PL Antarctic Peninsula 13A

an unusually authentic experience

PL Antarctic Peninsula 13A is a 13 night itinerary onboard the MV Seaventure, which starts in Ushuaia in southern Argentina, heads south to visit the Antarctic Peninsula, the Polar Circle and the South Shetland Islands, before returning to the port of Ushuaia.

The journey is expeditionary in nature, with lots of opportunities for exploring by motorboat, kayak and on foot, as well as one night of bivouac camping.

The ship hosts up to 139 guests in medium-level comfort. It is a powerful ice-breaker, which can be particularly important during shoulder seasons. The operation is renowned for the very high levels of guiding and hosting.

Please note that the operator name for this itinerary is Crossing the Circle. We have been obliged to rename all cruises, as there are too many duplicate names across different operators.

MV Seaventure is a medium-sized expedition ship, which was custom-built for Antarctic cruises back in 1993 and last refurbished in 2021.

Critically the ship is rated ’Ice Class 1A Super’, the highest class for passenger vessels, which means that it is able to break through considerable sea ice. This is particularly beneficial during the shoulder season months of Oct-Nov and Feb-Mar, when the ship is able to power into the frozen Weddell Sea and through the Lemaire Channel, as well as heading to more southerly latitudes than most vessels.

The public areas are ranged across five decks and include the following features …

• Observation lounge
• Lecture theatre
• Dining room
• Citizen science laboratory
• Small library with computer terminals
• Meeting room
• Modest gym and sauna
• Small heated saltwater swimming pool
• Extensive viewing decks
• Elevators between floors

Cabins

The ship has a maximum capacity of 164 guests, but for all trips this is limited to 139 guests in order to ensure that the experience can be suitably optimised.

Guests are accommodated in five categories of cabins …

Porthole Staterooms
Quantity : 2
Dimensions : 17.5 sqm / 188 sqft
Features : Sitting area and portholes

Triple Staterooms
Quantity : 6
Dimensions : 17.5 sqm / 188 sqft
Features : Sitting area and windows

Window Staterooms
Quantity : 56
Dimensions : 17.5 sqm / 188 sqft
Features : Sitting area and windows

Veranda Staterooms
Quantity : 16
Dimensions : 20.8 sqm / 224 sqft
Features : Sitting area, windows, balcony

Owner’s Suites
Quantity : 2
Dimensions : 30.8 sqm / 331 sqft
Features : Sitting area, windows, balcony

Operator

Polar Latitudes is a relatively small operation, which has a deserved reputation for authenticity and integrity. It is telling that they describe their trips as ‘expeditions’ rather than ‘cruises’. These are involving experiences in which guests are encouraged to actively engage with these fabulous locations.

The company is owned and run by true Antarctica specialists, headed by founder John McKeon, an American who has been working in Antarctica since the 1990s. The owners regularly join trips, in order to constantly evolve and polish the experience. You may well meet with them, they may even drive your motorboat or guide you on a hike. They are actively engaged.

This is an enormous contrast to the overtly commercial operations that dominate this sphere of operation. On Polar Latitude ships you won’t find after-dinner musical shows and elegant hair salons. These are comfortable expedition vessels, staffed by enthusiastic and educated professional people, from top to bottom.

It is perhaps worth pointing out that this is a relatively small company. They only operate 2-3 ships for four months per year, a total of around 20-30 expeditions. You very quickly get to know everyone involved and they really are a pleasure to interact with.

Guides

Perhaps the single most important reason to choose to travel with Polar Latitudes is the quality of the guides on board.

On Seaventure there are 19 guides, one per seven guests.

Being a small owner-run company means that guides tend to stick around for a long time and on every expedition there is always a core group who have done ten or more seasons in the Antarctic. They have a vast amount of experience.

Unlike most operators, Polar Latitudes only operates in Antarctica. The guides are therefore only employed for around five months per year and have other jobs in diverse other locations during the off-season. This means that they tend to be a really characterful bunch, full of knowledge and enthusiasm. Additionally (and we think uniquely) the company forces them to take a paid vacation every six weeks throughout the season, in order that they can remain fresh and energetic.

