Guest Blogger Lynn Chen from A heart in sharing travel tales

Our Antarctic adventure on MS Expedition was G Adventures’ Antarctica Classic In Depth expedition. The MS Expedition left from Ushuaia, the most southern city in South America. Here is my detailed review and tips on visiting Antarctica with G Adventures that will undoubtedly come in handy for anyone planning an Antarctic adventure. 

Antarctic adventure on MS Expedition

1. Drake Passage

We certainly paid our dues by surviving the two-day voyage through the Drake Passage. It is arguably one of the most turbulent bodies of water in the world owing to the notorious winds and convergence of cold and warm ocean currents. According to our captain, we experienced level 6 (out of 10 being the highest) treacherous waves during the crossing.

On reaching Antarctica, the discomfort was replaced with excitement.

2. Pristine landscape

There was ICE, ICE, and more ICE during springtime in November. Even though we couldn’t sail into some places, I enjoyed seeing the landscape in the early season — pristine and untouched.

3. Wildlife

We spent six days around the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. Each day we were blessed with one or two zodiac landings where we encountered amazing Antarctic animals on each landing. We saw three types of penguins: gentoo, chinstrap and Adélie. My favourite is the chinstrap, as they seem to be smiling all the time. Happy penguins! It was an amazing experience to observe them in their natural habitat.

We followed the ‘five-meters-apart-from-the-animal’ rule. But penguins are so curious and unafraid of people, they would hop around us performing mating rituals, jump in and out of the ocean, or work on building their nests.

We didn’t see a lot of Adélie penguins. Oh my goodness, they’re so cute.

One of Wayne’s roommates was a semi-professional photographer. We nicknamed him ‘penguin whisperer’ as he would spend a lot of time in one spot to take amazing pictures of penguins. On one occasion, a penguin leaned on his lap to investigate his camera bag!

I was overwhelmed by the number of chinstrap penguins at Baily Head on Deception Island. That particular zodiac landing was not for everyone. Because of the swells, getting out of the zodiac quickly and at the right time was quite challenging. I felt like a soldier on a beach landing. We needed to jump out of the boat and run up the beach. The reward for doing so was to be surrounded by chinstrap penguins. The amount of noise and activity was mind-boggling.

We saw four kinds of seals. My favourite was the Weddell seal. They sleep a lot and are less aggressive. They have the cutest faces, and make perfect models for photographers.

4. Expedition ship

As the MS Expedition is an expedition ship, we completed a few challenging hikes. There were several lectures about the local environment, the continent, and sessions on photography skills.

The American scientific base at Palmer Station issues eight invitations during each season. We were one of the lucky ones to pay them a visit. It was fascinating to see how scientists study and live year round in such a harsh environment. I took a special liking to an injured elephant seal pup making a home at the station. He might have been attacked by a bull seal and abandoned by his mum. Hopefully he’ll continue to grow stronger in summer, and be able to survive.

The Antarctic Post Office at Port Lockroy is a ‘must’ stop for sending postcards home, but they might take a few months to get there.

5. Unpredictable weather

Being in Antarctica during the early season has advantages. There were many icebergs and lots of snow. We experienced Antarctic weather with split-second changes — sunshine, windchill, blizzards, and clouds all in a short period of time. Fog rolled into Port Lockroy in a matter of seconds.

6. Seasonal sailings

Antarctica can be visited during spring and summer only. Any month is good for glimpses of how penguins mate, hatch eggs, grow chicks and then head back to the ocean until the next spring. In addition, there are soaring seabirds and migrations of whales.

Antarctica is the only continent belonging to no nation — only to animals, sea birds, and nature. I hope it will be this way for years to come, so our future generations can enjoy this unique beauty as I did during this amazing voyage.

Tips on visiting Antarctica with G Adventures

For anyone planning an Antarctic adventure on MS Expedition, especially during early spring, I offer the following information and tips. They will likely be useful for tours with other companies.

1. Weather changes quickly. Dress in layers.

The free parka from G Adventures was fantastic. It really blocks the wind and keeps you dry. I get cold easily so I had one merino wool base layer, occasionally another top layer, plus one fleece, then the G Adventures parka. For bottoms, I had merino long johns and one pair of fleece pants, plus waterproof pants for landings. I wore one toque, one Buff, one pair of normal gloves (to be able to take pictures), and a pair of waterproof gloves when out in the zodiac.

