Thank you, DMBT.

Yes, we did the polar plunge on Deception! It was the most painful thing I've ever done. My feet were like chunks of wood within 2 steps and it was so shallow I had to keep walking and walking to get deep enough to get submerged. Awful but worth it somehow!! :)

Yes, Hurtigruten was a lot cheaper than Quark. And also included the flight from BA to Ushuaia. But I totally understood going into it the compromise on # of pax, # of landings, etc. Unfortunately I have to weigh out a lot of variables and can't afford to take every trip that would be my first choice.

Sorry to keep going off-topic on the Africa thread