It’s been six weeks since we disembarked from our Antarctic expedition cruise aboard Aurora Expedition’s Greg Mortimer. We’ve sorted through and processed our photos and videos. I’ve written extensively about the sea kayaking and wildlife highlights. Before moving on from this trip, I want to spend some time reflecting on highlights, lessons learned, etc. That’s what this post is all about.

An Expedition Cruise?

Think Smaller Ship

First off, a few things about expedition cruising. Clear your mind of news stories of 2,000+ passenger cruise liners with nine month itineraries. Instead, think much smaller. According to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, expedition cruise ships carry between 13 and 200 passengers.

We sailed with Aurora Expeditions, an Australia-based expedition cruise company, aboard the Greg Mortimer. At 104 meters long, the ship is fitted out with 76 guest cabins and typically sails with about 130 passengers. The Ulstein X-bow is designed to cut through waves more smoothly and minimize jerking and slamming compared to other designs. I experienced mild seasickness during our only other expedition cruise. And the Drake Passage can b much rougher. So ship design was a deciding factor for me.

Somewhat Flexible Itinerary

The published itinerary for an expedition cruise is really only a rough guideline for what you can expect. Actual locations and activities will vary, depending on weather and wildlife sightings. That was certainly the case with our cruise, which spent an extra half-day on the Antarctic Peninsula to work in a stop at Elephant Island. Then, due to weather, we departed South Georgia a half day early.

Onboard Activities

One other big difference between expedition cruising and mainstream cruising? The nature of the onboard activities. While it was possible to sip a drink in the hot tub aboard the Greg Mortimer, the bulk of the onboard activities were educational. These included lectures on wildlife and history, plus citizen science activities (re: sea birds and clouds).

We kind of blew this one. In hindsight, we were too focused on our photography. We chose not to attend a lot of the lectures and missed the opportunity to learn from onboard experts. Instead, we’d spend time between expeditions sorting through our photographs to see what we needed to change to get better photos on the next outing.

This was a good strategy early in the cruise. But after a few days, we had optimal camera settings dialed in and should have opted for the lectures instead – especially after emerging from our COVID isolation. I can remedy my lack of participation in shipboard citizen science by installing the GLOBE Observer app and contributing cloud observations going forward. NOTE: As of the date of publishing this blog post, the GLOBE Observer app is rated only 3.3 in the Google Play store. I’ve added it to my wishlist and will watch for improvements before downloading and using this app.

Active

Finally, expedition cruises are pretty active. Most days, passengers are offered at least two off-ship activities. For our itinerary, these included zodiac cruises, zodiac landings with a hike, sea kayaking (pre-registration and an extra fee), snowshoeing (pre-registration and an extra fee) and/or overnight camping (pre-registration and an extra fee).

Logistics

Our cruise started and ended in Ushuaia, Argentina, also known as the “City at the End of the World.” It reminded us of Canmore. Although the population of Ushuaia is about 5x times that of Canmore, it faces a lot of the same challenges when it comes to affordability for residents against a backdrop of booming tourism. Our birding tour guide described the seasonal overwhelm of tourists in nearby Tierra del Fuego National Park. It sounds just like Banff National Park.

It took three days and four flights to to reach Ushuaia from Canmore. The first night we did our best to sleep on the plane. The second, we stayed at a hotel in Buenos Aires. Finally, on our third travel day, we went to the domestic airport in Buenos Aires for our flight to Ushuaia.

Two Full Days in Ushuaia

We reached Ushuaia two days before our cruise started. We wanted a bit of margin for our luggage to catch up to us if it went astray en route. And if there are flight delays/cancellations, there’s no way of catching up with the ship at the next port of call (well, maybe in South Georgia?). So you really don’t want to be late for embarkation!

We enjoyed our two days, exploring the seaside town and birding in Tierra del Fuego NP. I plan to blog about the birding tour at some point. Meanwhile, Mr GeoK made a Relive video recap.

We met a few fellow passengers at the hotel. One couple joined us for breakfast. Another ate at the table next to us in the hotel bar. By the morning of embarkation, the hotel was full. Embarkation was at 4 pm, and we all had to check out in the morning. So Aurora Expeditions offered a couple of options: a) a day at leisure; or b) an afternoon catamaran cruise through the Beagle Channel. How about c) all of the above!

We started our day with a morning hike, departing from our hotel. We managed to find our way to the Mirador Beagle Lookout with the help of a small map from the hotel and occasional signs. The woods were a little Tolkeinesque.

I may write a blog post about our hike at a later date. But for now, I refer you to Mr GeoK’s Relive for more photos from the Mirador Beagle Lookout hike. We made it back to the hotel just in time for 11 am checkout.

First Cruise Excursion – Beagle Channel Catamaran Cruise

At noon, two tour buses pulled up outside the hotel to transport any cruise passengers who opted for the Beagle Channel catamaran cruise down to the port. I’d say most passengers opted for this excursion.

The close quarters of the catamaran encouraged interaction. And the numerous wildlife sightings gave us a chance to pick out some photography enthusiasts in the group.

Watch Mr GeoK’s Relive recap for an EP version of our Beagle Channel cruise.

Embarkation

Embarkation was a little slow. The expedition photographer, Adrian, was tasked with taking photos of all passengers as they boarded. Within an hour, photographs and names were posted on the bulletin board beside guest reception. This was a handy reference for passengers and crew as we got to know one another. In hindsight, I wish we’d taken a photograph of this display while onboard.

