Antarctica
Jan 20th, 2007 | 10:28 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2007
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Antarctica
Hi, my 13 year old wants so badly to see Antarctica. I would like to take her there. My problem is I think I have to go in the winter (ie in Jan or Feb) but she only has a week off from school. I wouldn't mind pulling her out of school for a couple of extra days but I don't want to pull her out for more than that. Is there any way I can get us there if? Thanks for any help
Jan 20th, 2007 | 11:31 AM
#2
Joined: Feb 2003
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The time to visit is November, December, January or February. Timewise you would be really pushing it considering the flights down and back and you do have to go by ship from Ushuaia, Argentina to Antarctica. It can take two days to navigate the Drake Passage.
Jan 21st, 2007 | 07:02 AM
#5
Joined: Jan 2003
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We were there 15 years ago.
The trip from the US really needs <i>at least</i> 12 days. Takes all day to get to Buenos Aires, then you have to get to the ship near Tierra del Fuego, then 2 days for Drake's passage, 4 days around Antarctica, then back. Not an easy trip.
The trip from the US really needs <i>at least</i> 12 days. Takes all day to get to Buenos Aires, then you have to get to the ship near Tierra del Fuego, then 2 days for Drake's passage, 4 days around Antarctica, then back. Not an easy trip.
Jan 22nd, 2007 | 04:34 PM
#7
Joined: Feb 2003
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I was in Antarctica last February. Both crossings of the Drake Passage were great although the cruise before ours did have some pretty rough weather. Saw thousands of penguins of different varieties, seals, whales and birds. If you want to read some great trip reports go to www.flyertalk.com and select "Travel & Dining" in the middle box, scroll down to the bottom to "Antarctica" and select the posts for the last year. Great reading.
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Jan 25th, 2007 | 04:01 AM
#8
Joined: Feb 2004
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Roe - what size ship are you going on and what itinerary? We just returned from a 20-day trip that included the Falklands, S Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula. We were on a 1,700 GRT ship (Prof Molchanov) - by comparison the Marco Polo is about 22,000+ GRT.
You will feel the motion a lot more on small ships then on the larger ships that have stabilizers. I'll give you our experience in case you are traveling on a small ship.
We only crossed the Drake once - on the way back. One night of the crossing, the waves were in the 30-35 ft range. Even though we were bobbing like a cork before then, our expedition staff were rating the crossing a 4 on a scale of 10. They upped their rating to 7.5 the next morning after those 30-35 ft waves. We never had big waves breaking over the bow, but the motion was very noticeable. Since this was at the end of our trip, despite the rougher conditions, there were fewer passengers experiencing sea sickness - some because of medication; others because they had gotten their sea legs by then.
Our crossing to the Falklands was in a Force 8 Gale - it wouldn't have been too bad except that the waves were hitting us in just such a way that the rolling was very noticeable. Since this was on the first day of our voyage, very few of us were on our feet.
The crossing from the Falklands to S Georgia, and later from S Georgia to the Peninsula, was in waters that the Russian crew and our expedition staff considered calm. We were still bobbing quite a bit, and many would probably have considered the waters rough, but they weren't too bad.
My husband and I went prepared and used the patch, which worked great except for the dry mouth part, which was quite irritating. On our ship at least, the doctor made available sea sickness options immediately and for free - no one took the strongest meds, which were shots. I found that, as usual, staying low helped, although there's not all that much difference between Deck 3 and Deck 5 on a small ship. Several passengers went up to the fly deck on Deck 7 (topmost on our small ship), thinking that being in the fresh air would help them - it was their worst mistake as that was the area where the motion was felt the most. If I felt any quesiness, I went on deck (Deck 3) to breathe in fresh air and watch the horizon - I find that always helps. If the weather was bad, I went to the bridge (we had an open bridge policy for the duration of our trip). Even though that was on deck 6, just being able to see the horizon made a difference.
One point of caution, the Beagle Channel is not always calm. There are sudden storms that can make it quite rough. Probably not bad on a big ship, but on a small ship the movement is almost as bad as being in open seas.
If you're susceptible to sea sickness, take precautions and you will be fine. We had smooth sailing out of the Beagle on New Year's Eve. I took two dramamines that night as we were warned that the ship would be in turbulent waters almost immediately upon exiting the channel. I was fine for most of the next day despite the strong movement. I opted to go with the patch later on just to be on the safe side. During the S Georgia and Peninsula crossings, I used Dramamine again occasionnaly - half doze. Put the patch on again for the Drake.
Regardless of the sea conditions during the crossing, one tends to forget them when one is faced with the wonder and beauty of the southern latitudes. Have a terrific voyage.
I'll try to check back in case anyone has any questions.
You will feel the motion a lot more on small ships then on the larger ships that have stabilizers. I'll give you our experience in case you are traveling on a small ship.
We only crossed the Drake once - on the way back. One night of the crossing, the waves were in the 30-35 ft range. Even though we were bobbing like a cork before then, our expedition staff were rating the crossing a 4 on a scale of 10. They upped their rating to 7.5 the next morning after those 30-35 ft waves. We never had big waves breaking over the bow, but the motion was very noticeable. Since this was at the end of our trip, despite the rougher conditions, there were fewer passengers experiencing sea sickness - some because of medication; others because they had gotten their sea legs by then.
Our crossing to the Falklands was in a Force 8 Gale - it wouldn't have been too bad except that the waves were hitting us in just such a way that the rolling was very noticeable. Since this was on the first day of our voyage, very few of us were on our feet.
