Antarctic Adventure on a Cruise to Remember

It’s the coldest, windiest, driest and most isolated region in the world _ the last great wilderness known as the frozen continent.

‘You’ll be cold,’ suggested friends when I announced my plan to embark on an Antarctic cruise. 

I wasn’t.  The captain of Swan Hellenic’s polar ship SH Diana was a Norwegian whose countrymen say there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.

So kitted out with smart turquoise windproof anorak and liner, layers of thermals and long-johns, serious boots for tramping through snow, balaclava and woolly hat I was up for the bucket list challenge.  I was skiing i.e. Spending the Kids’ Inheritance.

Their loss was my gain as I was immersed in a dazzling icy white dream sequence, sailing in ink blue waters, swirling mists lifting to reveal azure skies and cotton wool clouds stitched to tops of towering volcanic mountains. I’m no stranger to unique holidays and ice cold cruises, but this really was something special.

Wonderful wildlife

Growler icebergs grind against the hull as ever bigger bergs shape-shift from Battersea power station, a slack-jawed dragon, shadowy blue tombstones until one biggy ‘calves’ and rolls, noisily shedding a huge chunk that creates an enormous wave and endless ripples.

Pyramids, skyscrapers and cannon balls _ no design is too simple or complex for Nature’s ice sculptor.

This unrivalled snowscape is the backdrop to wonderful wild life.  We waddle with gentoo and chin-strap penguins (keeping 5 metres away from these cute, inquisitive birds, lowering our voices and not trampling their paths from rookeries to shore),  puzzling how such ungainly, flightless birds on land can morph into elegant, streamlined torpedoes once in the seas.

We watch a bubble feeding frenzy of humpback whales enjoying lunch, before they dive into the deep with a resounding slap of their flukes. You’d be unlucky NOT to sight one of these ocean giants as Antarctica boasts 70% of the world’s whale population. And the humpback is the most musical and acrobatic among the cetaceans.

Our expedition leader Brandon, a veteran of 150 visits to Antarctica and addicted to its timeless, unique, untainted character, describes one close encounter.  ‘A whale came up so close to our kayak I could feel its breath,’ he recounted.

It smelt fishy thanks to whales’ insatiable appetite for krill, small shrimp-like crustaceans.

I can report no such smelly excitement during our kayaking trip. The nearest encounter was a few meters away from our 10 seater Zodiac rigid inflatable as we cruise silently past a crab-eater seal sunning itself on an ice-flow,  rolling over to lift a flipper in lazy salute.

This is a dream cruise for ornithologists, a seabird heaven for twitchers seeing at close hand/wing the majestic albatross, in seemingly effortless flight. We’ll enjoy the company of cormorants, skuas and petrels too.

Exploration & adventure

This is so much more than a cruise, more an expedition, exploration and adventure as we become citizen scientists,  logging sightings of wildlife and seabirds, recording whale ‘music’ as they communicate, measuring density of krill, even counting cloud formations for NASA – all data to be fed back to international researchers.

Swan Hellenic prides itself on its scientific credentials, determined to play its part in protecting this frozen continent as the UN warned that 2024 headed for its hottest year on record.

The shipping line is signed up to IATTO, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, rigorously enforcing bio-security so that our hikes on land do not contaminate the area. We are warned to leave nothing but our thanks as the bio-hazard team, looking like Ghost Busters, vacuum clean everything we’ll be wearing or carrying ashore.  They discovered two dead mosquitoes in my binoculars case!

As we leave the ship to board our Zodiac craft we meticulously clean our boots before visits to Fournier Bay, Damoy and Meusnier Points, Deception and Half Moon Islands, then repeating the process on the return journey.

Our expedition was not all plain sailing. Even before we embarked newspaper headlines were chronicling stories of hunger-striking passengers aboard SH Diana when the ship encountered propulsion problems with the starboard engine. 

The Norwegian Captain sensibly decided against continuing to such a hostile environment as Antarctica. Most passengers accepted compensation of a free cruise but a few Russians and Chinese held out for more, a couple even refusing to leave the  ship when she docked at Ushuaia, on the tip of Argentina.

Antarctic cruise luxury

By the time we took their place on board engineers still working feverishly on the fault as a 50 knot wind whipped the port.  Thankfully the weather calmed as we set sail 24 hours late to enjoy long days and only four hours of darkness at sea:  a luxury state room with massive portholes and virtual log fire, lectures from historians, explorers and assorted international experts,  fine food and wine, open air pool at the stern of Deck 7, one down from the bridge, a 24 hour gym, steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi and a spa for massages and beauty treatments.  Who could resist a pampering facial using Cabernet Sauvignon grape skins? Or a rejuvenating treatment using Sangiovese grape extracts?

Personally, I’d rather sample the wine. Which I did.  With fabulous food to be enjoyed before we hit the notoriously rough Drake Passage, the most powerful convergence of the seas likened to being caught in a washing machine cycle. But Drake Shake turned out to be Drake Lake, smooth as silk, with a gentle swell and mild wind. The continent’s bleak beauty was welcoming Diana’s 180 passengers to her glacial heart.

I bask in the knowledge that I am one of 0.0013 per cent of the world’s population fortunate enough to visit this frozen continent. And not feel cold.

• Gill Martin was on Swan Hellenic Antarctic Peninsula Odyssey Tuesday 03 December- Friday 13 December 2024. All elements of the trip were paid for by the individual.

• Price: A 10 night Antarctic cruise, departing 09 January 2026, on board SH Diana, costs from £8,880 pp (two sharing) and includes internal flights (between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia), group return transfers from the airport to the cruise port, one-night pre-cruise accommodation with breakfast in a 4/5-star hotel, all meals onboard, 24-hour room service, coffee, tea, soft drinks, and selected alcoholic beverages available 24-hours per day, lecture programme by experienced expedition team and guest speakers, one selected shore excursion / activity per port of call, standard Wi-Fi, onboard gratuities and port taxes. Branded Swan Hellenic expedition parka and use of rubber boots in Polar Regions.

• For more information about Swan Hellenic and the Antarctic cruise,  visit www.swanhellenic.com.