Recently some representatives of a large cruise line came to our office for training on their ‘expedition’ cruise product to Antarctica. It was a lovely ‘product’. Beautiful cabins, expansive spa facilities, awesome dining options.
Plus they had all the trappings of an Antarctic expedition.
They had zodiacs for the landings. Expedition leaders. Expert lecturers.
But it took a very long time to get a key piece of information out of them even though we asked the question several times…..”how many off vessel excursions do your passengers get?”
Eventually we got the answer. “We try to guarantee our passengers at least two off vessel excursions……per voyage!’
Umm, sorry, we said. Just two per voyage. Not two per day?
So we have never booked this company. Two excursions per voyage is just not enough.
Another company also offering ‘expeditions’ to Antarctica operates a lottery system for excursions! We can’t imagine anything more frustrating that watching your fellow travellers embark on land, walk amongst penguins, climb up vantage points, all whilst knowing your turn isn’t until the day after tomorrow – thats torture.
There are two reasons;
1.The 100 rule
All cruise operators to Antarctica observe the most important regulation of IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators) . The 100 rule is simple:
No more than 100 guests can land at one site at the same time.
(actually there are some locations in Antarctica that have even stricter restrictions but the 100 rule underpins all excursions)
2.Basic logistics
It is a remote area (that’s why you want to go there of course) and shore landings are by zodiacs. Most zodiacs take around 10 guests and landings can take a while if there is a bit of swell up.
Ferrying guests to and from land is time consuming and the more passengers you have the more time consuming it gets!
It is very hard for a genuine expedition cruise vessel to operate in Antarctica with passenger numbers significantly over 200 and (in our opinion) impossible once you get over 300 passengers.
Ships with around 100 passengers can pretty much take all guests on land at once. This maximises time spent on excursions so that the smaller Antarctic vessels often achieve 2 hours plus per excursion.
Once you get over 200 passengers then logistical reality means that time spent on excursions has to be limited in order to get everyone through. Usually the passengers are divided into two groups with the departures staggered so that everyone gets a turn. This inevitably limits individual excursion time. Although expedition vessels of this size often take some of the passengers on zodiac cruises around the bays to watch seals, penguins, whales etc whilst waiting a turn on land.
Once you get over 300 passengers it is impossible for everyone to land daily. That’s when you get to lotteries or unsettling phrases like ‘we try to guarantee everyone gets at least two excursions per voyage’.
We prefer to not book the bigger vessels. This can be hard as the pricing is sometimes very attractive with the larger vessels
But taking into account the fact that it is a once in a lifetime experience we really recommend cruises with twice daily excursions that are not rushed.
Includes the top nine questions travellers ask and our honest answers to them, plus a pre-trip checklist.
It’s the perfect starting point for initial research.
Antarctic cruises are not one size fits all — there are many different ships each offering their own special elements.
We would love to help you. You’re invited to book a FREE 30-Minute Antarctic Cruise Planning Session to have all your questions answered, without the “hard sell” everyone hates.
With almost twenty years of experience in booking polar cruises we have great relationships with many of the most popular cruise vessels. Why does that matter to you?
It means we have been able to negotiate some great free inclusions with several of the best cruise vessels including flight credits (sometimes even free flights), free tours, and free accommodation in Buenos Aires or Ushuaia.
Expedition Partners (formerly Flower Travel) specialise in expedition style travel by small ship cruise and private rail journeys.
PH: 1300 654 861
Monday-Friday 9.30am – 5.30pm
