Antarctic cruises

Polar Circle and Antarctic Peninsula

Ushuaia - Ushuaia

Aboard the M/V Plancius.

12 days / 11 nights

The Antarctic Peninsula offers you the most dramatic scenery and biggest variety of wildlife in Antarctica. In the southern summer large ice-free areas provide breeding grounds for very large numbers of seabirds and seals.

We sail out along the Beagle Channel and across the Drake Passage. Icebergs become a familiar sight as the ship approaches Antarctica. The South Shetland Islands were discovered in 1819 and lie parallel to the Antarctic Peninsula, separated by the deep-water Bransfield Strait. We visit volcanic Deception Island, in the South Shetlands. Here the ship, weather permitting, will sail into the flooded crater through the narrow entrance known as Neptune's Bellows. At Hannah Point you will see Elephant Seals, several different species of penguins and many other seabirds. From King George Island and Penguin Island we will sail down to the beautiful Paradise Bay, where you can go ashore on the Antarctic mainland.

Sailing on south we hope to pass through the narrow and spectacular Lemaire Channel, surrounded by mountains and glaciers and a popular passage for several species of whales travelling up and down the sheltered waterways of the Antarctic Peninsula. Here Minke Whales, the smallest of the rorqual whales, and ferocious-looking Leopard Seals are common. At Pleneau we visit penguin colonies, then we head south of the polar circle to Crystal Sound, before turning north, through the Neumayer Channel. Returning to Ushuaia across the Drake Passage, a multitude of seabirds follow the ship, including several species of albatross and petrel.

Itinerary

Day 1: Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
In the afternoon, we embark in Ushuaia and sail through the Beagle Channel.

Days 2-3: Drake Passage
During these two days we will sail across the Drake Passage. As we cross the Antarctic Convergence, we arrive in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. In this area we may meet Wandering Albatrosses, Grey Headed Albatrosses, Black-browed Albatrosses, Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, Cape Pigeons, Southern Fulmars, Wilson's Storm Petrels, Blue Petrels and Antarctic Petrels. Near the South Shetland Islands, we glimpse at the first icebergs.

Days 4-9: South Shetland Islands / Antarctic Peninsula
At Deception Island, we will try to land at Baily Head home to a colony of ten thousand Chinstrap Penguins. Deception is a sunken crater, which opens into the sea, creating a natural harbour for the ship. Here we find hot springs, an abandoned whaling station, thousands of Cape pigeons and many Dominican gulls, Brown and South Polar Skuas and Antarctic Terns. Wilson's Storm Petrels and Black-bellied Storm Petrels nest in the ruins of the whaling station in Whalers Bay. Good walkers may hike from Baily Head over the ridge of the crater into Whalers Bay, while our ship braves its entrance into the crater through the spectacular Neptune's Bellow, into the ring of Deception Island.

On our way further south we will sail to Orne Islands with large colonies of Chinstrap Penguins and a beautiful view across the Gerlache Strait or to Cuverville Island, a small precipitous island, nestled between the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula and Danco Island. It contains a large colony of Gentoo Penguins and breeding pairs of Brown Skuas.

In Neko Harbour and Paradise Bay with its myriad icebergs and deep cut fjords, we have the opportunity to set foot on the Antarctic Continent. We shall have the opportunity for zodiac cruising between the icebergs in the inner parts of the fjords. We sail through the spectacular Lemaire Channel to Petermann Island offering Adelie Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags. We also try to land at Pleneau Island with Elephant Seals and fair chances to encounter Humpback, Minke and Fin Whales.

We head south along the Argentine Islands to Crystal Sound, south of the polar circle. The landscape is very impressive with very high mountains and huge glaciers. At the Fish Islands we land at one of the southernmost Adelie Penguin and Blue-eyed Shag colonies in the Antarctic Peninsula.

A base visit will also be provided, to give you an insight about the life of modern Antarcticans working on the White Continent. At Detaille Island, south of the Polar Circle, in Crystal Sound we reach probably our farthest south.

Sailing north again through Neumayer Channel and Gerlache Strait, we arrive at the Melchior Islands with a very beautiful landscape and again possibilities for zodiac cruising among the icebergs, where we may encounter Leopard Seals, Crabeater Seals and whales.

Days 10-11: Drake Passage
In the Drake Passage we have another chance to see many seabirds.

Day 12: Ushuaia
We arrive Ushuaia in the morning and disembark.

Note: All itineraries are for guidance only. Programmes may vary depending on local ice and weather conditions and in order to take advantage of opportunities to see wildlife. The final itinerary for each voyage will be determined by the Expedition Leader on board. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises.

Prices and departures

Departures: 9 – 20 Mar 2012

Prices from €6,290 per person based on double occupancy.

For more information, or to make a reservation, please contact us quoting code ANTOCE007.