• Home
  • >
  • Antarctica – Polar Circle – Whale watching

Book Incredible Cruises to Antarctica and the Arctic

May 01, 2024 - 
May 08, 2024
This program is designed for experienced ski mountaineers who have mastered techniques both for ascent and descent in challenging snow-covered alpine terrain. A typical day involves climbs on mountaintops averaging heights of 700 - 850 meters (2,300 - 2,800 feet) and downhill skiing fro...
May 08, 2024 - 
May 15, 2024
This program is designed for experienced ski mountaineers who have mastered techniques both for ascent and descent in challenging snow-covered alpine terrain. A typical day involves climbs on mountaintops averaging heights of 700 - 850 meters (2,300 - 2,800 feet) and downhill skiing fro...
May 15, 2024 - 
May 22, 2024
Cruise along the pack-ice of North Spitsbergen for a great chance of spotting Polar Bears. You’ll sail into beautiful fjords found on the north coast of West Spitsbergen, a fantastically beautiful fjord crested with spectacular glaciers and home to Ringed and Bearded Seals. The sh...
May 22, 2024 - 
May 29, 2024
Cruise along the pack-ice of North Spitsbergen for a great chance of spotting Polar Bears. You’ll sail into beautiful fjords found on the north coast of West Spitsbergen, a fantastically beautiful fjord crested with spectacular glaciers and home to Ringed and Bearded Seals. The sh...
May 26, 2024 - 
Jun 06, 2024
Sailing between our home port of Vlissingen and our most cherished Arctic archipelago, Svalbard, this expedition adventure visits the Scottish port of Aberdeen, the islands of Fair Isle and Jan Mayen, and the amazing Spitsbergen ice edge, giving you the chance to search for whales, and ...
May 01, 2024 - 
May 08, 2024
This program is designed for experienced ski mountaineers who have mastered techniques both for ascent and descent in challenging snow-covered alpine terrain. A typical day involves climbs on mountaintops averaging heights of 700 - 850 meters (2,300 - 2,800 feet) and downhill skiing fro...
May 28, 2024 - 
Jun 06, 2024
Sailing between the Scottish port of Aberdeen and our most cherished Arctic archipelago, Svalbard, this expedition adventure explores the islands of Fair Isle and Jan Mayen as well as the amazing Spitsbergen ice edge, giving you the chance to search for whales, and other animals of the ...
Jun 06, 2024 - 
Jun 13, 2024
Sailing along the pack-ice of North Spitsbergen, will give us the best opportunities to spot the King of the Arctic. We sail to Raudfjord on the north coast of West Spitsbergen, a beautiful fjord dominated by spectacular glaciers and favoured by Ringed and Bearded Seal. The cliffs and s...
May 08, 2024 - 
May 15, 2024
This program is designed for experienced ski mountaineers who have mastered techniques both for ascent and descent in challenging snow-covered alpine terrain. A typical day involves climbs on mountaintops averaging heights of 700 - 850 meters (2,300 - 2,800 feet) and downhill skiing fro...
May 15, 2024 - 
May 22, 2024
Cruise along the pack-ice of North Spitsbergen for a great chance of spotting Polar Bears. You’ll sail into beautiful fjords found on the north coast of West Spitsbergen, a fantastically beautiful fjord crested with spectacular glaciers and home to Ringed and Bearded Seals. The sh...
Jun 08, 2024 - 
Jun 18, 2024
The North Spitsbergen cruise sails to some of the remotest locations of northern Europe. The expedition gives you the opportunity to spot historic whaling remains, glaciers, a variety of Arctic birds including the Little Auk, and polar bears....
Jun 10, 2024 - 
Jun 17, 2024
Join our adventurous expedition to the north of Svalbard’s largest island, taking in the area’s fantastically beautiful landscapes, thousands of seabirds, and possibly even polar bears. While searching for whales, seals, and other exotic wildlife among the sea ice, we’...

Antarctica – Polar Circle – Whale watching

Home Trips Antarctica Cruises Antarctic Peninsula Cruise Antarctica – Polar Circle – Whale watching

This voyage will take you further south of Antarctica, crossing the Polar Circle. This cruise passes through waters travelled by Humpback, Minke and Fin whales. Anchoring in various spots around the region, the expedition offers the chance to  dive in the iceberg-heavy waters.

Trip Itinerary

Day 1

Your voyage begins where the world drops off. Ushuaia, Argentina, reputed to be the southernmost city on the planet, is located on the far southern tip of South America. Starting in the afternoon, you embark from this small resort town on Tierra del Fuego, nicknamed “The End of the World,” and sail the mountain-fringed Beagle Channel for the remainder of the evening. 

