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Guests on the deck of the Ushuaia viewing the arctic landscape.

Weddell Sea Quest

Example 11 Day Cruise aboard MV Ushuaia
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Embark on a 11-day expedition cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula, the South Shetland Islands, and the Weddell Sea aboard the MV Ushuaia. The Weddell Sea will always be remembered as the polar region that still echoes the ill-fated expedition of the great British polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. After Amundsen and Scott had reached the South Pole, Shackleton planned the Imperial Trans Antarctic Expedition to make the first crossing of Antarctica, from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea via the South Pole. The 1914 expedition was a failure but it produced one of the greatest stories in the history of polar exploration.
An Adelie Penguin protecting her new born.A view from the ship.A seal sits on snow.Zodiac ExcursionGuests on the deck of the Ushuaia viewing the arctic landscape.
Highlights
  • View huge icebergs and snow-capped mountains along the South Shetlands
  • Spot wildlife, including penguins, seabirds, whales, and seals
  • Enjoy a full program of lectures and the Ushuaia's open bridge policy
  • Visit the enigmatic Elephant Island, conditions permitting
Places Visited
Activity Level: Relaxed
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
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Full Itinerary

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Day 1: Embark in Ushuaia

Embark the Ushuaia in the afternoon and meet your expedition and lecture staff. After you have settled into your cabin, sail along the famous Beagle Channel and the scenic Mackinlay Pass.

Day 2-3: At Sea – Crossing the Drake Passage

  • Ship
  • 2 Breakfasts, 2 Lunches, 2 Dinners
Named after the renowned explorer, Sir Francis Drake, who sailed these waters in 1578, the Drake Passage also marks the Antarctic Convergence, a biological barrier where cold polar water sinks beneath the warmer northern waters. This creates a great upwelling of nutrients, which sustains the biodiversity of this region. The Drake Passage also marks the northern limit of many Antarctic seabirds.

As you sail across the passage, lecturers are out with you on deck to help with the identification of an amazing variety of seabirds, including many albatrosses which follow in your wake. The open bridge policy allows you to join the officers on the bridge and learn about navigation, watch for whales, and enjoy the view. A full program of lectures is offered as well.

The first sightings of icebergs and snow-capped mountains indicate that you have reached the South Shetland Islands, a group of twenty islands and islets first sighted in February 1819 by Capt. William Smith of the brig Williams. With favorable conditions in the Drake Passage, your lecturers and naturalists accompany you ashore as you experience your first encounter with the penguins and seals on Day 3.

Day 4-6: Exploring the Weddell Sea

  • Ship
  • 3 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches, 3 Dinners
This is where huge tabular icebergs roam. In some years, the Erebus & Terror Gulf and Weddell Sea are jammd full with ice, making for exciting navigation. Get up early and go out on deck. It may be 3:30 am in the morning, but the sunrises is unlike anything you've ever seen. Huge tabular bergs break from the Larsen, Ronne, and Filchner ice shelves and combine with one-year-old and multi-year sea ice to produce a floating, undulating panorama of rugged ice scenery. All-white snow petrels are likely to be coursing over the floes, often joined by pintado petrels.

The usual passage to the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula traverses the Antarctic Sound, which is 30 miles (48 km) long and 7-12 miles (11-19 km) wide and runs northwest-to-southeast. Hope Bay and the Argentine Station Esperanza are located on the western side of the Sound. Brown Bluff, a promontory on the Tabarin Peninsula, is located south of Hope Bay. Both of them might be possible landing sites. The Weddell Sea represents the center of the Peninsula´s Adélie penguin population. Devil Island, Paulet Island, and the already mentioned sites might give you ample proof of this. The numbers of penguins are breathtaking. Sometimes juvenile emperor penguins have been sighted, riding ice floes, but are by no means regular in the area.

This region also teems with vibrant exploration history. The most bizarre of these tales involves the Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901-03 under the command of geologist Otto Nordenskjöld. Four visitor sites have links to this expedition: Hope Bay, Paulet Island, Snow Hill Island, and Cape Well-Met on Vega Island. Your expedition staff is pleased to share their exciting story with you. Nordenskjöld´s expedition was the first to overwinter in the Peninsula. His ship, the Antarctic, under the command of the famous Norwegian whaling captain Carl Anton Larsen, was trapped in the ice and sank, but the men survived on different locations and even managed to carry out significant scientific research in the area.

Day 7-8: Exploring the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands

  • Ship
  • 3 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches, 3 Dinners
The Antarctic Peninsula´s remarkable history also provides you with a type of excitement often only associated with the early explorers. You have plenty of time to explore its amazing scenery, a pristine wilderness of snow, ice, mountains and waterways and a wide variety of wildlife. Apart from gentoo and chinstrap penguins and other seabirds, you are likely to encounter Weddell, crabeater and leopard seals as well as minke whales and orcas at close range.

Hope to navigate some of the most beautiful waterways: the Gerlache Strait, Errera Channel and Neumayer Channel. Possible landing sites may include: Paradise Bay, which is perhaps the most aptly named place in the world with its impressive glacial fronts and mountains, Cuverville Island, home of the biggest gentoo penguin colony in the Peninsula surrounded by glaciers and castellated icebergs, and the British Museum and post office at Port Lockroy.

