Antarctica: A Day on the Expedition
Each day had a planned itinerary that was posted for the passengers in the morning. However, the Antarctica expedition guides and ship were very dependent on weather and water conditions. The weather changed quickly, and that changed the plan for the day. This is a recap of what a typical day on a G Adventures expedition was like.
Mornings
It started with a wake-up call from our expedition leader and he gave an overview of the day. He had a very strong Italian accent, and passengers were recording his morning wake up calls to save. People go to breakfast or workout at the onboard gym first. After breakfast, we would get a briefing on the morning excursion over the PA system. The briefing described the locations we would visit and what we could expect to see.
There was a process to get ready for the excursions, going to the mudroom and putting on all your gear. All passengers were put into one of four mudroom groups, so I would know the order and roughly how quickly I needed to be ready for the mudroom. I was in the Weddell Seal group!
The excursions would involve going to land, hiking, seeing giant whale bones, or shipwrecks, research stations or wildlife like penguin colonies, other birds or seals. Sometimes the excursions would be cruising around on zodiac boats looking at glaciers or for whales, or other wildlife. After excursions or onboard sightings we would sometimes have debriefs where the guides and experts and have the opportunity to ask questions.
Afternoons
After the morning excursion, we would have some downtime before lunch. Meals were typically buffet style with lots of options for meat eaters and vegetarians. They did a pretty good job of accommodating different dietary preferences.
After lunch, expedition leaders would do a lecture about topics related to Antarctica. The guides were fantastic – from all over the world and very knowledgeable. One was a British geologist who talked about volcanic activity, glaciers, and climate change. A few were experts on whales, dolphins and seals. We learned about the species of whales we saw, their migration, diets, and conservation efforts. There was also an ornithologist from South Africa, and she taught us about all the amazing birds. Others were most interested in penguins – but learning about the albatross and other seabirds was very interesting too! I always thought the California Condor had the largest wingspan, but I learned on this trip it’s actually the Wandering Albatross. We also had a guide who was an accomplished photographer from Canada and worked on documentaries. He did photography training and gave us all tips to better utilize our camera’s settings.
After that we would have an afternoon excursion, movie/documentary screening or downtime. This excursion would be in a different location than the morning excursion so there would be different things to see and experience.
Nights
Upon finishing the afternoon excursion or other activity, you could go to happy hour or take time and get ready for dinner. Dinners were multiple courses (appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, desserts). The main course would include a choice between poultry, cow/pork/goat, seafood, vegetarian dishes from Italy, India, bbq, etc.
There was a musician on board the Antarctica expedition! After dinner entertainment was in the lounge and there were drinks and dancing. One night, there was karaoke and another night was stand up comedy. Since this was summertime in Antarctica, it would be close to midnight and with tons of daylight. It was a little deceptive and time flies by when you’re having fun.
Also, at any point throughout the day while on the ship, the captain or scouts would announce a sighting of a humpback pod or orcas and whatever it was you were doing – lunch, lecture, after dinner concert – would completely stop and everyone would run outside to see the whales. The unpredictability of when you would see something was exciting! I always kept my camera on me, and my red parka in case something was sighted and I could easily run outside to the viewing decks.
One time there was a pod of orcas sighted having an interaction with an adult humpback whale. Everyone rushed out to the viewing decks, and we stayed with the whales for a while – lunch was pushed back for nearly two hours because just about every passenger was outside watching the orcas and humpback.
For a destination like this, I think it is important to be flexible due to the unpredictability of the water and weather conditions, plans could change at a moment’s notice and that’s ok, it is part of the appeal of a destination like like Antarctica. G’s Antarctica Expedition guides were great about finding alternatives, and I did not feel like I was missing out. You are on an adventure in a place few people get to experience, so enjoy the unpredictability of a trip like this.