With one pair of thin socks and one pair of thicker woollen socks, I never felt cold. (My roommate had feet warmers that can attach to the bottom of socks; she said they worked well. However, make sure you wear those socks when trying on boots as they will be staying with you for the rest of the trip. Boots are worn underneath the waterproof pants, and we were lucky to get brand new boots for the season. They’re pretty good for walking on ice or snow and hiking up hills. Although, there was one hike where the angle of the slope was too steep, and I didn’t feel comfortable continuing to the top.

2.  G Adventures Parka — get it on board.

Passengers went to the Discovery Lounge to try on jackets. I didn’t have a choice but to take a small, though it was a bit big for me. I’m still wearing it after coming back to Toronto. (The weather in Antarctica was warmer than our winter here in Toronto!)

3.  The food is very good and we were never hungry. 

Complimentary coffee, tea (herbal tea as well), hot chocolate, Ovaltine, honey, and cookies were available on a 24-hour basis in the lounge. You cannot drink your own alcohol in the public areas on the ship, but it can be consumed in the dining room with a $10 corkage fee. Non-alcoholic drinks were around $2 each. A happy hour alcoholic drink was $4. In Ushuaia, there’s a supermarket near the Hotel Albatross where we stayed the first night (included in the cost of the tour). We bought some sparkling water and wine for our voyage. (Ginger ale is good for seasickness!)

4.  Seasickness: Drake Passage!

It’s the price to pay for sailing to and from Antarctica!! The captain tried to make our crossing as smooth as possible, but many of us succumbed to seasickness. Many people used the patch. In Canada, it’s available over the counter from a pharmacy, but in the United States a prescription is required. I highly recommend a patch over pills. My husband Wayne took the pills but he couldn’t eat, and stayed in bed for both days during the two-day crossing. Though the patch has some side effects, it’s still better than feeling sick.

My throat was very dry, and it felt like I was coming down with a cold. It helps to bring some Halls or Ricola candy. I felt very sleepy and laid down a lot. If this happens to you, try to go for lectures in the lounge. I tried to sit or lay down on sofas, and avoided the swivel seats.

5.  It’s a very casual ship.

Jonathan, our expedition leader said, “It’s an expedition, not a cruise.” That says it all. For both the Captain’s Welcome and farewell cocktail (sparkling wine for all and hors d’oeuvres) in the lounge, we were all dressed in casual wear. If you want, you can wear something better, but nothing too flashy. I wore jeans and a shirt the whole time.

6.  People are friendly.

We encountered many interesting people from different walks of life. Thirty percent of the passengers were under 50 and some were under 30. Some of them had been to Antarctica more than once! Perhaps Françoise from Montreal, who was over 80 and travelling solo, was the oldest person on board. I admired her zest for adventure. She didn’t just stay on board but boarded the zodiac and did quite a few landings.

Wayne and I stayed in different cabins and we were lucky we both had very nice roommates. So I didn’t miss him that much (LOL). Mimi and April Sabangan were my roommates — amazing young women who shared the same passion for travel. All three of us have now been to seven continents! We shared a lot of laughter and were comatose together during the nasty Drake Passage crossing. April even celebrated a milestone birthday with penguins at Baily Head.

7.  The ship looks like the picture on the website.

Cabins are clean, and bigger than I expected. I was in a triple-berth cabin on deck 2. It was next to the mud room, which was great for going and coming back from landings. We had a porthole in the room, which was convenient for seeing icebergs pass by. We each had a closet to hang clothes, and there was room to put luggage away under the bed. The desk had additional shelf space.

It would be handy to bring a water bottle to have water in your room. The bathroom is tight and water can be everywhere if you point the showerhead in the wrong direction. Shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, and a hair dryer are supplied in the bathroom. There are plenty of towels. Housekeepers are GREAT!! They cleaned and tidied our room every morning, and turned down our beds every night. I guess if you have a twin room, it will be even roomier. Maybe in a quadruple room it might feel tighter? I was very happy in our triple room.

8.  Set Itinerary?

Before leaving, I was anxious about where we would go, as there was not a lot of detailed information on the website. I now understand why this is. With the early season sailings, it all depends on the direction of the winds and the amount of ice. We tried twice to go to Lemaire Channel but it was in vain due to too much ice in the channel. What I love about the early sailing is that I felt we were the first ones of the season to see such a remote area with lots of ice and snow.

