Antarctic cruising season approaches
Most operators cancel voyages, focus on future
Even before COVID-19, sailing to Antarctica was not a journey to be undertaken lightly. Many expedition operators require participants to complete medical forms attesting to the mental and physical fitness of participants and obtain insurance with extensive air evacuation coverage.
That’s because once a ship makes a multiday trek across the Drake, medical assistance for serious health problems can simply be out of reach. And that has jeopardized – or outright killed – the 2020-2021 Antarctica season for most operators.
The Antarctic cruise season typically begins in November and continues until late February or early March, during the Southern Hemisphere’s summertime. With the start of the season just one month away, numerous lines have already canceled or postponed their Antarctica voyages for the coming months. As of this writing, most operators that routinely offer expedition cruises to Antarctica, including Hurtigruten, Quark Expeditions, Seabourn, and Silversea, have canceled their 2020-2021 Antarctica sailings. Scenic has removed all Antarctica voyages departing in January, February and March 2021 from its website, though voyages are technically canceled only through Dec. 31.
For those who hold reservations on Antarctic cruises still scheduled for late 2020 or early 2021, it is best to keep in contact with your cruise line and airlines.
Other operators have canceled only part of the season. Boutique polar expedition company Oceanwide Expeditions still has a handful of departures in March 2021 to Antarctica available for booking, and Heritage Expeditions wrote in a blog post Oct. 16 that its nimble Spirit of Enderby was repositioning from Vladivostok, Russia, to Lyttleton, New Zealand, to prepare for that vessel’s season of expeditions to the Ross Sea.
For those who hold reservations on Antarctic cruises still scheduled for late 2020 or early 2021, it is best to keep in contact with your cruise line and airlines. Air travel, or the lack thereof, continues to be a major problem for cruise operators around the world. And most governments are understandably not thrilled about the idea of charter aircraft carrying leisure travelers through major airports to reach the ships.
But Antarctic tourism brings in a significant amount of income for smaller towns like Ushuaia and airline operators that rely on lucrative charter business transporting passengers down from such places as Buenos Aires and Santiago. So while this upcoming season probably will not go ahead for most operators, it is entirely possible some could still go ahead as planned, with COVID-19 health and safety restrictions in place.
For those who still want to visit The Last Continent, there is good news: The future looks brighter for sailings departing in fall 2021 and beyond. Some lines, such as Quark Expeditions, already have announced their 2022 Antarctica sailing program, allowing cruisers to book adventures departing further down the road. The 2021-2022 season will also see several new entrants into the Antarctic cruise arena.
Polar newcomer Atlas Ocean Voyages will sail its first Antarctic season beginning in November 2021, including a rare Antarctica Solar Eclipse voyage on Nov. 28, 2021.
In late 2022, Viking Expeditions will launch its first-ever Antarctic voyages, sailing aboard a fleet of purpose-built expedition ships that combine the comforts of Viking’s larger oceangoing fleet and its iconic European riverboats.