As soon as we boarded, we headed to the reception desk to pick up cabin key cards. Our name tags and Orca cards were waiting in our cabin. The Orca cards were printed with our names, cabin number and a bar code – to scan us on/off the ship during excursions.

Our Cabin

We booked a cabin on Deck 4, mid-ship. The lower deck meant less side-to-side roll and the mid-ship meant less bow-to-stern roll. All helpful for anyone prone to seasickness, like me.

On the Greg Mortimer, all cabins on Deck 4 and higher have a balcony. It was never warm/dry enough to haul chairs out there. But we accessed our balcony multiple times/day to take photographs of icebergs, seabirds and landscapes. It was also a great way of getting fresh air into the room, especially after we were released from COVID isolation and would come back to our cabin to find it smelling of Lysol disinfectant spray!

Our Aurora expedition parkas were waiting for us. Fortunately, the sizes we’d pre-ordered were good, so no need to attend the parka exchange party later in the evening.

One other helpful feature of our cabin? A heated bathroom floor. Between the retractable clothesline in the shower and the heated floor, wet hats and mittens dried quickly, as did any laundry we did in the sink.

Ship Amenities

We had every intention of using the Deck 7 fitness room during our at sea days. And I did use an elliptical machines on our first day crossing the Drake Passage. I soon discovered that the pitch and roll that comes with the Deck 7 location overwhelmed my resistance to sea sickness. Despite looking out the window, my brain just couldn’t reconcile the elliptical motion with the ship motion vs what I was seeing. So that was it for me. Mr GeoK worked out twice.

I did notice the lack of fitness training when we got home, particularly in terms of push ups. Six weeks on, I’m just about back to my pre-cruise push-up capability. I’ve made a note to myself in my exercise tracker to do push-ups at least every couple of days when traveling. No need to go to a fitness center or gym. This is something you can easily do in your hotel room or cabin.

Other public areas included the lecture theater, library, glassed-in observation area, lounge/bar and dining room. They were all pretty much as expected. I especially appreciated the little 24-hour coffee/tea station in one corner of the lecture theater. It was my “go to” destination after most excursions and then I’d head to our cabin with a mug of hot milk in hand.

Bridge and Galley Tours

During the two sea days while sailing from South Georgia to the Falkland Islands, we had the opportunity to join bridge and galley tours. The third officer gave us a high level explanation of the advanced avionics and back-up systems. Everyone had a chance to sit in the captain’s chair, if they wanted to. Despite the expansive bow facing window, I was glad when the bridge tour came to an end. Up on deck 7, it was a little topsy-turvey for me!

The galley tour was through the main galley on deck 5, a well-ordered, gleaming stainless steel place. We learned that the menus are on a 16-day rotation, and we were just about to start back on Day 1! Breakfast and lunch were buffet service, with supper table service. Overall, the food was quite good, ‘though a little salty compared to our preference.

Overall Impressions

Our overall impression of Aurora Expeditions and the Greg Mortimer? Favorable enough that we’ve booked another expedition cruise, aboard sister ship Sylvia Earle. And we’ve heard through the post-cruise grapevine that at least 5 other passengers from our Antractic cruise will be on that same future cruise. We’ll have a little reunion!

The cabin and dining room attendants were so friendly and personable. And the dining room staff REALLY liked karaoke. We enjoyed karaoke singalongs a few evenings just after dessert was served. 😉

The expedition staff was more than capable. At least a few times we commented to one another that had we been in those particular weather conditions on our 2019 expedition cruise with a different company, any expeditions would have been cancelled. They worked long, hard hours so that we had a topnotch experience.

Final Thoughts

Timing can be everything. Over the past week or so, several news articles re: Antarctica have hit my feed. I found two to be particularly thought-provoking.

Tragically, bird flu wiped out 95% of Southern Elephant seal pups on one beach in Argentina this season. I wrote about the extensive bio-security measures we had to follow in this post. We knew that migratory birds carried H5N1 to South America, South Georgia and potentially Antarctica this season. And we saw firsthand during our last kayaking outing some indications that bird flu had been transmitted mammal-to-mammal. The linked article confirms that worst case scenario. And only time will reveal how significantly that impacts the seabirds and mammals that are so iconic in this part of the world.

And the BBC reported on a mind-blowing 40% increase in Antarctic tourism this season, with the total number of visitors expected to surpass 100,000 for the first time. The article asks, point blank, whether the idea of Antarctic tourism has become unethical – mainly because of the carbon footprint associated with getting there. Not only do most visitors have to fly a long distance to reach Ushuaia or Punta Arenas, some expedition cruises now start and end on the Antarctic Peninsula, using charter flights to ferry passengers from southern Chile/Argentina to the Antarctic. And while the expedition ships are becoming ever more energy efficient, with ongoing efforts to reduce their impact overall, this is another area where potential visitors need to do their homework.

This question is actually much bigger than Antarctica. Places all around the world are grappling with over-tourism, including our neighbouring Banff National Park. And globally, the number of airline flights increased more than 60% from 2004 to 2019, before dropping sharply due to COVID-19. I won’t be surprised if 2024 sees the number of flights return to pre-COVID levels. So the broader question is how do tourism and air travel need to change in a world increasingly compromised by overconsumption? We can start by looking ourselves in the mirror and asking why we’re traveling to wherever it is we’re traveling.

On a more upbeat/less introspective note, new King penguin colonies have been spotted in Antarctica, thanks to satellite technology. This is good news after concerns about the potentially devastating consequences to King penguin colonies from disappearing sea ice.

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This is the final instalment in a series of blog posts describing our November 16-December 5, 2023 expedition cruise to the Antarctic Penninsula, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas.