Spinning Yarn on an

Antarctica Cruise is Quite Unique

The past few years, over 30 ships have carried to Antarctica and the choice of ship can make a big difference to your journey and experiences. One experience not often seen is spinning yarn while cruising to Antarctica.

 Some of the larger Antarctica cruise ships do not allow passengers to go ashore in Antarctica. They travel to destinations in Western Antarctica such as the Weddell Sea that borders the peninsula, and the Ross Sea.

These Antarctica cruise ships generally depart from Ushuaia in Argentina, and Punta Arenas in Chile. Most anchor in the harbor of Port Stanley, the capital city of the Falklands, sometimes also including South Georgia, and allow passengers to go ashore. There are Antarctica cruise ships that leave from New Zealand, which visit the opposite side of the white continent.

 The smaller Antarctica cruise ships use zodiac boats to ferry tourists from ship to shore in small groups. Shore excursion landings are now limited to no more than 100 individuals at a time; one guide must be provided for every 20 travelers. No one so far has taken a woman and her wheel so that she can be spinning yarn while sitting on an icefloe!  

All Antarctica cruise ships are ice strengthened, but the ice breakers are able to tour regions where other ice-strengthened ships cannot pass, giving tourists unique experiences such as viewing isolated Emperor Penguin rookeries. These Antarctica cruise ships often carry helicopters onboard for sightseeing flights and shore landings.