in Antarctica. That’s why 200 passengers is the sweet spot; and most expedition cruise lines cap their passenger max to 200.

We cruised with 164 people on our recent voyage on World Navigator (which has a max capacity of 196). This ship never felt too full, and this allows for ease of landings and Zodiac operations.

IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators) is a member organization founded in 1991 to self-regulate tourism in this sensitive region, and cruise lines agree to operate in accordance with certain regulations.

This includes a limit of 100 people on land at a time. The rules also prohibit any landings entirely for ships carrying more than 500 passengers. (Some lines like Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruise and Princess Cruises, with ships carrying a few thousand passengers, skirt the edges of the Antarctica Peninsula, so folks can see the distant ice formations, glaciers and some whale and penguin activity in the waters.)

The smallest ships (like Ocean Nova and Antarctica21 mentioned above) allow easy management of landing groups so that everyone onboard has a great time ashore enjoying their daily activities.

To give you more insight into the specific lines that I’ve cruised in Antarctica, I’ll recap the highlights from each of my voyages.

Cruising With Atlas Ocean Voyages

I’ve cruised on the 196-passenger World Navigator twice: Once during the ship’s first season in 2021 and most recently in late 2025.

My first trip was early in the line’s inaugural Antarctica season, and travel was just restarting after the pandemic, so there were some challenges. But I had a great time onboard while traveling with my brother and new friends as the ship sailed about half full during these challenging times.

You can read that full recap in my Quirky Cruise article.

Atlas Ocean Voyages has a fleet of three 196-passenger ships, and they cruise in the Arctic, Antarctica and other places such as the Mediterranean, where the line offers special itineraries like “Culinary Expeditions” with guest chefs.

READ MORE: Quirky's Anne Kalosh savored her Epicurean adventures with Atlas.

My trips have had a fun vibe, with a mix of well-traveled cruisers, ranging in ages from 30s to 70s and coming from mostly the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and even a smattering of travelers from China, India, Spain and Mexico on my recent sailing.

LEARN MORE: Read all about our most recent trip in detail in the upcoming review from my fellow Quirky Cruise Contributing Writer Peter Knego, who also was onboard World Navigator on our 11-night “Antarctic Discovery” itinerary.

Highlights

The ship features a big range of culinary options. I was impressed with the variety offered for a small expedition ship in Antarctica. We enjoyed a big menu of items nightly for dinner in the main dining room, Porto.

The menu featured a themed meal option each night, such as The Complete Catch Menu with a cold appetizer of raw hamachi, a hot appetizer of butter poached monkfish cheeks with caviar and a main course of creamy risotto with sea urchin roe.

The menus also always had a good choice of steaks, seafood, vegetarian choices (usually delicious Indian dishes) and desserts.

There also is a special Explorer’s Table pairing dinner held in The Dome lounge a couple times per cruise. We enjoyed the intimate meal (for $179 per person for up to 10 people), which is paired with wines and cocktails. You watch the chef prep the meal and can view the beautiful Antarctica landscapes through the surrounding windows.

You also have 24-hour room service, sprawling breakfast and lunch buffets and casual eatery/coffee shop Paula’s Pantry, as well as afternoon teatime with sandwiches and sweets and nightly small bites at cocktail hour in Atlas Lounge.

VIDEO: John shares his “Back to Antarctica with Atlas Ocean Voyages” overview (2025)
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There are a couple more amenities that make an expedition cruise in Antarctica with Atlas a little extra special. The ships feature a spa with a spacious relaxation room and sauna with big windows that let you take in the breathtaking views while you sail. We also got a couple massages during our cruise, once at the start to help us shake off any jet lag and get refreshed and ready for the adventures ahead, and one toward the end of the cruise to rejuvenate after all our activities and prep for the plane rides home.

The ships also offer a heated pool and two hot tubs up on the lido deck. People loved hopping into the hot tubs, especially to warm up after the polar plunge.

What You’ll Love

Atlas is a good pick for cruisers who want to be able to do the polar plunge, go kayaking and camping, and are looking for an affordable and relaxing yacht-style experience in Antarctica. The cruises start around $6,500 per person for a 10-plus day voyage, but you often can find promotions and other deals.

VIDEO: What’s a cruise like with Atlas Ocean Voyages?

Potential Drawbacks

One drawback that stands out from my two trips with Atlas is that the cabins aren’t designed well for polar expeditions. While they are spacious and comfortable enough in general, there are only a couple of hooks available.

That means, in one cabin, two travelers in Antarctica need to hang dozens of items daily to dry and air out, improvising by using chair backs and any other spots we find to drape socks, gloves, hats, scarves and thermal layers.

