The girlfriend did a trip on that ship (it was brought in at the last minute as the ship they were due to go on hit a reef and then got captired in a military coup while docked for repairs) about 4 years ago, cost them £4000 each. I passed on the original post and this is her reply
There are several ships which offer this type of expedition although the Explorer was one of the best due to its small size and therefore you got more on-shore trips. With large cruise ships it takes so long for everyone to disembark you don't get such a good service, although it is cheaper.
I would imagine you have to book a long time in advance - we booked many months, possibly even a year or so in advance. There are not frequent sailings due to Antarctic seasons and probably the Treaty about keeping the place non-polluted. The trip I did was 3 weeks total - 2 of which were on
board the ship.
It took 2 days to cross from Argentina to Antarctic land, a couple of days round there then 2 days up to South Georgia, a day or 2 round there and then 2 days' crossing to the Falklands.
It is worth the price but it is expensive! You will pay more for smaller ships but get a better service. Also bear in mind cheaper cabins will tend to be in the bow so very rocky if you suffer from seasickness. On my trip everything
was included except alcoholic drinks and they were good value anyway.
We booked through Ornitholidays who specialise in bird-watching holidays but noone in our group was an avid twitcher! I can't see any Antarctic trips on their website at the moment though.
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