Further exploration leads you to the South Shetland Islands. The volcanic island group is a haven for wildlife. Vast penguin rookeries and seals hauling out on the shorelines make every day spent here unforgettable. Sailing through the narrow passage into the flooded caldera of Deception Island is truly amazing, so is visiting the crescent-shaped island Half Moon, home to chinstrap penguins in breathtaking surroundings.

There might also be a chance to visit the enigmatic Elephant Island. Sir Ernest Shackleton fans need no introduction to this historic windswept island. In 1916 Shackleton was forced to leave 22 of his men stranded on these shores, while he and five others embarked on an unbelievable last-ditch rescue attempt. What followed is one of the greatest rescue stories of all time. Every passenger returns with a greater knowledge of this gripping tale of adventure in a truly remarkable part of the world.

Day 9-10: At Sea – Crossing the Drake Passage, northbound

  • Ship
  • 2 Breakfasts, 2 Lunches, 2 Dinners
Leave Antarctica and head north across the Drake Passage. Join your lecturers and naturalists on deck as you search for seabirds and whales and enjoy some final lectures. Take the chance to relax and reflect on the fascinating adventures of the past days on the way back to Ushuaia.

Day 11: Disembark in Ushuaia

  • 1 Breakfast
Arrive at the port of Ushuaia in the early morning and disembark after breakfast.

Ship/Hotel

MV Ushuaia

Dining Room
The bar aboard the Ushuaia.
Conference room

Dates & Prices

My Preferred Start Date

Per person starting at
$7,630
MV Ushuaia ship Standard Plus Triple cabins
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Standard Plus Triple
2 Standard Plus triple outside cabins with portholes or windows on Deck E, private facilities, 3 lower berths.
MV Ushuaia ship Standard Twin cabins
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Standard Cabin
12 Standard twin outside cabins with portholes on deck E with semi-private facilities, 2 berths (upper/lower).
MV Ushuaia ship Standard Twin cabin
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Standard Plus
11 Standard Plus twin outside cabins with portholes or windows on deck E, private facilities, 2 lower berths. Cabin 640: 1 double bed.
MV Ushuaia ship Premier Twin cabin
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Premier Twin
6 Premier twin outside cabins with windows on upper deck G, private facilities, 2 lower berths.
MV Ushuaia ship Suite cabins
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Premier Single
2 outside Premier single cabins with portholes (view obstructed by lifeboat) on upper Deck G, private facilities, 1 single bed.
MV Ushuaia ship Superior Twin cabin
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Superior
9 Superior twin outside cabins with windows on upper deck G, private facilities, 2 lower berths. Cabin 301: 1 double & 1 single bed.
MV Ushuaia ship cabins
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Suite
4 Suite outside cabins with windows on upper deck G, private facilities, 2 lower berths, lounge, TV, DVD player & fridge. Suite 201: 2 double beds. Suite 202: 1 double bed & sofa bed. Suite 204 & 207: 3 lower single beds.

Notes

- Fuel surcharge may vary: no surcharge if the price of the barrel of crude oil is $100 or lower.
- Rates are quoted in U.S. dollars and represent costs per person, double occupancy. Request the Twin Share Program where you are matched with a cabin mate of the same gender. Even if a cabin mate is not found for you, no single supplement will be charged.
- Twin cabins (except suites) are available for single occupancy at 1.5 times the share rate. Suites may be reserved at 2 times the share rate. A third berth (sofa bed) in a few suites maybe occupied at 50% of the published twin share rate.
- Special family rates: A child (under 16 years) accompanied by two adults will be free of charge in a triple Superior cabin or triple Suite.
Included
  • 10 Breakfasts, 9 Lunches, 10 Dinners
  • 10 Nights Accommodations
  • Accommodations as listed
  • Ground transportation as listed
  • Activities as listed
  • Meals as listed
  • Access to a 24-7 Emergency line while traveling
  • Program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced expedition staff.
  • Detailed post-expedition log
  • All Miscellaneous Service Taxes and Port Charges Throughout the Program
  • All shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by Zodiac.
  • Comprehensive pre-departure material.
Excluded
  • Gratuities
  • Travel Insurance
  • Personal Expenses
  • Flight costs (please request a quote)
  • Additional excursions during free time
  • Fuel and transportation surcharges (when applicable)
  • Passport and Applicable Visa Expenses
  • Government arrival and departure taxes
  • Excess baggage charges
  • Pre- and Post Land Arrangements
  • Parkas are not provided on your cruise. Please bring your own windproof, waterproof, insulated parka with you. You will want to make sure it is roomy enough to fit warm layers underneath. Click here for information about parka rental.
  • Meals ashore
  • Transfers to/from the vessel
  • Baggage, cancellation, and personal insurance (strongly recommended)

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Everything was amazing! The planning with Adventure Life went smoothly. The actual trip was fantastic! One of the best trips I have experienced. The cruise staff members were knowledgeable and attentive. I will be writing more about this on the blog!
Justin Chappelle

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