The crossing from the Falklands to S Georgia, and later from S Georgia to the Peninsula, was in waters that the Russian crew and our expedition staff considered calm. We were still bobbing quite a bit, and many would probably have considered the waters rough, but they weren't too bad.
My husband and I went prepared and used the patch, which worked great except for the dry mouth part, which was quite irritating. On our ship at least, the doctor made available sea sickness options immediately and for free - no one took the strongest meds, which were shots. I found that, as usual, staying low helped, although there's not all that much difference between Deck 3 and Deck 5 on a small ship. Several passengers went up to the fly deck on Deck 7 (topmost on our small ship), thinking that being in the fresh air would help them - it was their worst mistake as that was the area where the motion was felt the most. If I felt any quesiness, I went on deck (Deck 3) to breathe in fresh air and watch the horizon - I find that always helps. If the weather was bad, I went to the bridge (we had an open bridge policy for the duration of our trip). Even though that was on deck 6, just being able to see the horizon made a difference.
One point of caution, the Beagle Channel is not always calm. There are sudden storms that can make it quite rough. Probably not bad on a big ship, but on a small ship the movement is almost as bad as being in open seas.
If you're susceptible to sea sickness, take precautions and you will be fine. We had smooth sailing out of the Beagle on New Year's Eve. I took two dramamines that night as we were warned that the ship would be in turbulent waters almost immediately upon exiting the channel. I was fine for most of the next day despite the strong movement. I opted to go with the patch later on just to be on the safe side. During the S Georgia and Peninsula crossings, I used Dramamine again occasionnaly - half doze. Put the patch on again for the Drake.
Regardless of the sea conditions during the crossing, one tends to forget them when one is faced with the wonder and beauty of the southern latitudes. Have a terrific voyage.
I'll try to check back in case anyone has any questions.
Jan 25th, 2007 | 01:52 PM
#9
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 794
Likes: 0
I did a cruise on the Antarctic Peninsula with Quark Expeditions a couple of years back. It was an 11-day cruise on the Akademik Shokalskiy. As noted, the time to visit is during the North American winter, so you can do something over the Christmas break. Most cruises to the Peninsula are in the 10-12 day range. Trips that include the Falklands or South Georgia are twice as long. Add a couple of days to the beginning and end for air travel, and you're looking at a 14-16 day trip.
So, if you do this over the Christmas break, your child should only lose 2-3 days worth of school. Most of the small cruise ships offer daily lectures on the natural history of Antarctica, so I think you'll break even or do better education-wise.
May I ask what inspires your child to want to visit Antarctica? If her reason is to see the Emperor Penguins that were the subject of the movie, March of the Penguins, then she might be disappointed since you won't get to see them on a cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula. There are other cruises and trips that visit Emperor Penguins, but those take longer or are more expensive. That being said, a trip to Antarctica is certainly worthwhile and you'll see plenty of wildlife including several species of penguin.
Roe - I did the trip on the Shokalskiy which is a 40-person ship, so it's fairly small and got tossed around a bit on the journey back across the Drake. The trip over was pretty smooth, but even so, about 1/2 - 2/3rds of the passengers kept to their cabins seasick, despite the various motion sickness remedies. The trip back was considerably worse since we sailed through a Force Five Gale, and most passengers stayed in their cabins. Just walking about was an adventure, and meal times were nearly futile giving the motion of the ship - I think we stuck with sandwiches at some point. I used Dramamine and was fine the entire time - never missed a meal, even.
As for wildlife sightings - it was outstanding. Here are some pics:
http://www.pbase.com/escog/antarctica
So, if you do this over the Christmas break, your child should only lose 2-3 days worth of school. Most of the small cruise ships offer daily lectures on the natural history of Antarctica, so I think you'll break even or do better education-wise.
May I ask what inspires your child to want to visit Antarctica? If her reason is to see the Emperor Penguins that were the subject of the movie, March of the Penguins, then she might be disappointed since you won't get to see them on a cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula. There are other cruises and trips that visit Emperor Penguins, but those take longer or are more expensive. That being said, a trip to Antarctica is certainly worthwhile and you'll see plenty of wildlife including several species of penguin.
Roe - I did the trip on the Shokalskiy which is a 40-person ship, so it's fairly small and got tossed around a bit on the journey back across the Drake. The trip over was pretty smooth, but even so, about 1/2 - 2/3rds of the passengers kept to their cabins seasick, despite the various motion sickness remedies. The trip back was considerably worse since we sailed through a Force Five Gale, and most passengers stayed in their cabins. Just walking about was an adventure, and meal times were nearly futile giving the motion of the ship - I think we stuck with sandwiches at some point. I used Dramamine and was fine the entire time - never missed a meal, even.
As for wildlife sightings - it was outstanding. Here are some pics:
http://www.pbase.com/escog/antarctica
Jan 25th, 2007 | 07:20 PM
#10
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Joined: Jan 2007
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your reponses are so helpful. It's funny you ask what motivates my daughter to go there. Well, if anyone has been able to figure out what motivates a 13 year old, I'd like to know....but really, I don't think she has an unrealistic idea of what it will be; she hasn't even seen March of the Penguins. I think she is very simply a nature lover. She always has been. Her first grade teacher got her interested years ago in penguins. Plus, I think she'd like to go somewhere no one else in her school has gone. I know Christmas would maybe work, but it's hard because our family ties make it hard to be away for Christmas. At any rate, I'm concluding it's impossible without missing significant school time. I'm telling her now maybe we can go when she's a senior IF she has already gotten into college and is more on cruise control.....what? are you kidding me? delay gratification?
