Weddell Sea - Antarctic Peninsula - 12D/11N

Penguins enjoying the Antarctic, courtesy of Oceanwide ExpeditionsThe Antarctic Peninsula offers you the most dramatic scenery and biggest variety of wildlife in Antarctica. In the southern summer large ice-free areas provide breeding grounds for very large numbers of seabirds and seals.
From King George Island and Penguin Island we will sail down to the beautiful Paradise Bay, where you can go ashore on the Antarctic mainland.
The narrow and spectacular Lemaire Channel is surrounded by mountains and glaciers and a popular passage for several species of whales journeying up and down the sheltered Antarctic Peninsula waterways. In the Antarctic Peninsula Minke Whales, the smallest of the rorqual whales, and ferocious-looking Leopard Seals are common.

Ship: Professor Multanovskiy, Professor Molchanov, or Aleksey Maryshev depending on the departure date.

Departures:
February 27th, 2009 (Professor Molchanov).
January 24th, 2009 ; March 14th, 2009 (Professor Multanovskiy).
January 19th, 2009 (Aleksey Maryshev).

Rates from: $7,350.00 USD per person based on double occupancy. Single occupancy: All cabin types 1.8 times the share price.

Included: Voyage aboard the indicated vessel as indicated in the itinerary. All meals throughout the voyage aboard the ship including snacks, coffee and tea. All shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by Zodiac. Program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced expedition staff. All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the programme. Comprehensive pre-departure material.

Not included: Any airfare, whether on scheduled or charter flights. Pre- and post land arrangements. Transfers to / from the vessel. Passport and visa expenses. Government arrival and departure taxes. Meals ashore. Baggage, cancellation and personal insurance ( which is strongly recommended). Excess baggage charges and all items of a personal nature such as laundry, bar, beverage charges and telecommunication charges. And the customary gratuity at the end of the voyages for stewards and other service personnel aboard ( guidelines will be provided). A net fuel surcharge of US Dollar 20 per person per night and a fixed amount of US Dollar 300 for the Atlantic Odyssey.

Note: All dates & rates are subject to change. All voyages will operate subject to a minimum of 30 participants.

Note: All itineraries are for guidance only. Programs may vary depending on local ice and weather conditions
and in order to take advantage of opportunities to see wildlife. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises.

Ship in Ushuaia in the Antarctic, courtesy of Oceanwide ExpeditionsItinerary:

  • Day 1 - In the afternoon, we embark in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world located at the Beagle Channel and sail through this scenic waterway for the rest of the evening.
  • Day 2 and 3 - During these two days we will sail across the Drake Passage. When we cross the Antarctic Convergence, we arrive in the circum-Antarctic up welling zone. In this area we may meet Wandering Albatrosses, Grey Headed Albatrosses, Black-browed Albatrosses, Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, Cape Pigeons, Southern Fulmars, Wilson’s Storm Petrels, Blue Petrels and Antarctic Petrels. Near the South Shetland Islands, we glimpse at the first icebergs.
  • Day 4 - 9 - We will sail into the Weddell Sea through the ice-clogged Antarctic Sound. Huge tabular icebergs will announce our arrival to the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. We plan to visit Paulet Island with a million pairs of Adelie Penguins and the remains of the Nordenskiöld expedition, Seymour Island, where many fossils have been found, and Snow Hill Island, where polar expeditions as early as 1902 wintered. We might also visit Brown Bluff and the Argentinean station Esperanza on the Antarctic Continent. Watch out for stray Emperor penguins. There might be a chance to see one on an ice-floe. Back through the Antarctic Sound to the West we’ll sail south and plan to offer a zodiac cruise around the rarely visited Astrolabe Island where Antarctic Fulmars, Chinstrap Penguins, Brown Skuas and Blue-eyed Shags breed and Weddell Seals and Antarctic Fur Seals haul out. In Neko Harbour and Paradise Bay we reach the southernmost area of our voyage, where we have again the opportunity to set foot on the Antarctic Continent in a magnificent landscape of huge glaciers. In this area we have good chances to see Humpback Whales and Minke Whales. At Deception Island, we will try to land at Baily Head with a colony of ten thousands of Chinstrap Penguins. Deception Island is a huge volcano of which the crater opens into the sea, creating a natural harbour for the ship. Here we find hot springs, an abandoned whaling station, Cape Pigeons and Dominican Gulls, Brown and South Polar Skuas and Antarctic Terns. Wilson’s Storm Petrels and Black-bellied Storm Petrels nest in the ruins of the whaling station in Whalers Bay. We continue to Hannah Point, which has a very rich wildlife featuring Elephant Seals, Cape Pigeons, Southern Giant Petrels, Macaroni Penguins and Gentoo Penguins.
  • Day 10 and 11 - In the Drake Passage we have again a chance of seeing many seabirds and to take advantage of the knowledge of our lecture team.
  • Day 12 - We arrive in the morning and disembark in Ushuaia.

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Also tagged with: Cruise Expeditions, Antarctica / Arctic, Adventure Expeditions, Escorted Journeys, Antarctica, Educational, Nature / Ecology, Hosted Tours, Exploration Cruise, Antarctica, Oceanwide Expeditions