Antarctic Peninsula

On day five you will arrive off the Antarctic Peninsula and its surrounding islands. With a backdrop of high ice-capped mountains, crevassed glaciers and ice-filled fjords this is Antarctica in all its majesty.

You will explore the region taking advantage of the crew and expedition team’s experience. The route will be dependent on weather or sea conditions and information passed from other ships in the area or polar stations. You are likely to be able to join two Zodiac expeditions a day, in the company of the ship’s specialists, exploring the ice floes or stepping ashore onto Antarctica itself!

The itinerary will vary but there are a number of places that are particular favourites. You take beautiful transits through the channels and straits such as Lemaire, Gerlache and Neumayer with their towering rock faces and spectacular glaciers – possibly the highlight of the cruise. Bring your swimming gear for a dip in the hot springs of Pendulum Cove and you can post your letters at the historic research station of Port Lockroy. Here, as well as enjoying the thriving penguin colonies, the former British scientific station has been renovated to serve as one of the most isolated and intriguing museums in the world. We also hope to visit Paradise Bay, Petermann Island, Cuverville Island, Vernadsky Station and Neko Harbour.

There are many sites with an abundance of wildlife and with the expedition team in attendance you really can understand this incredible environment. The penguin rookeries are a lively highlight with large numbers of adelie, gentoo and chinstrap noisily grouped together and as you cruise among the icebergs you will hopefully see seals both in the water and on the ice. The most common are the fur, leopard, crabeater, weddel and mighty elephant seals. At all times the ship will be on the lookout for mammals at the top of the food-chain and with the wealth of krill around the Peninsula there is a likelihood of seeing minke and humpback whales.

There is so much to see and the excitement of a Zodiac expedition, with perhaps a chance encounter with an orca pod. This will be followed by a discussion on board with one of the expedition team while clutching a hot chocolate - or something stronger! The experiences are unpredictable but many will no doubt be unforgettable.

You visit Whaler's Bay on Deception Island, an active volcanic island with thermal waters welling up under the black sand. You also visit Half Moon Island, part of a dormant volcanic caldera where chinstrap penguins abound and the views can be spectacular. (Bx5,Lx5,Dx5)