Cruise to Antarctica

The ship 'Bremen' in Antarctica

Ever wanted to cruise the Southern Ocean to see the wonders of Antarctica? In January this year, Theo and Linda Steel did just that. They went on a cruise to Antarctica from Ushaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world.
  Here is what Theo has to tell us about the ship and their itinerary:

 Hapag Lloyd run what are primarily expedition ships with small ship conditions on board. We travelled on 'Bremen' which does both warm and polar cruising – taking in the Amazon on occasion as well as trips to both Arctic and Antarctica where it uses its strengthened hull. It has cruised the North West passage from Alaska round to Greenland as well as the ice trajectory from S. America to New Zealand.
  There are about 80 double cabins on board for customers; they are spacious and to a high standard with good food to match. There is a pianist and a ship’s choir on board, a small pool and a sauna.

  The predominant clientele is German speaking but 30% on our bilingual cruise were British/Dutch/French.

  We had a 20 day cruise with 6 sea days and 15 calls in the Falklands, South Georgia, South Orkneys and on the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. 
  If you like strolling cities then it is not the cruise for you – the largest place we visited was Port Stanley (pop 2000) on the Falklands, although we had a day in Ushuaia in Argentina which was more interesting than I expected and is located in fabulous scenery.

  If on the other hand you like wild scenery, seabirds, whales, seals and penguins then it is for you. You can also get up close to the conditions endured by some of the heroic explorers, and see a part of the world that has not sustained human settlement other than for research or, briefly, for whaling.
  Many thanks, Theo. More about this Antarctic cruise from Theo in my next post.