I did a Falklands/South Georgia/Antarctica 3 week itinerary a couple years ago (trip report Real Soon Now... ) on the Akademik Ioffe, operated by OneOcean.

The Falklands were quite nice, but I would have happily traded those days for more time in Antarctica. If you've never been to a place like the Falklands, it's definitely worth seeing, but South Georgia and Antarctica are in another league. That said, many on my ship (who were British or Anglophiles) found the visit to the Falklands particularly meaningful. There were also some Argentine scientists on the ship, and they also found the visit to Stanley very interesting.

South Georgia, on the other hand, I very highly recommend -- this was one of the highlights of my trip: amazing wildlife (e.g., walking on a beach with 30,000 king penguins), amazing scenery, and all the Shackleton mythology. I hadn't originally thought of going there, but I'm very grateful the travel agent upsold me on this.

As for agents and ships: I booked through ExpeditionTrips.com, whom I recommend highly because they came through when things went awry. I was originally booked on the Clelia II, operated by Travel Dynamics, but the ship had an accident, forcing a last minute cancellation. ExpeditionTrips did a great job managing the changed plans for me. And I credit Travel Dynamics for doing all the right things in a tough situation: they rebooked me on a competing ship, around the same time; they honored everything they promised for my trip that the other trip didn't offer; and they completely made me whole for everything extra I had to spend due to the change of plans. Kudos to them for doing the right thing even though they were losing a pile of money.

And, I really lucked out. I hadn't done my research beforehand, but the Akademik Ioffe is very highly regarded. It was built as a Soviet polar research vessel, so it's extremely quiet, manoeuvrable, and stable for a small ship (it has an amazing dynamic ballast system). Many on my ship were repeat Antarctica visitors who specifically sought the ship out. Note that it's not at all luxurious, but it was clean and comfortable. This is a ship for people whose focus is on Antarctica and the wildlife. And it felt very safe to be on a ship built for polar waters, and with very experienced Russian officers and crew who are used to operating in (ant)arctic conditions.

I also have high praise for OneOcean. This is a small, young Canadian company. The director of the company, Andrew Prossin, was on-board the ship and the leader of the expedition. The staff was young, but very knowledgeable and capable (e.g., our naturalists were a woman who just finished her PhD on penguins, and a Canadian marine biologist specializing in whales). It was interesting to see DMBTraveler's trip report -- he was on the same ship last year, but operated by Quark. His trip and mine had a lot in common, but e.g., the Quark guides looked older and more ... umm... tourist-oriented?... and there were more structured party activities on-board. On my trip, there were no organized parties, but, for example, a couple passengers brought their own violins with them, so there were impromptu recitals, several passengers had considerable relevant expertise of their own (birding, geology, etc.) so we had extra seminars, etc. I don't think they are as well-known as the big operators, so I'm plugging them here: http://www.oneoceanexpeditions.com/

One last point: You really want to be on a smaller ship. IAATO guidelines are for no more than 100 people to go ashore at any site, so a ship much larger than 100 makes it hard to go ashore as often or as long. That said, I'm sure Abercrombie and Kent offers a quality product.

www.traveldynamicsinternational.com in the past for me was a rough ride bring www.transdermscop.com LOTS
.www. cruisecritic.com for other options. Good luck!

alexa1travels-I have no info at all for you, but just want to congratulate you on all 7 coniinents. We've done 5, and really hope for all 7 before we're too old. Good for you, and have a wonderful trip!

If I was contemplating a trip to Antartica, I would go with National Geographic Expeditions. Have done several trips with them and they are excellent.

www.expeditions.com

We did the itinerary that included the Falklands and South Georgia as well as the Peninsula. Enjoyed the Falklands ... but SG and Antarctica ... I don't have words to describe them. Go for the experience and not just to step on your 7th continent and you'll not regret it.

You folks are all amazing and so kind to reply! I will research my options and your suggestions. We have been very lucky travelors, and hope our luck holds out in antartica.
Thank you very much!