Every day, the debriefing covered what we did that day, and what we MIGHT do the next day depending on the weather. The tour leader and the captain tried to get us on shore as often as possible. We spent almost two to three hours on land each time, or as we wished. Cruising in the zodiac was managed well, and not as scary or wet as I expected. If it looks like it will be wet for the ride, the zodiac drivers will let you know. Face away from the splashing water (the parka kept me dry the whole time). My $25 rain pants served me well. Landings were usually wet, meaning you might have to be in the water when getting off the zodiac.

During our six days in Antarctica only one landing (Baily Head at Deception Island) was problematic. Needless to say, it was one of my favorite landings!! It’s a beach landing but the waves were the concern. You need to be able to move fast, and timing is everything when disembarking. One woman in our zodiac didn’t get off as instructed, and when she fell into the water her life jacket inflated. She needed to go back to the ship and change.

But it was a lot of fun! We were rewarded with tens of thousands of chinstrap penguins!!! Love, love, love them. I didn’t want to leave.

The mudroom is warm and dry, so you can leave your parka, wet pants, gloves and boots there to dry. If you go on the outer deck you’ll want to wear your parka and gloves.

9.  Shoes.

Before boarding the MS Expedition, we spent five days in Buenos Aires and two days in Ushuaia. We brought a carry-on backpack (8 kg) and one handbag (carrying two cameras and things for a 15-hour flight from Toronto to Buenos Aires).

I was quite concerned about what shoes to pack. I planned to wear a pair of Converse shoes in Buenos Aires, and hiking shoes for the deck and Ushuaia. However, I ended up wearing the Converse shoes the WHOLE TIME on the ship. The deck was washed each morning, and I had no problem at all walking around the deck with my Converse shoes and a pair of woollen socks.

It can be really windy at times, especially when the boat is moving. No matter what you wear, you always have to be careful. Of course, if you already have Uggs you can bring them, but if not, sneakers are good enough as inside the ship is carpeted almost everywhere. If you feel cold outside, you can always go inside to get warm and go out again. Don’t bring flip flops or open-toed shoes for onboard use.

10.  It’s DRY onboard.

I washed my socks, underwear, and T-shirts daily, and they dried within a day. I just hung them in the bathroom with hangers. You also have the option of sending them to the laundry.

11.  We had a resident photographer on board.

Paul from Toronto was our resident photographer. He provided answers to questions about our equipment, and conducted two photography lectures during the Drake crossing. He also had a photography zodiac where people could sign up for those landings.

There were people on board who were semi-professional photographers with really good cameras. There were a lot of point-and-shoot cameras, and also GO Pro cameras. I have a PowerShot SX50 and was able to do a lot of experimenting using different settings. If I get ten good shots out of hundreds of pictures I’m happy. And I have more than ten good shots! I also have a Fujifilm XP70 Waterproof camera (but wish I had a GO Pro instead for the trip). I carried two batteries but there was no need to change the battery as I always charged it when I returned to the boat.

There are two desktop computers on board. Bring a USB stick in case your new friends onboard are willing to let you download their videos or pictures, or you want to back up your own.

12. I think every ship visits Port Lockroy.

Three staff members of the British Post Office in Port Lockroy caught a ride on our ship. They disembarked at their station before the season started. We went back to visit them two days later after they’d dug out more than six feet of snow to reach the door. At the post office you can buy post cards, stamps, and souvenirs. If you want, bring your passport to have an Antarctica stamp added. There’s a small museum as well. If you’re lucky like us, you might be invited to tour Palmer Station. Even the members of the crew were excited to have this opportunity, and try their famous brownies!

Conclusion

It was my first time on a ship like this and it was a memorable experience. The CEOs were experienced and their professionalism was inspiring. The restaurant, lounge, and housekeeping staff members were all hard working and kept us happy. Others might have had greater expectations but for me I appreciated their efforts.

Hopefully this will help you prepare for an Antarctic adventure on MS Expedition AND enjoy Antarctica for wherever and whatever you encounter!!

For more photographs of Lynn’s amazing adventure, visit A heart in sharing travel tale. For a detailed report on a G Adventures’ tour on MS Expedition, read Sherry Ott’s HOW CRUISING TO ANTARCTICA WORKS. For tips on packing light, see Top 20 tips on how to pack light.

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