Other Options...

[Hannah nz]

$ 60,000 for how many days vacation & for how many people ?

Its the "EPIC ANTARCTICA: FROM THE PENINSULA TO THE ROSS SEA & BEYOND"
34 days days from Buenos Ares to New Zealand but you embark on day 2 and arrive in NZ on day 32. It is also in Australian dollars as I am from NZ and using the au. version of the website.

Very few of the Antarctica cruises go the South Pole and none are guaranteed to due to ice (this applies to all Antarctic landings, but especially the South Pole). Ours went to the Falkland Islands, S. Georgia (which I highly recommend as the penguins and fur seals are amazing) and the Antarctic Peninsula (21 days on the ship). It was a lot of fun and I'm glad that we got to visit the Falkland Islands (on Christmas day - which was kind of nice as the shops / restaurants opened for us and one other ship). The ship was lovely (brand new), but we had 190 passengers, so had to visit the islands in 2 groups -- not a huge deal as we didn't feel that this had a negative impact on our experience, but something to consider.

I'd recommend avoiding the cruises that have you fly to the Antarctic as they planes are affected by the weather and you may be delayed by a day or two (meaning your cruise is shortened accordingly).

If you ever see pictures of ships docked in ice and people walking out from the ship stairs to ice, those are the ones that go to the South Pole. The cruises that go to the Antarctic peninsula (but not the South Pole) use Zodiaks to reach land.

There are so many itineraries, look at the different ones and choose the one that best suits your plans and budget. I personally would avoid the ships that have over 200 passengers as they are not able to land at many sites. As I said previously, I would go with Nat Geo if we were to visit again (and I would definitely like to).

We don't need to go to the South Pole but I think going so far I would like to cross into the Antarctic circle. There are some trips that do this - image attached - but a lot of the companies are more basic level like G adventures or ones I have never heard of. I think if we are going this far and remote I need to make sure the company and the inclusions are perfect.

We would prefer a smaller group size for sure. Would you say South Georgia and the Falkland Islands are a must do? It seems to be a balance of the more varied sights with visits to the other islands or more time in Antarctica.

I did the 14 day Journey to Antarctica on the Orion. If time were not a factor I would have preferred the 24 day Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falklands.

Yes, we departed December 25 from Miami. The timing was prefect as we got to see many of the fuzzy penguin chicks



Because of the limited time I had, I chose journey to Antarctica. If possible, I would have spent more time in Antarctica and visited South Georgia.

Thanks! I am of the same thought of spending more time which usually leads to us having longer vacations. Being in NZ it can take 48 hours just to get to the start of the tour/trip.

 

[Mathmagicland]

National Geographic / Linblad. We went with A&K (family) and while it was okay, our next trip to Antarctica will be with Nat Geo. I understand they are the best to travel with to the region. Tagging @calypso726 as she went with Nat Geo. I also appreciate the way they have handled their cancelled cruises during the pandemic.

I do not, repeat do not, under any circumstances, recommend Quark. Avoid them at all costs (see my comments on Quark, look them up on BBB and visit their FB page for corroboration -- they are a terrible company to deal with -- very unethical and dishonest).

If you are considering A&K, let me know if you have any questions. But if you are able I'd definitely try to book with Nat Geo.

I would have totally done it with ABD if it were an option. However, it wasn’t. I did a lot of research on Antarctica since it was for my 50th and figured it would be a once in a lifetime trip. We went with NatGeo/Linblad and have no regrets. We chose the smaller of the two expedition ships in order to be able to make more landings and not have to minimize our time at each landing. The experience was the most amazing experience ever! If time and cost were not a factor I’d do it again in a heartbeat and choose NatGeo/Linblad once again.

Thanks to you both for sharing this info, I’m another who has Antarctica on my bucket list. I’ve been starting to research different options for a couple of years. There are so many choices.

I’ve been hoping that since NatGeo is now part of the Disney family of companies, that it will some day be an AbD option. I even put Antarctica as my top choice for a new AbD destination on a survey I got last year. Your comments and recommendations reinforce that for me.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Its the "EPIC ANTARCTICA: FROM THE PENINSULA TO THE ROSS SEA & BEYOND"
34 days days from Buenos Ares to New Zealand but you embark on day 2 and arrive in NZ on day 32. It is also in Australian dollars as I am from NZ and using the au. version of the website.



We don't need to go to the South Pole but I think going so far I would like to cross into the Antarctic circle. There are some trips that do this - image attached - but a lot of the companies are more basic level like G adventures or ones I have never heard of. I think if we are going this far and remote I need to make sure the company and the inclusions are perfect.

We would prefer a smaller group size for sure. Would you say South Georgia and the Falkland Islands are a must do? It seems to be a balance of the more varied sights with visits to the other islands or more time in Antarctica.

That itinerary sounds incredible. If you can swing the time and cost then I wouldn't hesitate to book it. While I really enjoyed the Falkland Islands, S. Georgia and the Shetland Islands, given the choice between the cruise we did and the Nat Geo Epic Antarctica I would book the latter without hesitation.

 

[CaliKris]

We just booked a Kenya and Tanzania safari trip with Tauck for 2022. It is really nice that they offer "the gift of time" (a free pre or post night for travelers who have taken one or more Tauck trips before). I really think ABD needs to consider giving more perks to previous ABD travelers/loyal customers.

Now I have two years to wait and plan, but it is nice to think about traveling again.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

We just booked a Kenya and Tanzania safari trip with Tauck for 2022. It is really nice that they offer "the gift of time" (a free pre or post night for travelers who have taken one or more Tauck trips before). I really think ABD needs to consider giving more perks to previous ABD travelers/loyal customers.

