Antarctica Cruise Vacations, Cruises to Antarctica, Information on Cruise Operators - Antarctic expeditions, sightseeing, attractions, weather and cruise port information. The mysterious White Continent of Antarctica is filled with multi-colored ice caps, and snow-capped mountains that tower over the glistening glaciers. This destination offers scenery and photographic opportunities that you wont find anywhere else. The waters of the Antartic are home to numbers of penguins, whales, seals and seabirds.

Cruise lines operate Antarctica cruises from November to March, peak season Mid-December to February the Antarctic Peninsula is a destination that can be reached by cruise ships. Some ships have 6 to 12 year old minimum age limits. One reason is Antarctic cruises are lengthy and would seem tedious to most children (it's not like a Caribbean cruise with loads of children activities and fun ports of call). However, if your child is adventurous and intellectually curious about Antarctica, it might work.

Most itineraries start from the Argentine port of Ushuaia, on Tierra del Fuego. After the brief summer season the peninsula is ice-locked by a 100 mile frozen mantle. Antarctica has no permanent human residents, only scientists and specialists. These scientist and specialists live there a few months at a time. Cruise passengers will enjoy the rare opportunity to visit Antarctica as it is one of the world's last unspoiled frontiers offering visitors the chance to see the icebergs in Drake Passage, the spectacular narrow channels that separate the mainland from the South Shetlands, the flooded volcano crater at Deception Island, the humpback and killer whales of the Lemaire Channel, the giant icebergs and the soaring ice cathedrals.

Antarctic cruises are not for everyone. Cruise ship sails a couple of days from Australia or from South America to Antarctica, and in the end, does the reverse. That sea is historically rough. If someone is very seasick prone, he should consider skipping the cruise. If he is only marginally seasick prone, he should perhaps take a large ship.

Popular places to visit although exact itinerary and ports of call of cruise ships sailing in Antarctica depend on ice conditions, weather and wildlife, the following are popular Zodiac landing spots and areas for scenic cruising. Guides and naturalists specializing in the area also accompany guests. Deception Island situated among the South Shetland Islands at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, this natural-harbored area was formed from a collapsed volcano. It's also a thermal hot spot, so the main attraction for tourists here is the thermally heated water of Pendulum Cove. A dip in this heated sea is an option for cruise passengers., Paradise Harbor - No landings can be made at the protected Paradise Harbor but the spectacular glaciers and scenery make it popular with tourists, Lemaire Channel - Known as "Kodak Gap" because of its popularity with tourists and spectacular scenery, the Lemaire Channel is a narrow waterway formed between the cliffs of the Antarctic Peninsula and Booth Island

In planning your cruise journey in Antarctica you will find the following cruise lines/ships sailing: Orient Line - MV Marco Polo, Clipper Cruises - MV Clipper Adventurer , MS Endeavour, Abercrombie & Kent - Explorer, Explorer II, Professor Multanovskiy Polar Pioneer, Academik Ioffe, Academik Vavilov, Akademik Shokalskiy, M/V Orlova. All of this cruise ships, frozen in time at the bottom of the world and awaiting your visit!

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