Antarctica Cruise Reviews

Accommodations Review

The M/S Plancius is a very nice clean ship with comfortable beds. I was impressed that they cleaned the windows many times during the voyage so that you always had a clear view from inside.

Crew & Guides Review

I thoroughly enjoyed all of our leaders and thought all were professional and enthusiastic. James Cresswell and Brent Houston were outstanding in their knowledge. 

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Chris Harter at AdventureSmith was outstanding in answering my endless questions; also in general he was just a pleasure to talk to, easygoing and friendly.

Traveler Advice

Be prepared to be amazed!

Crew & Guides Review

Cheli Larsen (Expedition leader) has a wonderful set of skills: very well versed in all aspects of the trip, fantastic at assessing her customers and their interests, and great at communicating what was going on and why. The customer's frankly all fell in love with the expedition team and it was clear they were all in love with Cheli! Subject Matter experts: Colin, Colin S., Jim, and Damien were a great team. Time spent with them was my best time on the trip! Guides Emma, Marla, Val, and Dave were all exceptional. I don't mean to simply be "gushy" in this feedback; I'm TELLING YOU, this was a FANTASTIC TEAM that I will never forget!  

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

I felt well prepared for the trip.  Given the guidance I was given, I had all my papers properly organized for the phases of the trip in case I needed to refer to any (reciprocity tax, proof of evacuation insurance, etc.). The logistics went very smoothly. AdventureSmith clearly works with the creme-de-la-creme of Adventure Travel companies. Their selection of Quark Expeditions for this adventure was one that was very well placed. Having AdventureSmith to help me coordinate the logistics and prepare myself helped to ensure everything went extremely smoothly!

Traveler Advice

Don't take too many clothes!  Bring adequate and make use of on-board laundry!

Meals Review

3 course meals all of the time, I got used to that really quick. Great variety I don't think I ate the same meat twice. The Christmas 6 course dinner was unbelievable. I can't get those types of meals where I live!  Buffets were always stocked and I loved that I could choose between 3 meals for dinners every night to mix it up a bit.

Crew & Guides Review

The staff was amazing and extremely helpful. The staff knew our names within the first 2 days, maybe because we ordered lots of drinks at the bar but they were all so sweet. The expedition staff you could tell some come and go and the ones that are on all the time were more helpful to us and engaging. 

Andrew was great - very friendly and let us know exactly what was going on. Always tried to have a plan b and c just in case things needed to be changed and in our case that happened a bit but the other options always seemed like plan A. You could tell he was respected by the other guides!

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Easy to communicate and ask questions. Extremely helpful! I was only one of the few that had gotten the correct drop off point for the luggage. Everyone else was given another spot and had to try and figure it out on their own. Great suggestions for accommodations and food choices in Ushuaia. 

Traveler Advice

Don't go crazy buying new clothing especially if you are from the northern part of the US.  It was actually warmer in Antarctica then Pennsylvania when I was there. Take lots of memory cards and a USB stick since there is a laptop that you can share photos and many of didn't have a USB to get it off. Be honest with your level of hiking and kayaking - made for unbalanced groups that struggled. Get the patch and not just pills!  Almost everyone on the patch didn't get sick. 

Accommodations Review

The cabin on the ship and the room in the Arakur hotel were more than adequate for our needs.

Meals Review

The food was tasty and plentiful but sometimes a plain old sandwich would have gone down well.

Crew & Guides Review

Mickaela (Expedition Leader) was amazingly organized and communicated all details about landings and cruising effeciently. The guides on the boat were friendly, encouraging and extremely helpful, particularly when dealing with first time snow hikers.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

We were well and truly prepared until the last email requesting more information was received on the way to the airport. Accessing computers and printers was tricky and the process time consuming and stressful.

Traveler Advice

Take seasickness medication from the minute you board the ship. If you are going to camp in the snow, dress very, very warmly!