Quest for the Antarctic Circle

G Expedition belongs to "G Adventures" which is a small group tour company with tours all over the world. Therefore if you are a single traveller you could choose to share a room instead of paying a single supplement. The crew is amazing and guest satisfaction is bigger than holding to a certain itinerary. I travelled with the tour called "Spirit of Shackelton" from Ushuaia to Falkland Islands (2 days), South Georgia (4 days) and Antartic Peninsula (5 days). Beforehand only this number was clear, but not where we will make landfall. And the crew made really the best afford to make the most landings as possible and we even made detours on the ship to follow a blow of a whale. Shore Excursions are all included and made with Zodiacs boats, so one should be able to enter such a boat. It's a mixture of landings and Zodiac boat cruises. (Bring at least waterproof trousers and a protection for your camera). We were provided (included in the price, to take home with you) with a water bottle, which could be filled the whole day at a water station and with a thick jacket. Also tea and coffee were available through the whole day for free. During sea days the crew gave lectures about nature, wildlife and history of the places we were visiting. And in the evening we had life music, movies and other entertainment in the Polar Bear Bar and in the Lounge. The food was amazing for such a small ship and only alcoholic beverages and fizzy drinks had to by bought, but still water was provided free to each meal. (Feedback from CruiseCritic)

This was the most enjoyable cruise I've ever done. Ship is spacious, cabin was bigger than many mainstream cruise ships. The staff and food is excellent. There's room for everyone to be seated at meal times so go when you want. No lineups to eat, or disembark, no line ups for anything. Staff lectures are outstanding. Here's the best part, there's no art sales, casinos, jewelry shops, staff taking unwanted photos. There is one dinning room with no upcharges to dine here or there. There's a small store that sells necessities, it's open 1 hour after lunch and dinner. They give you a nice reusable water bottle, it's in your room when you arrive, there's potable water dispensers throughout the ship. they have an open bridge policy, go up whenever you want, fascinating experience, especially when navigating tight channels. I enjoyed it so much I booked the Scotland/Norway with them in 2021. Simply the best. (Copied from Cruisecritic)

I've traveled throughout the world but Antarctica tops the list of places I've been. My tour was with G Adventures and specifically the Antarctica Classic In-depth. I couldn't be more happy with the experience. First off, the crew were incredible. Our expedition leader was in fact featured on Blue Planet (Whale Sharks) and set the tone for the expedition. But all of the crew were fantastic and they gave talks on history, wildlife, climate and were also our zodiac leaders. I signed up for the Kayaking option which I highly recommend. There's limited spots but if you have kayaking experience it really does offer a perspective that's unique. You don't have to kayak during each operation, so a couple time I went on land as well, but you can't beat being a foot away from the water, touching icebergs, seeing penguins swim past. The organization of the daily activities was top notch. There's a daily briefing posted each morning and a recap in the lounge every evening before dinner. They kept us up to date on everything that was happening, both from a weather perspective and also some key points around the area we're travelling. I also appreciated their concern with the environment and impact on the wildlife and ensuring our footprint was as minimal as possible. It's a balance to want to see such a beautiful place but also understanding that you being there can potentially have a detrimental effect. So they're sensitivity around this was appreciated in addition to their contribution around Planeterra. The size of the ship was just right. Only 120 passengers which meant it never felt crowded, operations to land were quick and efficient, and the captain regularly opened the bridge so you could sit and enjoy things from that perspective, with binoculars provided for bird or iceberg watching. This would not be possible on the larger ships. As for the food, incredible. The cooks got a standing ovation at the end of the trip. I'm not even sure how they managed so many amazing and varied meals over the 12 days. Anyway, I think you can guess I had a great time. I highly recommend this tour company and what they stand for. (Copied from Cruisecritic)

Lovely arctic weather and a helpful expedition staff made this trip to Svalbard, Greenland and Iceland truly exceptional. We were very excited by our two polar bear experiences. We saw a mother bear supervising her two cubs fishing! This is apparently an unusual polar bear activity. We also saw a mother bear protecting her cub from a male polar bear. Murdering the young is apparently a common male polar bear activity. We spent pleasant hours trekking across the arctic tundra, occasionally spotting musk ox, arctic fox and puffins. The zodiaks took us to retreating glaciers, magnificent icebergs and allowed us to view the wildlife still around as the arctic summer ended and we approached winter. It was a special treat to be woken to observe the Northern lights during our brief late summer nights. The food was adequate and well prepared, the beds comfortable and our safety on shore excursions well managed. I must also complement the expedition staff on their uniformly excellent lectures. My wife and I truly enjoyed our first arctic experience. (Copied from Cruisecritic)

