What You Need to Know About Taking an Antarctica Cruise

Before taking an Antarctica cruise, you need to know what the experience is really like. We put together this video to help those travelers looking to sail to the 7th continent. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below. Subscribe to the Eat Sleep Cruise YouTube Channel if you love to travel and cruise the world! https://www.youtube.com/c/EatSleepCruise1 What We Wish We Knew Before Taking an Antarctica Cruise 0:00 Introduction 0:40 Picking the Right Cruise Line Makes All the Difference 2:27 Knowing the Best Time to Cruise to Antarctica 4:04 What You Will Actually See and Do on the Cruise 5:58 Exactly What You Need to Pack for the Trip 8:55 Be Realistic With Your Own Fitness Levels 11:30 There is a lot of Down Time Spent on The Ship 12:45 The Drake Passage is as Rough as Advertised 14:45 Onboard Activities Are Mostly Enrichment Focused 15:50 Make Sure You Have Some Cruise Essentials Packed 17:10 The WiFi Was Better Than Expected 18:22 The Polar Plunge Isn’t Really That Bad 19:45 You Need to Be Flexible Throughout the Voyage TAKING AN ANTARCTICA CRUISE An Antarctica Cruise is very different from a typical oceangoing trip. Whether you are an avid cruiser or a regular traveler, getting to the 7th continent takes some planning and preparation. If you're booking this bucket list destination, please compare cruise lines. While many boast of traveling to this polar region, many larger ships offer scenic cruising. You will need an expedition ship to step foot on Antarctica's shores. Luckily, we did pick the correct ship with @AtlasOceanVoyages luxury expedition yacht World Voyager. Also, I would like you to plan the timing of your cruise wisely. While we did pick the right cruise line with Atlas Ocean Voyages, we needed to choose a better time. We went during the beginning of the season, known as the shoulder season for seasonal ports. The best time is late December to January. We visited in November, meaning we had some unpredictable weather. Still, the weather can change quickly at any time of year. Being flexible is the number one cruise tip you need to know about taking an Antarctica cruise. It can be sunny and dry one minute and windy and snow a few minutes later. Another thing we wish we had known was how the ashore programming worked before taking an Antarctica cruise. First off, knowing what you will see and not see during the trip is vital. While there are plenty of birds, penguins, seals, and potentially whales, there are no polar bears. Also, keep in mind your own fitness levels. While neither of us is the outdoors type or very athletic, we could handle most of the hikes and walks once on the continent. Of course, each cruise line in Antarctica boasts diverse programming, so please know what your particular line offers. Smaller luxury cruise ships and expedition vessels that offer Antarctica Cruises only have some of the onboard amenities of larger ships. Even though we figured that going into this trip, we were still surprised by the lack of activities. So, bring some books or small games or download podcasts or audiobooks to pass the time while on the ship. Another thing we wish we knew before taking our Antarctica cruise was how much downtime we would have on the ship. Cruising to Antarctica is highly regulated, so while you can experience multiple stops in a day, you have a limited time of about 60 to 90 minutes for each outing. Given that regulations limit how many individuals can go ashore at one time, this means even on port days, there is a good amount of waiting around. So, with few onboard amenities, make sure you are prepared. Luckily, the WiFi on our ship worked better than expected. This is cruise line dependent. So, check to see if your cruise line offers WiFi. Our Altas Ocean Voyages ship offered Starlink, and we could use it for most online tasks, minutes of video streaming, and apps like YouTube or TikTok. LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR ANTARCTICA CRUISE ON THE BLOG https://eatsleepcruise.com/what-we-wish-we-knew-before-cruising-to-antarctica/ TRENDING VIDEOS FROM EAT SLEEP CRUISE: We Just Returned from a $25,000 Luxury Cruise to Antarctica: https://youtu.be/mspwYTJC7NE We Tested 9 Brand New Cruise Ships: https://youtu.be/XdoagV5JtMw Top New Cruise Ships 2023: https://youtu.be/hgh0yWQ_FwI 25 Expert Alaska Cruise Tips and Tricks: https://youtu.be/wsQggXltN90 Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to our channel to get the latest cruise tips, cruise reviews, packing guides, port guides, travel tips, and more. Join us on Social Media as we “Sea the World, One Port at a Time.” Instagram: https://instagram.com/EatSleepCruise Facebook: https://facebook.com/EatSleepCruise Twitter: https://twitter.com/EatSleepCruise TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@eatsleepcruise Royalty-Free Music Courtesy: https://www.epidemicsound.com/ #cruise #antarctica #antarcticacruise