Once-in-a-lifetime itinerary!

We won’t spend a great deal of time covering our first few days in Buenos Aires as this was not part of the Seabourn package. However, it really is worth allowing time to enjoy the city as there’s a lot on offer. 

We did a fair bit of exploring by bus and on foot; the hop on/ hop off bus tours are a great way to get an appreciation of the city and are reasonably priced ($35US/ person). Moving to The Palace we also did a guided tour of Recoletta Cemetery that was extremely interesting.

The Cruise Package

Day 2 - The day we boarded the ship was a very early start with a pretty basic offering for breakfast. A short coach trip to the airport, then the usual security checks and ‘hanging around’ before boarding the charter flight. The flight was fine, seating was 2 people across three seats so not crowded. A snack and drink were provided. It was a smooth reception in Ushuaia, but as the ship was not ready to accept passengers, we had an hour to explore the city and manage to fit in lunch at King Crab. 

Boarding was easy and our bags were delivered to our suite. We had suite number 739 which was delightful, spacious, elegantly furnished with an absolutely enormous balcony extending to 30 feet! Following several induction briefings we were free to explore the ship and its facilities.

Guests really made this trip, the vast majority of guests were from the USA with others from all parts of the world and there was a wide age range from 20 years old up to octogenarians. 

Staff – were the most important element in making the trip such a great experience.  From the Captain through to the bar staff and the cabin hosts, they were friendly, professional, and very accommodating.  The 25 strong expedition team and their leader were outstanding and the quality of their briefings was first rate.

Provided clothing - as part of the overall package, you are provided with a bright orange Helly Hansen waterproof jacket and a thermal inner jacket, a woolly hat and a waterproof backpack. There is an opportunity to exchange your provided kit for other sizes whilst on the passage south. The ship also provides (on loan) wellington boots (BOGS) that are superbly comfortable and have great insulation qualities.  The temperatures in Antarctica were relatively mild so heavy layers of clothing were not required and on several days, we did not wear gloves.

Day 2 to Day 11

Drake Passage - a bit lumpy both ways but not too uncomfortable for us or disruptive.

Food - there were several locations for food on board ranging from light snacks in Seabourn Square to formal dining in The Restaurant. Breakfast and lunch was buffet style in The Colonnade, food choices there were extensive with ‘themed’ cuisines in the evenings.

In the evenings, we ate in The Restaurant where the food was excellent and our waistlines are testament to it. Wine accompanies the food and is perfectly acceptable although you can select different wines from the shortish wine list at extra cost. All tastes are catered for including vegetarian, vegan and gluten free. We attended two exclusive ‘wine paired’ meals (at extra cost) where the head chef and the wine sommelier had created a fabulous menu. It is not permitted to take ANY food or drink ashore.

Caviar was available through by request and there was also a caviar and champagne reception held on an aft deck during the return passage to Ushuaia.

Facilities - The Spa was always busy but the gym rarely used. A small swimming pool and four hot tubs were available but were closed for the Drake passage.  A small laundry room (washing machines, tumble driers and ironing facilities) was available on 5 Deck and washing powder was provided.

Briefings took place in the Discovery Centre every day in the early evening and were very well attended, informative and pretty essential, if you wanted to learn more about Antarctica. Not only did the Expedition Team Leader give a detailed overview of the next day, he also summarised the previous day’s activities. He was followed by several members of the expedition team who gave short, factual and very interesting briefs on their specialisms lasting about  45 mins. The briefings were also streamed live to all cabins. Details of the next day’s activities were available in the ships daily bulletin (The Herald), on the TV and in the Seabourn Source App.

Public Areas  where spacious and there are several of them for guests to enjoy –Deck 6: Seabourn Square and Observation Lounge , Deck 4: Discovery Centre and Expedition Lounge,  Deck 9: Constellation Lounge and The Club.  These were never crowded.

Entertainment was relatively low key with evening musical performances in both 9 deck lounges and a couple of short sets in the Discovery lounge by the Cruise Entertainment Director. Other activities included: tour of the ship’s bridge, trivia competitions, a simple treasure hunt and a tour of the ships control room (by request)

Landings in all, we did six landings although the exact location of each landing really did depend on the prevailing weather condition at the time. The landings were by ‘coloured groups’ and the order of the groups varied daily so that each group didn’t always go first or last. Transport to the sites was by zodiac and we disembarked into shallow water on all occasions. On arrival, there was a short group briefing and then guests were left to explore the local area within specific boundaries. These landings lasted about 90 minutes. Some of the laid-out routes were a bit challenging, whilst others were across open beaches. Walking poles were provided if required. Everywhere, there were penguins (Gentoo, Adele and Chinstrap) many with chicks. We also saw seals and lots of seabirds. On return to the ship, ‘fortified’ hot chocolate was available at the landing dock.

Zodiac trips – zodiacs are the workhorses of this expedition and a fun experience. Each day had one zodiac opportunity and the route really did depend on the local wildlife, icebergs and the specialism of the driver. We would leave the ship in search of interesting sights, cruise through slush ice, past mountainous icebergs and have close encounters with whales, penguins and seals.

There were opportunities to kayak and enjoy the submersibles but there were at additional costs.

Disembarkation was a similar routine to embarkation with luggage left outside the cabin door the previous evening and then coaches to the airport and a flight to Buenos Aires. The return flight was to the international airport rather than the internal one used for the flight to Ushuaia.

Overall - a simply wonderful experience without any problems. We saw lots of wildlife, extremely close up and the highlight for many was the number of whales we saw – many pods across the whole of the Antarctic.

It was such a fabulous experience that we have already booked another Seabourn expedition for July 2026!