Cruising To Antarctica With Ponant

My first trip to Antarctica was on Le Lyrial, a luxury expedition ship from French company Ponant. The ship can carry up to 264 passengers, but the capacity is capped at 200 for the Antarctica season.

This cruise line has been cruising in Antarctica for three decades and has a fleet of a dozen expedition ships.

The most memorable part of this first Antarctica voyage — aside from our first time seeing penguins, seals and the amazing scenery of the White Continent — was our Drake Passage crossings.

Going down was uneventful, but during the return trip, we encountered 40-foot-plus waves and were thrashed about for nearly two full days. This left us confined to our cabin for almost 36 straight hours, and the captain, who had been sailing for 25 years, said they were the roughest waters he’d ever seen.

So, we came back with quite the tale of surviving the infamous “Drake Shake”

VIDEO: Below, John shows his encounter with a massive Drake Shake!

Our first voyage to Antarctica also was special because it lasted 21 days with time in Buenos Aires at the start of the trip and included time in South Georgia, as well. We were on the ship for 18 nights. This allowed us to see so many more animals, from fur seal pups to thousands of King penguins and chicks in an altogether different landscape.

VIDEO: Below, John shares an overview of his Antarctica cruise on Ponant's Le Lyrial.

What You’ll Love

The expedition team was knowledgeable, and my wife, Colleen, and I had a fantastic time. The atmosphere is a little laid back and relaxing, with good enrichment talks (we had a photographer as a guest lecturer who gave great tips to help cruisers get memorable photos) and delicious cuisine offered at two restaurants (a main dining room and casual eatery at the top of the ship).

There is a hammam and a spa with a full range of massages and other services, as well as a small gym and a heated pool on Le Lyrial.

The cabins are comfortable and all feature balconies, which is a nice feature for taking in the fascinating scenery that exists during every part of the trip.

Potential Drawbacks

The ship has a small observation lounge, not suitable to have everyone gather inside near the bow to relax in comfort to enjoy glaciers and scenic sailing. The polar plunge is not always offered, which would be a disappointment for many who want to do this popular activity.

Also, many itineraries also do not offer camping or kayaking.

Additionally, there is not a mud room on the ship. Instead, you change all your gear in your cabin and leave boots and parkas in the hallways just outside your door. This isn’t a problem on its own — except for when it gets to be later in the season and the smells of penguin guano really start to seep into your clothes and then fill the corridors of the ship.

Cruising With Albatros Expeditions

I went on a solo trip to Antarctica with Albatros on the 186-passenger ship Ocean Victory.

My fellow cruisers represented a diverse group of travelers, with many in their late-20s to mid-40s and coming from all over the world, thanks to the attractive close-in booking fares often appealing to younger folks.

I learned that Albatros offers good deals on solo cabins and will work with cruisers on pricing right up to the date of the sailing if they still have available cabins. So, many backpacker types who are traveling in Patagonia are able to look into hopping onto a cruise to Antarctica with Albatros last-minute and secure some nice deals.

There were 18 nationalities represented, with travelers coming from Canada, Germany, Argentina, Japan, Thailand, Switzerland and the Netherlands, among many others.

During the nine days, we had ideal weather conditions, two calm crossings of the Drake, whale sightings, a polar plunge, kayaking on a beautifully sunny day and all the penguins and Weddell seals you could ever wish for.

It was a classic Antarctica expedition that anyone would enjoy thoroughly.

VIDEO: Below, John highlights his cruise to Antarctica with Albatros Expeditions.

What You’ll Love

Albatros offers a fun and lively vibe with younger cruisers onboard. Cruises can enjoy nightly singing and dancing and trivia contests to keep engaged. Expedition crew and the ship servers and staff are excellent.

Also, the line offers among the most-affordable pricing for this type of adventure.

Potential Drawbacks

The food is average in general, although the specialty “hot rocks” dining experience in the Panorama restaurant at the top of the ship is fun and with a good menu. Cruisers cook their own meats and veggies on lava rocks right at the table.

Otherwise, the meals are served buffet style for breakfast and lunch and a la cart at dinner with an uninspiring menu.

Hope You Enjoyed My Antarctica Cruise Tips & Insights

All of my Antarctica cruises have been wonderful and different each time, no matter the ship or cruise line.

Though the costs, inclusions, level of luxury and cruise length vary from line to line, ship to ship, the experience with new friends and expedition team members and staff on each ship is always unique.

Then, you also have the mystery of how the Drake crossings will play out as well as your interactions with an incredible array of beautiful animals, landscapes and ice formations.

 

 

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