Antarctica, Cruise in Style to the White Continent
by Jonathan Siskin
A cruise to Antarctica is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that sails to the world’s last great wilderness. Much of the White Continent has never been explored, and clients who cruise here will be among a select group of travelers since only 200,000 people have ever visited this distant, otherworldly place of breathtaking beauty and incomparable wildlife. One of the finest upscale expedition vessels currently sailing to Antarctica is the MS Bremen, a member of the four ship fleet of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises that offers itineraries to the White Continent every year from mid November to early February, the only time of year when it’s possible to cruise here. Equipped with an ice-hardened hull and carrying a maximum of 164 passengers, the Bremen has a long track record of successfully navigating the world’s most remote regions from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle to the Canadian Arctic and West Greenland.
I was a passenger aboard the Bremen this past November on a 17 day Antarctica cruise departing out of Buenos Aires Argentina and concluding in Ushuaia, Argentina. En route to Antarctica the ship called at ports on the coast of Argentina and Chile and sailed through the Beagle Channel named after the ship that Charles Darwin was aboard during his explorations of South America in 1832. The Bremen also cruised through the Magellan Strait, the narrow passageway connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans discovered in 1520 by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during his attempt to be the first to circumnavigate the globe. Our last land sighting was Cape Horn before we set sail across the Drake Passage named after Sir Francis Drake that has a well deserved reputation for turbulent seas with waves that can reach 30 to 40 feet high. Fortunately our crossing was not as rough as expected, and two days later we spotted the first icebergs signaling our arrival in Antarctica.
Everything about Antarctica is gigantic, and a few facts reveal the vast dimensions of the White Continent which is 1.5 times the size of North America. It encompasses an area of 13 million square kilometers of compressed snow and ice that has accumulated over millions of years and in some places is almost three miles thick. It also contains 90% of the earth’s ice and 70% of its fresh water.
The highlights of an Antarctica cruise are daily excursions off the ship in Zodiacs, rugged inflatable rafts developed by Jacques Cousteau that take you within touching distance of icebergs the size of cathedrals and alongside the steep walls of mammoth glaciers. The Bremen’s itineraries are carefully planned to maximize the expedition experience as Zodiacs make landings at beaches and other remote sections of coastline where colonies of penguins—some as large as 300,000—await along with other populations of wildlife including elephant seals, fur seals, sea lions, albatross, and petrels. Penguins are unruffled by contact with humans as they waddle by and pose for photographs. While the summer months are reasonably mild –during my cruise it occasionally warmed up to more than 40 degrees during the day—penguins must survive the world’s most inhospitable winters during which the sun never rises and fierce storms send temperatures plummeting as low as 50 degrees below zero.
Besides landing onshore, there are also zodiac excursions that transport guests amidst icebergs and up close to glaciers while looking for orcas and other species of whales that spend their summers here. One of the most memorable excursions is in magnificent Paradise Bay where you drift past icebergs of every shape and size and often encounter penguins and seals floating by on chunks of ice.
Creature Comforts onboard the Bremen
While en route to Antarctica and back, guests cruise in style and comfort aboard a four star ship known for its deluxe amenities and high level of service. Spacious 194 square foot staterooms (exceptionally large for an expedition ship) are furnished with twin beds (convertible to a double bed), a seating area with small sofa, armchair and table, sideboard with dressing table and hairdryer, safe, flat screen video monitor, spacious closet and panoramic windows. There is also a mini bar stocked with each guest’s choice of complimentary fruit juices and sodas.
While at sea guests can relax in the Panorama Lounge on deck seven offering spectacular views through floor to ceiling windows. Buffet breakfast and lunch is served every day in the Bremen Club as well as afternoon tea and before and after dinner drinks and cocktails. There is also a gym, sauna, massage room and sun deck, and some days during my cruise were warm enough for sunbathing.
Dinners are especially memorable in the main restaurant as guests select from a menu that may feature mousse of smoked salmon, veal carpaccio or sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese for starters, grilled rack of lamb, whole roasted beef tenderloin, and lobster ragout for the main course and a choice of mango-yogurt parfait and hazelnut soufflé with egg nog sauce and warm chocolate cake with whipped cream.
Call 877-445-7447; visit www.hapag-lloyd.com