Last Word: Antarctic Cruises

One of the most remarkable trips I have ever taken came right at the beginning of my professional traveling career. In January 1981, I embarked on a voyage aboard the Lindblad Explorer, the small ship that pioneered Antarctic cruises. We left Ushuaia at the tip of Tierra del Fuego, sailed past Cape Horn in an oily calm and headed south across the immense Southern Ocean to the distant Antarctic Peninsula. More than five weeks later, we arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand. In between, I had wandered through teeming penguin rookeries, visited cacophonous elephant seal colonies, cruised alongside a pod of spouting 85-foot finback whales and watched lingering sunsets tint cathedral-size icebergs psychedelic shades of rose, kingfisher and chartreuse. The original Explorer is no more, but a new Lindblad ship — also called Explorer and operated in alliance with National Geographic — still heads for the great southern continent each year.

As it will be 35 years since I last set foot on the Antarctic continent, I think it is high time I treated myself to a return visit.

Compared with three decades ago, Antarctic waters are positively crowded with ships these days, but the demand is such that it is remarkably hard to obtain cabins on the leading vessels, especially if you wish to travel in the comfort of a superior suite. For example, the so-called “Silver Suites” aboard Silversea ships are perennial favorites of Hideaway Report readers, but they have to be booked at least a year in advance. So if you want to visit Antarctica aboard the Silver Explorer in 2016-17, now is the time to decide. The same is true for the Antarctic voyages of Le Lyrial, a magnificent new 10,700-ton ship that has been chartered by Abercrombie & Kent for two exclusive cruises during the 2016-17 season. As it will be 35 years since I last set foot on the Antarctic continent, I think it is high time I treated myself to a return visit.