Now I have two years to wait and plan, but it is nice to think about traveling again.

I'm waiting for their 2022 Italy dates to come out so I can book their Umbria tour. I'm ready to have a big countdown trip again!

 

[AddictedtoTravel]

I canceled the December Winter in Wyoming but still have March 2021 Portugal (crossing fingers) and March 2022 New Zealand.

I've starting getting the Starbucks Cheese and Fruit Protein Box (very similar to my favorite Alaska Airlines Fruit & Cheese plate) for lunch, eating at my desk while watching something on my phone pretending I'm 35,000 feet in the air heading somewhere, anywhere

 

[aggiedog]

Next decision - we have deposits (only $300/person thankfully) with G Adventures for Japan in December. PIF is September 17-ish. Right now Americans aren't allowed into Japan, so no way am I buying 6 trans-Pacific flights. I've been waiting to contact them until we got closer, which has turned into now. I'm pretty sure we can just transfer the deposits to another trip, but I'm really bummed that Japan is probably (almost definitely) not in the cards for us.

 

[Theta]

We just booked a Kenya and Tanzania safari trip with Tauck for 2022. It is really nice that they offer "the gift of time" (a free pre or post night for travelers who have taken one or more Tauck trips before). I really think ABD needs to consider giving more perks to previous ABD travelers/loyal customers.

Now I have two years to wait and plan, but it is nice to think about traveling again.

What is Tauck's cancellation policy? I can't seem to find it. Do they have a policy like ABD's full refund of deposits up to final payment date?

 

[wdhinn89]

https://www.tauck.com/travel-policy-update

 

[scottmel]

I have begun researching Classic Journeys as they have 10 to 12 people per tour group. Much more appealing than a cattle call to me of ABD as of late. My SOCal trip was awesome with 22. My NYC one at 39 not so much. I am booked with ABD for May Italy but finding Classic Journeys interesting as I listened to a podcast talk the owner gave and it sounded appealing. ANYONE with experience with this group? DH summed it up best that Classic Journeys seems to visit off the beaten path things - not so much hot tourist spots. I find that interesting, DH is on the fence. ABD is slightly LESS expensive due to open day discount.

Just concerned the europe thing will be up in the air next summer and I will be on pins and needles waiting for the whole cancel thing....

 

[Calfan]

I have begun researching Classic Journeys as they have 10 to 12 people per tour group. Much more appealing than a cattle call to me of ABD as of late. My SOCal trip was awesome with 22. My NYC one at 39 not so much. I am booked with ABD for May Italy but finding Classic Journeys interesting as I listened to a podcast talk the owner gave and it sounded appealing. ANYONE with experience with this group? DH summed it up best that Classic Journeys seems to visit off the beaten path things - not so much hot tourist spots. I find that interesting, DH is on the fence. ABD is slightly LESS expensive due to open day discount.

Just concerned the europe thing will be up in the air next summer and I will be on pins and needles waiting for the whole cancel thing....

I have not travelled with Classic Journeys, but I get their catalogs and emails, and a number of their trips appeal to me. If you end up taking one of their trips, I'll be very interested in your feedback.

 

[lovetotravel]

.

 

[scottmel]

I would heavily research their cancellation and insurance policies, esp how they handled things during COVID.
I have read their reviews before on other sites and they seem all over the place.
I noticed they run private tours for educational companies.

Thx I did just that and agree all over place, thx for the reminder! I think easier to plan Japan on my own with ability to easily cancel etc or just stick in usa in 2021. Holding onto the Italy abd for May for now but with pif due in January??

 

[aggiedog]

My dh's cousin has used Classic Journeys several times and loves them. She and I were actually scheduled to travel together with CJ (first time for me) to Iceland in September. I had signed up for the trip in June, so knew it was iffy. We decided to cancel the trip a month out, as I was unwilling to commit to airfare not knowing if I'd get the refund promptly and I did not want to find out a week or less before departure that they were indeed not traveling, as that would impact my ability to work (I'm a doctor and need time to get patients scheduled.) They refunded all of my money except the deposit and we transferred the deposit to one of their Morocco trips in March (I'm feeling lucky - LOL.) I've been very happy with the way they've handled things so far.

 

[wdhinn89]

I have begun researching Classic Journeys as they have 10 to 12 people per tour group. Much more appealing than a cattle call to me of ABD as of late. My SOCal trip was awesome with 22. My NYC one at 39 not so much. I am booked with ABD for May Italy but finding Classic Journeys interesting as I listened to a podcast talk the owner gave and it sounded appealing. ANYONE with experience with this group? DH summed it up best that Classic Journeys seems to visit off the beaten path things - not so much hot tourist spots. I find that interesting, DH is on the fence. ABD is slightly LESS expensive due to open day discount.

Just concerned the europe thing will be up in the air next summer and I will be on pins and needles waiting for the whole cancel thing....

Have you checked out Tauck Tours? We used them for our trip to Italy and were very, very happy

 

[TeeKo]

Maybe I shouldn’t bump this up but did you notice webmaster shutting down all non-ABD threads?

 

[scottmel]

No I didn't notice. Seriously? Cancel culture. Now you are monitored on what you can post about?

 

[Raya]

Maybe I shouldn’t bump this up but did you notice webmaster shutting down all non-ABD threads?

Hopefully an April Fool's Day joke?

 

[TeeKo]

Tauck, Nat Geo, Thomson Family threads all shut down

 

[iujen94]

Probably because Dreams (the travel company) doesn’t sell those other products. That’s a bummer - I’ve gotten so much helpful info on those threads.