Day 2 - 3

Over the next two days on the Drake Passage, you enjoy some of the same experiences encountered by the great polar explorers who first charted these regions: cool salt breezes, rolling seas, maybe even a fin whale spouting up sea spray. After passing the Antarctic Convergence – Antarctica’s natural boundary, formed when north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic seas – you are in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. Not only does the marine life change, the avian life changes too. Wandering albatrosses, grey-headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses, light-mantled sooty albatrosses, cape pigeons, southern fulmars, Wilson’s storm petrels, blue petrels, and Antarctic petrels are a few of the birds you might see.

Day 4 - 9

Options for Antarctic Peninsula activities are many, and no less great during the late summer. Humpback whales are prolific in this region, gorging themselves on krill before their migration north. The penguin chicks are also fledging, stirring up activity on the beaches while sleek leopard seals lie in wait, poised to attack the less fortunate ones.
 
Sites for your Antarctic adventures may include: 

 

Livingston Island – Here you find a wide variety of gentoo and chinstrap penguins on Hannah Point, as well as southern giant petrels and elephant seals hauling out onto the beach. 

 

Deception Island – Actually a subducted crater, this island opens into the sea and creates a natural harbor for the ship. An abandoned whaling station, and multiple bird species – cape petrels, kelp gulls, brown and south polar skuas, and Antarctic terns – can be seen here. Wilson’s storm petrels and black-bellied storm petrels also nest in the ruins of the whaling station in Whalers Bay. 

 

Cuverville Island – A small precipitous island nestled between the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula and Rongé Island, Cuverville houses a large colony of gentoo penguins and breeding pairs of brown skuas. 

 

Neko Harbour – An epic landscape of mammoth glaciers and endless wind-carved snow, Neko Harbour offers opportunities for a Zodiac cruise and landing that afford the closest views of the surrounding alpine peaks. You might also be able to set foot on the continent here. 

 

Paradise Bay – You could take a Zodiac cruise in these sprawling, ice-flecked waters, where you have a good chance of seeing humpback and minke whales. 

 

Pléneau & Petermann Islands – If the ice allows it, you may sail through the Lemaire Channel in search of Adélie penguins and blue-eyed shags. There’s also a good chance you’ll encounter humpback and minke whales as well as leopard seals. 

 

Crystal Sound – Your journey takes you south along the Argentine Islands to this ice-packed body of water, and from here across the Polar Circle in the morning. 

 

Detaille Island – You may make a landing at an abandoned British research station here, taking in the island’s lofty mountains and imposing glaciers. 

 

Fish Islands – Further north you encounter one of the southernmost Adélie penguin and blue-eyed shag colonies in the Antarctic Peninsula. 

 

Melchior Islands – These islands offer a beautiful landscape rich with icebergs. Leopard seals, crabeater seals, and whales are found here, and there are excellent opportunities for kayaking and diving. 

 

Conditions on the Drake Passage determine the exact time of departure.

Day 10 - 11

Your return voyage is far from lonely. While crossing the Drake, you’re again greeted by the vast array of seabirds remembered from the passage south. But they seem a little more familiar to you now, and you to them.

Day 12

Every adventure, no matter how grand, must eventually come to an end. It’s now time to disembark in Ushuaia, but with memories that will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies.

Please Note...

All itineraries are for guidance only. Programs may vary depending on ice, weather, and wildlife conditions. Landings are subject to site availabilities, permissions, and environmental concerns per IAATO regulations. Official sailing plans and landing slots are scheduled with IAATO prior to the start of the season, but the expedition leader determines the final plan. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises. The average cruising speed of our vessel is 10.5 knots.

Cabin Information

Ship name Cabin Name Price Sale Price Departs on Returns on
m/v Plancius Quadruple Porthole $7,700 NA Mar 23rd, 2025 Apr 3rd, 2025
m/v Plancius Triple Porthole $9,450 NA Mar 23rd, 2025 Apr 3rd, 2025
m/v Plancius Twin Porthole $9,450 NA Mar 23rd, 2025 Apr 3rd, 2025
m/v Plancius Twin Window $9,900 NA Mar 23rd, 2025 Apr 3rd, 2025
m/v Plancius Twin Deluxe $10,600 NA Mar 23rd, 2025 Apr 3rd, 2025
m/v Plancius Superior $11,200 NA Mar 23rd, 2025 Apr 3rd, 2025
m/v Plancius Quadruple Porthole $7,700 NA Mar 23rd, 2025 Apr 3rd, 2025
m/v Plancius Triple Porthole $9,450 NA Mar 23rd, 2025 Apr 3rd, 2025
m/v Plancius Twin Porthole $9,450 NA Mar 23rd, 2025 Apr 3rd, 2025
m/v Plancius Twin Window $9,900 NA Mar 23rd, 2025 Apr 3rd, 2025
m/v Plancius Twin Deluxe $10,600 NA Mar 23rd, 2025 Apr 3rd, 2025
m/v Plancius Superior $11,200 NA Mar 23rd, 2025 Apr 3rd, 2025

Inquire about this trip