The company was the first to ensure that all its guides were qualified to the new Polar Tourism Guide Association standards.

Perhaps most importantly, Polar Latitudes appears to be the only company that insists its guides dine with guests for at least two meals every day. This is a huge extra load for the guides and something that would simply not be possible on other less-focused ships.

All in all, Polar Latitudes guides are amongst the very best and almost certainly work harder than any others. When guides leave to go to another company, they do so for an easier life.

The guiding job is dominated by two main tasks …

Firstly, they are responsible for delivering the lectures and talks about locations, environments and wildlife, which are critical for heightening the anticipation and understanding amongst guests. These events typically take place during the long sea crossings between locations and are a surprisingly enjoyable and integral part of the whole experience. Interestingly, Polar Latitudes was one of the first companies to incorporate Citizen Science projects into these lectures, which many guests find extremely interesting.

Secondly, they are responsible for operating all of the activities, both on water and land, where expertise in guiding is clearly critical to both safety and enjoyment. One of the biggest differentiators for Polar Latitudes is the elegance with which these activities are delivered.

Most importantly, at each landing site, all guests are able to join all activities. This is often not the case on larger ships (>150 guests), where people are often obliged to land in shifts. It is commonplace for all guests to be able to join two full activities per day when close to land.

Secondly, the very low 7:1 guest-to-guide ratio ensures that guests are able to mix with a group with similar ambitions. If you land at a penguin colony, for example, you may want to take it easy and simply stroll up to the nearest birds, or you may want to hike up a nearby peak to get a broader view, or wander off on your own to find solitude or a particular camera angle. This level of flexibility is a far cry from the regimented and constrained operations of some vessels.

We next come to the many little details that add polish, elegance and enjoyment to these experiences. For example, if you are out on a motorboat trip and it’s getting rather cold, the guides may call back to the ship to get hot chocolate brought out. With other companies, you may be out on a motorboat and find yourself getting annoyed by the constant chatting of other guests, ruining the experience. On Polar Latitude motorboats there is a policy of silence, the only conversation is between guide and guests. This kind of polish can make the world of difference to a trip and is only possible with a company that is properly run by experienced hands-on people.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that Polar Latitude guides and crew are famously fun to be with. It might seem that building an intimate atmosphere on a vessel with over 100 guests may be difficult, but guests regularly report how much fun they had and how much they came to feel a part of the family.

Guest profile

The guest profile is one of the most important aspects of a trip of this nature. It is really important that you choose a ship and an itinerary that will include lots of guests who are compatible with your expectations and desires.

The big negatives to look out for are ships that are dominated by large groups or languages that you do not speak.

Polar Latitudes only operate English-speaking expeditions. This may seem rather unfair to speakers of other languages, but they have found that running trips where everything needs to be translated into multiple languages, or where guests have to be split up by language can be very negative to the overall experience.

As a result, the guest profile is dominated by English-speaking countries …

• USA and Canada : 50%
• UK : 30%
• Australia and New Zealand : 10%
• Other countries : 10%

The company has a policy of only accepting bookings from groups of a maximum size of 15 people, in order that the atmosphere onboard does not become dominated to the disadvantage of other guests.

The active and authentic nature of these expeditions leads to a younger than usual guest profile compared with other operators …

• 15-30 years : 10%
• 30-50 years : 20%
• 50-65 years : 45%
• 65-75 years : 25%

This profile is for the shorter and lower-cost cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula. The profile tends to be rather older for the longer and more costly cruises that also include South Georgia, since younger people tend to have work commitments that prevent them from taking a month off.

Polar Latitude guests tend to be very appreciative of the environment and focused on the wildlife. A high proportion are also active and adventurous.

Since these trips are considered to be expeditions, there are no dress codes and no formal occasions. Some guests may choose to dress for dinner, but others will wear their outdoorsy clothes throughout the trip.

a nice mix of guest ages