Antarctic Peninsula Cruises

There are a number of potential landing sites throughout this archipelago. Half Moon Island is a great spot to see chinstrap penguins, a variety of seals, and whales patrolling off shore. The abandoned whaling station at Whaler’s Bay on Deception Island is another possible stop. The island is an active volcano and ships can sail into the collapsed caldera through a narrow opening on one side of the island.

This is also where many ships will let you take polar plunge the Antarctic waters, so be sure to bring your swimming suit!

Cuverville and Danco Islands are small islands in the Errera Channel, an 8-mile channel separating the Arctowski Peninsula and Rongé Island. Cuverville is considered an “Important Bird Area” because of the gentoo penguin colony found there. Danco Island, given its location in the middle of the channel, offers great views of the channel which is regularly littered with icebergs, as well as an excellent chance of spotting the whales that often travel through it.

This site has a flourishing gentoo penguin population. A gently sloping series of hills lead to views of glaciers and icebergs up and down the Neumayer Channel and of the surrounding mountains on Anvers and Wiencke Islands. Mount Francais may even be visible if the weather is good. There is a small British hut at Dorian Bay with interesting historical significance and it is often open for visitors to walk through. Port Lockroy, a former British base, is located on the backside of Damoy Point, and contains the British Antarctic Heritage Trust Museum and Post Office, where you can mail a postcard back to friends and family!

This is an inlet of the Antarctic Peninsula on Andvord Bay, which is situated on the west coast of Graham Land. A gentoo penguin colony lives here, and there is a nearby glacier that often calves creating small tsunamis in the bay. This is a continental landing.

Another continental landing site, it is home to a gentoo penguin colony, Chilean and Argentinian research stations, and Waterboat Point, where two intrepid surveyors spent a year with only a boat as shelter from January 1921-January 1922.

Often called “Whale-mina” bay due to the abundance of whales, particularly humpbacks. This bay is one of the broadest on the Peninsula and mountain peaks surround the ice cap.

Another potential continental landing site, Portal Point is on the Northeast point of the Reclus Peninsula and offers vast views of glaciers, icebergs, and all of Charlotte Bay.

Ease into your Antarctic adventure with a stop in the Falkland Islands. Here you’ll find several species of penguin including rockhopper, king, and Magellanic, as well as albatross colonies and the predatory caracara. You’ll also find people here in the small port city of Stanley. You will have the opportunity to stroll the streets, shop, and grab a pint at a pub before getting back on the ship.

This old whaling station is a wonderful addition to an Antarctic journey. You’ll find elephant seals, fur seals, gentoo and king penguins, along with other Antarctic species such as petrels, skua, and gulls. This remote, windswept island is also the final resting place of one of Antarctica’s greatest explorers, Sir Ernest Shackleton.