Getting Around Antarctica

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The M/V Ushuaia is not a luxury vessel. She's comfortable, the staff is friendly and warm, and you'll be well taken care of. But if you are looking for "crystal glasses at dinner, six ballrooms, orchestras, duel steamship rounds being carved at dinner, a bar stocked with thousands of rare wines, etc", this is not your ship. BUT, if you want a solid and dependable ship with an experienced crew, an outfit that will insure that you have both an enjoyable and SAFE trip to and through what are dangerous waters, you can't do any better than the Ushuaia and its parent company, Antarpply.

The ship was originally built for the United States agency NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration), and later refurbished to accommodate a maximum of 84 passengers in 41 comfortable twin cabins and suites. The ice-strengthened polar vessel USHUAIA is very well appointed and provides ample deck space and an open bridge policy. The full complement of inflatable landing craft (the zodiacs) ensure superb landings and wildlife viewing opportunities on the otherwise inaccessible coastline.

The cabins, especially the B and C cabins, have a generous amount of storage space. The public areas feature a large dining room (dinner is served during one sitting), an observation lounge and bar, a conference room with modern multimedia equipment, a well-stocked library, a changing room and a small infirmary. On a personal note, the ship's physician - Dr Konstantin Petrosyan - is top notch. He's a wonderful fellow, very caring and very well schooled. (do remember, Bonnie and I have spent our career in healthcare... we know a good physician when we meet one) We did have an unexpected medical situation on our trip, and Konstantin's presence and help was a Godsend.

The ships captain(s), officers and crew are highly experienced in Antarctic navigation and have a great love of nature. The ships expedition team include an international crew of expedition leaders and lecturers, all extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic, helpful and dedicated to the protection of the environment.

The ship's chefs prepare simple and tasty meals, with a lot of variety. I was impressed with the supply and quality of fresh fruit available during the entire voyage. The pastry/dessert chef is also a very artistic and creative guy. The service staff in the dining room was terrific. Couldn't have asked for better care, service and attention to detail.

Alvaro runs a pretty decent little bar. I hightly recommend the Argentine Quilmes beer. Good stuff indeed. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, soups and such are available 24/7 in the observation bar, and the afternoon "snack" is always well-attended and enjoyable. Lots of sandwiches, cakes, cookies, etc.

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We traveled to Antarctica with Antarpply Expeditions. We'd originally zeroed in on the M/V Ushuaia as a ship that we'd want to know more about. Additionally, the itineraries were what we were looking for. A number of travel companies sold space for this ship, and over the period that we were researching, I eventually learned that Antarpply actually OWNED the ship. So, I figured that we should work directly with the owners. Also about that time, I "met" Ute Hohn-Bowen, the president and CEO of Antarpply. Her caring attitude, her willingness to patiently answer all of our questions and basically to meet our needs for so large of a decision, well..... it told me we had the right company. BTW, if you'd like to know more about Antarpply, please contact Ute directly at ute@antarpply.com. BE SURE TO DROP MY NAME AS RECOMMENDING HER AND ANTARPPLY. She and I became friends and we really do see eye to eye on travel. You'll like her.

Another good contact person is Claudia Albornoz (claudia@antarpply.com), the company's reservation manager. Claudia lives in Ushuaia year-round. (Ute is there during the Argentine summer months, and lives in Great Britain with her husband George during the other half of the year)

In general, Antarpply Expeditions is a leading operator of small ship expedition cruises to Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands. The company is based in Ushuaia, Argentina and specializes in taking small groups and individual passengers to some of the most spectacular, remote and pristine parts of the world on board the M/V USHUAIA.

Contact information:
Office address:
Gob. Paz 633 - 1st Floor
(9410) Ushuaia - Tierra del Fuego - Argentina

phone numbers +54 (2901) 433636 / 436747
fax number +54 (2901) 437728

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TThe last class is the Luxury Expedition Ships
This is a supper soft posh cruise ships with hardened hulls for ice but still a luxury cruise vessel with all the goodies you know the has 5**** stuff like fresh flowers in Antarctica, gleaming brass, polished wood and works of original art.. These are the big one with almost 200 on board. The have 15 to 20 Zodiacs on board to get you to the shore of Antartica

Corinthian II
Explorer II
The cheapest in this class is $7,095 for 12 days.

Every summer, the Coast Guard moves this breaker south to clear out the path to McMurdo.

It is critical to the winter operations at McMurdo. Only one cargo ship arrives here each year, keeping the station running during winter.

Getting to Antarctica is a challenging venture.
All Antarctica cruises originate in Ushuaia, Argentina, Terra del Fuego due to calmer waters. Since I live in Texas, I flew to Miami where I connected on the Brazilian airline TAM to Sao Paulo then to Buenos Aires where I connected on the Aerolinas Argentinas flight to Ushuaia, Argentina at the tip of the Tierra del Fuego. The Latin America airlines usually provide superior in flight service comared to the U.S. airlines and I feel safer on them from a terrorism standpoint. The return route is the same from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo to Miami to Houston. Most people add a stayover in Ushuaia or Buenos Aires or Patagonia.

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We used Oceanwide Expeditions for the trip. They have specialized expedition staff that were expert in the history, geology and wildlife of Antarctica. When we were crossing Drake's Passage they organized 1 hour lecture sessions on various topics that were well presented, informative, engaging as well as entertaining. The company is clearly very safety and environmentally-conscious. Their attention to the safety of the passengers was paramount at all times and their concerns for the protection of Antarctica and its wildlife was evident through their actions, behaviours and lectures.
The ship was clean, the rooms were comfortable, the food was excellent - keep in mind it is an expedition and not a cruise! The crew was also very friendly and professional, allowing passengers to freely the visit the bridge at any time. With about 100 or so passengers, the ship is small enough to allow everyone to get out on zodiacs to land and/or cruise.
Overall, I would highly recommend Oceanwide Expeditions.

Hi,

I travelled with Aerolineas when I went to Antartcica. At the time they were having strikes and not all flights were gettng out. My friend and I about a month before we left decided to move our flight from BA to Ushuaia back a day and have 2days in Ushuaia - it was a very good idea!!!!!!!. there were several passengers who missed to crusise to Antarctica because of cancelled flights - even though the boat waited til 2am the next morning to allow people to get there. I would move your flight back to give yourself an extra day breathing room. There is not a lot to do in Ushuaia but if I had missed the boat I would have cried.

We just came back from a trip to Antartica and I recommend you to book in advance via Internet but as a last minute fare. We did this with the travel agency Ushuaia Turismo in Ushuaia (Av. Gobernador Paz 865). They have a fantastic service, are very reliable and Daniela, one of the owner, is extremely helpful. She answered all our questions in perfect english via email instantly before we booked and also after before the travel started. They have connections to different ships and they can recommend you the best tours. Some ships can be booked as a last minute offer 10 days before the departure, some are even earlier (we booked last minute for approx. half of the regular fare in November 2009 for a trip in January 2010). We were on the ship Vavilov with the tour operator Peregrine and had the best journey in our lifetime.
When we arrived in Ushuaia we saw some last minute offers so you will probably get one there too but I don't want to have the uncertainty. And the prices in Ushuaia have been around USD3500 to USD4000 - I didn't see less than USD3500. But anyway, it's better to go on a good ship (not more than 100 passengers) and with a good company, so spend some money - it's worth to pay some dollars more and have e.g. a lot of zodiac cruises and landings.