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Guaranteed - No Fuel Surcharge.
Prices from:
$13,890 to $24,990
Fuel surcharge may apply (subject to change).
View: Rates | Deckplan | Cabin Photos
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Itinerary - In Brief
Itinerary - Detailed
Day 1:
Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Ushuaia is a picturesque community with excellent restaurants and intriguing museums. You’ll spend the night at your host hotel, so you’ll have time to explore.
Day 2:
Embarkation Day
After boarding in the afternoon, you’ll follow the Beagle Channel into the open waters of the Drake Passage.
Days 3-4:
Crossing the Drake Passage
Emperor Penguins will be on your mind while you cross the Drake Passage. By the time you reach the Weddell Sea, you’ll be a well-rounded expert on birds of all kinds. In addition to the biology, habitat and behavior of Emperors, our ornithologist will make presentations on the pelagic birds that accompany the ship. Your photographer-in-residence will prepare you for the special lighting conditions you will encounter during your visit to the rookery.
Days 5-7:
The aristocrats of the Antarctic
Reaching the Snow Hill rookery under the best possible conditions is the goal of the expedition. The Captain and Expedition Leader consult charts, weather bulletins and satellite images to determine where to park the icebreaker for efficient helicopter flights to the rookery.
In 2007, visitors to the rookery saw Emperor chicks, many sitting on the feet of the adult caring for them. Hopefully, you will repeat this unique opportunity! Helicopters will be used to ferry adventurers to a landing site about 2 km (1.2 miles) or more from the rookery. You’ll walk a well marked path through a sculpture garden of towering ice. Adult Emperors tobogganing to the sea to feed have the right of way!
Days 8-11:
Discovering the White Continent
While the Emperors are the priority, you will also visit the Antarctic Peninsula. Your exact route will be determined by local conditions.
You plan to sail Iceberg Alley. Use your newly acquired photographic skills to snap pictures of massive tabular icebergs until your camera beeps a warning that the memory is full. While passing through Antarctic Sound, you will see more fantastic ice sculptures from pure white to deep blue. A soulful silence may engulf you, unless a glacier calves or an iceberg over turns--then suddenly, everything is noise and waves.
While visiting the Peninsula, you may explore penguin rookeries under construction. Adélie, Chinstrap, and Gentoo Penguins court, lay eggs, and raise their young during the austral summer. Your voyage takes place at a time when these smaller penguins are selecting nesting sites and choosing partners.
Days 12-13:
Crossing the Drake Passage
You’ll be recalling the details of the voyage, as you cross the Drake Passage once again. These memories will stay with you, as clear and powerful as the day they were formed. The existence of the Emperor Penguin is more than a story of survival and endurance. It is the triumph of life itself.
Day 14:
Ushuaia, Argentina
After breakfast, you will disembark. The group will be transferred to the airport for the homeward flight.
Notes:
Read this itinerary as a guide only; the exact route and program varies according to ice and weather conditions - and the wildlife you encounter. Flexibility is the key to the success of this expedition.
Emergency Evacuation Insurance
Emergency evacuation coverage to a maximum benefit per paying passenger of $100,000 is included in the cost of this expedition. Included coverage is applicable only to travel between the first and last day of the expedition purchased. Additional days of travel prior to the expedition and/or after the expedition are not covered by the included emergency evacuation insurance. We strongly advise all passengers to purchase medical, cancellation and baggage insurance, and additional emergency evacuation coverage.
Included:
One night pre-expedition hotel accommodation with breakfast, as indicated in the itinerary. (The number of guests per room is the same as cabin occupancy on the ship. Due to limited availability, travelers who reserve a suite on board are accommodated in standard rooms at the hotel.); Group transfers from the hotel to the ship at the embarkation port, and from the ship to the local airport on disembarkation; Shipboard accommodation with daily housekeeping; All breakfasts, lunches and dinners on board throughout your voyage. (Please inform us of any dietary requirements as far in advance as possible. Unfortunately, the ships’ galleys cannot prepare kosher meals.); All shore landings per the daily program; Leadership throughout the voyage by our experienced Expedition Leader, including shore landings and other activities; All Zodiac transfers and cruising per the daily program; Formal and informal presentations by our Expedition Team and guest speakers as scheduled; Photographic Album on DVD, documenting the voyage; A pair of waterproof expedition boots on loan for shore landings; an expedition parka – yours to keep; Coffee, tea, cocoa available around the clock; Hair dryer and bathrobe in every cabin (bathrobe: starting 2010-11 season); Comprehensive pre-departure materials, including a map and an informative Antarctic Reader; All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the program; All luggage handling aboard ship; Emergency Evacuation Insurance for all passengers to a maximum benefit of $100,000 per person.
Not Included:
All airfare; Passport and visa expenses; Government arrival and departure taxes; Any meals ashore with the exception of breakfast at the host hotel before embarkation; Baggage, cancellation and travel insurance (other than evacuation coverage); Excess baggage charges; laundry, bar, beverage and other personal charges; Telecommunications charges; Customary gratuity at the end of the voyage for stewards and other service personnel (guidelines will be provided); Any possible helicopter flying time in excess of that offered for the group will be charged at an hourly rate to be announced on board; Based on weather and other operational considerations, helicopters may be available for private charter flights. When available, the cost of private charter flights will be at the hourly rate announced on board.
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