Luxury Antarctica: The White Continent in Style

This morning is yours to relax or explore Ushuaia before you embark your state-of-the-art luxury expedition ship in the afternoon. A butler welcomes you aboard and shows you to your spacious suite with its private balcony over the water, and you have time to explore the ship's elegant lounges, gourmet restaurants, spa and deck hot tub before meeting the expedition team. As the ship sails east down the historic Beagle Channel amid snow-capped mountains, you enjoy a champagne welcome and a gourmet dinner, meeting your expedition leader over fine wine. As Tierra del Fuego slips astern and the ship turns south into the Drake Passage in stabilised comfort, excitement builds for the crossing to Antarctica. As the first night at sea arrives in five-star comfort, rest well as the voyage begins.

Today you cross the legendary Drake Passage towards Antarctica, in the stabilised comfort of your luxury ship. While seabirds wheel around the vessel, wandering albatrosses, giant petrels and cape petrels, you enjoy the expedition team's lectures on the penguins, whales, ice and history ahead, indulge in gourmet meals and fine wines, and unwind in the spa, sauna or deck hot tub as the great Southern Ocean rolls by. Attentive staff ensure your every comfort, and the expedition guides help you spot seabirds from the observation lounges and open decks. The air grows steadily colder and crisper, and the first icebergs may appear. This is the Drake Passage as few experience it, in supreme comfort and style. As you sail deeper into the Southern Ocean, rest well in your suite.

As you continue south the temperature drops, the light changes and the first great icebergs appear, glowing on the horizon, an unforgettable moment as the White Continent draws near. By late today you approach the Antarctic Peninsula and, conditions permitting, make your first luxury Zodiac cruise or landing, stepping ashore among penguins or gliding beneath dramatic ice cliffs. The expedition team briefs you thoroughly and provides your expedition parka and boots, while the butlers ensure your gear is ready. You return to warmth, hot chocolate laced with a dash of something special, and every comfort aboard. The thrill of that first Antarctic landing, followed by champagne in the hot tub amid the ice, is indescribable. As the long polar day fades, savour your indulgent arrival in one of Earth's last great wildernesses. Rest well in your suite.

Today you explore the spectacular Antarctic Peninsula, with the expedition leader choosing the finest landings and Zodiac cruises the ice and weather allow. You might land at a bustling gentoo penguin colony, cruise among stranded icebergs in a sheltered bay, or watch humpback whales feeding at the surface, all with expert guides at your side. Between outings you return to gourmet lunches, fine wines and the warmth of your ship, perhaps unwinding in the spa or savouring the scenery from your private balcony. The wildlife and grandeur of Antarctica, penguins, seals, whales and endless ice, unfold in perfect comfort. As another long day of wonder ends with a sumptuous dinner and a soak in the deck hot tub amid drifting icebergs, rest well, deep in the beauty of the Peninsula.

Today, ice permitting, you sail through the breathtaking Lemaire Channel, a narrow, mile-wide passage between towering cliffs and glaciers so beautiful it is nicknamed Kodak Gap, sipping champagne on deck as the ship glides through mirror-still water reflecting the peaks. You explore the sublime Paradise Harbour, cruising by Zodiac beneath immense glacier walls and among fantastically sculpted icebergs, with leopard seals on the floes and whales surfacing nearby, before returning to a gourmet lunch. This is Antarctica at its most beautiful, savoured in supreme comfort. The expedition team helps you make the most of every moment ashore and afloat, while the butlers ensure your every need is met aboard. As the day ends amid overwhelming beauty, unwind in the spa and enjoy a fine dinner. Rest well in your suite.

Today you make the most of your final explorations in Antarctica before turning north. The expedition team seizes every last opportunity for a landing or Zodiac cruise, perhaps a final penguin colony, a last drift among the icebergs, or a further whale encounter, and, for the brave, a bracing polar plunge followed by a warming soak in the deck hot tub. You drink in the scenery and wildlife one more time in perfect comfort, committing to memory the penguins, whales, seals and endless ice of this pristine continent. By late afternoon the ship turns her bow northward and begins the crossing of the Drake Passage, and you gather on deck with a glass of champagne to watch Antarctica slip astern. As the White Continent fades, savour the profound, indulgent experience you have had. Rest well.

Today you sail north across the Drake Passage towards South America in stabilised comfort, retracing your route through the great Southern Ocean. Once again albatrosses and petrels escort the ship, and the expedition team reflects on the wildlife, ice and history you have experienced through their final lectures. There is ample time to indulge, a spa treatment, a swim, a long lunch with fine wine, or simply relaxing on your private balcony as the ocean rolls by, and to share stories with new friends over champagne. The naturalists recap the whales, seals and penguins encountered, and the mood is one of contentment and indulgence. Keep an eye out for seabirds and whales from the comfort of the lounge. As Antarctica recedes behind you, rest well in your suite.

Your final full day at sea takes you back across the Drake Passage towards Cape Horn and the tip of South America. Conditions permitting, you may sail close to fabled Cape Horn, the southern extremity of the Americas, a dramatic finale enjoyed from the comfort of the observation lounge or your balcony. The expedition team gives a farewell recap, and this evening you enjoy a lavish captain's farewell gala dinner with fine wines and champagne, toasting the extraordinary journey you have shared in such style. Land comes into view as the ship approaches the Beagle Channel once more. As your last night aboard the luxury expedition ship arrives, reflect on the penguins, whales, icebergs and comfort of Antarctica, and enjoy a final soak in the hot tub. Rest well ahead of disembarkation tomorrow.

This morning your luxury expedition ship returns to Ushuaia and, after a final gourmet breakfast aboard, you bid farewell to the butlers, the expedition team and your fellow travellers before disembarking. You are transferred by private car to the airport for your onward flight, carrying memories that will last a lifetime. You leave having experienced the ultimate way to see the White Continent, a genuine polar expedition where you crossed the Drake Passage in comfort, walked among thousands of penguins, cruised by Zodiac amid icebergs and whales, and soaked in a hot tub amid drifting ice, all wrapped in five-star cuisine, wine and service. The images stay vivid long after you land, the penguins, the whales, the electric-blue ice and the champagne amid the icebergs. You depart already dreaming of a return to Antarctica in style.