Race to explore the White Continent further south heats up
Antarctica is the ultimate exploration destination for many cruisers, and the race continues to move towards the White Continent.
Last month, Seabourn Venture sailed further south than any cruise line has ever sailed before, crossing the Antarctic Circle and reaching 70 degrees south, where it brought its guests ashore on the ice in George VI Sound for celebratory champagne.
Seabourn and other exploration companies have been pushing the boundaries of Antarctic expeditions lately, helped by climate change that is producing less ice pack and shifting giant icebergs to open new navigation channels.
Ponant’s ship, Le Commandant Charcot, set a record last year when it sailed south from New Zealand, reaching just over 78 degrees, the furthest south a cruise ship has ever reached. Charcot, which has a Polar Class 2 rating, has the capacity to break 2.5 meters thick ice.
Polar Class ratings range from one to seven, with one being the highest rating. Only the Quark Expedition’s former Soviet-era icebreaker claims this capability.
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Most luxury expedition ships, such as the Seabourn Venture, Silver Endeavor and Scenic Eclipse, have a Polar Class 6 rating, which will take them through moderate first-year ice no more than a meter thick.
Travel plans are becoming more and more ambitious. Ponant moves further into the Weddell Sea. Scenic sailed close enough to Snow Hill Island, which has the only Emperor Penguin breeding ground in Antarctica, to drop off guests by helicopter.
Scenic will return to Snow Hill again later this year (conditions permitting) with two itineraries including South Georgia and the Falkland Islands.
I reported it at the end of last year. Expeditions to East Antarctica Intrepid companies from Australia and New Zealand, Aurora, Chimu, HX, Ponant and Scenic, are visiting previously inaccessible parts of the Ross Sea, such as Mawson Huts and the Bay of Whales, previously blocked by icebergs.
For many, Antarctica tops dream travel listand high demand combined with limited access means expeditions are often booked well in advance. Aurora, HX, Lindblad, Ponant, Scenic, Seabourn and Silversea are among the companies sailing to the more visited Antarctic Peninsula, and most send several ships and offer dozens of cruises.
In 2028, Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot will circumnavigate the entire continent, the first ever completed by a cruise ship.
This is impressive, but Seabourn is offering a unique experience with its “Grand Pole to Pole Expedition” in 2027. Seabourn Venture will travel 20,500 nautical miles between Kangerlussuaq in Greenland and Ushuaia in Argentina, from 82 degrees north to 66 degrees south over 94 days.
The voyage covers both the Arctic and Antarctica, with the occasional opportunity to thaw in the Caribbean and South America. There is nothing better for those who dream big.
Brian Johnston seemed destined to be a travel writer: an Irish man born in Nigeria, raised in Switzerland, lived in Britain and China, and now calls Australia home.