We got on this cruise initially because it fitted into our schedule and offered all the attractions. How lucky were we! We had an adventure that you dream about. The ship, the crew, the expedition staff and the organisation were all nothing short of excellent. Leaving from Ushuaia the day after our arrival gave us the chance to have a trip to the National Park as well as a look around this little town at the end of the world. Very pretty with plenty of restaurants to eat the local crab delicacy as well as shops for the last minute gear. The cabin was quite roomy with the en-suite bathroom more than adequate for the two of us. Stewards saw to our every need while the food was varied, very tasty and in no short supply. Two expeditions per day was the plan and we made it every day and there were usually options to do Zodiac explorations before landing. Abundant wildlife and stunning scenery was just an everyday event! The expedition Staff were all highly qualified and experienced giving presentations on history, wildlife, geography etc each day we were at sea, Always interesting and informative with no question going unanswered. Very strong health and safety instruction and practice made for a safe holiday especially when zodiac landings were on the agenda. I have no hesitation in recommending this cruise/ship to anyone. (Copied from Cruisecritic)

We booked this holiday to celebrate my 40th Birthday even though we booked well over a year in advance we only just got in as all the best ships sell out incredibly quickly. embarking / disembarking was a doddle so quick and organised your cases were waiting at your room or on the dock when you left a quick photo on the way in and you're accounted for with your ID for the trip. This truly was a holiday of a life time Alex and his staff / experts on board were amazing incredible backgrounds including having a professional photographers on board to help and take photos of the 10 days. The experts are so approachable and they loved sharing such a special place with us. Making sure we spotted all wildlife, birds etc and they were experts on the history of Antarctica they remind you of all the bad things people have done out there to make sure they don't happen again! The captain was brilliant even taking us to a place no tourist ship had visited before a place called Adey cove - named after the lady on board who organised everything to do with the ship and it's adventures. Every day just got better and better. The food was amazing great choice EVERYONE was catered for Veggies, Vegans, gluten free at every sitting. Being a veggie I worried about what I would eat and there was better choice than most restaurants at home! It felt like they were constantly feeding you! The cabin was way bigger than expected we had a twin on the 3rd level. The zodiac cruises / land drop offs were all military precision everything was so well organised they maximised the time spent off the ship getting 2 stops a day apart from the last day when they dropped anchor to go ashore but the ship carried on due to high winds! You are only allowed 100 people onshore at any time this was NEVER an issue with G adventures as you would have time on land then have a zodiac cruise so you got both at each location so everyone was happy! They offered a hike up a mountain, a glacier hike amongst other items. There was kayaking available but we were too late in the year for camping. We had the Drake Lake going out made fantastic time the captain keeping the sailing as gentle as possible but experienced a bit of the Drake shake on the way back never feeling unsafe on our ship. The doctor on board made sure everyone travelled comfortably. We barely had any time in our cabin or any time to use the gym or library, there were constantly lectures about wildlife, history, photography, environmental concerns very interesting and well led with big screens all around the room. We made the most of the experience and attended all of them - you can sleep when you get home..... They had great drinks with fair prices $6 for beer $8 for cocktails other than happy hour and around $20 for wind but not bad really. There was as much tea / coffee / hot chocolate etc as you could drink available 24 hours. The captain was brilliant even taking us to a place no tourist ship had visited before a place called Adey cove - named after the lady on board who organised everything to do with the ship and it's adventures. The wildlife was out of this world constant call outs when there was something to be seen although in the time you weren't in lectures it paid to stay out on deck. We saw fin, minke and Humpback whales, (13 together at one point) crab eater, weddell and leopard seals. 3 types of penguins I could watch them for hours and really didn't want to come home! If you want to get close and personal with the penguins go in March as they are very curious and come up to you if you sit quietly. We saw leopard seals feeding (sad but you had to watch in a horrible way) We saw Albatrosses all the time and huge petrels What I loved about the ship was how eco they were no plastic on board. outdoor clothing was hoovered before you started expeditions to avoid contamination. They are working on projects to prevent albatross deaths and sending research data to scientists who work to help protect the oceans. They work with Nasa to help them see what the climate is like. They encourage everyone to send whale and seal photos to people who are monitoring them there to see if they recognise them to plot patterns and protect them. They even collected a journalist from a Greenpeace ship who needed to go home quickly and he gave his presentation to us on the krill fishing and how bad it is for Antarctica. They made you aware of how bad plastic, fish farms etc are for the environment they do so much to help improve things for the wildlife out there. It was a fantastic experience getting involved in these knowing you were making a difference. They had documentaries on in the evening and live music in the bar. The scenery was unreal fantastic sunsets, blizzards, bright sunshine every condition everything so photographic! We saw the milky way one night the skies were so clear at times you never realised there were so many stars! They had a fancy dress night and an auction night to raise money for the charity. G-Adventures are a not for profit organisation so you are supporting Antarctica in a big way booking with them. We will be going to the Arctic in the future and will make sure it is with this ship everything was perfect! Thank you so much for an adventure of a lifetime! (Copied from Cruisecritic)